In previous articles, I have been explaining how I have decided to define Drive: “I’ve had to choose to organize the different definitions of drive into 3 categories: a motivation like hunger as Type A Drive, play as Type B Drive, and the classical set of these behaviors (Sex; Prey; Defensive; and Pack) as Class C Drive.” This was done because it was about time to make sense of the misuse of the term Drive, and to compensate for how it is used in various ways in various studies and books since there is no way to re-write every study to make clarifications. By making these distinctions, I find it is easier to explain, discuss, and implement practical training and behavior modification. Someone needed to take this step.
A behavioral Drive is kind of like an engine. It helps the car move. Like all drives, Type B Drives involve some kind of motor activity, therefore are more like the Type C Drives. The Type B Drives are like the behavioral equivalent of connective tissue, fibers that hold together all other behaviors, such as the following functions: 1.) information gathering; 2.) to trigger behavior in others, or to influence the environment; 3.) helping to provide a context for individual and social functions and survival; 4.) assist in communications; and 5.) helping bodily functions. Some are more rigid in their expression (more like a closed program, less able to be modified), and others can be modified by situations, learning and conditioning (more like an open program, more able to be modified). Some are internally triggered, while others are externally triggered.
I propose the following examples: 1.) Bodily functions, such as coughing, sneezing, scratching, suckling, swallowing, vomiting and some aspects of eliminative behaviors; and 2.) Facilitative, such as play, investigatory, territorial and home range establishment, shelter building, allelomimetic behaviors, marking, and vocalizations other than those directly associated with Type C Drives.
As I mentioned earlier, this organization of drives is subject to change, such as a comprehensive analysis of function, survival value, and/or through examination of the underlying neural processes to group them in more suitable similar subcategories.
Type B Drives do not have all the same properties or functions of either Type A or Type C Drives. The Type B Drives also have further components. For example, Play can be subdivided into Object Play and Social Play. While both are called “play”, they aren’t the same and have important distinctions.
How to use my drive model in the real world?
Read my other articles.
Plan accordingly.