Not for the faint of heart. But if you are interested in thinking about the motivation behind extreme body modification, watch Modify (2005) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455980/ (available streaming and on dvd at Netflix), and then use your textbook as a reference to discuss and analyze this documentary.
Image: http://plasticsergeant.com/files/picture/procedure/bodymodification13089.jpg
Pure interest drove me watch this video, and despite the constant horrified look I had on my face it was a very interesting movie. What many of these people do to themselves is almost unfathomable, and to truly understand why these people alter thair bodies in such dramatic ways seems impossible. It's amazing yet sad that people are so unsatisfied with the way they appear they go to extreme's by putting peices of metal under their skin, getting tattoes to make them look like animals, splitting their tongue in half, etc. as illustrated in the video.
The first thing I thought of while watching the video is that many of these people suffer from body dismorphic disorder. Many people with the disorder will develop eating disorders, depression, social anxiety. The people portrayed in the video changed the way they looked or felt using un-natural, and unconventional ways.
One person in the video mentioned that altering his physical appearance gave him a sense of control. Our textbook mentions that people with a high desire for control will acheive higher and more difficult tasks. This could help explain why people are motivated to hang in the air with four hooks in their back, or why they want to do things to their bodies that have never been done before (as many people in the video have done).
Towards the end of the video some people said what they do can be attributed to an addiction. Some people have drinking and smoking, many of these people attribute their addiction to the natural realease of endorphins when they experience pain.
First of all, bad idea to eat lunch while watching this one. Not that there is anything I haven't seen before, but some is a little disturbing to look at (I'm thinking of the penis piercing). Essentially what I took out of this is that body modification is something all of us do. There are socially accepted methods (dieting, some plastic surgery, some tattoos), and those that are seen as strange or taboo (body implants, facial tattoos, tongue splitting). The most interesting part was when they discussed the distinction between modification and mutilation. It is clear that the people who take it to the extremes often see it as a personal challenge to overcome and/or an expression of their own creativity. All of them would agree that the proper precautions need to be taken in order to prevent infection or other unintended consequences. All in all, the level of body modification that could constitute mutilation seemed relative.
As far as motives, I’m not sure what would provide an initial motivation for getting involved in body modification, but maybe something as innocuous as getting a piercing or tattoo could be the spark. Affiliation seems to be an obvious motive to continue. However, it seems a little too simplistic because there are a lot of other avenues for affiliation that would be considered socially acceptable and not painful. Perhaps they were already feeling unaccepted and this provided a method of acceptance. All in all it seemed the concept of engagement fit best for these people. Body modification for these people appears to involve all three aspects of engagement: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Obviously, for these types of procedures to be successful it takes a large amount of behavioral attention and effort. Some of the grander plans (tiger man) include more behavioral persistence than others. The process of modification is enjoyable for these people having transformed their bodies into their own works of art, which makes them feel good. Coming up with new things to try and laying out extended plans for modification express a cognitive engagement that requires the thoughtful planning they all expressed. This is also part of making sure it is something they will not regret (at least in the foreseeable future). As QuinnB mentioned, I'm sure there is probably a physiological aspect to it (endorphins). However, I think it is likely that such a high level of engagement is a major influence in maintaining the desire to engage in these kinds of behaviors.
Oh I forgot to mention that people are now doing eyeball tattooing. The video mentioned it(I think it was tiger man), but it wasn't available yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK1UbKaHX6E&feature=related