Motivation
What is it and why do we have it?
What is Motivation?
Motivation is the reason why people have goals and want to achieve them. It is the behaviour that drive us to do things. Without this force we will not be able to complete anything as there would be no reason to do so. Motivation is the want to do something and behaviour to get it.
Why do we have this?
- to achieve something
- brings happiness
- there is a need/ want
- instincts
- gain intrinsic and extrinsic values
- better one's life
- not get into harm or trouble
- the brain's way to get you do something at all
Popular Scientific Theories
- Instinct Theory
- Drive - Reduction Theory
- Incentive theory
- Cognitive Theory
- Arousal Theory
- Humanistic Theory (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs)
- ERG Theory
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Two factor Theory
Instinct Theory
Instincts are biological tendencies that a species has through evolution. This means all members in the species will have similar traits and will be motivated to do the same thing. Actions that are common in most individuals can be associated with this. Instinctual motivation states that people as a whole want to do and achieve the same things.
Examples
- A newly hatched turtle is motivated to reach the ocean
- Humans want to find a partner and settle down and have kids
- The need to be social with people
Pros
- explains common traits in humans
- easily examples to prove can come from animals
- may be an explanation on why we do things that seem to for no reason
- explains habitual tendencies
Cons
- labelling something as an instinct does not explain why (cop out answer)
- cannot truly define something as instinct
- cannot apply to all behaviour
- hard to prove
What are the most important things that you must have in your life?
If you had nothing, what things are you motivated to achieve first, second and etc.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
What is this?
It is a hierarchy of importance a person will want to achieve in life. Starts at the bottom and works it up. The bottom four are crucial to be able to advance to the top four. All steps must be completed to be able to achieve transcendence. Very little people actually get to the top. What a person does to achieve these goals is up to them. People get and accomplish their strop their own way.
Pros
-
cover most aspects of life
- allows for choice in each person
- explains a clear order of what people find important
Cons
- personal hierarchy is different for everyone
- impossible to prove
- clear and strict, doesn't allow people to achieve transcendence without having the other steps completed
- lower levels are not mandatory
None
It is impossible for psychologists to determine the root reason why people are motivated in what they do. No experiment or case study can definitively give scientists an answer. They can only disprove theories and not prove them. What comes out of studies are personal interpretations of what happens, but none can be 100% true.
