Motivation and emotion are inseparable component factors of value systems in living beings, which enable them to act purposefully in a partially unknown and sometimes unforgiving environment. Value systems that drive innate reinforcement learning mechanisms have been identified as key factors in self-directed control and autonomous development towards higher intelligence and seem crucial in the development of a concept of “self” in sentient beings [1]. This contribution is concerned with the relationship between artificial learning control systems and innate value systems. In particular, we adapt the state-of-the-art model of motivational processes based on reduction of generalized drives towards higher flexibility, expressivity and representation capability. A framework for modelling self-adaptive value systems, which develop autonomously starting from an inherited (or designed) innate representation, within a learning control system architecture is formulated. We discuss the relationship of anticipated effects in this control architecture with psychological theory on motivations and contrast our framework with related approaches.