# What are \*your\* basic drives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 8, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925 "2004-08-08T21:11:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/1 "2004-08-08T21:11:52Z")
Every once in a while, psychology has some useful insights to offer. This is one of those rare occasions. šŸ™‚ From [USA Today](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2672_129/ai_74572221) > [@](#): > > There is nothing wrong with workaholics, schoolchildren who arenā€™t curious, or timid people, maintains Steven Reiss, professor of psychology and psychiatry, Ohio State University, Columbus, and the author of Who Am I?: The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Action and Define Our Personalities. While much of society may believe these people have problems that need to be fixed, he suggests they are probably happy just the way they are. They merely have personalities that donā€™t fit in with their critics. > > After conducting studies involving more than 6,000 people, Reiss has found that 16 basic desires guide nearly all meaningful behavior: power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility. ā€œThese desires are what drive our everyday actions and make us who we are. What makes individuals unique is the combination and ranking of these desires.ā€ > > He indicates that at least 14 of the 16 basic desires seem to have a genetic basis, (Only the desires for idealism and acceptance donā€™t.) ā€œMost of these desires are similar to those seen in animals, and seem to have some survival value. This indicates they are genetic in origin,ā€ Reiss notes. > > His theory contrasts with those of researchers who have tried to reduce all human behavior to just one or two basic desiresā€“such as pleasure, pain, or survivalā€“or say that there are some desires that everyone shares equally. In looking at how people differ in these 16 desires, Reiss argues that ā€œwe are individuals to a much greater extent than psychologists have previously realized.ā€ I suspect that many Dopers are, indeed, primarily driven by curiosity, with independence as a close second. However, I might be wrong, and Iā€™m very curious how different Dopers score on this test. Please take [the test](http://www.mindpub.com/art387.htm) below and list your scores ! [ol] [li]Curiosity. Do you have a thirst for knowledge? [/li][li]Acceptance. Do you have a hard time coping with criticism? [/li][li]Order. Does it upset you when things are out of place?[/li][li]Physical Activity: Is physical fitness very important to you? [/li][li]Honor: Are principles and loyalty very important to you? [/li][li]Power: Do you often seek leadership roles?[/li][li]Independence: Do you think you wonā€™t be happy if youā€™re not independent and self-reliant? [/li][li]Social contact: Do other people know you as a sociable and fun-loving person?[/li][li]Family: Does your family come first for you?[/li][li]Status: Are you impressed with people who own expensive things?[/li][li]Idealism: Compared with most people, are you more concerned with social causes? [/li][li]Vengeance: Is it very important for you to get even with those who insult or offend you? [/li][li]Romance: Is seeking and/or receiving love very important in your life? Here is an alternate question for people who are more inclined towards sex: Compared to your peers, do you spend much more time pursuing or having sex? [/li][li]Eating: Do you love to eat and often fantasize about food? [/li][li]Saving: Do you love to save for the future or hate to throw things away? [/li][li]Tranquility: Instead of noise and excitement, do you seek calm and tranquility? [/li][/ol] [QUOTE] \*\*How to score: \*\* If you are strongly motivated by that particular drive, rate it +3. If the motivation doesnā€™t interest you much one way or the other, rate it 0. If you really couldnā€™t care less, rate the motivation minus 3 You can rate drives minus 2 , minus 1, plus 1 or plus 2 accordingly. Try to be factual and objective in your evaluation. Sometimes, we think that a particular quality or value is important to us, but our actions indicate otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/2 "2004-08-08T21:17:54Z")
Okay, Iā€™ll go first: My strongest motivations (+3) are: Curiosity, Tranquillity, Acceptance, Loyalty and Idealism. I score lowest on: Family, Status, and Power. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/3 "2004-08-08T21:39:52Z")
I score highest on: Curiosity, Honor, Independence (all +3) and lowest on: Vengeance (-3), Status (-2) and Eating (-1) I think, though, itā€™s really hard to objectively evaluate yourself - I think we all want to score highest on the ones we see as the ā€˜bestā€™. Sure, we wonā€™t all see the same things as the best, but I bet that, for most of us, theyā€™re similar. Could be wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Love\_Coffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@Me\_Love\_Coffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Love_Coffee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/4 "2004-08-08T21:48:45Z")
