Motivation

Motivation is the driving force behind the energy required to complete a task, a lack of
motivation will give rise to a lack of driving power behind completing a certain task."
Motivation is the force which initiates, energies the behaviour towards attainment of goal.
example:- striving, goal, aim, aspiration. motivation cycle implies to something which is cyclic
in nature. Motivation is that force which pushes us to fulfill our needs.

Need :-refers to lack or defeat within the individual. When a person feels lack of something
within him then need arises. Need is a necessity for survival. So motivation arises when we
feel lack or deficit of something in ourselves.

Types of motivation
● Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often
involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise.
● Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a
complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a
problem.
Motivation related to a number of psychological processes
● FIRST, the psychology of motivation is concerned with changing physiological states
associated with hunger, thirst, sex, and so forth. Therefore many of the early
experimental studies of motivation were directed toward the investigation of the
strength of drives known to be related to bodily needs and physiological processes.
More recently, a great deal of research and theorizing has been directed toward
understanding the fundamental neurological, metabolic, and physiological factors
underlying the primary drives.
● SECOND, emotional states, as already indicated, are sometimes treated as
motivating conditions. Psychologists have demonstrated experimentally that
emotional states, through learning, can act as drives. As common experience tells
us, emotions often reinforce motives in progress. When we strongly desire
something, the accompanying emotional tone increases the strength of our desire
something , the accompanying emotional tone increases the strength of our desire to
attain our goal.
● THIRD, habits enter the realm of motivational psychology because of the fact that
well established habits can incite the individual to action. The professional man as
office worker who has spent thirty or forty years on the job often finds retirement an
exceedingly difficult adjustment. He reminds us of the proverbial fire horse who,
though officially retired, charged off at the sound of the alarm.
● FOURTH, sets, attitude,and values are complex cognitive processes compounded, in
part, of motivational factors and because of this dynamic component, are considered
to be within the scope of motivational psychology.Sets may be defined as temporary
states of motivation that make for greater selectivity of perception and increased
specificity of response.Attitudes are more enduring cognitive states that are
motivational in theAttitudes are more enduring cognitive states that are motivational
in the sense that where they strongly held illustrated by racial and religious
prejudices.
● FIFTH, incentives and other environmental influences that play upon motivational
processes are properly included within the scope of both theoretical and
experimental studies of motivation.
Theories of motivation
● Psychoanalytic theory of motivation
Freudian psychoanalysis in an outgrowth of instinct psychology. This theory was given by
Sigmund Freud. Fluid studied medicine at the University of Vienna wear a brilliant Academic
Staff number among its members some of Europe outstanding biologist, physiologist and
neurourologist. Darwinism was in the air of Viennese.Freud defined mind as:-

ID: This part of a person’s personality is driven by an internal and basic drive. It is essentially
a need for self-survival and replication. This means the needs of the id are based on instinct:
thirst, hunger, or a desire to have sex would all be considered part of this element of
personality. The decisions within this element are often impulsive.

EGO: This part of the personality is driven by reality. It is the balance between the instinctual
form of personality and the moral form of personality. The ego, according to Freud,
rationalizes the urges and instincts of the individual and separates what is real from the
restrictions that societal groups place upon individuals.

SUPEREGO: This personality element is driven by morality principles. It is where people are
able to connect with logic and other forms of higher thought or action. Instead of making a
decision that is based on instinct, an individual engaged with their superego would make a
judgment on write or wrong and use guilt or shame to encourage behaviors that are socially
acceptable in themselves or in others.

Instincts theory of Freud

Libido or libidic energy
Sigmund freud saw a way to keep the science of Mind on a form biological basis by founding
of motivational aspect of his psychoanalytic system on the modification of the reproductive
instant which is called libido. The term libido is best understood as a psychophysical
concept meaning both the bodily and the mental aspects of sex Instinct. Freud emphasized
the mentalistic aspects of libido in his writings and for all practical purposes, libidinal energy
may be equated with mental or psychic energy. The term to cover a range of behaviour and
motivational phenomena generally not considered sexuall in the narrow sense. Self love, a
mother's love for child, religious love, any pleasurable activities in which the individual
engages are broader aspects of the basic desire to achieve sexual satisfaction.

