There are many commonly used theories to explain why a person works towards a goal or to perform a task. Psychologists have spent many years trying to explain the answers behind a human being's motivation.
- Abraham Maslow formed the hierarchy of needs in 1943. According to him, humans are inherently motivated and work towards their full potential, self-actualization, by building up levels of success from the highest fundamental needs such as food, shelter, and health, to other needs such as love, belonging, and self-esteem. He also believed that people find the highest meaning in life by working towards goals that better others. Fundamental needs, such as the need to eat, creates the strongest drive to act immediately, according to this theory.
- Frederick Hertzberg theorized that there are only two needs; motivator factors in employment and hygiene factors.
- The three-dimensional theory of attribution by Bernard Weiner states that people do what they do for stability, locus of control, and controllability.
- The Hawthorne Effect posits that people work harder when they are being watched.
- The expectancy theory that tests how a person will perform based on certain outcomes.
None of these theories thoroughly explains a person's complete motivation, and one theory may be suited better in specific circ*mstances than others.
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The most common examples of motivation in daily life are driven by pleasure or pain.
- Pleasurable goals include survival, accomplishment, fun, taste, and curiosity.
- Motivation driven by pain may include fear of loss, rejection, fear of the unknown, uncertainty, failure, and change.
- Survival goals include food, shelter, and clothing.
- Accomplishments may be tied to school, careers, sports, etc.
In some cases, pleasurable motivation may outweigh the risks of the outcome being painful, such as rock climbing, which can cause bodily harm or risk someone's life. In that case, a persons desire for the adrenaline rush and sense of adventure is stronger than the pain that may be caused by it.
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Motivation is commonly separated into drives and motives. A person is driven by biological factors like thirst, sleep, hunger, and the need to reproduce. These biological factors lead one to seek out and participate in certain activities. Drive originates within a person and does not always require outside stimuli to encourage one's behavior. When biological needs are satisfied, drive reduction occurs, which returns a person back to a state of homeostasis, or equilibrium.
Motives typically have outside factors, such as stimulation and deprivation, influencing them. These motives include stimulations created from uncomfortable or adverse conditions or by attractions or pleasurable conditions. Motivation also happens when one is deprived of something that they need or want, including nutrition and social stimuli.
Intrinsic Motivation
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Intrinsic motivation is derived from within one's mind, arising from internal factors, or inner will. These behaviors are generated by the same senses that bring personal satisfaction, making a person feel good. Intrinsic motivation is driven by a personal interest or enjoyment and not driven by society. This motivation tends to push people harder and the accomplishments are more rewarding. Advantages to intrinsic motivation also include better learning outcomes and performance, increasing creativity, and increasing a person's general well-being.
Intrinsic motivation can come from making daily routines more enjoyable, and creating an intrinsic desire tasks and goals. By doing so, they become easier to work on and have a greater pay off in the long run. For example, going to work not only benefits a person for financial reasons, but if one has a vested interest in their career, they can be rewarded with improved attitude, easier morning routines, and better relationships with their colleagues.
Other examples of intrinsic motivation include:
- Participating in sports for better body performance
- Investing money to be financially independent
- Learning a new language to better understand people from other countries
- Traveling to explore other cultures
Extrinsic Motivation
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Extrinsic motivation is typically driven by societal pressures. These impulses do not come from within. The behaviors one exhibits in extrinsic motivation are usually to earn rewards or avoid punishment. These tasks aren't always interesting to a person, but motivate one for the outcome of performing them. For example, college isn't the right choice for everyone, but if an employer expects an employee to have a certain educational degree, that employee may be motivated to get it. The rewards of extrinsic motivation are good even if a person has no interest in something at all, such as performing specific tasks that have to get done. Sometimes, the reward at the end outweighs the intrinsic motivation for doing it, there becomes an over-justification effect. This creates a danger that the intrinsic motivation will be lost. Some people may be so focused on the reward at the end of the task, they may not put much effort into completing the task and it will be done poorly. On the other hand, some people may be so focused on the reward at the end that they will work as hard as they can to get it.
Other examples of extrinsic motivation include:
- Volunteering just to put it on a resume
- Crowds cheering when the winner gets a trophy
- Going places just to post them on social media
- Buying a car to keep up with other people buying new cars
- Participating in surveys just to get the incentive
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Motivation is an incentive, or a reason, for doing something. It has both psychological and social aspects which change over time. Many psychologists have developed reasons for which people are motivated, and they can apply to certain situations. However, all theories apply needs through the same process: needs which affect well-being and behavior, which then affect satisfaction. Everyone's needs are different, and the pursuit of the satisfaction of those needs is different in each person's behavior. The motivations for which a person behaves to achieve those needs are most commonly separated into drives and motives. Meeting biological needs, such as eating, breathing, and drinking, typically drives a person to act immediately. Drive reduction occurs after those needs are met, returning a person to a state of homeostasis.