Here are my drives: Strongest Scores: Honor, Order, Independence, Social Contact, Family, (Coffee!) Lowest Scores: Vegenance, Status, Saving I noticed that I would say, ā€œOh yeah, thats definitely me.ā€ Then when I thought twice about my _actions_ , I realized that it rated lower than I thought. I do agree though, **Lsura** , its hard to evaluate yourself objectively. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/5 "2004-08-08T22:05:34Z")
> [@Me\_Love\_Coffee](#): > > I noticed that I would say, ā€œOh yeah, thats definitely me.ā€ Then when I thought twice about my _actions_ , I realized that it rated lower than I thought. I do agree though, **Lsura** , its hard to evaluate yourself objectively. I agree, and for that reason itā€™s quite interesting to let somebody who knows you well, fill out the test for you. If the two scores are similar (2 points or less difference) then you are clear to others in your goals and values. Thatā€™s good thing, because being clear on whatā€™s important to you makes it easier to reach your goals. If you state firmly that youā€™re not very keen on Social Contact, for instance, hopefully people will stop dragging you to parties. I think the beauty of this system is that it doesnā€™t pass judgement on what should be important, but recognizes that people have different strengths and priorities. So much time and life-energy can be wasted pursuing someone elses priorities! ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/6 "2004-08-09T15:26:12Z")
By me, he missed a couple of major motivators, perhaps because theyā€™re so basic that they just didnā€™t occur to him. Physical comfort. Ease (laziness). The reason I mention them is that they are the strongest motivators in my life, unfortunately. But there isnā€™t _any_ one who doesnā€™t share these motivations in some aspect, to some extent. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/7 "2004-08-15T17:17:41Z")
**Oy!** I can see your point (those two would be high on my list as well) but laziness can also be seen as the absence of any drive. That would make it fall into another category alltogether. I just wanted to bump this thread, because Iā€™m **really** curious about the scores of other Dopers. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/8 "2004-08-15T22:04:34Z")
Curiosity +3 Acceptace 0 Order 0 Physical Activity -2 Honor +1 Power +2 Independence +2 Social Contact -1 Family +2 Status -3 Idealism -3 Vengeance -3 Romance +3 Eating -1 Saving +2 Tranquility +3 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/9 "2004-08-15T23:33:36Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > **Oy!** I can see your point (those two would be high on my list as well) but laziness can also be seen as the absence of any drive. That would make it fall into another category alltogether. What category? Seriously. I mean, what category of drive does having _no_ drive stronger than those of comfort and ease fall into? I mean, sure I have other drives. I value honor, family, tranquility, and lord knows, I value eating! In fact, with the exception of vengeance, thereā€™s nothing on that list that doesnā€™t attract me to some degree at least some of the time. But none of it ever wins _consistently_ over comfort and above all, ease. (Yes, I know this renders me pathetic, if not contemptible. But itā€™s what I am and at my age, 48, itā€™s highly unlikely Iā€™m going to change. So self-acceptance is pretty much the only option other than suicide Iā€™ve got.) ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/10 "2004-08-17T17:32:30Z")
The things I rated highest were curiosity, power, independence, idealism, romance and eating. Lowest was status. Thatā€™s right, I crave power but I donā€™t necessarily admire other people with ā€œstatusā€ or want it for myself. Iā€™m happy to have secret power! Like Batman! I can beat youā€¦if Iā€™m prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/11 "2004-08-17T18:11:58Z")
My only +3 was curiosity. +2ā€™s were order, power, independence, vengeance and romance. I guess iā€™m a lover _and_ a fighter. šŸ™‚ I had almost no minuses at all, and the ones I did have were only -1. My -1ā€™s were: status, saving and tranquility. Which is good because I donā€™t have any of those. šŸ˜ƒ Some of those questions were ambiguous of course. I donā€™t need expensive stuff, but I do value quality a lot, which tends to make me buy more expensive things. and I donā€™t love to eat so much as I love to cook, which means Iā€™ll be thinking about food (but about cooking it, not eating it.) Fun little evaluation anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/12 "2004-08-17T18:20:00Z")
My main drive is C:/ I also have A:/, D:/, sometimes even E:/ and F:/ Many years ago I had B:/ but that seems to have withered away. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/13 "2004-08-17T18:24:36Z")
