About this quote

Human behavior often begins with felt need, discomfort, or the wish to reduce suffering. The claim offers a psychological lens for examining motives without implying that every action is selfish in the ordinary moral sense.

When to use it

• A manager asks which unmet need is driving resistance before treating an employee as merely difficult.
• A charity studies whether its program reduces the specific pain that prompted people to seek help.
• A person notices how anxiety shapes a decision that was initially described as purely rational.