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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
08:05
A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
Self-poisoning of the mind
1Chaire de Rationalité et Sciences Sociales, Collège de France, France. jon.elster@college-de-france.fr
Summary
This study explores psychological mechanisms that lead individuals to self-sabotage, moving beyond rational choice theory. It examines counterwishful thinking and self-poisoning driven by amour-propre.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Philosophy
Background:
- Rational-choice theory posits individuals optimize behavior.
- Hedonic mechanisms like wishful thinking explain some irrationality.
- This paper introduces self-detrimental psychic mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and analyze psychic mechanisms that negatively impact individual well-being.
- To extend beyond existing models of irrational behavior.
- To explore the role of amour-propre in self-sabotage.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of psychological theories.
- Examination of counterwishful thinking and counteradaptive preferences.
- Literary analysis, drawing on Marcel Proust's work, particularly concerning amour-propre.
Main Results:
- Identified psychic mechanisms that actively make individuals worse off.
- Demonstrated how counterwishful thinking and counteradaptive preferences function.
- Highlighted the concept of mental self-poisoning through amour-propre.
Conclusions:
- Psychic mechanisms can lead to self-detrimental outcomes, challenging purely optimizing models of behavior.
- Amour-propre plays a significant role in self-sabotaging mental processes.
- Further research into these self-defeating psychological phenomena is warranted.
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