NEEDS:

A need is an innate necessity of some kind that is essential for the survival of a living being. Some
are urgent that require to be fulfilled immediately. Some are not so urgent.

Drives:

An Uncomfortable state that forces us to fulfil an unmet need. Drives are innate and have
physiological basis. They are activated by deprivation of a need and their aim is satisfaction of that
need.

Motives:

Motives are the way we choose to fulfil our unmet needs. Motives are learned and are socially
acquired. They are activated by our environment and they aim at stimulation.

Examples:

Let us explain the difference between these three through some examples.

Scenario 1:

A person has not had any water for 10+ hours and is now experiencing discomfort.

Need:

The person needs water in order to survive

Drive:

Because of the unmet need of water, the person is experiencing discomfort, so, the drive will be
thirst.

Motive:

For fulfilling this need, the person gets up and goes to the fridge to drink some water. The motive
here will be that the person wants water.

Scenario 2:

A student has been preparing for his upcoming test and has not slept since 2 days and is now
experiencing extreme discomfort.

Need:

The student needs to sleep to survive and get himself out of his discomfort.

Drive:

The student is experiencing extreme discomfort because of lack of sleep. So the drive here would be
drowsiness or dizziness.

Motive:

To fulfil his need, he goes to his bed to sleep. So, the motive here would be that he wants to sleep.

Scenario 3:

I have not eaten anything for 3 days.

Need:

Need for food

Drive:

Will be Hunger

Motive:

I will cook something for myself. My motive would be that I want food.

Q2 difference between primary and secondary drives

Drives:

Forces that propel us to work towards fulfilling our unmet needs. People are motivated by drives.
Multiple drives can exist at the same time. The fulfilment of our drive acts as a reinforcement and
we act in the same manner as we did to fulfil our desire when the same drive arises again. There are
two types of drives.

 Primary drives
 Secondary drives

Primary drives

These drives are inborn or biological in nature that require to be fulfilled in order for the living being
to survive. They have a physiologically basis. Primary drives are the basic drives. Primary drives
make an organism physically uncomfortable and the fulfilment of our primary needs leads to the
relief of that discomfort. These are not learned or acquired, but are instinctive in nature

Examples include

 Hunger
 Thirst
 Sexual desires
 Oxygen
 Sleep
 Shelter
 Temperature
 Avoidance of pain
 Elimination

Secondary drives:

These are psychological, social or personal drives. They are not innate or essential for survival. They
are often connected to identity or social factors. These are learned or acquired through experience.
For example, wealth has no value for an infant, however, as he grows up, he learns the importance
of money and desires it in the later stage of his life. Secondary drives are often connected with
primary drives, so that their fulfilment leads to the indirect fulfilment of primary drives. For
example: the desire to be wealthy is not a primary drive, however, it leads to the satisfaction of
many primary drives like hunger and shelter. Secondary drives can be learned through classical
conditioning, a process in which individual learns a behaviour through stimulus and response
relationship. These drives are not basic. Secondary drives do not make an organism physically
uncomfortable instead, psychological tension arises because of these drives

Examples:

 Wealth
 Affiliation
 Power
 Achievement
 Relationship
 Creativity
 Curiosity