EROS
Freud further analysed his Libido theory into all inclusive "life instincts", EROS. EROS
include self love, love for others, the instincts for self preservation,the desire to propagate
the species and the tendency to grow and realise ons's potentialities,. In short, eros is the
creative force that underlies life itself. These instincts have the life energy called
Libido-which motivates the individual towards constructive activities like love,
sympathy/helping others, etc. The life drives are focused on the preservation of life, both of
the individual and of the species. This drive compels people to engage in actions that sustain
their own lives, such as looking after their health and safety. It also exerts itself through
sexual drives, motivating people to create and nurture new life. Positive emotions such as
love, affection, prosocial actions, and social cooperation are also associated with the life
drives. These behaviors support both individual well-being and the harmonious existence of
a cooperative and healthy society.

Thanatos
Freud also observed in his patients the urge to destroy - sometimes to destroy the self,
sometimes others. Man is inevitably drawn toward death. If death Instinct is turned inward, it
results in suicide. If death instinct turned outward, in hate or aggression or in its wrost form,
murder. This all embracing Instinct of death and destruction he called thanatos.Freud based
this theory on various clinical observations. For instance, Freud noted that people who
experience a traumatic event would often reenact that experience. For instance, while
studying soldiers returning from World War I, Freud observed they had a tendency to repeat
or re-enact their traumatic experiences in a way that took them back to the combat scene.
He noted similar behavior in his 18-month-old grandson, Ernst, who played a game called
Fort/Da whenever his mother was away. To deal with his anxiety, his grandson would
repeatedly toss away and retrieve a wooden reel with a piece of string tied around it. Freud
wondered how "repetition of this distressing experience as a game fit in with the pleasure
principle?"
From this, he concluded that people hold an unconscious desire to die but that life instincts
largely temper this wish.

Eros and Thanatos exist side by side. We all are driven by conflicting unconscious forces.
Love is a fusion of eros and thanatos. Every human motive is an alloy of both constructive
and destructive impulses.Freud agreed in principle with the poet Oscar Wilde, who said in
wish or deed each man kills the things he loves.

On the basis of these fundamental instincts, Freud built his entire system of motivation. As
the child develops the elaboration of eros and thanatos determine his or her relationship with
the members of the family constellation and the child's reaction to the social order into which
he or she is born and to those with whom he or she will have interpersonal relations during
adulthood. The libido goes through oral, anal and genital state stages of development in
infancy followed by a latent period during which the child is being socialized.

Freud has emphasised that the unconscious motives play more dominant role in determining
our behaviour, than conscious or preconscious. He pointed that, our actions are determined
by our unconscious motives. According to him, our unconscious mannerisms, slips of tongue
and pen, phobias are the result of these hidden motives. These hidden motives may also
drive the people towards various psychosomatic disorders like chronic headaches, insomnia,
gastric troubles, etc. Our motives also appear in the form of dreams according to Freud.
Cognitive theory of motivation

Cognitive Theories of Motivation consist of two ultimate theories that are:- The Expectancy
Theory and
The Goal Setting Theory.
● The Expectancy Theory explains how and why an individual makes a certain decision
of picking the best behavioral option from many.
● On the other side, the Goal-Setting Theory offers the importance of creating goals
and how goals, make a person be motivated and satisfied enough. Further
clarification for both Cognitive Theories of motivation are:-

Expectancy Theory of motivation

The Expectancy theory was proposed by Victor H. Vroom in 1964. It elaborates such a
behavioral process in which an individual chooses one specific and necessary option over
the others and what is the role of the decision in the process of achieving the career
goals.Expectancy theory proposes that an individual will behave or act in a certain way
because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect
the result of that selected behavior will be.In essence, the motivation of the behavior
selection is determined by the desirability of the outcome. However, at the core of the theory
is the cognitive process of how an individual processes the different motivational elements.
This is done before making the ultimate choice. The outcome is not the sole determining
factor in making the decision of how to behave. Expectancy theory is about the mental
processes regarding choice, or choosing. It explains the processes that an individual
undergoes to make choices. In the study of organizational behavior, expectancy theory is a
motivation theory first proposed by Victor Vroom of the Yale School of Management.

"This theory emphasizes the needs for organizations to relate rewards directly to
performance and to ensure that the rewards provided are those rewards deserved and
wanted by the recipients."

