The Reiss Motivation Profile® (RMP) is a psychometric instrument that identifies the 16 basic desires of personality. Not preferences and not values — the desires that nature places in every one of us, but with different intensity. That difference explains why people in the same situation want different things — and regularly misunderstand each other.
You make decisions that later bring no satisfaction — again and again
Conflicts in the team repeat — even though everyone is a professional with good intentions
You motivate people with bonuses — and they still leave or work without spark
«Outwardly everything is there» — and inside there is emptiness and chronic fatigue
There are no «right» or «wrong» desires. But when a desire is very strong, a person judges others for having it weakly; when it is very weak, they cannot see why others spend so much energy on it. That is where most conflicts are born.
For those who feel «outwardly everything is there, but inside it is empty». The Reiss Motivation Profile explains which of the 16 basic desires are chronically unmet — and what to do about it.
A team RMP shows where motivational differences create tension and where they create synergy. Hidden conflicts become visible, as do the areas where agreement comes easiest.
Objective data for hiring (how well a candidate's motivational profile matches the company environment), for retention and for building motivation programmes that actually work.
Understand what really drives you and the people in your team. Stop motivating everyone the same way — and finally see why standard approaches do not work on a particular person.
Professor Steven Reiss (Ohio State University) established through 20 years of research that we are driven by 16 core strivings that arise from human nature and are common to all of us. Every psychologically significant striving and need can be reduced to these 16 basic desires or their combinations. Each desire is present in every person — but with different intensity: strong (blue), average (orange) or weak (light blue).
Results are expressed in standard scores from −2.00 to +2.00. A strong desire (+0.84 and above) — you feel it constantly and judge others through its lens. A weak one (−0.84 and below) — you find it hard to see why others spend so much on it.
There are no «right» or «wrong» desires. But when a desire is very strong, a person judges others for having it weakly. When it is very weak, they cannot see why others spend so much energy on it. That is where most conflicts are born.
the desire to confront those who upset or offend us
the striving for self-reliance
the striving to avoid anxiety and pain
the striving for social justice
the striving for respect based on social standing
the striving to be honest and upright
the desire to be around other people
the desire to raise children and spend time with loved ones
the desire to collect and keep things
the desire to consume food
the desire to influence
the striving for deep understanding
the striving for muscular exertion
the striving for aesthetically pleasing experiences
the striving for orderliness and stability
the striving for positive self-regard and acceptance by others
Click a card to see a full description, which objectives it suits and what is included. All formats include a mandatory debrief: under the rules of IDS Publishing Corporation, RMP assessment is only delivered with a certified specialist.
RMP assessment is a paid service: it covers the official IDS Publishing Corporation licence fee and the mandatory debrief with a certified specialist.
If you are an HR director or an executive who needs to get a purchase approved, we will prepare a Reiss Motivation Profile® proposal detailing the objective, instruments, timeline and cost.
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Certified Reiss Motivation Profile® consultant (RMP Master, October 2025). Official authorised partner of IDS Publishing Corporation in Russia.
I specialise in motivational diagnostics for executives and management teams. I combine the Reiss Motivation Profile with Hogan, PCM and LDP to work with a leader's full profile.
The Reiss Motivation Profile® works well alongside other instruments — each adds something the others do not have.
BASE!PRO is a Russian instrument: potential, derailers, motivation. The Reiss Motivation Profile adds a more detailed picture of underlying desires. Together: deep diagnostics without a foreign licence for the core block.
Learn about BASE!PRO →PCM describes psychological needs through personality type and communication channels. RMP adds depth — 16 basic desires with numerical scores. Together: a complete motivation map plus an operating manual for interaction.
Learn about PCM® →Hogan MVPI describes values through behaviour at work and risks. The Reiss Motivation Profile uncovers 16 basic desires — why a person does what they do. Together: an exhaustive picture of motivation with a prediction of behaviour under pressure.
Learn about Hogan →Most «motivation tests» measure values or preferences. The Reiss Motivation Profile® measures fundamental desires — the deep needs that arise from human nature and are common to all of us. That is why RMP predicts behaviour rather than merely describing it. The list of 16 basic desires is the first empirically derived taxonomy of human needs.
The instrument has been validated on samples from different cultures. The profile is available in Russian, English and other languages.
The official rights holder of the Reiss Motivation Profile®. Psychometric is an authorised IDS partner in Russia.
Ohio State University · more than 20 years of research · 100+ scientific publications.
The list of 16 basic desires is the first empirically derived taxonomy of human needs. That is why the Reiss Motivation Profile® predicts behaviour rather than merely describing it.
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