Theories of Motivation

Hope: Overall perception that one’s goals can be met Hope Scale Hope: Overall perception that one’s goals can be met 2 Necessary Components of Hope Agency = The willpower or energy to get moving toward one’s goal. (add 2, 9, 10, & 12 together) Pathways = Perceived ability to generate routes to achieve these goals. (add 1, 4, 6, & 8 together) Mean score on each subscale is 12.5 People who score high pursue a greater number of life goals. Obstacles are interpreted as challenges rather than threats. Prefer challenge to ease. The less hopeful tend to react to obstacles with greater stress & report lower levels of life satisfaction, more anxiousness, more fearfulness, and greater depression.

What Motivates Us?

Motivation: Factors that influence initiation, direction, intensity, & persistence of behaviors. Sources of Motivation: Biological needs Food, water, sex Emotional factors Emotions (fear, love, anger) Cognitive needs Beliefs, thoughts, and perceptions Social factors Our social context

Aron Ralston’s Story Ralston’s basic physical needs of thirst and hunger, his social sense of belonging, his raw will to live and desire to become a father illustrate some of the most powerful sources of human motivation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XLoQ1xYB0

Critical Thinking In a paragraph or 2, identify some factors, traits, or offer some explanations that help explain why some people are less motivated than others. When writing your response think about the 4 sources of motivation. Biological Emotional Cognitive Social

Theoretical Perspectives Many theories are similar, but they vary in the amount of emphasis that each places upon either biological or environmental influences on motivation. One theory strongly emphasizes nature as a main motivational influence. SOME THEORIES EMPHASIZE NATURE WHILE OTHERS EMPHASIZE NURTURE the theory that emphasizes nature over the other factors is called Drive-Reduction Theory -

Instinct Theory Motivation is the result of biological, genetic programming. All beings within the same species are programmed for the same motivations. Survival is at the heart of this perspective, so actions = instincts. EXAMPLE: Human mothers, unlike many other species, will stay awake with a crying baby all night long trying to provide comfort. Why? Instinct Theory suggests that mothers are programmed to behave in this manner- it is not due to learning or conditioning, not to being raised properly or poorly, not to having strong female role models or weak role models, or anything else, other than pure biology. This perspective is very much the sort that was offered in the controversial article that stated, Parents don’t matter much in the development of their children.

Instincts as Behavior Patterns William McDougal was a theorist who defined instincts as behavior patterns that are: Unlearned Uniform in expression and Universal Example: Birds & nests – individual animals build nearly identical nests, even when raised in captivity and isolation. McDougal claims that humans are the same as other animals in jealousy, mating, & others.

Problems with instinct theories There is no agreed-upon list of instincts. Many instincts are not universal. Example: Jealousy depends upon variations in character among individuals. Current Instinct Theories have a more biological emphasis for specific motivations, and not all apply equally. Examples: aggression and sex. Social behaviors often complicate and obscure our understanding of biological influences. Instinct perspective on motivation is still widely accepted in the study of animal behavior (ethology). Is dating the result of biological mating instinct or social motivation? More complex than one or the other Differences between individuals in basic drives – aggression and sex for example

Drive Theories Drive: an internal state of tension that motivates an organism to engage in activities that are focused on reducing this tension Homeostasis: an organism’s tendency to maintain a steady internal state Example: When body temperature wavers, there are autonomic responses to adjust. When you experience a drive, you are motivated to pursue actions that will lead to drive reduction. Example: When experiencing hunger, you will most likely be motivated to try to find food to eat until you are no longer hungry. Hunger leads to physical discomfort (internal tension-drive), which leads to the motivation to get food, which leads to eating, which leads to a reduction in physical tension (drive reduction), which finally leads to the restoration of equilibrium.

Problems With Drive Reduction Theories Homeostasis seems irrelevant to some human motives. For example, how does a “thirst for knowledge” fit into this model? Motivation may exist without a drive arousal. Do we eat only when we are hungry?

Arousal Theory Explains behaviors that don’t obviously decrease drives (thrill seeking, curiosity) General Level of Activation: People are motivated to maintain their optimum level of arousal. Yerkes-Dodson Law: People perform best under moderate levels of arousal (people have different levels of “optimum” arousal levels)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Systematic arrangement of needs according to priority, which assumes that basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused. Thus, like stage theories, in general, we must meet one need before we move on to the next. Maslow

This humanistic perspective is a blend of biological and social needs and is a sweeping overview of human motivation. Because Maslow believed that all needs vary in strength, he arranged them in a pyramidal form to indicate which have more strength. The most basic needs are vital to daily survival, and are at the bottom, while needs that are less important to staying alive (psychological) are higher on the pyramid. This has since been revised to reflect that some upper level needs may be met while the more basic ones may not be (Katrina example) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94c43AlwLKo&feature=related

How do we solve conflicts between motives? Approach-Approach: 2 good choices Avoidance-Avoidance: 2 bad choices Approach-Avoidance: A good choice with bad consequences Approach-Approach: 2 good choices (Yale or Harvard) Avoidance-Avoidance: 2 bad choices (clean the house or do homework) causes much stress Approach-Avoidance: A good choice with bad consequences (you want to go to a sold out concert, but the only one with extra tickets is someone you hate) Takes a long time to decide.

Achievement Motivation Extrinsic Motivation: desire to work for external rewards (money, fame, power) Intrinsic Motivation: Work for “internal” satisfaction of a job well done. People with high achievement motivation seek to master tasks, strive for excellence, take pride in their work.

Incentive Theory Incentive: an external goal that has the potential to motivate behavior. While Drive Theory describes an internal state PUSHING you in a specific direction, Incentive Theory describes how an external stimulus PULLS you in a certain direction. On Monday, we will have a special guest speaker who will talk about how we move from biological motivations to more environmental motivations and how this influences behavior (see: behaviorists/Skinner). When you attend this class, it is not because you were biologically programmed to become a student, but rather, because there is something external that is rewarding to you. Is it the grade you seek? Is it the desire to avoid going into the job market? Is it the desire to obtain a better situation later in life? Regardless , the idea is that the motivation is something external, not internal.