The primary purpose of the instinctual life at all evolutionary levels seems clearly directed toward survival, though the complexities of man's psychic life tend at times to obscure this basic fact. Behavior patterns evolve as adaptive

mechanisms. Lorenz's work on birds, fish, and some animals stresses that their behavior patterns are as intrinsic to the individual as are his teeth or his claws. One such pattern among some species is the assumption of a role of utter submission when almost vanquished in mortal combat with a member of one's own species: under such conditions the victor, able and apparently ready to inflict the final killing blows, fails to do so, inhibits his aggression, and the wounded and beaten one is allowed to survive. Analogous behavior is seen in the assumption by infants of a submissive role which elicits new warmth from a mother who was previously relatively ungiving to a degree threatening psychic, and perhaps physical, survival. This psychic attitude of submissiveness is the forerunner of moral masochism.