ABSTRACT
A moment's thought will cause us to realise that, as the instincts are diverse in their aims, they may sometimes find themselves in opposition to one another. This condition is known to psychologists as conflict, wherein one instinct can only be gratified at the expense of another. Here we see a conflict between the self-preservation and herd instinct, for if he steals, he may lose his place in the herd, and if he does not steal, he may lose his life. The man may think the whole matter out, and, acting according to his nature, give the victory to one or other of the combatants, leaving the vanquished instinct to seek adjustment as best it may. Repression and dissociation are two terms in modern psychological parlance, and the writer has often heard them used as if they were interchangeable terms, but this is not the case.
