Brain-Based Motivation
Approach/Avoidance
A major organizing principle of the brain designed to ensure our survival is that of maximizing (Approach) reward and minimizing (Avoidance)danger. Our responses to these stimuli are driven by the threat and reward centers of the brain and are mostly automatic. In modern society, social interactions can activate the threat and reward centers of the brain and even feel similar to actually life threatening situations.
B.U.C(k).E.T.
The B.U.C(k).E.T. model, developed by Susan Fiske of Princeton Unviersity, describes five motivational domains in social interactions that, when triggered, activate primal and automatic Approach or Avoidance responses. Individually, people may react more strongly to some domains than others. The five domains seldom work independently from each other, but looking at each of them separately helps us to tease apart the complicated primal motivations driving our behaviors.
Explore the B.U.C(k).E.T. domains below.
B.U.C(k).E.T. Domains
People with opposing viewpoints are often motivated by similar things because B.U.C(k).E.T. domains affect each and every one of us in fundamental ways. We may feel like we are on different sides, but we are ultimately on different sides of the same human coin.
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Back in 2017 in an inspiring grad school class activity, our instructor Dr. Miranda Ralston conducted a survey about people’s views about the Second Amendment which is about as divisive an issue as it gets in this country. She then had us code the results according to each of David Rock’s S.C.A.R.F. domains. The S.C.A.R.F. model is similar to the B.U.C.(k).E.T. which we use at Beyond Primal. Triggering a S.C.A.R.F. domain can launch immediate and unconscious Approach or Avoidance behavior and when this happens nuanced thought is not really possible. That’s why we see such hostile behavior when it comes to certain issues. The results of the study were fascinating and were the initial inspiration that resulted in the formation of Beyond Primal years later. What we found by doing this activity is that, at a fundamental level, people with opposing viewpoints are often looking for similar things because S.C.A.R.F. domains affect each and every one of us in fundamental ways. We may feel like we are on different sides, but we are ultimately on different sides of the same human coin.
Building bridges with B.U.C(k).E.T.
2nd Amendment Example
Viewing today’s media it’s easy to think that a pure dichotomy exists regarding positions about guns. On one side you have people who are staunchly pro-gun and on the other you have people who are staunchly anti-gun. There seems to be no way to bridge the difference. While the reality is more nuanced there are still plenty of people holding binary views about the topic. When viewed through the lens of B.U.C.(k).E.T. however, we found more commonalities than expected. For example, if you look at responses that fell under the Understanding domain of people who are staunchly pro-gun and compared them to those of people who are staunchly anti-gun they were very similar! The Understanding can equate to safety in this instance. Many gun advocates responded with something like, “I want to be able to protect myself and my family and a gun allows me to do that.” Gun opponents responded with, “I want my family and I to be safe. Nobody should have a gun.”
Many on both sides of the gun debate ultimately want the same thing - to feel safe.
While arguing about gun rights has become an all or nothing proposition, looking at it through B.U.C.(k).E.T. however reveals an opening. Instead of arguing about second amendment rights, we can begin to discuss how we can make each other feel safe. That is a very different kind of discussion. Not an easy one for sure, but it becomes possible. Regardless of your views on guns, you can begin to look at the other side as actual people who are concerned with the safety of those they care about rather than simply the enemy. Even where differences still exist between the way people’s B.U.C.(k).E.T. domains are activated, we begin to understand the fundamental basis for their viewpoints which is the beginning of any dialogue. By exploring issues through the lens of B.U.C.(k).E.T. we can start to see that on a most basic level that two people with seemingly opposing viewpoints are not as far apart as would appear at first glance.