Industrial Psychology

(BAS-12/ BHM-05)

Unit 2 Lecture 1 : Introduction to Motivation:

Definition, Elements, & Theories
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

“the (psychological) processes (forces)

that account for an individual’s
intensity, direction and persistence of
effort toward attaining a goal.
ELEMENTS OF MOTIVATION

• A careful reading of the definition of

motivation will reveal that it is composed of
several elements. These are: -

1. Intensity- First dimension, how hard a

person tries, most focused element of
motivation

2. Direction- There should be a clear direction

towards which one’s efforts are leading to.
Despite high intensity, a person might not
succeed unless his/her efforts are channeled
in a clear direction. Therefore, quality of the
effort also matters not only the quantity.

3. Persistence of Effort- Third dimension,

measures how long a person can maintain
effort. Motivated individuals stay with a
task long enough.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Studies and researches on motivation
have been summarized into various
theories to explain the concept of
motivation.
• Theories of motivation could be
divided into three broad categories: -
1.Content theories
2.Reinforcement theories
3.Process Theories
TYPES OF THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Content theories- Primarily focus on individual needs

(physiological/psychological); emphasize the “what” aspects of
motivation; tend to look for ways to improve motivation by
dealing with activated or deprived needs.

Process theories- Focus on the thought/cognitive processes

that take place within individual minds that
influence/determine one’s behavior.

Reinforcement theories- Focus on the ways through which the

process of controlling individual’s behavior by manipulating its
consequences takes place.
 • Proposed by Abraham Maslow; extremely popular
and simple.

HIERARCHY • The theory proposes that, there exists a hierarchy

of following five needs within every individual: -
OF NEEDS
1. Physiological needs (hunger, thirst, sex, shelter
THEORY and other bodily needs)
2. Safety needs (security and protection from
physical and mental harm)
3. Social needs (affection, belongingness,
acceptance, friendship)
4. Esteem needs (internal factors such as self
respect, autonomy, achievement, and external
factors such as status, recognition, and attention)
5. Self actualization (drive to become what we can
become, achieving highest potential one has).
 • No need is fully gratified ever.
However, once sufficiently satisfied, it
no longer motivates and the next one
becomes dominant.
HIERARCHY • If you want to motivate someone,
OF NEEDS according to Maslow’s theory, asses at
which level the person is currently and
THEORY focus on satisfying the need at that
level and the next level.

• Also, according to the theory,

physiological and safety needs are
lower order needs usually gratified
externally. But esteem needs and self
actualization needs are higher order
needs satisfied internally.
 VIDEO LECTURES ON
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY

• https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/the
ories-personality/v/maslow-hierarchy-of-needs

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uElkXGRYxA&t=1s

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx3qR3gLh60
THIS PRESENTATION IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING
SOURCES

• Bir, P. (Publication date unknown). Psychology, Paper 12

Organisational Behaviour, Module 1 Introduction to
Organisational Behavior. e-PGPathshala. Retrieved from
http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/Home/ViewSubject?catid=31

• Robins, S.P., Judge, T.A., & Vohra, N. (2016).

Organizational Behaviour. New Delhi: Pearson.

• Luthans, F. (2017). Organizational Behaviour: An

evidence based approach. New York: McGraw Hill.
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