Motivation

Motivation
● is an urge to behave or act in a way that will satisfy certain conditions, such
as wishes, desires, or goals.
● Motivation describes the wants or needs that direct behavior toward a
goal.
● Motivations are commonly separated into;
○ Drives - which are primarily biological, like thirst or hunger
○ Motives - which are primarily driven by social and psychological mechanisms
● Motivations can also be
○ intrinsic - arising from internal factors
○ Extrinsic - arising from external factors
● In reality, our motivations are often a mix of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors
Drives and Motives
● Drives are primarily biological, like thirst, hunger, sleepiness, and the need to
reproduce—all of which lead us to seek out and take part in certain activities.
● Drives are believed to originate within a person and may not require
external stimuli to encourage behavior.
● Motives, on the other hand, are primarily driven by social and
psychological mechanisms, such as work, family, and relationships.
● They include factors like praise and approval.
Drives and Motives cont’d
● Both drives and motives can be manipulated by stimulation and deprivation.
● Motivation can be stimulated by;
○ uncomfortable or aversive conditions or events (shocks, loud noise, or excessive heat or
cold can motivate us to seek better conditions)
○ attractions to positive or pleasurable conditions or events (such as food or sex).
● We also become motivated when we're deprived of something that we want or
need, like adequate nutrition or social contact.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
● Intrinsically-motivated behaviors are generated by the sense of personal
satisfaction that they bring.
● They are driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself that comes
from the individual, not society.
○ For example, if you are in college because you enjoy learning and want to make yourself a
more well-rounded individual, you are intrinsically motivated.
● Intrinsic motivation is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical
development; those individuals who are intrinsically motivated are likely
to perform better and improve their skills at a given task.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation cont’d
● Extrinsically-motivated behaviors, in contrast, are performed in order to
receive something from others.
● They do not come from within the individual, but from society—other people.
○ For example, employees might do their work because they want the company to pay them,
not because they love the work. Many athletes are driven by the goal of winning, beating the
competition, and receiving praise from fans; they are not driven by the intrinsic satisfaction
they get from playing the sport. Similarly, if you are in college because you want to make
yourself more marketable for a high-paying career or to satisfy the demands of your parents,
then your motivation is more extrinsic in nature.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation cont’d
● In reality, our motivations are often a mix of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors,
and the nature of the mix can change over time.

