THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRIVE AND AFFECT IN PERVERSE ACTIONS

The purpose of this paper is to define a perverse structure without fa iling back on sexual behavior in the strictest sense. Two drive models and the theory of affect serve as a starting point for this investiga tion. The definition of drives which we present in this paper is not b ased on the erogenous zones but on the notion of instinct and the geni tal principle. We define both the instinct and the genital principle a s the ''mute'' organizational framework of behavior comprising the fol lowing elements: motivation, appetence, and terminal action. We regard affects as being wishes which the subject can express vis-a-vis the o bject. Thus we regard affects as belonging to the field of appetence. As a result of these observations, we consider perverse structures as being ''impossible combinations'' of affect/appetence on the one hand and terminal action on the other. Examples of such impossible combinat ions are disgust/lust, fear/lust, or anger/lust. All these combination s are used by patients to protect and preserve their identity. They de fine their identity via a sexualized body image. This behavior is a re sult of the patients' learning history during which some parts of thei r body image have been erased as a result of social referencing during drive interactions, such as the handling of the genital area in clean ness education. We elucidate the assumptions put forward in this paper by citing episodes from cases and by comparing them with those descri bed by other authors. Moreover we discuss addictions, bulimia and anor exia as being closely related non-sexual perverse structures. Finally, we provide some treatment recommendations with a view to the handling of the repetition compulsion centered around disgust themes.