Motivation

DN/DM 2025- Psychology & Nursing

M. Kamayoyo. Mulumemui
Introduction

• Motivation is studied to understand human

behaviour
• People behave in different ways because of the
desires, expectations & goals they have
• These motives steer one’s choice of activities
that initiate, guide & maintain goal- oriented
behaviours
General objective

• By the end of the lecture/discussion, students

should gain a general understanding of
motivation and theories that explain it
Specific objectives

By the end of the lecture/discussion, students

should be able to:
• Define motivation
• Explain the theories of motivation
• Outline the reasons for motivation
• Discuss the biosocial basis of behaviour
Definition of Motivation

• Motivation is a reason that guides & strengthens

behaviour
• It is something that starts, sustains, & guides
thinking & behaviour
• Motivation is a force that determines behavior,
could be a biological, emotional, cognitive or a
social force that activates & directs behavior
• It is a feeling of enthusiasm, interest, or
commitment that makes somebody want to do
something
Models of Motivation

• Homeostatic model of motivation

• Used to create a state of equilibrium/balance
• Incentive model
• Gives an arousal to the body in order to bring
about behavior
• Model has both extrinsic & intrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation
• Comes from the environment e.g. rewards,
punishment, competition
• Comes as a result of having goals to fulfill in life
Intrinsic Motivation
• Springs from within the individual not experience
• Has to do with survival needs e.g. water, food
• Also cognitive drive e g want to get to self -
actualization
Definition of a theory

• A set of principles on which the practice of an activity is

based
• It is an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course
of action
• A system of ideas intended to explain something
Theories of motivation

• Motivation theory is the study of understanding

what drives a person to work towards a
particular goal or outcome
• A motivated student/employee is more
productive, & profitable, & results oriented
1. Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs
Theory
• Theory by Abraham Maslow, an American
humanistic psychologist
• Suggested that people are motivated by the
desire to satisfy a need
• Satisfaction of the basic physiological needs
triggers more needs
• A satisfied need is no longer a motivator
• Needs at the lower level must be satisfied before
progressing to the next level
Physiological needs
• Are based on body or tissue needs e.g. food,
water, air, O2, sleep, sex, clothing, shelter
• These must be satisfied to maintain life, as are
the physical requirements for human survival
• If not met, the human body cannot function
properly, and will ultimately fail
Safety/security needs include;
• Personal security
• Financial security
• Health and well-being
• Safety net against accidents/illness & their
adverse impacts
• When satisfied, they dominate behavior
Love, Social & belonging needs
• Include a feeling of belonging, need to love and
to be loved, acceptance by one’s peers, giving &
receiving friendship, & affectionate relations with
others
• Deficiencies within this level can impact the
individual's ability to form & maintain
emotionally significant relationships e.g.
friendships, intimacy, family
Esteem needs
• Include the need to gain self-esteem & self-
confidence
• Factors that may contribute to their attainment
are achievement, competence, status,
recognition, prestige, acceptance, appreciation &
respect
• Awareness of worth by knowing that others know
one’s competence & value
Self-actualization
• Is a state of self- fulfilment in which people realize
their highest potential
• There is a saying that: "What a man can be, he
must be”
• Maslow describes this level as the desire to
accomplish everything that one can, to become
the most that one can be
• One no longer lives for himself but for others
Importance of motivation

• Helps to accomplish goals

• The body is able to maintain balance
(homeostasis)
• Provides opportunities through which we
establish social relationships -friendship &
closeness
• Non-survival needs help us to discover more
about the world around us & fully utilize it for our
good
2. Herzberg’s Theory (Two factor theory)

• Frederick Herzberg’s theory looked at motivation

in work places & suggested that work
motivators/satisfiers or intrinsic factors include
achievement, growth, responsibility,
advancement, recognition & a job with a
challenging content
• These motivate workers/students, & the level of
motivation can be sustained for a long time
• Hygiene factors include salary, flexible working
hours, vacation, dressing code, good working
conditions, interpersonal relationship with peers,
superiors, subordinates, job security
• These factors can prevent people from being
dissatisfied, & can motivate up to a certain level,
then after a short while, people will go back to
their previous state
3. McClelland’s Needs Achievement Theory

• Theory postulates that some people are driven to

success through seeking personal achievement rather
than rewards
• Setting high goals & achieving them is what drives them
• Alderfer’s ERG theory is related to Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs but reduces Maslow’s five categories of need to
three;
• Relatedness being (esteem/social needs)
• Growth being (self-actualization)
• Existence (security/physiological needs)
• The theory is closely associated with learning
theory, because of the belief that needs are
learned or acquired by the kinds of events
people experienced in their environment and
culture
• Theory focuses on Murray’s three needs;
achievement, power and affiliation
McGregor’s Participation Theory

• McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Y models

categorize people as belonging to one of two
groups based on assumptions
• Theory X assumption takes a negative perspective
of people:
• They have an inherent dislike for work, are gullible,
avoid responsibility, have little ambition, & want
security, thus, must be coerced, controlled, directed
& threatened with punishment to make them work
• Theory Y assumption takes the opposite view;
workers or people can exercise caution &
discipline to achieve objectives
• They want to assume responsibility, their
organisation to succeed, are capable of directing
their own behaviour, & they want achievement
• External factors or any threats may not be the
sole influence for exerting effort
Expectance theory

• Porter and Lawler’s Expectancy Theory is an

improvement over Vroom’s expectancy theory
• They posit that motivation does not equal
satisfaction or performance
• Effort or motivation do not lead directly to
performance, instead are mediated by abilities,
traits, & by role perceptions
• Ultimately, performance leads to satisfaction
Urwick’s Theory Z

• The two propositions in Urwick’s theory are that:

• Each individual should know the organisational
goals & his contribution towards these goals
• Each individual should know that the
organisational goals are going to satisfy his/her
needs positively
• The above make people ready to behave
positively to accomplish both organisational and
individual goals
• Theory Z is based on the following four
postulates:
• Strong bond between the organisation &
employees
• Employee participation & involvement
• No formal organisation structure
• Human resource development
Vroom’s Expectance Theory

• By Victor Vroom, whose cognitive process theory

of motivation is founded on the basic notions
that people will be motivated to exert a high
level of effort when they believe that there are
relationships between the effort they put forth,
the performance they achieve, & the
outcomes/rewards they receive
• Theory stipulates that behavior is a product of choices
• The idea is to derive satisfaction & minimize
dissatisfaction in employees
• Individual factors such as personality & skills determine
performance
• The higher the effort in work, the higher the
performance
• Theory explains that performance, motivation, & effort
are within an individual’s motivation & variables such as
valence, instrumentality, & expectancy verifies this
• The key constructs in the theory are:
Valence
• The value or strength one places on a particular
outcome or reward
Expectancy
• It relates efforts to performance
Instrumentality
• The belief that performance is related to rewards
• Thus, Vroom’s motivation can be expressed in
the form of an equation as follows: Motivation =
Valence X Expectancy X Instrumentality
The relationships between notions of effort,
performance, & reward
Reasons for motivation

Past events
• If the experience provided a positive or negative
reward, it may help to determine current
behaviour e.g. pleasurable or rewarding events
will drive an individual to initiate an activity
• Unpleasant or punishable events also motivate
people in an attempt to avoid similar unpleasant
or punishable situations
• Childhood experiences determine adult behaviour
Purpose
• Refers to reason for doing something
• People have goals they intend to meet & this stimulates them
to initiate activities to achieve their desires
• A goal will give direction either extrinsic or intrinsic motivation

• Extrinsic motivation is initiated by external rewards &

punishments
• Intrinsic motivation is behaviour taken for enjoyment &
satisfaction
• Intrinsic behaviour persists despite setbacks & frustrations
Emotional state or drives
• Emotions are physiological states that we feel as we
react to situations e.g. anger, fear, pain, sorrow, joy,
frustration, happiness
• Emotions are involved in motivation that directs &
sustains behaviour
• Feelings can be positive e.g. joy, excitement, pleasure,
or negative e.g. anger, pain, anxiety
• Emotional memories can be positive negative, which
guides positive behaviour, or behaviour change
Biosocial basis of behaviour

• These are many aspects of human behaviour &

mental functions that are largely influenced by
the underlying biological processes, social &
psychological factors
Psychological factors
• A person’s state of the mind may largely
influence his behaviour
• Patients can display psychological fears when
they do not understand their condition and what
will happen to them- explain procedures
Physiological factors
• Genetics
• Heredity
• Hormonal (chemical) e.g. Adrenaline when
released in the blood stream increases energy
for fight & flight when in danger
Neural
• This involves the CNS that enables human beings to
think, feel, act or behave in a certain way, e.g. a pin
prick will cause someone move away from the pain
(behaviour)
Individual factors
• Thought process
• Thought processes help with concept formation,
reasoning, problem-solving skills, influencing one’s
behaviour
Emotional basis
• Emotions are feelings such as happiness, despair, & sorrow
that have physiological & cognitive elements influencing
behaviour
• Motives are internal while emotions are responses to external
stimulation
• Human beings are moved by feelings, if someone is happy, it
may be reflected in the behaviour
Attitudes
• An attitude is a stance an individual takes towards an object,
people or events
Social & cultural factors
• Societal values
• Values are freely chosen principles, ideals or
standards held by an individual, class or group of
people that give meaning and direction to life
• Relationships with others in the environment
• The way we interact with others has great bearing
on the way we as nurses would relate with our
patients
Summary

• Behaviour can be largely explained in terms of

motivation
• Behaviour does not occur just for its sake
• There should be internal or external forces that
cause an individual to act in a certain way
• This knowledge shall be highly applied to our
patients at all times
• The mood we shall see in our patients, will make
us find out what its cause is, so as to give good
care
• People have emotions that can be expressed as
happiness or sadness
• Reasons for motivation have been expressed as
being influenced by past experience or purpose
for achieving a goal
Thank You