| Basic Needs | Specific Needs |
| Meaning | Purpose, contribution, connection with life and nature, dreams, effectiveness, faith, giving, goals, gratitude, growth, healing, hope, letting go, mercy, significance, self-acceptance, self-actualization, shared culture, shared learning, spiritual communion, surrender, thanks, transcendence, values, achievement, closure, completeness, value, vision, wholeness |
| Autonomy | Choice, challenge, differentiation, freedom, independence, individuality, identity, liberty, self-determination, self-empowerment, self-esteem, self-reliance, solitude, strength The freedom to choose one's dreams, goals, and values The freedom to choose one's plan for fulfilling one's dreams, goals and values. |
| Love | Affection, acceptance, bonding, caring, closeness, comfort, companionship, compassion, consideration, intimacy, nurturance, procreation, parenting, self-respect, succorance, tenderness, touch, warmth, sexual expression |
| Understanding | Awareness, clarity, comprehension, congruence, competence, consciousness, curiosity, discovery, discrimination, grace, enlightenment, experience, insight, information, knowledge, learning, lucidity, mastery, presence, reflection, service, skill, thinking, thought, truth, wisdom |
| Fun | Celebration, aliveness, delight, excitement, ease, humor, intensity, joy, leisure, laughter, passion, play, pleasure, power with, recreation, relaxation, ritual (birth/death), stimulation, to show off, vitality To celebrate the creation of life and the fulfilling of dreams; To celebrate losses: loved ones, dreams, etc. (mourning); |
| Creativity | Aesthetics, beauty, change, co-creation, flow, imagination, invention, inspiration, ideas, self-expression, spontaneity, stimulation, transformation, variety, uncertainty |
| Community | Acceptance, acknowledgment, affiliation, affinity, appreciation, belonging, cohesion, confirmation, collaboration, communication, connection, consideration, cooperation, confidence, dialog, dignity, encouragement, empathy, feedback, fellowship, inclusion, interdependence, mutuality, oneness, participation, reassurance, relationship, respect, sharing, support, tolerance, to contribute, unity, validation, to hear and be heard, to know and be known, to love and be loved, to nurture and be nurtured, to see and be seen, to trust and be trusted, to understand and be understood |
| Safety | Assurance, authenticity, balance, certainty, congruence, consistency, dependability, equality, equity, ethicalness, fairness, health, honesty, harmony, integrity, justice, order, peace, prudence, predictability, protection (from predators, violence and disease), rationality, security, shelter, stability, trustworthiness, preservation of life |
| Sustenance | Air, food, water, energy, exercise, light, movement, nourishment, resources, rest, sleep, space, sunlight, work |
Last updated 17 August 2008
Copyright © 2006-8 by Duen Hsi Yen, All rights reserved.
E-mail: yen@noogenesis.com
Table 1: Feelings when needs are met
Table 2: Feelings when needs are not met
Table 3: "Faux" Feelings and Judgments
Developing a Vocabulary of Needs
Developing a Vocabulary of Feelings
Basic Model of NVC