According to McDougall, every instinct is associated with

Concept

William McDougall's hormic (instinct) theory holds that every instinct is a goal-directed inborn disposition built from three inseparable aspects: a cognitive aspect (knowing or perceiving an object), an affective aspect (a feeling or emotion the object arouses), and a conative aspect (the urge to act towards or away from it). Of these three, McDougall regarded the affective core — the emotion — as the central, unchanging element of each instinct.

Application

Because the knowing and the acting can vary with the situation while the feeling stays fixed, McDougall paired each instinct with one specific emotion. Classic pairings he gave include:

• Instinct of escape — emotion of fear

• Instinct of pugnacity (combat) — emotion of anger

• Instinct of curiosity — emotion of wonder

• Parental instinct — emotion of tenderness

So the element that every instinct is permanently associated with is its emotion.

Cross-check / contrast

Cognition and sensation describe how the object is registered, and thinking is a higher learned reasoning activity — none of these is the fixed component McDougall tied to an instinct. The constant, defining link is the emotional (affective) core, so the associated element is emotion.