basic drives and evolution

Written by Niek | 03 November 2010

A recent Dutch book review on television of journalist Wim Brands (VPRO-television) with professor dr. A. P. Buunk (University of Groningen, Social and Organizational Psychology), triggered my attention. This because professor Buunk related our capacity to cope with our lives at the daily work floor, with where we, evolutionary, came from and the transitions human beings made ever since. His new book, in Dutch, is published in 2010 by Bert Bakker in Amsterdam (ISBN 9789035133815), and counts 336 pages. In their book review Brands and Buunk talked also about the 'most effective human size' of this 'work floor'. That resulted in around 100 till about 150 persons. That is about the size of the Dutch CCI community today!
And it is this part of the discussion that triggered especially my attention. So I bought the book and started reading with the CCI framework in mind.
That framework changed, evolved, though not always so visible, in the past years and is in itself - in my view - part of the emancipation of the human being. Or it anyway participates and contributes to that process. So the history of CCI fits in that process and evolved in a non hierarchical approach – without any authority but your personal decisions. And this with respect to the phenomena of life, so for everybody and everything, including 'mother earth' and the universe, as well as other ones visions. While accepting and offering free attention – by participating in this free attention in the Universe – and being inquisitive to how, why and what we observe in any way during our lifetime. While reading Buunk his book, I became the more aware of the impressive and implicit part of the CCI approach of respect, sharing and its cooperative behaviour, compared with our original competitive behaviour, rooted in what Buunk names as the (intra) sexual competition. At the same time I became the more aware of how 'the work floor' is part of our total daily life and its influences vice versa.

the start

In the start Buunk mentions how the human being became a product of a long evolutionary history. The visible result of this seems for him to be 'a range of irrational emotional reactions'. The basic human need of social relationships evoked in his view also 'the human capacity to estimate in a split second the qualities of capacities of companions'. Another human need he mentions especially is, looking at the 'unstoppable human feeling to be inclined to cooperate and help other ones'. This behaviour roots in his view in the expectation 'to get something back' by promoting our own personal status. Though, we should not concentrate too much on our rational capabilities, he says. It becomes more and more clear, he writes, that we so far, greatly underestimate the intellectual capabilities of animals. On the other hand, grace to our intellectual status, we don't need to be guided by our basest instincts, while we are able to control them.
Of course everybody is free to build hers or his personal philosophy about the phenomenon of life, the human being and, the kind of society we prefer to live in. For several reasons the CCI 'philosophy' roots in the basics of the humanistic psychology. Nevertheless it is interesting – and productive in my view – to have an idea how also scientific people look at the base where we came from. Another question is, if our being aware of that means - if and if so in what way - we have transformed or are on our way. Also this very moment. So far a lot of the so named interpersonal competition in our behaviour, roots – as it is observed in different circles - in strategies to survive or in the need of the production of offspring.
In my view this all raises questions about the influence of gaining personal insights. And how far they do contribute to our – personal – transition(s). So far it is obvious that we live in a world, build on fundaments of different kinds of authority. The challenge is, in what way the absence of any authority, while guided in respect to each other and the environment, like in my view CCI promotes in handling our emotions, contributes to a personal transition. It any way is worthwhile to try it our!

evolution

Talking about evolution Buunk states that this process still goes on. And that this is even more than only a genetic adaptation. Possibly he states, is this adaptability more characteristic for the human being than its intelligence or its self-assuredness. Second he pays attention to the invention of the phenomenon of language and its creative expressions. Analysing the content of it, he concludes that, besides gossip and others, this vehicle also is excellent for exchanging information with and about others, to reform our own relationships. This rational explanation is, in my view, another example of the very self centred behaviour, based on a kind of hierarchic environment. And sure the invention of language contributes immensely to the capacity to inform and be informed about and by larger groups than the own family or tribe. In that way he mentions, also why we see, almost everywhere, that the most effective size of companies and units is about 100-150 people. Namely simply because the informal social control doesn't work anymore effective by a higher number then about 150.
In popular language this means: the bigger the group, the more rules we need. This idea is one of the roots of the philosophy, that we in the now so called 'departments of human resources' (personal departments in units) need a scientific base for the management of these extensive units. In that field, Buunk reports that recruiting people based on personal impressions or intuition, is strategically seen as undesirable. In contrast with this view he states: 'intuition may very well be of vital importance in the field of selecting people'. And he ads to it 'that psychology theories are not created by God, but are a product of human beings'. In this range he supports strongly the phenomena of personal intuitions. So he quotes also the psychologists Bar, Neta and Linz, who proved that these first impressions mostly within 39 milliseconds are created. It is interesting he reports, that the results do not improve when more information becomes available. Base of this all seems to be, as he writes: 'people just do want to cooperate with those who fit in their group'. And: 'just change the word 'group' by the word 'tribe' and the similarity with the past is clear'.

share and cooperate

In chapter 4 (out of 10) tries Buunk to explain where unselfish behaviour roots. The explanation of this symptom needs a lot of words. A possible evolutionary explanation might be, that we do like that people does things for us because that might suit us. Unselfish behaviour offers profits and reciprocity pays and 'is characteristic for psyche healthy people', says Buunk. He pays attention to this phenomena also in relation to the views of the well known organizational psychologist Donald McGregor (1950) who states three basic assumptions of the human nature: 1) the average human being doesn't like to work; 2) people need to be controlled and 3) the average human being needs a leader. As the organizational psychology theories told us in the 1950's searching the core of the human nature.
Though we are not all the same. That is why Buunk pays also attention to jealousy, enjoying of others mishaps, and narcissism as well. Evolutionary he explains these by mentioning the need to be part of a bigger whole as one of the basic human needs. (like John Heron states). This is also direct related with and part of the phenomenon of relationships. Like man against man, woman against women, the (sexual) relationships, internal competition vice versa, teasing at work or elsewhere, leadership etc. In this respect he pays also attention to the question why it is so important to participate in a group. He explains: human beings are extraordinary social creatures because this contributes to their well-being. Being excluded is simply not healthy for body and mind and depresses. And so there are more unhealthy developments to mention. Like the ultimate basic sexual urge in which he pays also attention to the phenomenon of respect.
In the last chapter of his overview Buunk makes clear that this book represents his personal vision at this moment. Part of that statement is also that scientific research 'needs to be based on curiosity, amazement and despair. As relatively new he mentions the application of evolutionary insights in human behaviour. In that approach it is more important to ask the proper questions than to discover the right answer. And that 'evolutionary seen, the differences between human beings from different cultures and historical periods, are slight'. For sure – and in my view – he also is right in his final conclusion, that we have always to accept our basic drives as part of our nature. This doesn't alter the fact, that we are free to interpret also this in the CCI way.