There are two types of motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The main difference between the two is if the motivation is coming from within or based on external factors. A person may perform tasks based on both motivational aspects. Extrinsic motivation typically occurs in tasks that are necessary for completion or there is a reward at the end, such as cleaning a room or getting paid for work. Intrinsic motivation causes a person to create permanent change in their lives including autonomy, mastery, and purpose in which they live, making them feel good.
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Video Transcript
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
What do you think is motivating you to read this lesson at this very moment? Motivation refers to the reasons that we act towards a goal. Psychologists understand that motivation can only be understood through behavior. Although only you can fully explain the many factors that have you reading this lesson right now, psychologists have created theories to try to understand and explain behavior.
From these theories we can make a few educated guesses about your present situation:
- You are not worried about being hit by a car. Most likely you are at home or in another location where you feel safe.
- You are probably not hungry to the point of starving. Perhaps you are even snacking while you read this!
- You are not outside in freezing weather or a hurricane or sitting in a desert without water.
These are just a few of the guesses we can make based on a theory of motivation developed by famous behavioral psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow believed that basic needs must be met before we can satisfy our other, less basic needs.
This was structured as hierarchy of needs that is often shown in a pyramid and referred to as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Just as the ancient Egyptians built a pyramid from the bottom up, we must satisfy our needs from the bottom up, fulfilling the most important needs first. Who would build the top of the pyramid before its foundation?
Human Drives and Drive Reduction
Although Maslow's pyramid mostly speaks to human motivation, all organisms act on drives, which are essentially motivator stimuli. We all have a drive to eat every day. Our bodies tell us when we are hungry with an empty feeling in our stomachs. When we are confronted by a feeling of hunger, what is our most common reaction? Eating! This reduces the drive for food, a motivation called drive reduction. The hungrier we get, the more likely we are to stop whatever else we are doing and find food. Other human drives include the need for water, air to breathe, elimination of waste and the biological need to have sex. Often without conscious thought, these drives are fulfilled before any other drives, such as hanging out with friends or achieving educational goals.
An excellent example of drives and drive reduction at work can be found in watching a dog that is both hungry and tired. Imagine the dog is resting but sees his owner bring food to his bowl. This dog is left to fulfill one need: sleeping or eating. Trying to do both would be funny but ultimately impossible. If the dog is too tired, he will ignore the food and go to sleep. Alternately, if the dog is more hungry than tired, he will get up and walk to the food.
Another example is a plant moving towards the sunlight. In satisfying it's need for sun, (food) it is operating on drive reduction.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is defined as the desire to perform an activity due to enjoyment. People have widely different interests that motivate them to behave simply for fun. What are you motivated to do for pleasure? Do you like to read? Do you hike, bike or run? Is your favorite pastime watching movies? What makes you feel good? Any answer you give can be an example of intrinsic motivation.
Let's look at motivation in a different way. Often in elementary school children are given rewards and prizes for reading the most books or pages. What if there was a million dollars at the finish line of a marathon? Certainly we're more motivated to perform these activities when we are rewarded for them! This motivation from an outside source is called extrinsic motivation. Although you may gain other benefits from running a marathon, winning a million dollars is a strong motivation from an outside source.
Extrinsic motivation can also be caused by the fear of punishment. Did your parents ever limit your time watching television with the threat of punishment? A very common type of extrinsic motivation is getting paid at work. We work to collect money that will fulfill our needs of food, water and shelter. Many people also enjoy their jobs, which is an example of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation at work.
Lesson Summary
To quickly review, motivation refers to the reasons that we act towards a goal. Motivation was studied by famous behavioral psychologist Abraham Maslow, who created a concept that came to be known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is a hierarchy of needs that is often organized in the shape of a pyramid. What this hierarchy shows us is that all organisms act on drives, which are essentially motivator stimuli. Drives are motivations of things like shelter, food and health, all of which outweigh motivations for things like friendship, creativity and exercise. When we satisfy these basic drives, Maslow calls this drive reduction, leaving us free to pursue those other things.
Motivations can be separated into two different categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the desire to perform an activity due to enjoyment, like when you enjoy your job. And extrinsic motivation is motivation from an outside source, like money or adulation.
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