General Drives In Psychology

Like biological drives general drives are also innate drives, however they differ from biological drives as they do not operate on the principle of homeostasis.

Some of the main general drives include the curiosity drive, the activity drive and the affectional drive.

The Curiosity Drive

The curiosity drive causes us to seek new information and experiences from the world around us.

This drive is first evident in young infants who are continuously exploring their surroundings with their eyes, hands and mouth.

The curiosity drive is very important for keeping the brain healthy, as the brain relies on exposure to new stimuli in order to grow and develop. 

If we were not curious, the brain would not get enough stimulation and would eventually begin to atrophy.

This is exactly what happens in certain mental disorders such as depression, or neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Triggering Curiosity

Our curiosity drive is triggered by a change of stimulation, such as when we are exposed to something we have never seen before in our lifetime.

If we are exposed to the same thing over and over, we become bored of it very quickly because familiar things are not good at stimulating the brain.

A good example of the curiosity drive occurs with “freak shows”, where people pay money to see other people with strange deformities. 

What you will notice in these people (and probably yourself) is that upon first seeing the “freak” they will stare with their eyes and mouth open as though they were fixed in trance.

It’s almost like the brain is opening up the senses to their maximum capacity, so that it receives as much information about this novel stimulus as possible.

Some people may become fixed in this trance so deeply, that they do not even hear you when you try speaking to them.

Sensory Deprivation

The need of the brain to be stimulated by information and experience is so dramatic that in some cases it can cause you to see or hear things which do not really exist.

One way to demonstrate this is in a sensory deprivation tank, which can minimise or eliminate information entering the brain via your senses.

People who have been in sensory deprivation tanks have reported experiencing both visual and auditory hallucinations. It’s almost like the brain is trying to keep itself stimulated by literally making reality up.

The same sort of effect occurs when people are locked in solitary confinement for punishment or torture.

Note : My personal view is that when the brain does not receive enough new stimulation from the surrounding environment, it may cause someone to experience what we classify as a mental disorder.

This will be most likely to occur in people who live their lives with very little variation, meaning they are exposed to the same things day in day out.

In order to stimulate itself, I believe that in some cases the brain can cause a person to hear things, see things, feel paranoid and create delusions of grandeur.

All of these things serve to stimulate the brain by introducing something new to a person’s life, something in which they are the focus of attention.

Risk Taking Behaviour

Risk taking behaviour is defined as any sort of  behaviour which puts you in unnecessary risk of physical  injury. Such examples could include rock climbing, mountain climbing, high speed racing and sky diving.

One possible explanation for such risky behaviours is the curiosity drive in action.

Some people may live such boring and mentally unstimulated lives, that their brain begins to crave for some stimulation.

As a result, the brain gets a massive dose of stimulation by engaging in a risky behaviour which seems to satisfy it for a certain period of time. 

Some people call the sense of satisfaction they get from such activities a “rush”, which is interesting because it literally is a rush of information to the brain.

An alternative explanation for risk taking behaviour may be due to a gradual process of desensitisation, whereby a person gradual performs increasingly risky activities and wants to “up” the challenge by doing something a bit more dangerous.

Again this is a logical explanation, as eventually the brain becomes weakly stimulated by familiar tasks no matter how complex or simple they may be.

The Activity Drive

The activity drive causes us to physically move even when our biological drives are satisfied.

For example, if a well fed rat is placed into a cage with a running wheel it will run for no apparent reason other than to run.

In humans the activity drive can be seen in infants who at times appear to be restless, and move just for the sake of moving.

Another example could include watching a person who is sitting still for a prolonged period of time, such as when reading or studying.

If you watch them long enough, you will see their arms and legs moving every so often. This same also occurs when lying in bed.

Although this movement appears to occur for no other reason than for the sake of movement, it may in fact be related to a biological drive.

It is known that if you don’t move your body occasionally when you are still and without motion that blood flow becomes impaired. This may eventually lead to a blood clot that could, under extreme cases, could kill you.

So the activity drive may help to keep our blood circulation working in good order, by ensuring our body moves when it needs to.

The Affectional Drive

The affectional drive causes us to seek love and companionship from other people. The importance of such contact with those around us was demonstrated in an experiment done by psychologist Harry Harlow.

Harlow separated a group of monkeys from their mothers and raised each monkey in social isolation.

He found that many of the monkeys displayed a behaviour similar to infantile autism, which is characterised by a lack of interest in others and self destructive behaviour.

The psychoanalyst Erik Erikson also believed in the importance of the affectional drive. He proposed that the first stage of psychological and social (psychosocial) development is trust versus mistrust.

If during the first two years of life an infant develops a sense of trust (by having their needs for attention met), it will have a beneficial impact on their future. If however the infant senses distrust, it will have a negative impact on their life.

The importance of companionship can also be seen in prisoners who are locked up in a cell or in solitary confinement.

Some of these prisoners will try and keep insects or small animals such as birds and rats for company.

A well known example of this was the “Bird Man” from Alcatraz, who kept a pet bird (he later began to care for more birds and study them).

Summary

• General drives are not regulated by homeostasis.

• The curiosity drive is activated by new information or experiences, and is important for the development of the brain.

• Risk taking behaviour may be the brain’s way of trying to stimulate itself.

• The activity drive makes us want to move, sometimes with no apparent reason.

• The affectional drive makes us want to meet and be with other people.

• A lack of trust during the first two years of an infant’s life may have a negative effect on the rest of their life.

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