Introduction to Psychology

Unit 9

Lecturer:
Dr. Joan Pinkney, PhD.

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 Motivation
Motivation is a need or desire that energizes and directs
behavior toward a goal; it is those factors that activate behaviour
and give it direction; it is the dynamics of behaviour that initiate,
sustain, direct, and terminate actions

Types of Motivation
  Intrinsic motivation: inspiration by which people participate in
an activity for their own enjoyment not for the reward it will get
them.
 Extrinsic motivation: inspiration by which people participate in
an activity for a tangible reward. e.g., a reward for recognition or
other gain
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 Motivation
Model of Motivation
Motivated activities begin with a Need (Internal deficiency)
Needs cause Drives: Energized motivational state (e.g., hunger, thirst; activates a
response)
Drives activate Response: Action or series of actions designed to attain a goal
Types of Motives
 Incentive Value: Goal’s appeal beyond its ability to fill a need

 Primary Motive: Innate (inborn) motives based on biological needs that must be met to

survive e.g. hunger, thirst

 Stimulus Motive: Needs for stimulation and information; appear to be innate, but not

necessary for survival (e.g. activity, manipulation, exploration)

 Secondary Motive: Based on learned needs, drives, and goals. (Explains making music,

trying to win skateboarding finals, the need to be with others) 3

 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
am Maslow is renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943. This theory is bas
sumption that there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The urgency of these ne
and are as follows-

ological needs- basic needs - air, water, food, clothing and shelter

afety needs- include physical, environmental and emotional safety and protection. E.g. Job sec
ancial security, family security, health security, etc.

ocial needs- include the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and friendship.

teem needs- Two types: internal esteem needs (self- respect, confidence, competence,
hievement and freedom) and external esteem needs (recognition, power, status, attention an
miration).

elf-actualization need- include the urge to become what one is capable of becoming or the po
become. It includes the need for growth and self-contentment. Also includes desire for gaining
owledge, social- service, creativity and being aesthetic. The self- actualization needs are never
tiable. As an individual grows psychologically, opportunities keep cropping up to continue4 growin
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

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 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory cont’d.

 According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied

needs. As each of these needs is significantly satisfied, it drives
and forces the next need to emerge.

 He grouped the five needs into two categories - Higher-order

needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and the
safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These lower-
order needs are mainly satisfied externally.

 The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the

higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are generally
satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual.
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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist proposed a two-factor
theory or the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are
some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors
that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of
“Satisfaction” is “No satisfaction” and the opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No
Dissatisfaction”.

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-
 Hygiene factors- are those job factors which are essential for
existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to
positive satisfaction for long-term. But if these factors are absent
or are non-existent at workplace, dissatisfaction occurs.
 In summary, hygiene factors are those which when
adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not
make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work.
 Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance
factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These
factors describe the job environment/scenario and are
symbolized by the physiological needs which the individuals
wanted and expected to be fulfilled
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Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be
regarded as motivators. Motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. They
inspire employees for superior performance and are called satisfiers. Employees
find these factors intrinsically rewarding. They include:
 Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their
accomplishments by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement.
There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and advancement
opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work.
Managers should minimize control but retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful, interesting
and challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated. 9
 Hygiene Factors
 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be equal and competitive to
those in the same industry in the same domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies - should not be too
rigid, should be fair and clear, should include flexible working hours,
dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - should be offered such as - health care plans benefits
for the family, employee help programmes, etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe,
clean and hygienic; work equipment should be updated and maintained.
 Status - employees’ status within the organization should be familiar
and retained.
 Interpersonal relations - relationship of the employees with his peers,
superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable; should
be no conflict or humiliation element present.
 Job Security - organization must provide job security to the employees

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 Theory X and Theory Y
In 1960, Douglas McGregor formulated Theory X and Theory Y suggesting two aspects of
human behaviour at work, or in other words, two different views of individuals (employees):
one of which is negative, called as Theory X and the other is positive, so called as Theory Y.
According to McGregor, the perception of managers on the nature of individuals is based on
various assumptions.

Assumptions of Theory X
 An average employee intrinsically does not like work and tries to escape it whenever
possible.
 Since the employee does not want to work, he must be persuaded, compelled, or warned
with punishment so as to achieve organizational goals. A close supervision is required on
part of managers. The managers adopt a more dictatorial style.
 Many employees rank job security on top, and they have little or no aspiration/ ambition.
 Employees generally dislike responsibilities.
 Employees resist change.
 An average employee needs formal direction.
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Assumptions of Theory Y
 Employees can perceive their job as relaxing and normal. They exercise their physical and
mental efforts in an inherent manner in their jobs.
 Employees may not require only threat, external control and coercion to work, but they
can use self-direction and self-control if they are dedicated and sincere to achieve the
organizational objectives.
 If the job is rewarding and satisfying, then it will result in employees’ loyalty and
commitment to organization.
 An average employee can learn to admit and recognize the responsibility. In fact, he can
even learn to obtain responsibility.
 The employees have skills and capabilities. Their logical capabilities should be fully
utilized. In other words, the creativity, resourcefulness and innovative potentiality of the
employees can be utilized to solve organizational problems.

