<p>The reason for desire or want or liking is Pleasure. Various people have various things to get pleasure:
from Money, from Power, from Love etc. etc.</p>

<p>But this pleasure is always based on comparison.
For ex: I may have money, power, wealth and love. I am satisfied with all these. When I encounter another person who has all these things but with another proportion, then I tend to "HAVE/POSSESS" that. The reason could be, "THAT" appears more pleasurable to me than what I have.</p>

<p>There is no absolute answer to this question 'Why man seeks pleasure? or Where it comes from?'. We may need to understand the nature of pleasure, how it occurs etc etc.
Read this <a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/research&amp;labs/berridge/publications/Kringelbach%20&amp;%20Berridge%202012%20Joyful%20mind%20Sci%20Am.pdf" rel="nofollow">link</a> and you may understand scientifically what is want/desire/liking/pleasure.</p>

<p>There is also a philosophical answer to your question which is related to mind. As put by Hindu philosophy, Mind always seeks pleasure. This pleasure, found in external things, is always in the form of self satisfaction. It feels happy with possession of things outside. </p>

<p>But once it turns inward and looks at itself, it understands its nature. This comes out of intelligence. Then it gradually seeks inner calmness rather external cravings. Resting in inner peace and calm is more happier and blissful to Mind. But it is under illusion that it finds pleasure in things in the external world. The reason being mind, as put by Hindu/Buddhist philosophers, identifies itself with the body and it thinks it has a separate individuality - "I", "ME","MINE". When there is a separation like this, automatically there is a comparison. When comparison exists, desire sprouts. 
You better read about mind in Google. Lot of notes and articles are there.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-25T09:20:15.610Z
Your statement "There is no absolute answer to this question 'Why man seeks pleasure? or Where it comes from?' " is factually incorrect. Please read the answer of Greg McNulty.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-01T06:46:17.907Z
2013-07-01T16:31:49.453Z
2013-07-01T16:31:49.453Z
Sai Krishna
<p>This is more along the lines of <strong>novelty</strong>.</p>

<p>As you mentioned, once you have it, you <strong>want</strong> something else you <strong>don't have</strong> and on and on and on it goes.</p>

<p>Reason being, once a subject acquires the object longed and desired for, the <strong>novelty</strong> level within the subject is diminished and must be refilled.</p>

<p>To be more specific, what needs to be refilled is dopamine. Novelty <a href="http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v12/n1/abs/ng0196-78.html">produces dopamine</a> and <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/9154232/reload=0;jsessionid=pUdY1KLBwCJgAhEdGgfn.10">dopamine is well know</a> as the brain's fuel driving satisfaction. So remove that and guess what your going to try to reproduce?</p>

<p>Check out:  </p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0805081313">Satisfaction: Sensation Seeking, Novelty, and the Science of Finding True Fulfillment</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/201006/what-does-novelty-mean">What Does “Novelty” Mean?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/is-happiness-having-what-you-want-wanting-what-you-have-or-both.html">Is Happiness Having What You Want, Wanting What You Have, or
Both?</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-26T13:20:33.413Z
Does hedonic adaptation play into this?
Pieter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-03T04:45:09.527Z
@pieter: not sure...but from reading the description seems like a different concept with some similar experiences.
Greg McNulty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-26T06:57:05.367Z
`Novelty produces dopamine` I bet this is linked to evolution and better chances of survival etc. Animals that are always in the same state will easier be hunt down than animals that always try new things and adapt.
Avatar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-03T00:46:27.937Z
2013-07-03T00:46:27.937Z
Greg McNulty
<p>Why we want things is a very broad question. As to why we specifically want things we don't have, I commented in jest that it does not make sense to want something you already have. Basically if you attach value to something you have, you would say that you “like” it, not that you “want” it but the distinction might not necessarily reflect a difference in some fundamental psychological process.</p>

<p>The immediate reason could be that these things provide us with “reward” or “pleasure” – which is certainly often true at a phenomenological level and can possibly be associated with specific brain structures – but that's not explaining much. As Greg mentioned, there are also many empirical results and theories suggesting that, to a point, we seek novelty and stimulation for their own sake. That could be a reason to want things specifically <em>because</em> we don't have them already or at least in part because we don't have them already. (The idea is very old and has been expressed in various ways, e.g. the Yerkes-Dodson law.)</p>

