We see merit in aspects of Van de Vliert's focus on human needs but disagree with several of his more important claims. For one thing, he holds that human needs are largely satisfied according to economic and climactic variables that are featured in an environmentally oriented “supply side” model. According to that model, physiological needs are satisfied by the availability of resources (“freedom from want”), safety needs are satisfied by the absence of threat (“freedom from fear”), needs to relate are satisfied by “freedom of expression and discrimination,” and so on. Though Van de Vliert conflates psychological needs and sociopolitical and economic needs, our concern is that his emphasis on exogenous factors, including the “freedom” and “opportunity” to act, places too much stress on the environment-as-cause. For one thing, to get where Van de Vliert wants to go, he also needs a psychologically oriented “demand” system in which individuals–far from being passive recipients who operate solely at the mercy of external factors–actively cooperate and compete with each other for resources.
For Van de Vliert, a human need is “a deprivation that energizes a drive to eliminate or reduce the deprivation” (Van de Vliert 2009, p. 37; sect. 1, para. 3) but there is little or no reference to the function of the needs. By contrast, we see psychological needs as species-specific causal mechanisms that motivate individuals to take certain classes of action that, unless ineffective or socially thwarted, will typically satisfy their needs and thereby facilitate competition for environmental resources. Our assumption is that psychological needs such as autonomy, connection, and stability evolved in response to problems that arose when our evolutionary ancestors increased their reliance on social solutions to biological problems, and that these adaptations may therefore be characterized as evolved psychological mechanisms (Flanagan Reference Flanagan2010; Locke Reference Locke2008; Locke & Flanagan Reference Locke and Flanagan2011).
In Maslow's hierarchical model of needs, which Van de Vliert embraces, physiological needs develop first and, once developed, must be met before psychological needs can be satisfied. What would be more appropriate is an operational model, one that is both functional and sequential. On such a model, connection and other psychological needs that advantageously position individuals with respect to potentially helpful others are the primary means of achieving biological goals. For example, in the process of satisfying their need for connection, individuals stand to benefit from social mechanisms, such as social observation and cooperation, which facilitate attainment of nutritional, safety, and reproductive goals (Locke & Flanagan Reference Locke and Flanagan2011).
Exogenous models pose other problems. When individuals attempt to satisfy their psychological needs, they exert an influence collectively on the social and economic systems of their culture. This collective action indirectly reflects the operation of needs as causal mechanisms, but it also directly reflects the strategies individuals use to meet their needs. It's not enough to be free to relate. You have to want to relate and to have the wherewithal–the knowledge, ability, and skill–to go about relating effectively. This presupposes the ability to apply successful coping modes (Flanagan, in submission).
Van de Vliert claims that extreme climates influence economic strategies because they enable people to buy things that minimize ill effects. Perhaps they do, but there are reasons to doubt a regular or even rational relationship between climate and financial expenditure. Some years ago Amos Rapoport (Reference Rapoport1969), an architectural anthropologist, observed no predictable connection between the weather and the security or even the existence of housing in various places around the world. Rapoport noted that in mild or warm climates dwellings were often quite elaborate, whereas in frigid ones housing was virtually nonexistent, even though the people had the ability, tools, and materials to build. He termed the relationship between climate and housing patterns “irrational,” and other anthropologists agreed.
So what are the social implications of a well-formed psychological need and a promising coping mode? Consider two individuals, one who is intent on satisfying a need for autonomy. In a traditional society, he may do this by proving himself to be the best hunter in the village. Because sharing is a strongly held value in such societies, this hunter stands to appreciate important social benefits, including sex and dominance, by giving away the nutrition he has secured rather than consume it himself (Smith Reference Smith2004).
Now consider a member of a traditional society who is attempting to satisfy a need for connection. By forming relationships with others, this individual will find himself positioned to share with them not only what they own but also what they know and are able to do. If potential allies are appraised accurately and befriended strategically, many will have what the sociologist James Coleman called “human capital,” some form of knowledge or skill that has practical value. Those who are able to draw on these resources, perhaps because they can be trusted to return favors, have “social capital,” which can be used to achieve important biological goals for, say, food and personal defense. Though it “exists in the relations among persons,” according to Coleman (Reference Coleman1990), social capital can be worth far more than the physical kind that we keep in our wallets. It is partly for this reason that individuals are judicious in their selection of friends.
Van de Vliert is aware that inhabitants of tropical climes typically face the threat of illnesses not found in more temperate climates, and he sees money as a helpful resource in dealing with problems associated with tropical living. But some of these problems may be addressed socially too. In recent years, a number of studies have obtained evidence of an adaptive trend toward collectivism, and xenophobia, in hot climates with high levels of pathogens (Faulkner et al. Reference Faulkner, Schaller, Park and Duncan2004; Fincher et al. Reference Fincher, Thornhill, Murray and Schaller2008; Gangestad et al. Reference Gangestad, Haselton and Buss2006; Navarrete & Fessler Reference Navarrete and Fessler2006; Schaller Reference Schaller2011; Schaller & Murray Reference Schaller and Murray2008). If the weather can indirectly cause people to avoid strangers–a coping strategy rendered socially–it's not just the availability of financial capital that counts.
