Drive-reduction

Meaning: Drive-reduction theory (associated with Clark Hull) says that a biological need, such as a lack of food, water or warmth, produces an aroused, uncomfortable state called a drive. The organism acts to reduce the drive, which returns the body toward homeostasis. Reducing the drive is reinforcing, so behaviors that succeeded in satisfying a need are more likely to be repeated. Drive is thus a "push" from within.

On the MCAT: Passages contrast motivation theories. Expect to match a scenario to the right theory. A person who eats lunch because their stomach is empty and they feel tense fits drive-reduction. A person who eats dessert when full, or who climbs a mountain for the challenge, fits incentive theory (a "pull" from external rewards) or arousal theory (seeking an optimal level of arousal) better. Questions may also ask you to place drive-reduction among instinct theory, incentive theory, arousal theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Common confusion: Students treat a drive as the same thing as a need. A need is the physiological deficit; the drive is the psychological state of arousal it produces. Another trap is assuming the theory explains all behavior. It struggles with behaviors that increase arousal or are not tied to a deficit, such as curiosity, thrill-seeking and eating when not hungry. Those are what arousal and incentive theories were developed to explain.