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need

need Need is something necessary that is missing, and in psychology it also means an internal state that prompts a person or organism to act toward a wanted goal.

Need is something necessary that is missing, and in psychology it also means an internal state that prompts a person or organism to act toward a wanted goal. It gives behavior a sense of purpose and direction.

Also see

Sources

Drafting source: NCI Thesaurus. Flat export snapshot 2026-10-18. “Need” (C41204).
CC-BY-4.0 · Source snapshot SHA-256: b27ca135beadd46c343d248135377c5077c5447fe11b93803bfab866b84fcd38

These citations identify the drafting sources. 2/2 independent reader passes against the pinned source packet. The drafter does not count as a reader. Source institutions do not endorse this dictionary.

Cite this entry

PsychTerms (psychterms.org), CC BY 4.0, version 1. “need.” Development preview.

Version 1 · SHA-256: e6ae903ed0543695958b089cd29ca840a33951a45bcfe352d9c23ec6d3dd9764

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