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 Order Need
(The need to systematize, organize, and put things in order)

All our actions are based on a belief that there is order in the universe. Related to this basic assumption are ancillary beliefs that the more we know about this natural order, the more we will know about reality, and the more realistic we are, the better we can meet all our needs. Thus, the discovery of how things are ordered and organized is a highly important and necessary part of our life.

Order can be created as well as discovered. A sergeant drilling soldiers gives an "order" to organize and unify the actions of the soldiers. When we clean a house or yard, we create or restore order. Artists, musicians, and writers are creators of order in their respective media. A symphony orchestra creates a highly organized set of sounds as compared with the "random" sounds we might hear on a street corner. Our eyes and ears are sensitive instruments that transmit stimuli to the nervous system where the signals are instantly organized into perceptions and the perceptions may be further organized into ideas and feelings. If our brain cannot recognize a familiar pattern from incoming stimuli, it can impose order on the stimuli as when we think we perceive an object in poor illumination that turns out to be something else when we get a better view.

When we create order, we are asserting an act of will - hence the idea of giving orders or ordering a person to do something. Created order may be arbitrary and only indirectly related to reality as when we fantasize or dream or make up games. There are many dimensions that can be used for creating order. We order when we put one thing ahead of another on a dimensional scale. We are also ordering when we designate a place for something. Things can be ordered by size, color, shape, age, etc. A set of elements can be ordered along any dimension on which they have discernible differences on the dimension.

Systematizing is a basic product of the order need. Ordering and systematizing go together. There must be order to have a system. There are two basic ways in which the elements of a system are ordered. One is an order based on power or control. To avoid internal conflicts in a system, some part must have the power to decide how and where the input, output, and energy in the system will be directed (this part is called the decider in systems terminology). The other basic type of ordering is based on function - the role or activity each part plays in supporting the functions of the system. For example, an education system may be organized in terms of its various functions such as instruction, students, buildings, etc.

The order need is part of a group of four closely associated needs. These needs are the understanding, achievement, sentience and order needs. With reference order, the understanding need enables us to recognize order; the achievement need motivates us to create and produce order; the sentience need motivates us to discover patterns of perceptual relationships that delight our esthetic sense. Each of the needs in this group serves our rational mental functions.

The Function of the Order Need

The basic function of the order need is to classify stimuli into dimensions that simplify data so we can better understand the world and manage our affairs more efficiently.

Problems Related to the Order Need

One of the most common problems associated with the order need is compulsive ordering. Freud related compulsive ordering to obsessive thinking. Freud believed that compulsive behavior resulted from severe and rigid toilet training. He saw toilet training as the first major attempt of parents to train a child to impose order and control over his or her own body functions. Psychoanalytic theory held that attitudes and beliefs about order, cleanliness, and control generalized from the attitudes and beliefs acquired from toilet training. Later psychologists broadened the learning experiences related to compulsive behavior to include other types of training.

Compulsive ordering is based on needs to avoid blame, harm, and feelings of inferiority. The most significant of these avoidance needs with regard to compulsive behavior is the blame avoidance need ("Out, out damned spot"). Compulsive behavior is considered pathological when it does not realistically enable the person to avoid guilt (blame), danger (harm) , or shame (failure or inferiority). The ritualistic ordering of trivial or irrelevant things or matters is compulsive behavior. Such ordering behavior may indicate that the person has failed to establish more basic ordering processes. If a person's value and belief systems are realistically ordered, most decisions of small consequence can be automatically settled or decided. For example, an obsessive-compulsive man had trouble deciding which button to start with when he buttoned his shirt. This is a decision that would more appropriately be programmed as a habit or automatic routine rather than a decision to be seriously and anxiously debated in each dressing situation.

Since change often involves temporary disorder, people with strong fears of disorder are fearful of change. An improved belief system cannot be created without some transitional disorder. Those who fear disorder try to organize their lives so there will be no unexpected events. Such people develop a resistance to change and growth and a compulsive dependency on routines and rituals.

