Two terms used throughout the need discussions are defined below:

Need Conflicts: Within a particular dimension some needs conflict with each other because they evoke incompatible behavior if they are expressed synchronically (simultaneously). For example, the aggression and nurturance needs evoke incompatible behavior in all three dimensions. Needs that conflict in a particular dimension are located in opposite areas of that dimension (see Target Model) indicating that they are not normally activated synchronically in that dimension.

Mal Adaptive Need Fusion: Needs that normally produce conflicting behavior when synchronically evoked in a particular dimension are sometimes combined or fused despite resulting conflicts. Mal adaptive fusion creates frustrations and problems. For example, in the combative dimension, when the aggression and succorance needs are synchronically activated, the fused behavioral expression may take the form of whining and complaining that does not effectively express either the aggression need or the succorance need.

The Autonomy Need
(The need to be free, independent, and uninhibited)

The autonomy need can be considered the basic need from which all other needs are differentiated. We seem to be born trying to do what we wish, desire, or want to do but as infants we are limited in what we are able to do. As we grow into childhood, we develop more power and ability but external restrictions are then imposed on us by parents, teachers, and other authority figures. As adults, a third set of controls is normally added. These are our internal controls developed from our ability to foresee and avoid negative or bad consequences of our actions. Our internal controls develop with our recognition that we are responsible for our actions.

The three basic controls described above (lack of power, external authority, sense of responsibility) vary according to a person's situation and circumstances. A professional beach comber is highly autonomous with little regard for external authority or responsibility but a beach comber usually lacks the power or resources to do most of the things people like to do. At the other end of the power dimension, the President of the United States has tremendous power but the responsibilities of the office and political opposition place severe limitations on what a President can and cannot do.

Another type of limitation that affects our autonomy is a lack of awareness of our own needs, beliefs, and values. If our motivational forces are not consciously perceived, our actions are driven by unconscious forces. Lack of awareness of these unconscious forces denies us the opportunity to choose between different courses of action. As long as we are aware of a choice, even if it is only between two undesirable alternatives, we have some degree of autonomy. Once a choice is made it becomes a personal commitment. We may be compelled to carry out the terms of a commitment but the choice of the commitment was an act of freedom and autonomy. The autonomy need does not free us from the responsibilities and consequences of our decisions - it only provides us with the will to make a choice.

The Function of the Autonomy Need

The autonomy need is a channel for the expression of impulses that arise from within. Without the autonomy need we would be like robots - completely programmed and regulated, and lacking in self-determination. The primary function of the autonomy need is to allow us to break away from controls and restraints that block us from expressing our combative, personal, and competitive needs. Thus, autonomy plays an important role in the discovery and creation of new ways to cope with the world and to meet our needs. Society, as well as the individual, sometimes benefits and sometimes suffers from changes motivated by autonomy but without some degree of autonomy we would be slaves to conditioned responses and external controls.

Problems Related to the Autonomy Need

Over-emphasis on autonomy or poor judgment about when to be autonomous leads to irresponsible, reckless, selfish, and self centered behavior. People characterized by such behavior are accident prone, unpredictable, irresponsible, and often in conflict with society. Such people are unable to make or keep the commitments necessary for strong personal relationships. They lack the dedication necessary for the development of competence and skills.

At the other extreme from the overly autonomous person are people who feel they have no freedom or independence and that the world has boxed them in and has complete control over their lives. Such feelings create passivity, depression, and resentment. In extreme cases, these feelings can combine to produce paranoid delusions in which a person feels under the control of external forces that direct his or her mind and actions. The feeling that we have lost control of our thoughts, that our mind is being externally directed, or that we have "lost" our mind is particularly devastating because we feel the most important and basic aspect of autonomy is our freedom to think what we will even if we can't always act on our thoughts. Similarly, the feeling that our emotions are being "played on" or are completely controlled and directed by others is also very threatening to our sense of autonomy. It is important to recognize that our emotions and many of our thoughts are affected by unconscious processes so it is not always clear what produces them. They are our own thoughts and feelings, however, and not the responsibility of others. Ultimately, it is our actions (based on our decisions) for which we are responsible.

