Your Heart's Desires

What makes us do the things we do? There's not one reason, but 15, according to research into what makes us tick. Knowing which of these fundamental desires is in play can push us to perform better, help us predict others' behavior and even offer an early diagnosis of mental illness, according to Steven Reiss, M.D., Ph.D.

The Ohio State University professor of psychology and psychiatry says that although any one of the 15 desires may be uppermost at a given moment, we each have a characteristic pattern of needs. He's devised a test, called the Reiss Profiles, which measures the differences in what people value. Results can be used to guide people in their career or lifestyle choices, he says, or to anticipate how others will behave.

The link between desire and behavior holds true even for the mentally ill, maintains Reiss: "They behave in unusual ways because they care about unusual things." Schizophrenics, for example, score very low on need for social contact, while alcohol and drug abusers are off the scale on the desire to avoid pain. These irregularities may show up in the profile long before the disorder itself, allowing psychologists to identify such people as vulnerable.

JUST THE BASICS

AVOIDANCE: desire to avoid pain and anxiety

CITIZENSHIP: desire for public service and social justice

CURIOSITY: desire to learn and explore

FAMILY: desire to spend time with relatives

FOOD: desire to eat

HONOR: desire to adhere to a code of conduct

INDEPENDENCE: desire for autonomy

ORDER: desire for organization and coherence

PHYSICAL EXERCISE: desire for movement and exertion

POWER: desire for control

REJECTION: desire to avoid social rebuffs

SEX: desire for sexual gratification

SOCIAL CONTACT: desire for companionship

SOCIAL PRESTIGE: desire for recognition

VENGEANCE: desire to retaliate