Unrealistic beliefs produce unrealistic realistic decisions. To compensate for this problem some may try to use a rigid set of rules to substitute for decision making. Living by rules is mal adaptive since the complexity of life requires judgment rather than specific rules for decision making. Another type of ineffective ordering results from inefficient ordering principles. Sorting and ordering mail by stacking it in piles according to the date it was received rather than by topic, name of sender etc., is usually an inefficient ordering system.

Interpersonal problems are apt to develop if feelings and emotions are rigidly ordered and controlled. Feelings and emotions arise spontaneously (from our unconscious associations) and should be guided into appropriate expression by intuition (unconscious learned principles) rather than by rigid rules of order.

Serious neglect of the need for order can create problems and inefficiency. Such neglect wastes time "looking for things," and is often accompanied by chronic tardiness. People with this problem often become depressed by their own sloppiness and disarray and their depression makes it even more difficult for them to make decisions.

Dimension Locations of the Order Need

The order need is normally located in the non combative area of the combative dimension but near the central neutral area of the dimension. This location indicates that organizing and ordering should not be attempted when we are in the midst of a combative conflict. Most ordering and organizing should take place before or after combative activity rather than during combative engagement. The order need's location in the non combative area facilitates good organization that can prevent altercations and promote rational resolution of conflicts.

The order need is normally located very low in the impersonal area of the personal dimension. In this location the order need strongly conflicts with personal-social activities which should be largely free of inhibiting regulations. In the impersonal area , the order need can be very effective in helping resolve problems when dealing with conflicts between friends and loved ones.

The order need is normally located in the competitive area of the competitive dimension but not far above the midpoint or neutral area of the dimension. This location indicates that the order need plays an important role in the early stages of competitive development such as learning a new skill or organizing new knowledge. Organizing and ordering are not as active in strongly competitive situations where the participants are expected to be already trained and well organized.

Order Dislocated in the Combative Area of the Combative Dimension

When the order need is dislocated in the combative area of the combative dimension it can disrupt combative activity. A person who has to take time out in the middle of a conflict to get organized loses effectiveness in a combative struggle. Organizing and reorganizing is better accomplished during a lull or withdrawal in a battle (either verbal or physical) than in the midst of a conflict.

Order Located Too Near the Periphery of the Non Combative Area of the Combative Dimension

When the order need is located near the periphery of the non combative area relative to other needs, it has extra power to inhibit self-assertiveness. This location may make it very difficult to be assertive if order is activated in a combative situation. This location also makes it hard to switch from combative action to planning and organizing strategy when there is an opportunity to do so.

Order Dislocated in the Personal-Social Area of the Personal-Social Dimension

If the order need is dislocated in the personal-social area it can create efforts to organize and regulate personal-social relationships. These efforts are counter to more effective intuitive guides for behavior in personal-social situations. Also, in this location the order need is not available in the impersonal area when conflicts between friends and loved ones should be resolved in an orderly way.

Order Located Too Near the Periphery of the Impersonal Area of the Personal-Social Dimension

When the order need is located too near the periphery of the impersonal area relative to other needs, it has considerable power to inhibit personal-social activity if it is activated. Persistent activation of the order need could cause habitual from personal-social activity.

Order Dislocated in the Noncompetitive Area of the Competitive Dimension

Dislocated of the order need in the noncompetitive area causes a loss of effectiveness in the early stages of competitive learning and development. It is important and sometimes essential to order and organize material and actions (steps) to learn and develop new knowledge and abilities. Locating the order need in the noncompetitive area may cause better organization to avoid competition than to engage in it.

Order Located Too Near the Periphery of the Competitive Area of the Competitive Dimension

Location of the order need near the periphery of the competitive area relative to other needs gives ordering and organizing considerable power in competitive activities. This location indicates a belief that order is the ultimate goal of competitive striving rather than a means to competitive excellence and recognition. It may also indicate that the need to order and organize is lacking in the person's initial approaches to learning and competitive development where it is most needed.