ABSTRACT
In human beings much behaviour which is commonly thought of as instinctive—including sexual behaviour—is so diverse, ranging from one extreme to the other, that the description ‘instinctive’ has little practical application. Children therefore have to learn how to ‘handle’ each other, and that this is different from handling ‘things’. So by their very nature children must experience both acceptance and rejection, positive and negative feelings from and towards other people. They must experience both love and hate in the process of growing up. It is this duality which provides the basis for both social and anti-social behaviour. Parents and nurses show their love and affection for their babies from the moment they are born, by physical acts of nursing, rocking and playing, as well as by supplying all their needs. Conditioning babies by pain and fear has been one of the methods used by parents for centuries.
