anjali.v-psy@msubaroda.ac.

in
Content
● Definition of motivation
● Meaning of motivation
● Nature of motivation
● Motivational cycle
● Primary and Social motives
● Learned goals
● Theories of motivation
○ Drive theories
○ Incentive theories
○ Opponent-process theory
○ Optimal level theories
 What is Motivation?
● Motivation may be defined as the complex of forces inspiring a person at work to intensify his
willingness to use his maximum capabilities for the achievement of certain objectives.
● The word itself comes from the Latin word movere, which means “to move.” Motivation is what
“moves” people to do the things they do.
● For example, when a person is relaxing in front of the television and begins to feel hungry, the
physical need for food might cause the person to get up, go into the kitchen, and search for
something to eat.
● The physical need of hunger caused the action (getting up), directed it (going to the kitchen),
and sustained the search (finding or preparing something to eat). Hunger is only one example, of
course.
● Loneliness may lead to calling a friend or going to a place where there are people.
● The desire to get ahead in life motivates many people to go to college.
● Just getting out of bed in the morning is motivated by the need to keep a roof over one’s head
and food on the table by going to work.
 Definition
“Motivation is an inner state that energizes, activates, or moves and directs or channels behaviour
goals”.
Motivation is an expression of a person's needs and hence it is personal and internal. In this context,
the term 'need' should not be associated with urgency or any pressing desire for something. Need
simply means something within an individual that prompts him to action.
“Motivation implies any emotion or desire which so conditions one’s will that the individual is
properly led into action”.

-Vance
"Motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, striving, or needs direct,
control or explain the behavior of human being".

-Dalton E. McFarland
“Motivation the process by which activities are started, directed, and continued so that physical or
psychological needs or wants are met”.
 Nature of Motivation

● Psychological process
● It’s the energizing forces within us
● Continuous process
● Motivation may result in many different behavior
● The same behavior may result from many different motivations
● Behavior can be used as an estimate of an individual's motivation
● Motivations may operate in harmony or in conflict
● Motivation may come and go
● Motivation interacts with the environment
 Types of Motivation
Extrinsic Motivation
•In extrinsic motivation, a person performs an
action because it leads to an outcome that is
separate from the person (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
•For example, giving a child chocolate for every
‘A’ received on a report card; offering a bonus to
an employee for increased performance; or tipping
a waiter in a restaurant for good service.
•The child, employee, and server are motivated to
work for the external or extrinsic rewards.
Intrinsic Motivation
•Intrinsic motivation is the type of motivation in
which a person performs an action because the act
itself is fun, rewarding, challenging, or satisfying
in some internal manner.
•For example, participating in a sport because it's
fun and you enjoy it rather than doing it to win an
award; learning a new language because you like
experiencing new things, not because your job
requires it.
•Both outcome and level of effort can vary
depending on the type of motivation.
 MOTIVATIONAL CYCLE
● Motivation cycle is a transition of states within an organism that propels the organism
toward the satisfaction of a particular need.
● A person constantly attempts to please his wants and desires through this cycle,
which comprises of four different states that take place in an organism to drive
him/her towards each action.

Four States involved:

● Need
● Drive
● Incentive
● Goal
continued…

Need

It’s a state of physical deprivation that causes tension within an organism. The tension caused
when the organism is deprived of basic necessities of life causes the internal environment of an
organism to be imbalanced. An organism tries to regain the balance. For any goal directed
behavior, need is the first condition or stimulating factor.

Drive

Need leads to drive- state of tension or arousal. Drive acts as a strong persistent stimulus to
push an organism towards its goal. It is the state of heightened tension leading to restless
activity and preparatory behavior. drive refers to the psychological consequences of a need.
They are both parallel but not identical.
continued…

Incentive

Incentive activates, directs, and maintains behavior, it can be anything as long as it has either positive
or negative value in motivating behavior. The motivated behavior is directed towards incentive and
getting closer to the incentive provides satisfaction of the aroused drive. The incentive is something in
the external environment that satisfies the need and thus reduces the drive through consummative
activity.

Goal

Each day, our behaviour is the result of countless goals. The reduction of tension in the body or mind
can be considered as the goal of any motivated behavior. Goals might be both positive and negative.
Positive goals are the ones that an organism tries to attain, whereas negative goals are the ones that an
organism tries to escape from or avoid.
Types of Motives
Motives and motivation are two related terms, but they don’t have the same meaning. Instead, they’re
complimentary.

Motivation is the psychological process that refers to general behavior. Motive, on the other hand, is the concrete
cause of said behavior- An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to
action.
Primary Motives

● Hunger
● Thirst
● Elimination of waste
● Maternal
Secondary Motives

● Achievement motives
● Affiliation motives
● Aggression motives
● Power motives
● Curiosity Motives
Need, Drive, and Motive

● A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are
distinguished from wants . Needs can be objective and physical, or they can be
subjective and psychological. Needs are something you fulfill because you have to.
● Drive is the force that goads the organism to satisfy the needs. A drive has a direction.
The Drive is not always that clear or simple. It sustains motivation. Drive is something
that makes you keep going. It is more individual in the sense that some people are
more driven than others.
● Motive is an impulse that acts as an incitement to action. Motives indicative of why
you do what you do. Motives are factors within a human being or animal that arouses
and direct goal oriented behaviour.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs:
● The first humanistic theory is based on the work of Abraham Maslow (1943, 1987).
● "A Theory of Human Motivation," (1943)
● “Motivation and Personality” (1954)
● Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation which states that five
categories of human needs dictate an individual’s behavior.
● physiological needs
● safety needs
● love and belonging needs
● esteem needs
● self-actualization needs.