The main principle of value drive theory is that there is one underlying emotion that creates the range of emotions we experience. That underlying emotion is always “ON” and it constantly valuates and gives us positive and negative emotions about ourselves and our surroundings based on previous experiences. We are drawn towards what we consider to have value and away from what is considered to have negative value.
The most important thing we put value on, are ourselves. And we like to add value and guard against potential loss of value. Self worth is very important to us. This is the value drive valuating and letting us feel our value.
What value the brain assigns to ourselves, others, objects and experiences is determined by the positive or negative emotion and/or sensation we associate with it. For instance, when we see a blue ball, we “feel” the ball. We have in our minds a label about this kind of object. It might be more labels at once – “toy”, “ball”, “blue”, “soft” – and it all comes togheter as an postive or negative emotion about that ball.
That positive or negative label changes over time, and it can change immediately. If that ball reminds you of the time you embarrassed yourself in front of others (and diminished your value), you suddenly dislike the ball.
This means that the human brain is a labeling machine that uses the value drive to connect information with emotional labels and store that as what I call “emo-labels”. It uses those emo-labels to help us feel our way through life.
Of course, there are many other functions in the brain. I’d like to mention our natural curiosity that is located in Zona incerta and our brains ability for pattern recognition.
Our brain needs constant stimulation to feel good. We need to think and feel practically all the time. And these three systems seems to be the most active: The value drive, Zona incerta and pattern recognition. And of course – they work together.
The Brain’s Functions are Interwoven
The principles of emotion is simple, but the brain is still complicated because it has many things happening at the same time, and these things influence each other. It’s interwoven and everything affects something. Emotions (value drive), sensations and immediate fear reactions are all important factors and they in turn have associations and implications. One experience can cause a ripple effect in the brain. And experiences comes rapidly.
Let me give an example. A Ferrari is driving fast towards you, then parks. This happens:
- You immediately get a fear response (fear have a short cut in the brain)
- You see it won’t hit you and you dismiss the fear, but you’ve been shaken. It’s a negative sensation.
- Ferrari have a positive label in your mind which give you a positive emotion
- The driver made you uncomfortable. The value drive gives you a negative emotion about him.
- Logic tells you your self worth (your label for yourself in your mind and others) have been diminished. You get a negative emotion.
- The sun get’s on your face and you get a positive sensation.
- The sun makes you sneeze and you get a negative sensation which triggers adrenaline which gives you higher pulse
- Reckless driving have a negative label and you get a negative emotion towards the driver which couples with aggressiveness
- You tell the driver to drive more safely. It’s tense situation and your own self worth is at stake. The value drive couples with nervousness.
- The driver agrees with you and says he will drive more slowly. Your self worth rises and you get a positive emotion.
- You look at the car again. Your fear response connected to the Ferrari and the Ferrari label in your mind has a lower value.
And that’s just a very simple version of what happens. So even though the principle of the value drive is simple, our emotional state is constantly changing and it all seems very complicated.
The Value Drive Theory 