Victor H. Vroom defines motivation as a process governing choices among alternative forms
of voluntary activities, a process controlled by the individual. The individual makes choices
based on estimates of how well the expected results of a given behavior are going to match
up with or eventually lead to the desired results. Motivation is a product of the individual's
expectancy that a certain effort will lead to the intended performance, the instrumentality of
this performance to achieving a certain result, and the desirability of this result for the
individual, known as valence. The theory consists of three variables that were introduced by
Vroom in order to clearly explain the given behavioral process. The variables are as follows:

“E” for Expectancy.

“V” for Valence.
“I” for Instrumentality.

● Expectancy is the individual’s belief that effort will lead to the intended performance
goals. Expectancy describes the person’s belief that “I can do this.” Usually, this
belief is based on an individual’s past experience, self-confidence, and the perceived
 difficulty of the performance standard or goal. Factors associated with the individual’s
expectancy perception are competence, goal difficulty, and control.
● Instrumentality is the belief that a person will receive a desired outcome if the
performance expectation is met. Instrumentality reflects the person’s belief that, “If I
accomplish this, I will get that.” The desired outcome may come in the form of a pay
increase, promotion, recognition, or sense of accomplishment. Having clear policies
in place—preferably spelled out in a contract—guarantees that the reward will be
delivered if the agreed-upon performance is met. Instrumentality is low when the
outcome is vague or uncertain, or if the outcome is the same for all possible levels of
performance.
● Valence is the unique value an individual places on a particular outcome. Valence
captures the fact that “I find this particular outcome desirable because I’m me.”
Factors associated with the individual’s valence are needs, goals, preferences,
values, sources of motivation, and the strength of an individual’s preference for a
particular outcome. An outcome that one employee finds motivating and
desirable—such as a bonus or pay raise—may not be motivating and desirable to
another (who may, for example, prefer greater recognition or more flexible working
hours).
Expectancy theory, when properly followed, can help managers understand how individuals
are motivated to choose among various behavioral alternatives. To enhance the connection
between performance and outcomes, managers should use systems that tie rewards very
closely to performance. They can also use training to help employees improve their abilities
and believe that added effort will, in fact, lead to better performance.

It’s important to understand that expectancy theory can run aground if managers interpret it
too simplistically. Vroom’s theory entails more than just the assumption that people will work
harder if they think the effort will be rewarded. The reward needs to be meaningful and take
valence into account. Valence has a significant cultural as well as personal dimension, as
illustrated by the following case.

Criticism
● One of the major criticisms of the expectancy theory of motivation decision model
was its simplicity.
● The effectiveness of the expectancy theory of motivation decision model from a
managerial perspective relies on the manager to make assumptions on the
motivational force of the reward for the employees.
Goal setting theory
Goal-setting theory of motivation states that specific and challenging goals along with
appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better task performance.Goals indicate and
give direction to an employee about what needs to be done and how much effort is required
to be put in.
In the 1960s, Edwin Locke put forward the goal-setting theory of motivation. The theory
states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance.In the goal-setting theory,
goals must be set based on 5 principles. To motivate, goals must have these.7 Goal Setting
Theory Principles
7 principles of goal setting theory are;

● Clarity.
● Challenge.
● Commitment.
● Feedback.
● Task Complexity.
● Self-efficiency.
● Goal commitment.

1. Clarity
Clear goals are measurable and unambiguous.When a goal is dear and specific, with a
definite time set for completion, there is less misunderstanding about what behaviors will be
rewarded.
“Reduce job turnover by 15%” or “Respond to employee suggestions within 48 hours” are
examples of dear goals.

2. Challenge
One of the most important characteristics of goals is the level of challenge.People are often
motivated by achievement, and they’ll judge a goal based on the significance of the
anticipated accomplishment.Rewards typically increase for more difficult goals. If you believe
you’ll be well compensated or otherwise rewarded for achieving a challenging goal that will
boost your enthusiasm and your drive to get it done.
If an assignment is easy and not viewed as very important – and if you or your employee
doesn’t expect the accomplishment to be significant – then the effort may not be impressive.

3. Commitment
Goals must be understood and agreed upon if they are to be effective. Employees are more
likely to “buy into” a goal if they feel they were part of creating that goal.
The notion of participative management rests on this idea of involving employees in setting
goals and making decisions.