<p>On the specific point of regret and wanting to go back, one thing is that we are not always good at gauging how we will feel about something we have not experienced yet. Research on this goes under the name <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_forecasting" rel="nofollow">“affective forecasting”</a>. Once you have it/did it/experienced it, you might realize that it is not as good as you expected and reverse your decision (or not, incidentally). Also, the notion that we seek novelty implies that the novel stimulus will become less pleasurable with repetition (but the opposite process has also been observed, e.g. in “mere exposure” research). At some point, we might become “bored” and find any change attractive, even if it is to come back to something we tried before.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-04T07:26:02.640Z
2013-07-04T14:41:45.187Z
2013-07-04T14:41:45.187Z
Gala
<p>Most frequently people want a different version of what they already have or have liked in the past. That's why there are countless "clones" of video games, movies and books. </p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolidge_effect" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Coolidge Effect</a> explains why people devalue past sexual partners over time (as in your girlfriend example) and seek novel partners instead. </p>

<p>Another explanation is that people want whatever spikes their serotonin and dopamine reward systems the most. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GhPGO.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GhPGO.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-04T17:49:53.230Z
"Most frequently people want a different version of what they already have or have liked in the past. That's why there are countless "clones" of video games, movies and books." → Interesting. Can you provide more insights?
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-09-23T14:56:51.793Z
2020-05-26T17:58:11.063Z
2020-05-26T17:58:11.063Z
Alex Stone
<p>In economic terms this can also be defined in terms of marginal utility of a thing, experience etc (von Neumann and Morgenstern, 1944).
As soon as you have (enough of) something and/or got used to having it, something novel and/or relativelively scarce that might be useful will seem attractive. Maybe because it's evolutionary fit to strive for the optimal combination to increase pleasure.</p>

<p>von Neumann J, Morgenstern O. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton University Press; 1944.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-26T07:03:34.480Z
"... optimal combination to increase pleasure". Not pleasure but survival, I assume.
Avatar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-09-21T11:16:20.737Z
2020-06-04T17:45:02.700Z
2020-06-04T17:45:02.700Z
laurel and hardy
<p>There are many examples of people wanting what they don't have. For example, a single man may want to have a girlfriend, but after some time of having a girlfriend, he may want to be single again. Or for example, people in the city may want to live in the village and villagers may want to live in the city.</p>

<p><strong>What causes individuals to desire  something they don't have and once they have it we desire to have something else -- or something which we left behind a while ago -- again?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-30T01:39:47.480Z
Because it does not make sense to “want” something you already have?
Gala
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-30T14:16:05.627Z
[The grass is always greener on the other side...](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_grass_is_always_greener_on_the_other_side)
Josh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-03T10:39:27.843Z
Thanks for input... actually, it was meant to discuss exactly these alternatives. Why you incline to "go back" once you left something because you wanted to have something else.
tsykora
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-03T15:31:20.027Z
If had time I'd provide a more referenced answer, but once seeking behavior is procedural, dopamine responses become linked with the procedure of seeking itself (and then there's a let down if the object is not found).
Keegan Keplinger
<social-psychology><emotion><motivation><consumer-psychology>
Why do people want what they don't have now?
tsykora
# Why do people want what they don't have now?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-06-29)

There are many examples of people wanting what they don't have. For example, a single man may want to have a girlfriend, but after some time of having a girlfriend, he may want to be single again. Or for example, people in the city may want to live in the village and villagers may want to live in the city.

**What causes individuals to desire something they don't have and once they have it we desire to have something else -- or something which we left behind a while ago -- again?**

**Tags:** social-psychology, emotion, motivation, consumer-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Because it does not make sense to “want” something you already have?  
> **username_2**: [The grass is always greener on the other side...](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_grass_is_always_greener_on_the_other_side)  
> **username_0**: Thanks for input... actually, it was meant to discuss exactly these alternatives. Why you incline to "go back" once you left something because you wanted to have something else.  
> **username_3**: If had time I'd provide a more referenced answer, but once seeking behavior is procedural, dopamine responses become linked with the procedure of seeking itself (and then there's a let down if the object is not found).  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-07-01. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

The reason for desire or want or liking is Pleasure. Various people have various things to get pleasure:
from Money, from Power, from Love etc. etc.

But this pleasure is always based on comparison.
For ex: I may have money, power, wealth and love. I am satisfied with all these. When I encounter another person who has all these things but with another proportion, then I tend to "HAVE/POSSESS" that. The reason could be, "THAT" appears more pleasurable to me than what I have.

There is no absolute answer to this question 'Why man seeks pleasure? or Where it comes from?'. We may need to understand the nature of pleasure, how it occurs etc etc.
Read this [link](http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/research&labs/berridge/publications/Kringelbach%20&%20Berridge%202012%20Joyful%20mind%20Sci%20Am.pdf) and you may understand scientifically what is want/desire/liking/pleasure.

