need theories

Meaning: Need theories say people act to fix a lack. Two versions appear on the exam. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, usually drawn as a pyramid, runs from physiological needs (food, water, sleep) to safety, love and belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization. Lower needs generally must be reasonably met before higher ones dominate behavior. Drive-reduction theory (Hull) says a biological need produces an internal state of tension, the drive, which pushes behavior that reduces it and restores homeostasis.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a person, for example someone who is unemployed, worried about rent, and has stopped attending social groups, and asks which level of the hierarchy is driving behavior. The usual prediction is that when a lower need is threatened, pursuit of higher needs declines. Drive-reduction questions ask how a drive such as hunger or thirst changes after the need is met. You may also be asked to contrast need theories with instinct, arousal, incentive, and self-determination theories.

Common confusion: Students treat the pyramid as a rigid ladder with no exceptions, but people sometimes pursue higher goals while lower needs are unmet. Students also mix up need and drive: the need is the lack, and the drive is the resulting tension. Drive reduction cannot easily explain thrill-seeking, which arousal theory addresses, or pursuit of external rewards, which incentive theory addresses.