According to psychoanalytic theory, what are the two most powerful human drives that guide behavior?

Sex and aggression (Eros and Thanatos)

Explanation:

Sigmund Freud was the father of psychoanalysis which is a school of psychotherapy which focuses in the unconscious and how our childhood experiences influence our later adult behavior.

According to psychoanalysis, most of our behavior is guided by our unconscious which is repressed in our day-to-day lives and that shows up during our dreams and during therapy.

According to psychoanalytic theory we have two basic drives that motivate all our behaviors: Sex and aggression (also called Eros (love) and Thanos (death)). Freud believed that sex lead us to procreation and to the creation of new life, while aggression protects us from harm by defending ourselves from threats from the outside world.

From this perspective, our behavior falls in one of these categories all the time.

Therefore, according to psychoanalytic theory, the two most powerful human drives that guide behavior are Sex and aggression (Eros and Thanatos).