4. Feedback
In addition to selecting the right type of goal, an effective goal program must also include
feedback. Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal difficulty, and
gain recognition.
It’s important to provide benchmark opportunities or targets, so individuals can determine for
themselves how they’re doing.

5. Task complexity
The last factor in the goal-setting theory introduces two more requirements for success. For
goals or assignments that are highly complex, take special care to ensure that the work
doesn’t become too overwhelming.Goal-setting theory has certain eventualities such as
Self-efficiency and Goal commitment.

6. Self-efficiency
Self-efficiency is the individual’s self-confidence and faith that he has potential.if performing
the task. Higher the level of self-efficiency, greater will be the efforts pm in by the individual
when they face challenging tasks.While lower the level of self-efficiency, less will be the
efforts put in by the individual or he might even quit while meeting challenges.

7. Goal commitment
The goal-setting theory assumes that the individual is committed to the goal and will not
leave the goal. The goal commitment is dependent on the following factors:
Goals are made open, known and broadcasted.Goals should be set-self by individuals rather
than designated.
The individual’s set should be consistent with organizational goals and vision.

Features of Goal Setting Theory

● The willingness to work towards the attainment of the goal is the main source of job
motivation. Clear, particular and difficult goals arc greater motivating factors than
easy, general and vague goals.
● Specific and clear goals lead to greater output and better performance.
Unambiguous, measurable and clear goals accompanied by a deadline for
completion avoids misunderstanding.
● Goals should be realistic and challenging. This gives an individual a feeling of pride
and triumph when he attains them, and sets him up for the attainment of the next
goal. The more challenging the goal the greater is the reward generally and the more
is the passion for achieving it.
● Better and appropriate feedback of results directs the employee behavior and
contributes to higher performance than an absence of feedback. Feedback is a
means of gaining reputation, making clarifications and regulating goal difficulties. It
helps employees to work with more involvement and leads to greater job satisfaction.
● Employees’ participation in goal is not always desirable. Participation in setting the
goal, however, makes the goal more acceptable and leads to more involvement.

Advantages of Goal Setting Theory

● Goal-setting theory is a technique used to raise incentives for employees to complete
work quickly effectively.
● Goal setting leads to better performance by increasing motivation and efforts, but
also through increasing and improving the feedback quality.

Limitations of Goal Setting theory

● At times, the organizational goals conflict with the managerial goals. Goal conflict has
a detrimental effect on the performance if it motivates incompatible action drift.
● Very difficult and complex goals stimulate riskier behavior.
● If the employee lacks skills and competencies to perform actions essential for goal,
then the goal-setting can fail and lead to an undermining of performance.
● There is no evidence to prove that goal-setting improves job satisfaction.
Humanistic theory of motivation
Humanistic theories of motivation are based on the idea that people also have strong
cognitive reasons to perform various actions.Once these needs have been met, the primary
motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual
potential.

Maslow hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation which states that five categories of
human needs dictate an individual’s behavior.
Abraham Maslow first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper titled
"A Theory of Human Motivation," and again in his subsequent book, Motivation and
Personality. This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before
moving on to other, more advanced needs. Maslow believed that these needs are similar to
instincts and play a major role in motivating behaviour.
There are five different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, starting at the lowest level
known as physiological needs. Those needs are physiological needs, safety needs, love
and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs:-

● Physiological needs: The first of the id-driven lower needs on Maslow's hierarchy are
physiological needs. These most basic human survival needs include food and water,
sufficient rest, clothing and shelter, overall health, and reproduction. Maslow states
that these basic physiological needs must be addressed before humans move on to
the next level of fulfillment.
● Safety needs: Next among the lower-level needs is safety. Safety needs include
protection from violence and theft, emotional stability and well-being, health security,
and financial security.
● Love and belonging needs: The social needs on the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy
relate to human interaction and are the last of the so-called lower needs. Among
these needs are friendships and family bonds—both with biological family (parents,
siblings, children) and chosen family (spouses and partners). Physical and emotional
intimacy ranging from sexual relationships to intimate emotional bonds are important
to achieving a feeling of elevated kinship. Additionally, membership in social groups
contributes to meeting this need, from belonging to a team of coworkers to forging an
identity in a union, club, or group of hobbyists.
● Esteem needs: The higher needs, beginning with esteem, are ego-driven needs. The
primary elements of esteem are self-respect (the belief that you are valuable and
deserving of dignity) and self-esteem (confidence in your potential for personal
growth and accomplishments). Maslow specifically notes that self-esteem can be
broken into two types: esteem which is based on respect and acknowledgment from
others, and esteem which is based on your own self-assessment. Self-confidence
and independence stem from this latter type of self-esteem.
● Self-actualization needs: Self-actualization describes the fulfillment of your full
potential as a person. Sometimes called self-fulfillment needs, self-actualization
needs occupy the highest spot on Maslow's pyramid. Self-actualization needs include
education, skill development—the refining of talents in areas such as music,
 athletics, design, cooking, and gardening—caring for others, and broader goals like
learning a new language, traveling to new places, and winning awards.

