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Murray's Needs

Explanations > Needs > Murray's Needs

Ambition | Materialistic | Power | Status | Affection | Information | So What?

This is the list of 'psychogenic' needs identified in Explorations in Personality, edited by Henry A. Murray in 1938. They are divided into five groups.

Ambition needs

Need	Definition
Achievement	To accomplish difficult tasks, overcoming obstacles and achieving expertize.
Exhibition	To impress others through one's actions and words, even if what is said or done is shocking.
Recognition	To show achievements to others and gain recognition for these.

Materialistic needs

Need	Definition
Acquisition	To acquire things.
Retention	To keep things that have been acquired.
Order	To make things clean, neat and tidy.
Construction	To make and build things.

Power needs

Need	Definition
Abasement	To surrender and submit to others, accept blame and punishment. To enjoy pain and misfortune.
Aggression	To forcefully overcome an opponent, controlling, taking revenge or punishing them.
Autonomy	To break free from constraints, resisting coercion and dominating authority. To be irresponsible and independent.
Blame avoidance	To not be blamed for things done.
Contrariance	To oppose the attempted persuasion of others.
Deference	To admire a superior person, praising them and yielding to them and following their rules.
Dominance	To control one's environment, controlling other people through command or subtle persuasion.
Harm avoidance	To escape or avoid pain, injury and death.
Infavoidance	To avoid being humiliated or embarrassed.

Status defense needs

Need	Definition
Counteraction	To make up for failure by trying again, pridefully seeking to overcome obstacles.
Defendance	To defend oneself against attack or blame, hiding any failure of the self.
Infavoidance	To avoid being humiliated or embarrassed.

Affection needs

Need	Definition
Affiliation	To be close and loyal to another person, pleasing them and winning their friendship and attention.
Nurturance	To help the helpless, feeding them and keeping them from danger.
Play	To have fun, laugh and relax, enjoying oneself.
Rejection	To separate oneself from a negatively viewed object or person, excluding or abandoning it.
Sex	To form relationship that lead to sexual intercourse.
Succourance	To have one's needs satisfied by someone or something. Includes being loved, nursed, helped, forgiven and consoled.

Information needs

Need	Definition
Cognizance	To seek knowledge and ask questions about things in order to understand.
Exposition	To provide information educate others.

Murray also differentiated between physiological primary needs, such as for food and water, and secondary needs, which are more psychological.

So What?

So find out whether the other person has these needs in any form, and help to satisfy them in exchange for what you want of them.

You can also stimulate any of them to create tension.

Reference

Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in Personality. New York: Oxford University Press

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Site Menu

| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings |

Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories |

Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help |

More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes |

Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate |

Please help and share:

Quick links

Disciplines

* Argument
* Brand management
* Change Management
* Coaching
* Communication
* Counseling
* Game Design
* Human Resources
* Job-finding
* Leadership
* Marketing
* Politics
* Propaganda
* Rhetoric
* Negotiation
* Psychoanalysis
* Sales
* Sociology
* Storytelling
* Teaching
* Warfare
* Workplace design

Techniques

* Assertiveness
* Body language
* Change techniques
* Closing techniques
* Conversation
* Confidence tricks
* Conversion
* Creative techniques
* General techniques
* Happiness
* Hypnotism
* Interrogation
* Language
* Listening
* Negotiation tactics
* Objection handling
* Propaganda
* Problem-solving
* Public speaking
* Questioning
* Using repetition
* Resisting persuasion
* Self-development
* Sequential requests
* Storytelling
* Stress Management
* Tipping
* Using humor
* Willpower

Principles

Explanations

* Behaviors
* Beliefs
* Brain stuff
* Conditioning
* Coping Mechanisms
* Critical Theory
* Culture
* Decisions
* Emotions
* Evolution
* Gender
* Games
* Groups
* Habit
* Identity
* Learning
* Meaning
* Memory
* Motivation
* Models
* Needs
* Personality
* Power
* Preferences
* Research
* Relationships
* SIFT Model
* Social Research
* Stress
* Trust
* Values

Theories

* Alphabetic list
* Theory types

And

– About
– Guest Articles
– Blog!
– Books
– Changes
– Contact
– Guestbook
– Quotes
– Students
– Webmasters

| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links |

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