1. a generalized state of readiness precipitating or motivating an activity or course of action. Drive is hypothetical in nature, usually created by deprivation of a needed substance (e.g., food), the presence of negative stimuli (e.g., pain, cold), or the occurrence of negative events. Drive is said to be necessary for stimuli or events to serve as reinforcers.

2. in the classical psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud, a concept used to understand the relationship between the psyche and the soma (mind and body); drive is conceived as having a somatic source but creating a psychic effect. Freud identified two separate drives as emerging from somatic sources: libido and aggression. See also motivation; object relations.

3. see Carver and White’s BIS/BAS scales.