Deficiency Needs vs. Growth Needs on Maslow’s Hierarchy

Maslow referred to self-actualization as a “growth need,” and he separated it from the lower
four levels on his hierarchy, which he called “deficiency needs.” According to his theory, if
you fail to meet your deficiency needs, you’ll experience harmful or unpleasant results.
Conditions ranging from illness and starvation up through loneliness and self-doubt are the
byproducts of unmet deficiency needs. By contrast, self-actualization needs can make you
happier, but you are not harmed when these needs go unfulfilled. Thus, self-actualization
needs only become a priority when the other four foundational needs are met.

Impact of Maslow hierarchy

● Regardless of these criticisms, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs represents part of an

important shift in psychology. Rather than focusing on abnormal behavior and
development, Maslow's humanistic psychology was focused on the development of
healthy individuals.
● There has been relatively little research supporting Maslow's theory, yet the hierarchy
of needs is well-known and popular both in and out of psychology. researchers from
the University of Illinois set out to put this hierarchy to the test.
● What they discovered is that, while the fulfillment of the needs was strongly
correlated with happiness, people from cultures all over the world reported that
self-actualization and social needs were important even when many of the most
basic needs were unfulfilled.
● Such results suggest that while these needs can be powerful motivators of human
behavior, they do not necessarily take the hierarchical form that Maslow described.

Criticism
● The order in which the hierarchy is arranged has been criticized as being
ethnocentric by Geert Hofstede.
● Maslow's hierarchy of needs fails to illustrate and expand upon the difference
between the social and intellectual needs of those raised in individualistic societies
and those raised in collectivist societies.
Ethology theory of motivation
Ethological theories note that responsiveness to the environment varies across the life-span
and that the environment has an effect on development. Environmental influences wll have
different effects at different times. Ethology is a theory that emphasizes the ability of biology
to impact behavior. Ethology states that behavior can be directly related and linked to nót
only biology, but to evolution and the impact of this is heightened even more so during
particularly critical and sensitive periods in an individual's development.

Ethology stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is
characterized by critical or sensitive periods." In other words, there are times when we are
most sensitive to particular typés of stimuli.
Konrad Lorenz - a two factor theory: 1) instinctual aggressive energy (reaction specific
energy) which motivates the behavior and 2) a sign stimulus or releaser which elicits the
behavior ( if the sign is not present then the discharge of the instinct is inhibited).
● Konrad Lorenz conducted a groundbreaking study on ethology by using the behavior
of greylag O geese. Greylag geese are known for following their mothers (or the first
moving object they see) immediately upon hatching.
● In this experiment, Lorenz separated two groups of eggs, allowing one group to hatch
with their mother near, and the other group to hatch with him near. The first group
followed their mother, as expected, while the second group followed Lorenz. Lorenz
then put both groups together, along with the mother goose, and the goslings each
followed whoever had been present at their hatching) the mother or Lorenz. This
notion of a critical period demonstrates the importance of biology in development.
● A critical period is "...a fixed time period very early in development during which
certain behaviors optimally emerge." Ethologists are like behaviorists in their
emphasis on behavior, but they feel that behavior must be observed in the natural
setting.
● Another researcher, by the name of Bowlby, believed that the attachment an
individual develops with a caregiver during the very early years of life has dramatic
effect on the continued growth and development throughout that individual's life.
Bowlby believed that if this attachment was positive and provided the individual with
a sense of security, that the likelihood of positive growth and develop to continue
throughout is great. However,if the attachment to the caregiver is negative and does
not provide the individual with security, the person may suffer the after effects of this
poor connection for the remainder of their life.
Both Bowlby and Lorenz believed that these actions to Create an attachment in an individual
must take place at an early, sensitive age or they will never occur. Had the geese not been
"imprinted" immediately following birth, it is unlikely their behavior would have changed later
down the road.
According to Bowlby, children, much like the greylag geese, must be imprinted with these
attachments and behaviors at an early age or they may never be imprinted upon. By
developing these attachments to caregivers at such an early age, the stage is set for
continued positive growth and development.

