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Behavioral Elements and the 4 Drive Framework - An assessment built on modern behavioral science

The 4 Drive Framework

"It's not about who you are, it's who you choose to be."

Behavioral Elements was developed using the 4-Drive Theory of Human Behavior, which Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria presented in their book Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.

In this groundbreaking book, the two Harvard Business School faculty members explored and analyzed over 200 years of research and thought leadership, drawing on the latest findings in biological and social sciences to establish a new approach: a cross-disciplinary synthesis of human nature.

Edgar Schein, a Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and Senior Lecturer at MIT, praises the work by saying, “This is a stimulating and provocative book in bringing together important ideas from different fields, and, thereby, giving us a whole new slant on ‘human nature.”

Lawrence and Nohria’s findings demonstrate an evolutionary development of four distinct core biological drives underlying our behavioral choices and decisions. The 4 Drives include:

According to Lawrence and Nohria, the evidence that we are physically, mentally, and behaviorally the product of natural selection is overwhelmingly compelling. Our human brain has perpetually evolved across our time on the planet. These evolutionary developments over the course of millions of years solidified into the “human nature” that complements and reinforces our existence and survival.

The Behavioral Elements Assessment measures the push and pull of these four innately human drives and helps us understand how the core drives affect our behavioral choices and motivations.

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Measuring the Drives

The Behavioral Elements Assessment uses a “forced choice ranking” methodology to measure the core drives in people. Using 20 different sets of statements, with each set having a single representative statement that aligns with one of the four drives, participants are required to rank the statements in each set. Rankings are 1 – 4, with the first position representing MOST preferred, the 2nd position SOMEWHAT preferred, the 3rd position RARELY preferred, and the 4th position LEAST preferred. The rankings may be easy or difficult for participants given the set of statements presented. The forced choice ranking ensures that a “preference” emerges and with 20 different sets of statements, we have been able to demonstrate a strong sensitivity in finding the unique nuance of each drive in a person.

The Behavioral Elements Assessment intentionally keeps the context for each item set consistent to avoid unintentionally influencing the direction of the participant’s choice. There is no reference to personal or professional situations, nor is it scenario-based as we recognized that this would influence how the participants would interact with each statement.

The language for the statements was derived from keyword and content analysis done in relation to each of the drives, as put forth by Lawrence and Nohria. The statements were tested in more than 100 different sessions, with more than 3000 participants, to ensure that they accurately drew out the unique preferences amongst users.

Early participants comprised diverse demographics including gender, race, ethnicity, age, education level, socioeconomics, and sexual identity. Respondents rated the accuracy of their personal assessment results as “Incredibly Accurate” in 97.3% of the post-assessment surveys. Participants in initial studies were also interviewed to ensure further that the results received reflected their behavioral patterns.

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Comparison Against
Personality Instruments

To ensure that the measurements of the Drives were uniquely distinct from that of personality assessments, research was conducted in which participants were exposed to the Behavioral Elements Assessment and a series of personality assessments including DiSC, Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, and the NEO-PI R. While there were some correlations across different tools, personality was neither a necessary nor sufficient indicator of a person’s core biological drives.

Ultimately, a high score in one of the Drives is not predictive of personality, and in turn, personality is not a predictor of biological drives. Biological drives are more attuned to motivation, purpose, and interest, the malleable components of behavioral actions. With personality being relatively stable and unchanging after the formative years of nurturing, it is the traits in which we express our biological drivers.

The Behavioral Elements program acknowledges that humans have the capacity to adapt and change our patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Focusing on the behavioral aspects of human interactions helps you bridge the gap between nature and nurture. The consideration that we have the ability to both choose and change our behaviors gives the Behavioral Elements its unique approach.