There is also a philosophical answer to your question which is related to mind. As put by Hindu philosophy, Mind always seeks pleasure. This pleasure, found in external things, is always in the form of self satisfaction. It feels happy with possession of things outside.

But once it turns inward and looks at itself, it understands its nature. This comes out of intelligence. Then it gradually seeks inner calmness rather external cravings. Resting in inner peace and calm is more happier and blissful to Mind. But it is under illusion that it finds pleasure in things in the external world. The reason being mind, as put by Hindu/Buddhist philosophers, identifies itself with the body and it thinks it has a separate individuality - "I", "ME","MINE". When there is a separation like this, automatically there is a comparison. When comparison exists, desire sprouts.
You better read about mind in Google. Lot of notes and articles are there.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Your statement "There is no absolute answer to this question 'Why man seeks pleasure? or Where it comes from?' " is factually incorrect. Please read the answer of username_6.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-07-03. Score: 12

This is more along the lines of **novelty**.

As you mentioned, once you have it, you **want** something else you **don't have** and on and on and on it goes.

Reason being, once a subject acquires the object longed and desired for, the **novelty** level within the subject is diminished and must be refilled.

To be more specific, what needs to be refilled is dopamine. Novelty [produces dopamine](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v12/n1/abs/ng0196-78.html) and [dopamine is well know](http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/9154232/reload=0;jsessionid=pUdY1KLBwCJgAhEdGgfn.10) as the brain's fuel driving satisfaction. So remove that and guess what your going to try to reproduce?

Check out:

* [Satisfaction: Sensation Seeking, Novelty, and the Science of Finding True Fulfillment](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0805081313)
* [What Does “Novelty” Mean?](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/201006/what-does-novelty-mean)
* [Is Happiness Having What You Want, Wanting What You Have, or
  Both?](http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/is-happiness-having-what-you-want-wanting-what-you-have-or-both.html)

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Does hedonic adaptation play into this?  
> **username_6**: @pieter: not sure...but from reading the description seems like a different concept with some similar experiences.  
> **username_8**: `Novelty produces dopamine` I bet this is linked to evolution and better chances of survival etc. Animals that are always in the same state will easier be hunt down than animals that always try new things and adapt.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-07-04. Score: 2

Why we want things is a very broad question. As to why we specifically want things we don't have, I commented in jest that it does not make sense to want something you already have. Basically if you attach value to something you have, you would say that you “like” it, not that you “want” it but the distinction might not necessarily reflect a difference in some fundamental psychological process.

The immediate reason could be that these things provide us with “reward” or “pleasure” – which is certainly often true at a phenomenological level and can possibly be associated with specific brain structures – but that's not explaining much. As Greg mentioned, there are also many empirical results and theories suggesting that, to a point, we seek novelty and stimulation for their own sake. That could be a reason to want things specifically *because* we don't have them already or at least in part because we don't have them already. (The idea is very old and has been expressed in various ways, e.g. the Yerkes-Dodson law.)

On the specific point of regret and wanting to go back, one thing is that we are not always good at gauging how we will feel about something we have not experienced yet. Research on this goes under the name [“affective forecasting”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_forecasting). Once you have it/did it/experienced it, you might realize that it is not as good as you expected and reverse your decision (or not, incidentally). Also, the notion that we seek novelty implies that the novel stimulus will become less pleasurable with repetition (but the opposite process has also been observed, e.g. in “mere exposure” research). At some point, we might become “bored” and find any change attractive, even if it is to come back to something we tried before.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2015-09-23. Score: 1

Most frequently people want a different version of what they already have or have liked in the past. That's why there are countless "clones" of video games, movies and books.

[Coolidge Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolidge_effect) explains why people devalue past sexual partners over time (as in your girlfriend example) and seek novel partners instead.

Another explanation is that people want whatever spikes their serotonin and dopamine reward systems the most.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/GhPGO.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/GhPGO.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: "Most frequently people want a different version of what they already have or have liked in the past. That's why there are countless "clones" of video games, movies and books." → Interesting. Can you provide more insights?  

---

### Answer by username_11 on 2015-09-21. Score: 1

In economic terms this can also be defined in terms of marginal utility of a thing, experience etc (von Neumann and Morgenstern, 1944).
As soon as you have (enough of) something and/or got used to having it, something novel and/or relativelively scarce that might be useful will seem attractive. Maybe because it's evolutionary fit to strive for the optimal combination to increase pleasure.

von Neumann J, Morgenstern O. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton University Press; 1944.

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: "... optimal combination to increase pleasure". Not pleasure but survival, I assume.  

---

