Motivation & Emotion

Mini-Theories

Mary Cris J. Go
Philosophical and
Psychological Theories of
Learning and Teaching 1
 Framework for understanding
and studying motivation

Antecedent Energising, Changes in

directing, and life outcomes:
Motive sustaining: • Performance
●
conditions • Achievement
● Environmental • Behaviour
• Enagement • Learning
events
Social status • Brain activity • Adjustment
• Psychophysiolo • Skill, talent
contexts • Well-being
gy
• Self-report

Needs Cognitions Emotions

3
 Outline
 Philosophical origins  Contemporary era
 Grand theories  Brief history of
● Will emotion study
● Instinct
● Drive
 Rise of mini-theories
● Active nature of the person
● Cognitive revolution
● Socially relevant questions

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 Philosophical origins of
motivational perspectives
Ancient Greeks (Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle) suggested a tripartite model:
• Appetitive (physiological)
• Competitive (social)
• Calculating (thinking)

Dualistic model:
• Body (irrational, impulsive)
• Mind (rational, intelligent)

Descartes:
• Passive (biological impulses)
• Active (will)
 History of motivation
(Overview)
Grand theories
1. Will •Ancient philosophers, Descartes

2. Instinct •Darwin, James, McDougall

3. Drive •Freud’s Drive Theory

•Hull’s Drive Theory
4. Incentive, Arousal, Discrepancy
Rise of mini-theories
•1977 – 1st dedicated journal:
•Active nature of the person
“Motivation and Emotion” •Cognitive revolution
Contemporary era •Applied socially relevant research

• 1990s reemergence of motivation

• 2004 – M&E 1st taught at UC

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 Grand theories of motivation
All-encompassing theories that seek to explain the full
range of motivated action - why we eat, drink, work, play,
compete, fear certain things, read, fall in love, etc.

Will Instinct Drive

Ancient philosophers
understood motivation
within two themes:
Ø Bodily desires:
Primitive, impulsive,
biological, and
Ø reactive.
Mind (the will): Good,
rational, immaterial,
and active.
Physiological analysis of
motivation by focusing on
the mechanistic.
The appeal of instinct
doctrine was its ability to
explain unlearned
behaviour that had energy
and purpose
(i.e., goal-directed
biological impulses).
Behaviour is motivated to
the extent that it served
the needs of the organism
and restores a biological
homeostasis.
Your body does not want
to be thirsty, hungry, in
pain, or horny etc.

Based on Reeve (2015, Ch 2, pp. 30- 9

 Freud's drive theory
Source Impetus Object Aim
A bodily deficit The intensity of Seeking to If the
occurs the bodily deficit reduce anxiety environmental
grows & & satisfy the object
(e.g., blood emerges into bodily deficit, successfully
sugar drops & a consciousness the person satisfies the
sense of as a searches out & bodily deficit,
hunger psychological consumes a satisfaction
emerges). discomfort, need satisfying occurs & quiets
which is anxiety. object in the anxiety, at
environment least for a
(e.g., food). period of time.

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 Hull's drive theory

E = H xDx
K strength drive
strength
sof r s of r incentive
behaviour habit

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 Decline of
grand theories of
Will motivation
Instinct Drive

Philosophical study Physiological study Limited in scope.

of the will turned of the instinct Some behaviours
into a dead-end. proved to be a occur despite drives
Explained little dead-end as well; it (e.g., anorexia).
about motivation became clear that Some behaviours
and raised “naming is not occur due to
more questions explaining”. environmental
than it incentives.
answered.
→ Disillusionment with grand theories. However, several other
broad motivational principles emerged with some success,
including incentive and arousal.
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 Post-drive theory years
First,
motivation study
rejected its
commitment to a
passive view of human
nature and adopted a
more active portrayal
of human beings.

Second,
motivation turned
decidedly
cognitive and
somewhat
humanistic.
Third,
the field focused on
applied, socially
relevant problems.

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 Rise of the mini-theories

1. Motivational phenomenon
Unlike grand (e.g., achievement motivation, flow experiences)
theories
that try to explain
the full range of 2. Special motivational circumstances
motivation, (e.g., failure feedback, role models)
mini-theories
limit
their 3. Theoretical questions
attention: (e.g., what is the relationship btw cognition & emotion?)