Dimension Locations of the Autonomy Need

In the combative dimension, the autonomy need is strongly located in the combative area. This location indicates a belief that we need to be independent and self-directed to effectively assert combative power. There is mutual support between the autonomy and combative needs (such as rejection, defendance, and dominance) so that autonomy helps combative needs and we often have to call on the combative needs to help fight for independence or autonomy.

The autonomy need is normally located in the personal area of the personal dimension. This location indicates a belief that we seek friendship and companionship because we desire to do so and not because we are compelled to do so by external pressures. Autonomy allows us to "be ourselves" in personal-social relationships and this enables us to get to know each other and create friendships more quickly and on a more realistic basis. With good friends and companions we can be spontaneous and uninhibited (autonomous) and these qualities add pleasure to social occasions.

The autonomy need is normally located in the competitive area of the competitive dimension. This location indicates a belief that we most effectively strive for mastery and competence when we do so willingly rather than because we feel we are compelled to compete by external forces. Another belief related to this location is that knowledge, skills and abilities help us become more independent and thus better able to be autonomous and do what we want to do.

Autonomy Dislocated in the Non combative Area of the Combative Dimension

When autonomy is dislocated in the noncombative area of the combative dimension the ability to assert one's will and power and to be independent is weakened. It may be difficult for such people to act independently if they feel that their actions will create conflict with others. In a conflict situation, their lack of autonomy may make them passive rather than combative.

Autonomy Located In the Extreme Periphery of the Combative Area

When autonomy is located in the extreme periphery of the combative area of the combative dimension and is isolated from other needs, it is too extreme to be activated except under very unusual circumstances. When it is activated, it is too far removed from the combative needs to combine effectively with them. Thus, when autonomy is asserted, actions are apt to be very impulsive and lacking in the organized effort necessary for effective combative action.

Autonomy Dislocated in the Impersonal Area of the Personal-Social Dimension

When autonomy is dislocated in the impersonal area it may indicate a loss of spontaneity and independence in social-personal relationships. It may cause over-identification with dominant personalities at the expense of developing a normal independent personality. When situations call for a shift to impersonal interactions to resolve interpersonal conflicts, dislocation of the autonomy need in the impersonal area may create too much independence to allow for necessary compromises.

Autonomy Located in the Extreme Periphery of the Personal-Social Area

When autonomy is located in the extreme periphery of the personal-social area and is isolated from other needs, it may create too much individuality and independence in personal-social relationships. In such cases, autonomy becomes the ultimate goal of personal relationships rather than a contributing factor.

Autonomy Dislocated in the Impersonal Area

When the autonomy need is dislocated in the impersonal area its absence in the personal-social dimension may result in a loss of spontaneity and independence in social-personal relationships. It may indicate a tendencey to over identify with selected others at the expense of independent personality development. When operating in the impersonal area, the dislocation of autonomy to that area may cause the person to act too independently to make necessary compromises.

Autonomy Located in the Extreme Periphery of the Personal-Social Area

When autonomy is located toward the periphery of the personal-social area is isolated from other needs, it may cause an over emphasis on independence in personal-social relationships. In this location, autonomy too isolated to combine effectively with other personal needs to moderate individuality.

Autonomy Dislocated in the Noncompetitive Area of the Competitive Dimension

Dislocation of the autonomy need to the noncompetitive rather than the competitive area suggests a lack of independence and initiative in competitive activities. The person may assert their independence by refusing to participate in competitive activities.

Autonomy Located Too Near the Periphery in the Competitive Area

When the autonomy need is located too near the periphery in the competitive area and is isolated from other needs, this location may reflect overemphasis on individuality and independence in competitive activities. It suggests that the ultimate goal for attaining competence is to be independent rather than to gain leadership and recognition. In this extreme location, autonomy may not be able to combine effectively with the lower competitive needs that promote learning and collaboration.