ABSTRACT
Research in social psychology deals primarily with the functioning of adults in a complex world of other adults. This focus directs our attention to the wide range of characteristics, acquired in the course of an individual’s experience, that seem to have a significant impact on social events. However, as we attempt to coordinate the vast bodies of research on the social effects of the many acquired variables, our immediate problem is to devise an approach that allows us to move beyond the intuitive sense that many variables are similar and, therefore, should be expected to yield parallel social effects. In this chapter, we discuss a way to understand the empirical relationship among acquired motives and traits through an analysis of their possible connection to the primary needs. Our expectation is that if we can discover at least some of the commonalities among some of the most important acquired variables, as well as the features that distinguish them, more of this vast body of research may become much more accessible to many investigators.
