Like primary drives, stimulus motives are largely unlearned. Stimulus motives place a premium on obtaining information about the environment and depend more on external stimuli than on internal states.

Exploration and curiosity are motives activated by the unfamiliar and are directed toward the goal of discovering how the world works. Psychologists disagree on the nature and causes of curiosity, but it has been linked to creativity.

Humans and primates need to manipulate objects to gain both tactile information and a sense of comfort.

Contact, the need for affection and closeness, is another important stimulus motive. Although manipulation requires active "hands-on" exploration, contact may be passive.

As we develop, our behavior is governed by a number of new motives strongly influenced by learning: aggression and the social motives–achievement, power, and affiliation–which center on our relationships with others.

Any behavior that is intended to inflict physical or psychological harm on others is an act of aggression. Some psychologists consider aggression part of an unlearned instinct that is triggered by pain and frustration; others see it as an innate drive that must be channeled into constructive avenues. Many contemporary psychologists believe aggression is a learned response, modeled after the aggressive behavior of others.

Cultural differences in aggressiveness are reflected in statistics on violent crimes. Individualist cultures, which value personal independence, tend to be high in crime, whereas collectivist cultures, emphasizing interdependence and group cohesion, tend to be lower. Research has also linked the dimension of individualism/collectivism to how various cultures interpret aggressive behavior.

Across cultures and at every age, males are more likely than females to behave aggressively both in verbal and physical ways. Both biological and social factors appear to contribute to these gender differences.

The achievement motive, a learned social motive, underlies the desire to excel, to overcome obstacles, and to strive to do something difficult as well as possible. The need for achievement, which varies among individuals, has been measured using the Thematic Apperception Test (interpretations of drawings) and the Work and Family Orientation scale, a questionnaire that measures work orientation, mastery, and competitiveness. It has been found that a high degree of competitiveness may actually interfere with achievement.

The power motive is defined as the need to win recognition or to influence or control other people or groups. College students who score high in the need for power tend to hold important positions on campus and pursue careers in teaching, psychology, and business.

The affiliation motive, the need to be with other people, is especially pronounced when people feel threatened. But we may also choose to get together with others to obtain positive feedback or to give us the physical contact we crave. Our need for affiliation may have an evolutionary basis stemming from the survival value associated with maintaining formal social relationships.