The 16 basic desires

and learn; and after a while we become curious about something else. The life motive Relationships also has a recurrent nature: we are bored, we get in touch with others for a while; then we want to be alone for a while; we feel bored again and seek companionship again.

In summary, we have presented you with the first scientifically derived systematics of universal motives and psychological needs. Our taxonomy of 16 life motives has about 50 percent overlap with the lists of needs presented by McDougall, Murray, and others. We believe that the 16 life motives are genetic in origin and recurrent in nature.

The five characteristics of the 16 life motives

Examining the 16 life motives leads me to the following conclusions:

Universal goals

Jedes einzelne Lebensmotiv auszuleben ist ein allgemein gültiges Ziel für jeden Menschen und tief verwurzelt in der menschlichen Natur. Die 16 allgemein gültigen Ziele sind folgende:

Avoidance of failure and rejection

Realization

Food intake

Reproduction

Strength of character

Justice

Freedom

Structure

Muscle training

Influence on others

Sexuality

Gathering

Togetherness

Respect

Security

Revenge

Life Motives

A life motive can only be satisfied temporarily. Already hours or at the latest days after a life motive has been temporarily satisfied, it becomes virulent again and influences our behavior anew. After we have eaten, for example, it is only a matter of hours before we get hungry again. When we have satisfied our curiosity about one subject, sooner or later we become curious about another. Since life motives can only be satisfied temporarily, they motivate us from our youth into adulthood. People show significant stability in their motivation from their youth into adulthood. (cf. Reiss & Havercamp, 2005).

Intrinsic motivation

People pursue their life motives solely because they want to. Thus, the life motive order motivates us to organize our lives because we intrinsically value structure, while the life motive recognition motivates us to avoid criticism because we intrinsically value recognition.

Intrinsic motivation means to act in accordance with our own basic values. to handle.

Core values

Individuals differ significantly in the value they place on each of the 16 life motives. For example, athletes generally place a significantly higher value on physical activity than the average person. Intellectuals, on the other hand, place a significantly higher value on intellect than the average person.Life motives motivate everyone to express their core values. Once again, life motives (intrinsic motives) can be broken down to two components: What is aspired to (the universal goal) and how much it is aspired to (the individual‘s value determination with respect to the universal goal). We do not strive for a limitless experience with each of the universal goals. Instead, we seek to give expression to our value determinations.

We are a species that by nature strives, to assert our core values.

Intrinsic motives and core values are so closely linked that we can infer core values from intrinsic motives; and we can infer intrinsic motives from core values. Knowing that I get intrinsic from having a good family life, we can infer that I think parenthood and children are important. If one knows that Peterson is intrinsically motivated by honor, one can infer that Peterson highly values character of integrity. Even Aristotle (1953/330 BCE) knew of the close connection between values and motives. His book on motivation was entitled „The Nicomachean Ethics.“ Moreover, over a long period of time philosophical studies on motivation were classified as ethical philosophy.

Intrinsic motives and basic values are closely interconnected connected: We can infer basic values from intrinsic motives; we can infer intrinsic motives from basic values.

Psychological significance

A motive must have psychological significance to be considered a life motive. This requirement allows us to ignore those universal motives that have no relevance in terms of personality and relationships. Although the human body is motivated to maintain a certain body temperature, I excluded homeostasis from my taxonomy of life motives because it has nothing to do with psychology. I point out again that excluding the insignificant is a common scientific practice, like excluding Pluto from the list of planets.

We can use our knowledge regarding a person‘s needs to predict