Abstract: Need has always been an important concept in the field of psychology. However, it deviated from the interests of researchers for decades. Recently, in wake of the research trend induced by resurgence of needs, international psychologists have become mindful of their prominence in prospective exploration. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that research on needs has not attracted much attention in China. The current article aims to promote development of need research in China via reviewing extant theories and implications associated with needs. Specifically, the nature of needs is first elaborated from four aspects, followed by depictions of the characteristics of needs in terms of objectivity, sociality, intensity, development, repeatability as well as diversity. Ultimately, three theories are introduced to classify different types of needs, such as Maslow’s Self-actualization Theory, the Self-determination Theory, and the Motivation-personality-development Theory. Based on the aforementioned analyses and descriptions, ten promising future research directions surrounding the relationship between needs and psychological development are proposed to afford pertinent reference to need researchers.

Key words: needs, motivation, self-determination theory, psychological development, core competencies