Pleasure: the common currency

Abstract

At present as physiologists studying various homeostatic behaviors, such as thermoregulatory behavior and food and fluid intake, we have no common currency that allows us to equate the strength of the motivational drive that accompanies each regulatory need, in terms of how an animal or a person will choose to satisfy his needs when there is a conflict between two or more of them. Yet the behaving organism must rank his priorities and needs a common currency to achieve the ranking (McFarland & Sibly, 1975, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 270 Biol 265-293). A theory is proposed here according to which pleasure is this common currency. The perception of pleasure, as measured operationally and quantitatively by choice behavior (in the case of animals), or by the rating of the intensity of pleasure or displeasure (in the case of humans) can serve as such a common currency. The tradeoffs between various motivations would thus be accomplished by simple maximization of pleasure. In what follows, the scientific work arising recently on this subject, with be reviewed briefly and our recent experimental findings will be presented. This will serve as the support for the theoretical position formulated in this essay.