Genotropism
Encyclopedia
Genotropism is defined as the reciprocal attraction between carriers of the same or related latent recessive genes
. Developed by the Hungarian psychiatrist Léopold Szondi
in the 1930s, the theory concludes that instinct
is biological and genetic
in origin. Szondi believed that these genes regulated the "possibilities of fate" and was the working principle of the familial unconscious
.
influence human behavior
. While identified as entities, genes exist in groups because evolution
favors cooperation. Within each gene group, it is possible to detect specific needs that function as mechanisms of screening and natural selection
.
Szondi arrived a sort of genetic determinism, a philosophical theory of predestination. "The latent hereditary factors in human beings, the recessive genes, do not remain dormant or inactive within the human organism, but exert a very important and even decisive influence upon its behavior. This latent or recessive gene theory claims that these non-dominant hereditary factors determine the Object selection, voluntary and involuntary, of the individual. The drives resulting from these latent genes, therefore, direct the individual's selection of love objects, friendships, occupations, diseases, and forms of death. Hence, from the very beginning of the human's existence there is a hidden plan of life guided by 'Instinctual drives'."
Szondi created a drive theory that determines that every drive has at least four genes. "The four Szondian drives are (1) contact, (2) sexual, (3) paroxysmal, and (4) ego. They are implicated in their corresponding psychiatric disorders and equivalents: (1) manic-depression, (2) sexual abnormality, (3) epilepsy and hysteria, and (4) schizophrenia." By locating mental disorders in biological drives, one can illustrate that illness is a disharmony of basic needs.
Szondi observed that when families pass down genes for specific diseases, the same family transmits defenses against those disorders. Known to Szondi as heterosis
, it is currently known as "balancing selection."
Szondi concluded that genetic traits confer needs and tendencies that shape decision making. "Genetic tendencies can be decoded by constructing genealogies, indicating recurrent patterns of marriage, friendship, and vocational choices in relation to types of illness and modes of death. Destiny
comprises all of the hereditary tendencies in the familial unconscious which are expressed primarily through marriage and vocational selections." Basically, the needs and tendencies in which humans exhibit will guide similar genes to one another.
complex, he found that it existed only under the following conditions: when the mother sees her father or brother represented in her son, or when the father sees his mother or sister in his daughter. Therefore, the son takes after the genes represented in his maternal grandfather or uncles, and the daughter after her paternal grandmother or aunt.
might be bringing it back in a revised form, through the study of homogamy
and psychopathology
.
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
. Developed by the Hungarian psychiatrist Léopold Szondi
Léopold Szondi
Léopold Szondi was a Hungarian psychiatrist, born in present day Slovakia and raised in a a German and Slovak speaking family. He is known for the psychological tool that bears his name, the Szondi test. He developed a form of depth psychology that had some prominence in Europe in the mid-20th...
in the 1930s, the theory concludes that instinct
Instinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
is biological and genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
in origin. Szondi believed that these genes regulated the "possibilities of fate" and was the working principle of the familial unconscious
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
.
Overview
Genotropism consists of the theory that genesGênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
influence human behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
. While identified as entities, genes exist in groups because evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
favors cooperation. Within each gene group, it is possible to detect specific needs that function as mechanisms of screening and natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
.
Szondi arrived a sort of genetic determinism, a philosophical theory of predestination. "The latent hereditary factors in human beings, the recessive genes, do not remain dormant or inactive within the human organism, but exert a very important and even decisive influence upon its behavior. This latent or recessive gene theory claims that these non-dominant hereditary factors determine the Object selection, voluntary and involuntary, of the individual. The drives resulting from these latent genes, therefore, direct the individual's selection of love objects, friendships, occupations, diseases, and forms of death. Hence, from the very beginning of the human's existence there is a hidden plan of life guided by 'Instinctual drives'."
Instinctual Drives
In Szondi's theory, each "need" (a link between genes and behavior) comprises a polarity of positive and negative tendencies. Needs also group together in polarities to form larger wholes called "instinctual drives." Together, behavior tendencies, needs, and drives combine to form patterned wholes.Szondi created a drive theory that determines that every drive has at least four genes. "The four Szondian drives are (1) contact, (2) sexual, (3) paroxysmal, and (4) ego. They are implicated in their corresponding psychiatric disorders and equivalents: (1) manic-depression, (2) sexual abnormality, (3) epilepsy and hysteria, and (4) schizophrenia." By locating mental disorders in biological drives, one can illustrate that illness is a disharmony of basic needs.
The Familial Unconscious
Genotropism is the working principle of the familial unconscious, the quantitative sharing of genes across the generations of family. Offspring may inherit several genes from both parents, while others receive fewer genes and exhibit spectrum conditions. (For example, while one child is diagnosed with epilepsy, the other only shows various symptoms over a period of time).Szondi observed that when families pass down genes for specific diseases, the same family transmits defenses against those disorders. Known to Szondi as heterosis
Heterosis
Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement, is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. The adjective derived from heterosis is heterotic....
, it is currently known as "balancing selection."
Szondi concluded that genetic traits confer needs and tendencies that shape decision making. "Genetic tendencies can be decoded by constructing genealogies, indicating recurrent patterns of marriage, friendship, and vocational choices in relation to types of illness and modes of death. Destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
comprises all of the hereditary tendencies in the familial unconscious which are expressed primarily through marriage and vocational selections." Basically, the needs and tendencies in which humans exhibit will guide similar genes to one another.
The Oedipus Complex
While Szondi accepted the OedipusOedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
complex, he found that it existed only under the following conditions: when the mother sees her father or brother represented in her son, or when the father sees his mother or sister in his daughter. Therefore, the son takes after the genes represented in his maternal grandfather or uncles, and the daughter after her paternal grandmother or aunt.
Current Application
Although it was mostly abandoned by psychologists in the years after Szondi's death, recent discoveries in evolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
might be bringing it back in a revised form, through the study of homogamy
Homogamy
-In sociology:Homogamy is marriage between individuals who are, in some culturally important way, similar to each other. Homogamy may be based on socio-economic status, class, gender, ethnicity, or religion...
and psychopathology
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
.