Motivation

A presentation by Manuel
 LO 9.1 Motivation

Motivation
• Motivation – the various physiological and
psychological factors that cause us to act in a specific
way at a particular time.
• the force which energizes initiates, and sustains a
goal-directed behaviour so that a physical or
psychological need is met.
• Need – predisposition (tendency) to action that
inhere in the very nature of the organism which
arises from a deficit or natural inherent potentialities
which seek exercise or actuality -- in the biological,
psychological, or spiritual dimension.
•
 potentialities which seek
exercise or actuality

Hi…
Higher and Higher
 LO 9.2 Instinct approaches to motivation
Instinct Approaches to Motivation
• Instincts - the biologically determined and
innate patterns of behavior that exist in
both people and animals.
• Instinct approach -
assumes people are governed by instincts
similar to those of animals.

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 LO 9.3 Drive-reduction approaches to motivation
Drive Reduction Theory of Motivation

• Drive - a psychological tension and

physical arousal arising when there
is a need that motivates the
organism to act in order to fulfill
the need and reduce the tension.
• Need -biological - a requirement of
some material (such as food or
water) that is essential for survival
of the organism.
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 Homeostasis
• The tendency of the body to maintain
a state of equilibrium.

• Crucial to maintain life---

• Temperature 98.6 F
 Drive-reduction theory

• assumes behavior
arises from
physiological needs
that cause internal
drives to push the
organism to satisfy
the need and reduce
tension and arousal.
 Drive Reduction Theory of Motivation

• Primary drives - those drives that involve

needs of the body such as hunger and
thirst.
• Acquired (secondary) drives - those drives
that are learned through experience or
conditioning, such as the need for money
or social approval.
 LO 9.4 Three types of needs
Psychological Needs
• Need for achievement (nAch) - a need
that involves a strong desire to
succeed in attaining goals, not only
realistic ones but also challenging
ones.
• Need for affiliation (nAff) - the need
for friendly social interactions and
relationships with others.
• Need for power (nPow) - the need to
have control or influence over others.
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 LO 9.5 Arousal approaches to motivation
Arousal Approach to Motivation
• Stimulus motive - a motive that appears to
be unlearned but causes an increase in
stimulation, such as curiosity.

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Laugh it up! Humor is universal across human
cultures — and fuels psychological research
on everything from social perception to
emotion regulation
 Arousal theory

theory of motivation in
which people are said to
have an optimal (best or
ideal) level of tension
that they seek to
maintain by increasing or
decreasing stimulation.
 Arousal Approach to Motivation
• Yerkes-Dodson law - law stating
performance is related to arousal;
moderate levels of arousal lead to better
performance than do levels of arousal that
are too low or too high.
– This effect varies with the difficulty of the
task: easy tasks require a high-moderate
level while more difficult tasks require a
low-moderate level.
• Sensation seeker - someone who needs
more arousal than the average person.
LO 9.5 Arousal approaches to motivation

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(a) The general relationship between arousal and
efficiency can be described by an inverted U curve.
The optimal level of arousal or motivation is higher
for a simple task (b) than for a complex task (c).
 LO 9.6 Incentive approaches to motivation
Incentive Approaches to Motivation

• Incentives - things that attract or lure

people into action.
• Incentive approaches - theories of
motivation in which behavior is explained
as a response to the external stimulus and
its rewarding properties.

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 Expectancy-value theories
• assume that actions of humans cannot be
predicted or fully understood without
understanding the beliefs, values, and the
importance that a person attaches to those
beliefs and values at any given moment in
time.
• Expectations and values influence
 Maslow‘s Need hierarchy

• Need : predisposition (tendency) to action

that inhere in the very nature of the organism
which arises from a deficit or from natural
inherent potentialities which seek exercise or
actuality in the biological, psychological, or
spiritual dimensions.
 Need hierarchy
Maslow
 Deficiency needs
• 1) Physiological:
• 2) Safety/security:
• 3) Belonginess and Love:
• 4) Esteem:

Growth needs
• 5) Self-actualization
 Deficiency needs
• 1. Biological needs. Water, food, elimination,
warmth, rest, avoidance of pain, sexual
release, and so forth.
 Deficiency needs
• 2. Safety needs. Protection from the physical
and social environment by means of clothing,
housing, and security from crime and financial
hardship.
 Deficiency needs
• 3. Love and belongingness needs. Love and
acceptance through intimate relationships,
social groups, and friends. Maslow believed
that in a well-fed and wellhoused society, a
principal source of maladjustment lay in the
frustration of needs at this level.
 Deficiency needs
• 4. Esteem needs. Achievement, competence,
approval, recognition, prestige, status.
 Growth needs

• Maslow's initial conceptualization included

only one growth need—

5. self-actualization Self-actualisation is a
process whereby each person strives become
what they are actually intended to be.
People with specific talents like or
music, for example, must develop these
abilities in order to be psychologically
healthy and at peace with themselves.
A truly healthy person-
capable of developing innate talents and
achieving maximum potential.
The need to self-actualise may take
various forms. These include
excellence in sport, success in
parenting, caring for others, or
indeed achievement in any
personal area which is of meaning
and importance for the individual.
 characteristics
• the ability to perceive reality clearly
- this includes the ability to judge people
and situations accurately
• acceptance of self and of others
- this includes acceptance of one's own
human nature, without too much
concern about personal shortcoming
 characteristics

• spontaneity in thinking and behaviour, as

well as a sense of humour
• the capacity to be problem-centred rather
than ego-centred
- this means the ability to look outside
oneself to the problems of the wider
world
 self-actualisation
• a quality of detachment and an ability to be
self-contained when alone

• the ability to resist cultural pressure without

being deliberately unconventional
 characteristics
• the capacity to appreciate the good
things of life, including everyday
experience
• the capacity for heightened or
transcendent experience
 characteristics
• interest in social issues and the welfare of
other people

• the ability to form deep and satisfying

relationships, although these may not be as
numerous as those of other people
 characteristics
• originality and creativity and a
willingness to experiment with new ideas

• the ability to tolerate uncertainty

 LO 9.7 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Self-actualization - the point that is seldom
reached, at which people have sufficiently
satisfied the lower needs and achieved
their full human potential.

• Peak experiences- times in a person’s life

during which selfactualization is
temporarily achieved.

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 Growth needs
• Maslow later differentiated the growth need
of self-actualization, specifically naming two
lower-level growth needs prior to general level
of self-actualization and one beyond that
level (Maslow, 1971).
 Growth needs
• 5) Cognitive: to know, to understand, and
explore;
• 6) Aesthetic: symmetry, order, and beauty
(music, poetry, art)
• 7) Self-actualization: to find self-fulfillment
and realize one's potential;
• 8) Self-transcendence: to connect to
something beyond the ego or to help others
find self-fulfillment and realize their potential.
 Self-transcendence
• Maslow recognized a motivational force
higher than self-actualization
• An inner drive to place the needs of others
above one’s own needs.
• Some call it:
Integration, holiness, love
 Self transcendence

• Maslow's basic position is that as one becomes

more self-actualized and self-transcendent, one
becomes more wise (develops wisdom) and
automatically knows what to do in a wide variety
of situations. Daniels (2001) suggests that
Maslow's ultimate conclusion that the highest
levels of self-actualization are transcendent in
their nature may be one of his most important
contributions to the study of human behavior and
motivation.