We see merit in aspects of Van de Vliert's focus on human needs but disagree with several of his more important claims. For one thing, he holds that human needs are largely satisfied according to economic and climactic variables that are featured in an environmentally oriented “supply side” model. According to that model, physiological needs are satisfied by the availability of resources (“freedom from want”), safety needs are satisfied by the absence of threat (“freedom from fear”), needs to relate are satisfied by “freedom of expression and discrimination,” and so on. Though Van de Vliert conflates psychological needs and sociopolitical and economic needs, our concern is that his emphasis on exogenous factors, including the “freedom” and “opportunity” to act, places too much stress on the environment-as-cause. For one thing, to get where Van de Vliert wants to go, he also needs a psychologically oriented “demand” system in which individuals–far from being passive recipients who operate solely at the mercy of external factors–actively cooperate and compete with each other for resources.
For Van de Vliert, a human need is “a deprivation that energizes a drive to eliminate or reduce the deprivation” (Van de Vliert 2009, p. 37; sect. 1, para. 3) but there is little or no reference to the function of the needs. By contrast, we see psychological needs as species-specific causal mechanisms that motivate individuals to take certain classes of action that, unless ineffective or socially thwarted, will typically satisfy their needs and thereby facilitate competition for environmental resources. Our assumption is that psychological needs such as autonomy, connection, and stability evolved in response to problems that arose when our evolutionary ancestors increased their reliance on social solutions to biological problems, and that these adaptations may therefore be characterized as evolved psychological mechanisms (Flanagan Reference Flanagan2010; Locke Reference Locke2008; Locke & Flanagan Reference Locke and Flanagan2011).
In Maslow's hierarchical model of needs, which Van de Vliert embraces, physiological needs develop first and, once developed, must be met before psychological needs can be satisfied. What would be more appropriate is an operational model, one that is both functional and sequential. On such a model, connection and other psychological needs that advantageously position individuals with respect to potentially helpful others are the primary means of achieving biological goals. For example, in the process of satisfying their need for connection, individuals stand to benefit from social mechanisms, such as social observation and cooperation, which facilitate attainment of nutritional, safety, and reproductive goals (Locke & Flanagan Reference Locke and Flanagan2011).
Exogenous models pose other problems. When individuals attempt to satisfy their psychological needs, they exert an influence collectively on the social and economic systems of their culture. This collective action indirectly reflects the operation of needs as causal mechanisms, but it also directly reflects the strategies individuals use to meet their needs. It's not enough to be free to relate. You have to want to relate and to have the wherewithal–the knowledge, ability, and skill–to go about relating effectively. This presupposes the ability to apply successful coping modes (Flanagan, in submission).
Van de Vliert claims that extreme climates influence economic strategies because they enable people to buy things that minimize ill effects. Perhaps they do, but there are reasons to doubt a regular or even rational relationship between climate and financial expenditure. Some years ago Amos Rapoport (Reference Rapoport1969), an architectural anthropologist, observed no predictable connection between the weather and the security or even the existence of housing in various places around the world. Rapoport noted that in mild or warm climates dwellings were often quite elaborate, whereas in frigid ones housing was virtually nonexistent, even though the people had the ability, tools, and materials to build. He termed the relationship between climate and housing patterns “irrational,” and other anthropologists agreed.
So what are the social implications of a well-formed psychological need and a promising coping mode? Consider two individuals, one who is intent on satisfying a need for autonomy. In a traditional society, he may do this by proving himself to be the best hunter in the village. Because sharing is a strongly held value in such societies, this hunter stands to appreciate important social benefits, including sex and dominance, by giving away the nutrition he has secured rather than consume it himself (Smith Reference Smith2004).
Now consider a member of a traditional society who is attempting to satisfy a need for connection. By forming relationships with others, this individual will find himself positioned to share with them not only what they own but also what they know and are able to do. If potential allies are appraised accurately and befriended strategically, many will have what the sociologist James Coleman called “human capital,” some form of knowledge or skill that has practical value. Those who are able to draw on these resources, perhaps because they can be trusted to return favors, have “social capital,” which can be used to achieve important biological goals for, say, food and personal defense. Though it “exists in the relations among persons,” according to Coleman (Reference Coleman1990), social capital can be worth far more than the physical kind that we keep in our wallets. It is partly for this reason that individuals are judicious in their selection of friends.
Van de Vliert is aware that inhabitants of tropical climes typically face the threat of illnesses not found in more temperate climates, and he sees money as a helpful resource in dealing with problems associated with tropical living. But some of these problems may be addressed socially too. In recent years, a number of studies have obtained evidence of an adaptive trend toward collectivism, and xenophobia, in hot climates with high levels of pathogens (Faulkner et al. Reference Faulkner, Schaller, Park and Duncan2004; Fincher et al. Reference Fincher, Thornhill, Murray and Schaller2008; Gangestad et al. Reference Gangestad, Haselton and Buss2006; Navarrete & Fessler Reference Navarrete and Fessler2006; Schaller Reference Schaller2011; Schaller & Murray Reference Schaller and Murray2008). If the weather can indirectly cause people to avoid strangers–a coping strategy rendered socially–it's not just the availability of financial capital that counts.