[Psychobiology of motivation and organization of psychological aspects from the viewpoint of a hierarchical model].

Expressly leaving aside the classical Freudian theory of instinctual drives, itself largely based on obsolete biological models, and drawing on Lichtenberg's theory of motivation, Gedo outlines a five-stage motivation model encompassing both pre-programmed biological patterns and those acquired via learning and experience. With reference to brief examples from clinical practice the author describes how human behaviour can derive from various motives, thus making it essential to go beyond Freud's theory of libido. To do justice to the complexity of the phenomenon, he introduces a hierarchical schema taking account of the interaction between various motivations, the ways in which they may conflict and ultimately the ways in which they may best be reconciled.