○ For example, say cooking is one of your favorite hobbies: you love to cook for
others whenever you get a chance, and you can easily spend hours in the kitchen.
You are intrinsically motivated to cook. Then you decide to go to culinary school
and eventually get a job working as a chef in a good restaurant. You are now
getting extrinsic reinforcement (e.g., getting paid) for your work, and may over time
become more extrinsically than intrinsically motivated.
Motivation vs. Emotion
● While motivation and emotion can be intricately linked, they are two
fundamentally different things.
● Motivation describes the wants or needs that direct behavior toward a goal; in
contrast;
● An emotion is a subjective state of being that we often describe as a
feeling.
● Emotion and motivation are linked in several ways:
○ both influence behavior and can lead us to take action, and emotion itself can act as a
motivator. For example, the emotion of fear can motivate a person to leave a stressful
situation, while the emotion of happiness can motivate a person to be more productive on a
project that reinforces that emotion.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
● Maslow's theory is based on the premise that humans are motivated by needs
that are hierarchically ranked.
● Maslow's hierarchy of needs defines motivation as the process of satisfying
certain needs that are required for long-term survival and development.
● There are some needs that are basic to all human beings, and in their
absence, nothing else matters. As we satisfy these basic needs, they no
longer serve as motivators and we begin to satisfy higher-order needs.
● Maslow divided human needs into a pyramid that includes physiological,
safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Higher-order
needs can only be pursued when the lower needs are met.
Maslow's Hierarchy
According to Maslow, one must satisfy lower-level needs before addressing needs
that occur higher in the pyramid.
For example, if someone is starving, it is quite unlikely that he will spend a lot of
time, or any time at all, wondering whether other people think he is good
person. Instead, all of his energies are geared toward finding something to eat.
1. Physiological Needs: Once you eat, the search for food ceases, and the need for
food no longer motivates you.
2. Safety Needs: At this stage they will be motivated to direct their behavior toward
obtaining shelter and protection in order to satisfy this need.
3. Love/Belonging Needs: Having no attachments can negatively affect health and well-
being; as a result, people are motivated to find friends and romantic partners.
4. Esteem Needs:
● refer to the desire to be respected by one's peers, to feel important, and to be
appreciated. People will often look for ways to achieve a sense of mastery,
and they may seek validation and praise from others in order to fulfill these
needs.
5. Self-Actualization:
● which is a need that essentially equates to achieving one’s full potential. This
can be seen in acquiring new skills, taking on new challenges, and behaving
in a way that will help you to achieve your life goals.
● According to Maslow and other humanistic theorists, self-actualization reflects
the humanistic emphasis on positive aspects of human nature. Maslow
suggested that this is an ongoing, life-long process and that only a small
percentage of people actually achieve a self-actualized state.
Arousal Theory of Motivation
● Arousal theory expands upon drive-reduction theory by considering levels
of arousal as potential motivators.
● Arousal theory examines the influence of the neurotransmitter dopamine as a
motivator in the body.
● Arousal theory proposes that motivation is strongly linked to biological factors
that control reward sensitivity and goal-driven behavior.
● The reward system in the human body spurs physiological arousal, which
motivates individuals to engage in whatever behavior is necessary to relieve
their arousal.
Arousal Theory of Motivation cont’d
● Research shows that there tends to be an optimal level of arousal for peak
performance; when arousal is very high or very low, performance tends to
suffer.
● Traits like impulsivity and sensation-seeking predispose people to engage in
activities that they find physiologically arousing.
The Reward System
● Reward sensitivity is located in the mesolimbic dopamine system.
● Research shows that individual differences in neurological activity in this area
can influence motivation for certain goal-driven behaviors that will elicit a
reward or satisfy a craving.
● In this way, the reward system spurs physiological arousal, which motivates
the individual to engage in whatever behavior is necessary to satisfy or relieve
that arousal.
○ For example, substance use is associated with overactivity in the dopamine system;
depending on how strongly an individual's brain interprets that as a "reward," they may be
more or less motivated to continue using that substance.
The Reward System
● To show how the reward system works, Peter Milner and James Olds conducted
an experiment in the early 1950s in which a rat had an electrode implanted in its
brain so that its brain could be locally stimulated at any time.
● The rat was put in a box that contained two levers: one lever released food and
water, and another lever delivered a brief stimulus to the reward center of the brain.
● At the beginning the rat wandered around the box and stepped on the levers by
accident, but before long it was pressing the lever for the brief stimulus repeatedly.
This behavior is called electrical self-stimulation.
● Sometimes, rats would become so involved in pressing the lever that they would
forget about food and water, stopping only after collapsing from exhaustion.
● Electrical self-stimulation apparently provided a reward that reinforced the habit to
press the lever.
● This study provided evidence that animals are motivated to perform
behaviors that stimulate dopamine release in the reward center of the brain.
Optimal Levels of Arousal
● Theories of learning assert that there is an optimal level of arousal that we all
try to maintain.

● If we are under-aroused, we become bored and will seek out some sort of
stimulation. On the other hand, if we are over-aroused, we will engage in
behaviours to reduce our arousal (Berlyne, 1960).

● Research shows that moderate arousal is generally best; when arousal is

very high or very low, performance tends to suffer.
Optimal Levels of Arousal
● Think about how much stress students experience toward the end of the term
—they feel overwhelmed with work and yearn for the rest and relaxation of
the Vac. Their arousal level is too high.

● Once they finish the term, however, it doesn’t take too long before they begin
to feel bored; their arousal level is too low. Generally, by the time the next
academic year starts, many students are quite happy to return to school. This
is an example of how arousal theory works.
McLelland’s Theory Of Motivation

● Power
● Achievement
● Affiliation
● David McClelland's theory proposes that people
are motivated by three primary needs:
Achievement, Power, and Affiliation.

● Key Idea: These needs are acquired over time

through life experiences and cultural influences,
not innate.
Overview of the three needs
● Need for Achievement (n-ach): The drive to excel, to
achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to
succeed.
● Need for Power (n-pow):
The need to either control other people for one’s own goals
or to achieve higher goals for the greater good.
● Need for Affiliation (n-affil):

The desire to form and maintain positive, close interpersonal relationships with
others
REFLECTION
1. A medical student is experiencing burnout due to lack of sleep and poor
nutrition. According to Maslow's hierarchy, which level of need is most directly
unmet?

A. Safety needs
B. Physiological needs
C. Esteem needs
D. Self-actualization
2. According to McClelland, the three primary needs that motivate individuals are:

A. Physiological, safety, and love

B. Achievement, affiliation, and power
C. Esteem, self-actualization, and security
D. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness