Motivation

Why we do what we do…and how we feel about it.

Motivation• A need or desire that energizes

and directs behavior.

Early Motivation Theories

Motivation is based on our instincts:

•A behavior that is patterned throughout a species and is UNLEARNED.

What Is Motivation?

• Factors that influence the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior.

• Cannot be directly observed, must be inferred.

• Thought of as an intervening variable.

Motives as Intervening Variables

Sources of Motivation

• Biological Factors– Need for food, water, sex, temp. regulation

• Emotional Factors– Panic, fear, anger, love, hatred

• Cognitive Factors– Perceptions, beliefs, expectations…

• Social Factors– Reactions from others ie: parents, family, co-

workers, peers, friends…

Main Theories of Motivation

• Instinct Theory

• Drive Reduction Theory

• Arousal Theory

• Incentive Theory

• Cognitive Theory

• Hierarchy of Motives (Maslow)

Instinct Theory

• Explains some animal behaviors

•Explains some human behaviors

•Does not explain other human behaviors

Instinct Theory• Instinct = Automatic, unlearned, involuntary

behavior triggered by a specific stimulus.

• “Instincts” became meaningless labels.– Described behavior without explaining it.

• At least some aspects of human motivation seem innate - instinctual.– Evolutionary approach

• Sucking • Smiling and other facial expressions• Mate selection – what makes you attracted to someone

who you might have kids with?

Drive-Reduction Theory• The idea that a physiological need

creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

• The need is usually to maintain homeostasis.– Tendency to keep physiological systems in

equilibrium… – Glucose levels, leptin, regulation of set point in weight– not too cold, not to hot– not too wet, not too dry.

Drive Reduction Theory

Drive-Reduction Theory

• We are not only pushed by our needs but.…

Pulled by our incentives: a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

BUT… why do we ride rollercoasters, gangbang, and

bungee jump?

Optimum Arousal Theory

• Motivation is tied to regulation of arousal.

• Performance is best when arousal is moderate.

• Organisms are motivated to behave in ways that maintain their optimal level of arousal.

The Arousal-Performance Relationship

Incentive Theory

• Behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli.

• Emphasizes the role of environmental stimuli that motivate behavior

• Two Incentive-Related Systems:– Wanting – being attracted to a stimulus.– Liking – Evaluating how pleasurable a stimulus

is.

Cognitive Theories• Extrinsic motivation

– involves engaging in certain activities or behaviors that either reduce biological needs or help us obtain incentives or external rewards

• Intrinsic motivation– involves engaging in certain activities or

behaviors because the behaviors themselves are personally rewarding or because engaging in these activities fulfills our beliefs or expectations

Extrinsic Motivation

• A desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment.

Intrinsic Motivation

• A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.

Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation

Hierarchy of Motives• Biological needs

– physiological requirements that are critical to our survival and physical well-being

• Social needs– needs that are acquired through learning and

experience

• Satisfying needs– Maslow’s hierarchy of needs– ascending order, or hierarchy, in which

biological needs are placed at the bottom and social needs at the top

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs