What Is Motivation?

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented

behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water
to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that
activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term "motivation" is frequently used
to describe why a person does something. It is the driving force behind human
actions.

Motivation doesn't just refer to the factors that activate behaviors; it also
involves the factors that direct and maintain these goal-directed actions
(though such motives are rarely directly observable). As a result, we often
have to infer the reasons why people do the things that they do based on
observable behaviors.1

What exactly lies behind the motivations for why we act? Psychologists have
proposed different theories of motivation, including drive theory, instinct
theory, and humanistic theory (such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs). The
reality is that there are many different forces that guide and direct our
motivations.

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Types of Motivation
Different types of motivation are frequently described as being either extrinsic
or intrinsic:

• Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the

individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social
recognition, or praise.
• Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual,
such as doing a complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal
gratification of solving a problem. 2
Uses
There are many different uses for motivation. It serves as a guiding force for
all human behavior, but understanding how it works and the factors that may
impact it can be important in a number of ways.

Understanding motivation can:

• Help improve the efficiency of people as they work toward goals

• Help people take action
• Encourage people to engage in health-oriented behaviors
• Help people avoid unhealthy or maladaptive behaviors such as risk-
taking and addiction
• Help people feel more in control of their lives
• Improve overall well-being and happiness

Impact
Anyone who has ever had a goal (like wanting to lose 20 pounds or run a
marathon) probably immediately realizes that simply having the desire to
accomplish something is not enough. Achieving such a goal requires the ability
to persist through obstacles and endurance to keep going in spite of
difficulties.

There are three major components of motivation: activation, persistence, and

intensity.3

• Activation involves the decision to initiate a behavior, such as enrolling

in a psychology class.
• Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal even though
obstacles may exist. An example of persistence would be taking
more psychology courses in order to earn a degree although it requires
a significant investment of time, energy, and resources.
• Intensity can be seen in the concentration and vigor that goes into
pursuing a goal.4 For example, one student might coast by without much
effort, while another student will study regularly, participate in
discussions, and take advantage of research opportunities outside of
class. The first student lacks intensity, while the second pursues their
educational goals with greater intensity.
What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior
By

Researchers have developed a number of theories to explain motivation. Each

individual theory tends to be rather limited in scope. However, by looking at
the key ideas behind each theory, you can gain a better understanding of
motivation as a whole.

Motivation is the force that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented

behaviors. It is what causes us to take action, whether to grab a snack to
reduce hunger or enroll in college to earn a degree. The forces that lie beneath
motivation can be biological, social, emotional, or cognitive in nature. Let's
take a look at each one.

The Psychology of What Motivates Us

Instinct Theory of Motivation

According to instinct theories, people are motivated to behave in certain ways
because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so. An example of this in
the animal world is seasonal migration. Animals do not learn to migrate to
certain places at certain times each year; it is instead an inborn pattern of
behavior. Instincts motivate some species to do this.

William James identified a list of human instincts that he believed were

essential to survival, including fear, anger, love, shame, and modesty. 1 The
main problem with this theory is that it did not really explain behavior, it just
described it. James presumed that we act on impulse, but that leaves out all
the learning/conditioning that informs behavior.

By the 1920s, instinct theories were pushed aside in favor of other

motivational theories, but contemporary evolutionary psychologists still study
the influence of genetics and heredity on human behavior.

Drive Theory
According to the drive theory of motivation, people are motivated to take
certain actions in order to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet
needs. For example, you might be motivated to drink a glass of water in order
to reduce the internal state of thirst.
The drive theory is based on the concept of homeostasis, or the idea that the
body actively works to maintain a certain state of balance or equilibrium.

This theory is useful in explaining behaviors that have a strong biological or

physiological component, such as hunger or thirst. The problem with the drive
theory of motivation is that these behaviors are not always motivated purely
by drive, or the state of tension or arousal caused by biological or
physiological needs. For example, people often eat even when they are not
really hungry.

Arousal Theory
The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people take certain actions to
either decrease or increase levels of arousal.

When arousal levels get too low, for example, a person might watch an
exciting movie or go for a jog. When arousal levels get too high, on the other
hand, a person would probably look for ways to relax, such as meditating or
reading a book.

According to this theory, we are motivated to maintain an optimal level of

arousal, although this level can vary based on the individual or the situation.

Humanistic Theory
Humanistic theories of motivation are based on the idea that people also have
strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously
illustrated in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which describes various
levels of needs and motivations.

Maslow's hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs
before moving on to other, more advanced needs. For example, people are
first motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, then to
progress through higher needs like safety, love, and esteem. Once these
needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-
actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual potential.

Maslow was interested in learning about what makes people happy and the
things that they do to achieve that aim, rather than focusing on problematic
behaviors.
Incentive Theory
The incentive theory suggests that people are motivated to do things because
of external rewards. For example, you might be motivated to go to work each
day for the monetary reward of being paid.

Behavioral learning concepts such as association and reinforcement play an

important role in this theory of motivation. This theory shares some
similarities with the behaviorist concept of operant conditioning. In operant
conditioning, behaviors are learned by forming associations with outcomes.
Reinforcement strengthens a behavior while punishment weakens it.

While incentive theory is similar, it instead proposes that people intentionally

pursue certain courses of action in order to gain rewards. The greater the
perceived rewards, the more strongly people are motivated to pursue those
reinforcements.

Incentives can arise from outside (extrinsic) or inside (intrinsic) an individual.

Intrinsic motivation is when you engage in a behavior because you find it
rewarding for your own sake, rather than from the desire for an external
reward.

Extrinsic Motivation

• Going to work to get paid

• Studying to get a good grade
• Working hard to get a raise or recognition from your boss
• Tidying your house to avoid feeling embarrassed when company comes
over
Intrinsic Motivation

• Working because you enjoy the job

• Studying because you find the subject interesting
• Tackling a new project because you love a challenge
• Tidying your house because a clean home keeps you calm
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation: What's the Difference?

Expectancy Theory
The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that when we are thinking
about the future, we formulate different expectations about what we think will
happen. When we predict that there will most likely be a positive outcome, we
believe that we are able to make that possible future a reality. This leads
people to feel more motivated to pursue those likely outcomes.

The theory proposes that motivations consist of three key elements:

• Valence: the value people place on the potential outcome

• Instrumentality: whether people believe that they have a role to play in the
predicted outcome
• Expectancy: the belief that one has the capabilities to produce the outcome