Iā€™m sort of a whimsical pervert, so I guess my main drives are Warped and Impulse. What? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/14 "2004-08-17T18:40:40Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > My main drive is C:/ > > I also have A:/, D:/, sometimes even E:/ and F:/ > > Many years ago I had B:/ but that seems to have withered away. Damn you. You beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/15 "2004-08-17T18:51:54Z")
> [@Oy!](#): > > What category? Seriously. I mean, what category of drive does having _no_ drive stronger than those of comfort and ease fall into? > > I mean, sure I have other drives. I value honor, family, tranquility, and lord knows, I value eating! In fact, with the exception of vengeance, thereā€™s nothing on that list that doesnā€™t attract me to some degree at least some of the time. But none of it ever wins _consistently_ over comfort and above all, ease. (Yes, I know this renders me pathetic, if not contemptible. But itā€™s what I am and at my age, 48, itā€™s highly unlikely Iā€™m going to change. So self-acceptance is pretty much the only option other than suicide Iā€™ve got.) Well, first of all, I value tranquillity, which Iā€™ll lump in with ease, extremely highly as a personalitytrait. It takes a strong mind to be capable of amusing itself, without the world having to provide all sorts of entertainment and validation. Easy-loving people are usually capable of being happy while doing not much at all. In fact, they are creating contentment, comfort and happiness from scratch, and that is a talent undervalued mainly because you canā€™t _sell_ these people anything, and it is hard manipulating them into doing stuff. If they are left in peace, theyā€™re already happy just _being_, damn them. šŸ˜ƒ Secondly, the taxonomical classicification of psychologytraits is, to put it mildly, not yet finished, and subject of endless debate with a lot of squabbeling over definitions. But what the hell, my 2 cents on ease/comfort is that it is not comparable to the other traits, because it can occur combined with almost any other drive. The drives are the sort of music; your love of ease, or fanatism on the opposite end of the scale, can be compared to how loud the volume of the music is set. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/16 "2004-08-17T19:06:19Z")
1. Curiosity. +3 2. Acceptance.+3 3. Order. +3 4. Physical Activity: +1 5. Honor: +2 6. Power: -2 7. Independence: +1 8. Social contact: -3 9. Family: +2 2. Status: 0 3. Idealism: -2 4. Vengeance: +3 5. Romance: 0 6. Eating: +1 7. Saving: +3 8. Tranquility: +1 ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/17 "2004-08-17T19:14:40Z")
Wohoo! So far in our brave testgroup of seven, Curiosity scored high in ALL cases, and Status scored low. [Ace Ventura] Man, am I tired of being right. [/Ace Ventura] In defense of ā€œVengeanceā€, in another version of the test it is described as ā€œnot letting any injustices happen to youā€. ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/18 "2004-08-17T20:53:27Z")
> [@](#): > > He indicates that at least 14 of the 16 basic desires seem to have a genetic basis, (Only the desires for idealism and acceptance donā€™t.) ā€œAs the sun warms the body, So acceptance is the sunlight of the soul.ā€ Copyright Ā© 1977, E. F. G. ShĆ© Always liked that one. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/19 "2005-05-21T21:23:15Z")
My 3ā€™s were curiosity, honor, social contact, family, eating, and tranquility. My 0ā€™s were physical activity, power, status and vengeance. I guess love for eating and a distaste for much physical activity would explain my shape and weight, plus my incipient diabetes. My disregard for status and power and love of family and social contact probably explain why Iā€™m not President but get along with people pretty well. I get as angry as anyone when Iā€™ve been injured by someone, but I get over it quickly. Vengeance has no place in my life. I donā€™t know that an accumulation of any set of these desires actually makes for happiness as much as the pursuit of them. I think of happiness as a process and not an end. Happiness as an end is ā€œheaven,ā€ and I can think of nothing more boring than a place entirely free of stress and troubles. Working out difficulties in life is a kind of non-physical exercise that, to me at least, trumps physical exertion. For example, the mental exercise of reading and posting on the SDMB rates far higher with me than a trip to the gym. Iā€™ll probably die thinking so. And probably sooner than a more athletic type. Thatā€™s okay. Whether happiness is important is for every individual to answer. If itā€™s the process, then I think it is important. If happiness is an end, it holds no importance for me. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925/20 "2005-05-21T21:36:45Z")
Curiosity +3 Acceptance +2 Order +1 Physical Activity -3 Honor 0 Power -1 Independence 0 Social contact -3 Family +1 Status -2 Idealism +3 Vengeance -2 Romance -3 Eating -3 Saving +2 Tranquility +3 Highest: Curiosity, Idealism, Tranquility Lowest: Physical Activity, Social Contact, Romance, Eating [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-basic-drives/258925.md?page=2)