 3. Toward an Integrative Theory of Motivation, Personality, and Development 89
(see Fromm, 1955 [rootedness]; Steele, 1988 
[self-  integrity]; Sullivan, 1953 [rootedness]; 
see also Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solo -
mon, 1999 [terror management]). This need 
occupies a unique space. The other emergent 
needs, as we have seen, are formed from the 
conjunction of two basic needs. However, 
self- coherence is proposed to serve as the 
“hub” of all the needs: Outcomes from all 
need-  related goals can feed into feelings of 
self- coherence. This suggests that by moni -
toring self-  coherence, we may be able to 
monitor the well-being of the self (cf. Leary, 
Tambor, Terdal, & Downs, 1995; Heintzel -
man & King, 2014).
The need for self-  coherence can emerge 
once the child has developed strong expec -
tations for how the world should work, in 
which case violations of those expectations 
may become unsettling. This may happen 
early, as soon as clear expectations of ac -
ceptance, predictability, or competence are 
there and can be violated. However, the 
need for self-  coherence may not arise until 
later in the first year, when children show 
evidence of schema-  based phenomena, such 
as trust or separation anxiety. At that time, 
they may become able to experience more 
pervasive forms of psychological threat and 
not just fear or discomfort in the moment.
In classic theories of personality disorders 
(e.g., Horney, 1950; Shapiro, 1965), a prime 
characteristic is a fragile sense of self (see also 
Fonagy, Target, & Gergely, 2000). An early 
version of this can be seen in 1-year-olds 
with “disorganized” attachment, thought to 
stem from abusive or frightening caretakers 
(Van IJzendoorn, Schuengel, & Bakermans- 
Kranenburg, 1999). When left alone in a 
strange situation, even briefly, these children 
appear to fall apart—  physically collapsing, 
entering a dissociated state, or becoming 
completely disoriented.
Further, I propose that there are two major 
components of self-  coherence that emerge as 
individuals develop: identity (or identities) 
and meaning. Identity  answers the question 
“Who am I?” and can include social roles, 
social categories, and areas of perceived 
competence—  things that can define and 
situate people (cf. Markus & Nurius, 1986). 
Meaning,  on the other hand, answers the 
question “How does/should the world work 
in areas that are important to me?” and re -fers more to the rules that govern events in 
the world (cf. Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006). 
Both identity and meaning may serve as glue 
that binds the self and keeps it together. See 
Dweck (2017) for a more detailed discussion 
of identity, meaning, and the monitoring of 
self- coherence. I note here, however, that the 
need for meaning and the pursuit of goals re -
lated to meaning may allow people to tran -
scend the more mundane, self-  oriented goals 
and to fulfill a sense of purpose in the world.
Needs Can Undergo Lifelong Development
It is important to understand that each 
need can continue to develop and transform 
throughout life, that different needs can wax 
and wane over the course of development, 
that needs originating with the self may 
be applied to others (giving care to others, 
teaching others, creating a predictable world 
for others), and that concrete needs can later 
grow into more abstract values. For exam -
ple, as I note elsewhere, “[V]aluing justice 
may be thought of as valuing trustworthi -
ness as a characteristic of the world . . . and 
valuing tolerance may be thought of as valu -
ing respect for others’ meanings and identi -
ties” (Dweck, 2017, p. 696).
In summary, this section has presented the 
basic and compound needs that are the foun -
dation of the current theory, and has brought 
together a variety of literatures to shed light 
on the nature of psychological needs.
Motivation: Turning Needs into Goals
A common definition of motivation  is 
“the forces that drive and direct behavior” 
(Hebb, 1955; McClelland, 1987; Myers, 
2012; Reeve, 2005), and it is the definition 
I adopt here. In this context, I propose that 
needs play the “drive” function, and goals 
and goal processes serve the directive func -
tion, creating a path to need fulfillment. I 
suggested earlier that needs demarcate areas 
of chronically high value. However, they can 
also supply the energy or impetus for need- 
fulfilling goals (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Freud, 
1894/1956, 1927; Jung, 1928; McClelland, 
1987; Rapaport, 1960; White, 1963). The 
goals and goal processes may then direct 
this energy into particular actions designed 