Drives, Needs, and
Awareness
Chapter 8
I. Drives and Needs as Internal Sources
of Motivation
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A. Interaction between Internal and External Sources of Motivation
The likelihood of behavior depends on the interaction between the strength
of an internal motive and an external incentive.
B. Physiological Needs and Psychological Drives
1. Need as the Physiological Basis for Motivation
A need is an internal condition that has deviated from a physiological ideal
and pushes the organism into action.
2. Hull’s Drive Theory
Drive is the persistent internal pushing action of physiological need. It
energizes behavior and has a unique feel used to guide behavior.
3. Drives Unrelated to Needs
Curiosity drive: this develops when an animal is exposed to novel stimuli
that arouse interest.
Boredom drive: It is produced by unvarying stimulus conditions and new
stimuli are sought to reduce this drive.
I. Drives and Needs as Internal Sources
of Motivation
• C. Characteristics of Psychological Needs
– 1. Activating Psychological Needs
• Psychological needs: this preexisting need has no known
underlying physiology and is dormant until activated.
• Redintegration: the process by which a stimulus
activates a psychological need.
– 2. Psychological Needs as Incentive Categories
• Needs are merely the names of categories of incentives
that provide the same kind of satisfactory experiences.
– 3. Using Needs to Explain Behavior
• First, psychologists measure the intensity of a need with
a valid psychological scale. Second, the need-scale
scores are correlated with need-relevant behaviors.
I. Drives and Needs as Internal Sources
of Motivation
• D. Maslow’s Theory of Needs
– 1. Need Hierarchy
• Physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and selfactualization needs are arranged according to their
demand for satisfaction.
– 2. Research on Need Hierarchy
• Evidence for Maslow's theory is mixed although the
theory is a good way of categorizing needs.
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• A. Achievement Motivation
• Need to achieve or motive to achieve success (Ms) is a
disposition to engage in task-oriented or achievement behavior;
to do it well with a high internal standard of excellence.
– 1. Measuring Need to Achieve
• Responses to Thematic Apperception Test pictures are scored
for competition with a standard of excellence, a unique
accomplishment, and long-term involvement. Strength of the
responses depends on the strength of the need and the
intensity of the pictures instigating force.
– 2. Need to Achieve and Need to Avoid Failure
• Motive to avoid failure (Maf): this inhibits achievement behavior
and is characterized by anxiety and fear of failing a task.
– 3. Achievement Motivation Theory
• Achievement behavior depends on the strength of Ms, Maf, the
incentive value of success and of failure, and the probability of
success and of failure
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• B. Research on Achievement Motivation
– 1. Differences in Achievement Preferences
• The tendency to approach a task is an inverted-U function of
the probability of success (highest at p = 0.5). The tendency to
avoid is a U function of the probability of success (avoid
strongest at p = 0.5).
– 2. Achievement Motivation and Behavioral Persistence
• Ms > Maf individuals persist longer at a task than Ms < Maf
ones.
• C. Hierarchical Model of Achievement Motivation
• According to this model, an achievement motive links to a
mastery goal (learn, understand) and to a performanceapproach goal (outperform others). A fear-of-failure motive also
links to the performance-approach goal and to a performanceavoidance goal (worry about doing badly).
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• D. Need for Power
– 1. Measuring Need for Power
• The power motive means to influence others, be in
charge, or have a high status. TAT pictures are used to
activate and measure this need.
– 2. Characteristics of Need for Power
• These include running for office, teacher, executive,
psychologist, write letters to editor, own trappings of
power, and exploit others.
– 3. Expressing Need for Power
• High need for power individuals are more likely to be in
successful occupations that allow for the legitimate
exercise of power.
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• E. Need for Cognition
• This need refers to a desire to understand one's
experiences by thinking about them.
• Attitude polarization: high need-for-cognition individuals
are less likely to change attitudes since they think about
both sides of an issue.
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• F. Self-esteem, Relatedness, Autonomy, and
Competence
• Self esteem: you are a worthy person as good as others.
• Relatedness: you have intimate contact with people you
care about and who care about you.
• Autonomy: you are the cause of your actions rather than
at the mercy of external forces or pressures.
• Competence: capable and effective in your actions; not
incompetent.
II. Some Important Psychological Needs
• G. Need for Affiliation and Intimacy
• Need for affiliation is same as need for relatedness and is
motive to establish, maintain, or restore positive social
relationships.
– 1. Measurement and Characteristics of Need for Affiliation
• TAT cards measure this need and show statements about
loneliness or ways of preserving social relationships.
– 2. Needing People in Different Ways
• We need others to alleviate negative feelings, for attention, to
promote positive interactions, and for social comparison.
– 3. Intimacy Motive
• This emphasizes positive feelings that exist between
individuals; not thealleviation of anxiety from the absence of
relationship.
III. Motivation without Awareness
• A. Reflexology
• It assumes that all human action consists of reflexive actions to
external stimuli and not in response to thought or intention.
• B. Auto-Motive Hypothesis
• Environmental stimuli can activate motives, goals, and accompanying
strategies without person being aware of the source of activation.
– 1. Priming Achievement Behavior
• A high-performance goal can be primed non-consciously, which affects
achievement behavior in a puzzle solving situation.
– 2. Priming an Action
• A motive toward rudeness can be primed non-consciously and affect
the likelihood of interrupting another person. Non-conscious priming a
stereotype of the elderly resulted in walking slower.
– 3. Imperceptive Effects of Mimicry
• Being mimicked without being aware of it increases a person's liking of
the mimicker and increases the smooth of social interaction.
– 4. Implication of Non-conscious Need Activation
• The likelihood of a need being activated and acted upon without a
person's awareness depends on the intensity of the dormant need and
the strength of the initiating circumstances.