Thus, we can say that Theory X presents a pessimistic view of employees’ nature and
behaviour at work, while Theory Y presents an optimistic view of the employees’ nature and
behaviour at work. If correlate it with Maslow’s theory, we can say that Theory X is based on
the assumption that the employees emphasize on the physiological needs and the safety
needs; while Theory X is based on the assumption that the social needs, esteem needs and
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the self-actualization needs dominate the employees.
 Hunger
 Hunger is the regulation of food intake. The hypothalamus plays
an important role in controlling hunger.
 The brain receives various messages from parts of the digestive
system indicating that one is hungry. There is also the
homeostatic monitoring of blood sugar levels; insulin and
glucagon monitoring. When blood sugar falls, Hypoglycemia) the
liver sends nerve impulses to the brain.
 Walter Cannon and A.L. Washburn (1912) concluded from an
experiment that hunger was nothing more than a contraction of
an empty stomach.
 The hypothalamus regulates many aspects of motivation and
emotion, including hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior. Within
the hypothalamus is the Feeding System: The area in the
hypothalamus that, when stimulated, initiates eating. While the
Satiety System: in the hypothalamus terminates eating. 13
 Hunger
External Factors in Hunger and obesity
 External Eating Cues: Outward stimuli that tend to
encourage hunger or elicit eating; these cues may cause
you to eat even if you are stuffed. Taste: the availability
of a variety of food can cause over eating and obesity
 Taste aversion: an active dislike for a particular food.
VERY difficult to overcome
 Eating Emotion: Some people over eat when they are
emotionally upset (anxious, angry, sad)
 Cultural Factors: Cultural values affect our intrinsic value
for food.
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 Sexual motivation
 As the pleasure we take in eating is nature’s inventive method of getting our body
nourishment, so the pleasure of sex is our genes way of preserving and spreading
themselves.
 Sex is not necessary for survival and is not viewed by some psychologists as a primary
motive. Hunger and sex are two different motives. Hunger responds to a need if we don’t eat
we will eventually die. If we do not have sex we may feel like we are dying but we will not
die.
 Sex drive: the strength of ones motivation to engage in sensual/erotic behaviour
 Hormones play an important role in sex drive. The sex drive in female is related to the
release of estrogens while the testosterones accounts for the male sex drive
  Internal and external factors interact to stimulate sexual arousal. Studies have shown that
men become aroused when thy see, hear or read erotic material. Women also respond to
these stimuli.
 Our imaginations (imagined stimuli) also influences sexual arousal and desire. The brain is
said to be our most significant sex organ. (Memories. Fantasies, imaginations and thoughts).
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 Social Motives

 Social Motives are learned drives acquired by growing up in a particular

society or culture (need to achieve, need for money, possession,
power, approval, to belong to a group).

 Need for Achievement (striving for success): The desire to meet some
internal standard of excellence. A stable learned characteristics in which
satisfaction is obtained by striving for and attaining a level of excellence.

 Need for affiliation (striving for friendship): an interest in

establishing and maintaining relationships with other people

 Need for power (striving for impact on others): Desire to have social
impact or control over others. A tendency to seek impact control or
influence over others and to be seen as a powerful individual.

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 Aggressive Motivation
 Aggression is seeking to cause another person harm or pain. Hostile
aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain, and
instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not
necessarily involve intent to cause pain. Bullying is an international public
health concern that largely affects the adolescent population.

 Bullying is repeated behaviors that are intended to inflict harm on the victim
and can take the form of physical, psychological, emotional, or social abuse.
Bullying has negative mental health consequences for youth including
suicide.

 Cyberbullying is a newer form of bullying that takes place in an online

environment where bullies can remain anonymous and victims are helpless
to address the harassment. Despite the social norm of helping others in
need, when there are many bystanders witnessing an emergency, diffusion
of responsibility will lead to a lower likelihood of any one person helping.
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 Achievement motivation
Achievement motivation is the need for excellence and significant accomplishment, despite what rewards
may be offered after the achievement has been met.
The following are types of Achievement Motivation:

i) Intrinsic: Individuals are commonly influenced by intrinsic motives, which come from within based on the desire to

perform well and based on the incentives. Such incentives include a sense of self-satisfaction achieved by doing a good job,

the exhilaration of having completed a challenge and a sense of mastery.

ii) Extrinsic: Motives are common and come from outside the individual. Very often, they are the result of a desire to meet

society's standards rather than their own. Task completion is motivated by the individual's desire either to prove that he can

do it, or to secure a favorable impression. Individuals influenced by extrinsic factors usually place emphasis on how others

perceive them.

iii) Avoidance: Avoidance is a kind of motivation with which some people can identify. It offers stability and predictability in

return for the performance of boring, rote or unpleasant tasks. Avoidance motivates individuals to complete such tasks to

avoid unpleasant consequences. However, performing these tasks, can improve an individual's overall situation. For example,

many office workers perform uninteresting tasks such as filing reports, making unpleasant phone calls and preparing

complicated documents. If they perform these tasks up to standard, they get to keep their jobs. In some cases, if they

perform the tasks well and long enough, a promotion or a raise could follow.
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 Intrinsic motivation vs. extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from within, while extrinsic motivation arises from
outside. When you’re intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity solely
because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from it. When you’re
extrinsically motivated, you do something in order to gain an external
reward. This can mean getting something in return, such as money, or
avoiding getting into trouble, such as losing your job.
Motivation Goals
You do the activity because
it’s internally rewarding. Goals come from within and the outcomes
Intrinsic You may do it because it’s satisfy your basic psychological needs for
fun, enjoyable, and autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
satisfying.

Goals are focused on an outcome and don’t

You do the activity in order satisfy your basic psychological needs.
Extrinsic to get an external reward Goals involve external gains, such as
in return. money, fame, power, or avoiding
consequences. 19