538 Part VI Learning-Cognitive Theories
on oneself, and to attain goals without the help of others. Declining help in repair-
ing a bicycle could demonstrate the need for independence.Protection-Dependency A set of needs nearly opposite independence are those
of protection and dependency. This category includes the needs to be cared for by
others, to be protected from frustration and harm, and to satisfy the other need
categories. A specific example of protection-dependency is asking your spouse to
stay home from work and take care of you when you are ill.Love and Affection Most people have strong needs for love and affection: that
is, needs for acceptance by others that go beyond recognition and status to include
some indications that other people have warm, positive feelings for them. The
needs for love and affection include those behaviors aimed toward securing friendly
regard, interest, and devotion from others. Doing favors for others in anticipation
of receiving verbal expressions of positive regard and gratitude might be an exam-
ple of this need.Physical Comfort Physical comfort is perhaps the most basic need because other
needs are learned in relation to it. This need includes those behaviors aimed at
securing food, good health, and physical security. Other needs are learned as an
outgrowth of needs for pleasure, physical contact, and well-being. Turning on the
air conditioner or hugging another person are examples of the need for physical
comfort.Need Components
A need complex has three essential components—need potential, freedom of move-
ment, and need value—and these components are analogous to the more specific
concepts of behavior potential, expectancy, and reinforcement value (Rotter,
Chance, & Phares, 1972).Need Potential Need potential (NP) refers to the possible occurrence of a set of
functionally related behaviors directed toward satisfying the same or similar goals.
Need potential is analogous to the more specific concept of behavior potential. The
difference between the two is that need potential refers to a group of functionally
related behaviors, whereas behavior potential is the likelihood that a particular
behavior will occur in a given situation in relation to a specific reinforcement.
Need potential cannot be measured solely through observation of behavior.
If different people are seen behaving in apparently the same manner—for example,
eating in a fancy restaurant—one should not conclude that they are all satisfying
the same need potential. One person may be satisfying the need for physical com-
fort, that is, food; another may be more interested in love and affection; and the
third person may be trying primarily to satisfy the need for recognition-status.
Probably any of the six broad needs could be satisfied by eating in this restaurant.
Whether or not one’s need potential is realized, however, depends not only on the
value or preference one has for that reinforcement but also on one’s freedom of
movement in making responses leading to that reinforcement.