hydraulic model - with the greater buildup of instinctual energy, the weaker the sign
stimulus has to be to elicit the behavior imprinting, bonding (other instincts) guns, knives
(sign stimuli for aggressive behavior)? weapon's effect (Berkowitz)Lorenz' model describes
the relationship between:
● behaviour (fixed action patterns)
● motivation (action specific energy)
● external stimuli (sign or releasing stimuli)
Konrad Lorenz developed a model that brings together the main ideas of classical ethology
to explain animal motivation.
It should be emphasized that this is a model, it does not pretend to be an accurate picture of
structures that actually exist within the brain. Instead it is a way of visualizing how various
hypothetical systems work together to organize an animal's response to its internal and
external environment.
It is called a hydraulic model because it views motivation as a liquid whose accumulation
and discharge influences behaviour. consequently some people call it 'Lorenz's water closet'.
Action specific energy (motivational energy) accumulates in a reservoir until released by an
appropriate sign stimulus, represented by weights on a scale pan, or until the pressure on
the valve causes an action pattern to occur spontaneously (vacuum activity).
The consummatory response or Fixed Action Pattern(s) released vary depending upon how
much action specific energy is released from the valve.

Main points

Fixed action patterns(FAPs)

FAPs are relatively stereotyped behaviours(i.e. they seem to run like clockwork) exhibited by
all members of a species under appropriate conditions.
FAPs are normally seen when an animal in an appropriate motivational state is exposed to
the appropriate external stimulus - this stimulus was called a releaser or sign stimulus by
ethologists.
A collection of FAPs is called an ethogram.

Action specific energy

In Lorenz's model motivation increases with the passage of time. This motivation is specific
for one type of behaviour (e.g. either feeding, or fighting or sexual behaviour). This specific
source of motivational energy is called action specific energy. It is represented by the
accumulation of water in the blue reservoir. The reservoir is filled by a tap.

Lorenz postulated that the reservoir was being continually filled with water in order to explain
a phenomenon which he called vacuum activity.

Vacuum activity
Lorenz coined the term vacuum activity to describe behaviour which apparently occurs in the
absence of any external stimulus. In the hydraulic model, action specific energy can
accumulate to such a high level that the pressure of water in the reservoir is capable of
pushing open the restraining valve. This causes water to flow into the trough, and out
through holes in the floor that represent fixed action patterns.

The Innate Releasing Mechanism

Lorenz introduced the term innate releasing mechanism (IRM) to describe a central ( located
somewhere in the brain) mechanism that handled the link between external stimulus, internal
motivation and behavioural output. The scale pan, pulley, trough and outflow pipes in the
model correspond to the IRM.

Behavioural quiescence
An important feature of the model is that after the animal has engaged in a particular
behaviour (FAP) there is a period of time when they less likely to respond even if the same
stimulus is presented again - behavioural quiescence.
This occurs because the reservoir has been drained of action specific energy.

Limitations of Lorenz's Hydraulic Model

● Models and theoretical systems are useful because they organise research findings
and suggest further experiments. Models often help reveal the principles underlying
the organisation of behaviour. But they do not necessarily tell us much about the
actual brain mechanisms involved.

● Clearly the brain does not operate like a toilet - except in some special
circumstances! One of the most powerful criticisms of Lorenz's model is that it does
not include any mechanism for learning. There is no way that the consequences of
the animal's behaviour can feedback into the system to influence subsequent
behaviour.

Limitations of ethological theory of motivation

Ethological Theory Does Not Take Development in Consideration. True enough, the theory
does not consider that life occurs in different stages. As a result, no large changes of
qualitative development are given attention to. Instead, the theory focuses only on the
quantitative development.