These associations form beliefs which ultimately create your Model Of The World. The brain is ultimately designed to keep you alive so it’s constantly predicting what’s going to happen in your environment so that it can initiate behaviours that enhance your survival.Ĭonsequently, we create psychological (thoughts) and physical (feelings) associations in our nervous system so our brain can instantly determine the meaning ― pain or pleasure. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm it.” ― Jeremy Bentham The Pain-Pleasure Principle & The Brain “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.
Pleasure evolved to drive us towards perceived rewards that increased our chances of survival.įor most people, they will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure (known as loss aversion) and is a consequence of our pre-programmed negative bias. P ain evolved to drive us away from perceived threats that decreased our chances of survival. The Evolutionary Lensįrom an evolutionary perspective, both pain and pleasure evolved as adaptations in order to enhance our ability to survive and reproduce.
While the level of intensity may differ, both pain and pleasure factor into the equation of everything we do. The Pain-Pleasure Principle refers to the two primary forces that drive all human behaviour the need to avoid pain and the desire to gain pleasure.
#PAIN AND PLEASURE SHOP HOW TO#
In this post, we’ll unpack all you need to know about the Pain-Pleasure Principle, defining exactly what it is, its role in evolution, how it influences our behaviour, how to leverage it and more.