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Mini-theories

These theories are often rooted in the

ideas established by grand theories,
but they do not seek to describe and
explain the whole of human behavior
and growth.
Abbreviated list of mini-theories
Achievement motivation theory (Atkinson, 1964)

Attributional theory of achievement motivation (Weiner, 1972)

Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957)

Effectance motivation (Harter, 1978a; White, 1959)

Expectancy x value theory (Vroom, 1964)

Goal-setting theory (Locke, 1968)

Intrinsic motivation (Deci, 1975)

Learned helplessness theory (Seligman, 1975)

Reactance theory (Brehm, 1966)

Self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977)

Self-schemas (Markus, 1977)

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Achievement motivation theory
McClelland's Human Motivation
Theory states that every person has
one of three main driving motivators:
the needs for achievement, affiliation,
or power. These motivators are not
inherent; we develop them through
our culture and life experiences.
Achievers like to solve problems and
achieve goals.
Attribution Theory
Weiner focused his attribution
theory on achievement (Weiner, 1974).
He identified ability, effort, task
difficulty, and luck as the most
important factors affecting attributions
for achievement. Attributions are
classified along three causal
dimensions: locus of control, stability,
and controllability.
Cognitive dissonance theory
Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance
theory suggests that we have an inner
drive to hold all our attitudes and
behavior in harmony and avoid
disharmony (or dissonance). ... When
there is an inconsistency between
attitudes or behaviors (dissonance),
something must change to eliminate
the dissonance.
Effectance motivation

Effectance motivation refers to “the

desire for effective interaction with
the environment” (White, 1969, p.
317), including the tendency to
investigate matters of concern, to
master techniques or skills, or to
engage fully in the environment in
general.
Expectancy x value theory
Expectancy X Value Theory.
(Atkinson) expectancy x value =
achievement motivation. Value of
success is the inverse of expectancy;
success on harder tasks is more
valuable.
Goal-setting theory
In 1960's, Edwin Locke put forward
the Goal-setting theory of motivation.
This theory states that goal setting is
essentially linked to task performance.
It states that specific and
challenging goals along with
appropriate feedback contribute to
higher and better task performance.
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is the act of doing
something without any obvious
external rewards. You do it because
it's enjoyable and interesting, rather
than because of an outside incentive
or pressure to do it, such as a reward
or deadline.
Learned helplessness theory
Learned helplessness is behavior
exhibited by a subject after enduring
repeated aversive stimuli beyond their
control.
Learned helplessness theory is the view
that clinical depression and related
mental illnesses may result from such
real or perceived absence of control
over the outcome of a situation.
Reactance theory
Reactance is an unpleasant motivational
arousal that emerges when people
experience a threat to or loss of their
free behaviors. It serves as a motivator
to restore one's freedom. The amount
of reactance depends on the
importance of the threatened freedom
and the perceived magnitude of the
threat.
Self-efficacy theory
Self-efficacy refers to an individual's
belief in his or her capacity to execute
behaviors necessary to produce
specific performance attainments
(Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). Self-
efficacy reflects confidence in the
ability to exert control over one's own
motivation, behavior, and social
environment.
Self-schemas
The self-schema refers to a long
lasting and stable set of memories
that summarize a person's beliefs,
experiences and generalizations about
the self, in specific behavioral
domains.
 Relationship of motivation study to
psychology’s areas of specialisation
Motivation Develop
study in the Social
-mental
21st century is Industri
populated by
Educat-
multiple ional
al/Organ
perspectives There are domain-specific
and multiple answers to core questions:
isational
Person- § What causes Cognit-
voices, all of
which ality behaviour? ive
§ Why does behaviour vary
contribute a in its intensity?
different piece Physio-
to the puzzle Clinical
of motivation Counsel
Health logical
and emotion -ing
study

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 Many voices in motivation study
Perspective: Motives emerge from…
●
Behaviour is
energised and Behavioural Environmental incentives
directed by a Neurological Brain activations
multitude of multi- Physiological Hormonal activity
● level and co-acting Cognitive Mental events and thoughts
influences. Social-cognitive Ways of thinking guided
Most motivational
by exposure to other people
states need to be
Cultural Groups, organisations, and
understood at nations
multiple levels - from Evolutionary Genes and genetic
a neurological level, a endowment
cognitive level, a Humanistic Encouraging the human
social level, and so potential
on. Psychoanalytical Unconscious mental life

Based on Reeve (2015, Ch 2, p. 17

 Summary:
Grand theories gave rise to mini-theories
 The study of motivation has philosophical origins
dating to the Ancient Greeks.
 Mind-body dualism guided philosophical thinking
about motivation, leading to grand theories about
Will, Instinct, and Drive.
 Limitations in grand theories lead to their decline
and gave rise of mini-theories focusing on specific
phenomena.
 Contemporary perspectives emphasise multiple
motivational influences, including the active role of
the person, role of cognition, and applied, social
relevance.
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 References
Reeve, J. (2015). Understanding motivation


and emotion (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

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