Theory of needs

Murray believed that human action is motivated largely by needs. Those needs are
mostly unconscious, and they influence and drive human behavior. He defined need as a "potentiality
or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances. It is a noun which stands
for the fact that a certain trend is apt to recur" (Murray 1938 p. 124).
Murray assumed that the human natural state is a state of disequilibrium, and that is why people have
needs—to satisfy the lack of something. He divided needs into:
1. Primary needs (biological needs)—need for food, water, air, avoidance of pain.
2. Secondary needs (psychological needs, or as Murray called them—the "psychogenic" needs).
Murray listed 27 psychogenic needs:
Inanimate: Not endowed with life, Appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible
pulse
 Abasement: To surrender and accept punishment
 Achievement: To overcome obstacles and succeed
 Acquisition: To obtain possessions
 Affiliation: To make associations and friendships
 Aggression: To injure others
 Autonomy: To resist others and stand strong
 Blame avoidance: To avoid blame and obey the rules
 Construction: To build or create
 Contrariance: To be unique
 Counteraction: To defend honor
 Cognizance: To seek knowledge and ask questions about things in order to understand.

 Defendance: To justify actions

 Deference: To follow a superior, to serve
 Dominance: To control and lead others
 Exhibition: To attract attention
 Exposition: To provide information, educate
 Harm avoidance: To avoid pain
 Infavoidance: To avoid failure, shame, or to conceal a weakness
 Nurturance: To protect the helpless
 Order: To arrange, organize, and be precise
 Play: To relieve tension, have fun, or relax
 Recognition: To gain approval and social status
 Rejection: To exclude another
 Sentience: To enjoy sensuous impressions
 Sex: To form and enjoy an erotic relationship
 Similance: To empathize
 Succorance: To seek protection or sympathy
 Understanding: To analyze and experience, to seek knowledge
Murray also developed the concepts of:
 latent needs—needs not openly displayed
 manifest needs—needs observed in people's actions
 "press"—external influences on motivation
 "thema"—"a pattern of press and need that coalesces around particular interactions."
Murray's 27 needs and the forces that "press" them have been supported by research. Three of them
have been the focus of significant study: the need for Power, Affiliation, and Achievement.