Motivation

What do you plan to do today?

What are your goals?
Why do you pursue them?
How vigorously do you try to reach them?
When are you satisfied?
When do you give up?

These are all questions about motivation, or why we act as we do. Motivation refers to
the dynamics of behavior- the ways in which our actions are initiated, sustained, directed,
and terminated. E.g. A student called Amani is studying Psychology in the library. He
begins to feel hungry and can’t concentrate. His stomach growls and he decides to buy
maize from the street. The man who sells roasted maize has been arrested by the City
Council officials, so he decides to go to the cafeteria but they are closed for general
cleaning. He decides to go home where he cooks a meal and eats it. At last his hunger is
satisfied, and he resumes studying. Notice how Amani’s hunger was sustained because
the need was not immediately met, and his actions were directed by possible sources of
food. Finally achieving his goal terminated his food seeking.

A Model of Motivation
Many motivated activities begin with a need, or internal deficiency. Needs cause a drive
(an energized motivational state) to develop. Drives activate a response (an action or
series of actions) designed to attain a goal (the “target” of motivated behavior) Reaching
a goal that satisfies the need will end the chain of events. Thus a simple model of
motivation can be shown this way

← Need → Drive → Response →Goal →

←Need Reduction →
Question: Aren’t needs & drives the same thing?
No because the strength of needs and drives can differ. If you begin fasting today, your
bodily need for food will increase every day. However, you would probably feel less
“hungry” on the seventh day of fasting than you did on the first. Although your need for
food steadily increases, the hunger drive comes and goes.

Incentives
The “pull of a goal is called its incentive value (the goal’s appeal beyond its ability to fill
a need). Some goals are so desirable that hey can motivate behavior in the absence of an
internal need. Other goals are so low in incentive value that they may be rejected even if
they meet the internal need. Fresh, live grubworms, for instance, are highly nutritious.
However, it is doubtful that you would eat one no matter how hungry you might be.
Usually, our actions are energized by a mixture of internal needs and external incentives.
That’s why a strong need may change an unpleasant incentive into a desired goal.

Types of Motives
Motives can be divided into three major categories

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 1. Primary motives are based on biological needs that must be met for survival. The
most important primary motives are hunger, thirst, pain avoidance, and needs for
air, sleep, elimination of wastes, and regulation of body temperature. Primary
motives and innate
2. Stimulus motives express our needs for stimulation and information. E.g. activity,
curiosity, exploration, manipulation, and physical contact. Although such motives
also appear to be innate, they are not strictly necessary for survival.
3. Secondary motives are based on learned needs, drives, and goals. Learned
motives help explain many human activities, such as making music, creating a
web page, or trying to win project fame. Many secondary motives are related to
learned needs for power, affiliation (the need to be with others), approval, status,
security, and achievement. Fear and aggression also appear to be greatly affected
by learning.

Primary Motives
A. Hunger
Hunger might seem like a “simple” motive, but only recently have we begun to
understand it. Hunger provides a good model of how internal and external factors
direct our behavior.
a. Obesity – If internal needs alone controlled eating fewer people would overeat.
However most of us are also sensitive to external eating cues. These are signs
and signals linked with food. Do you tend to eat more when food is attractive,
highly visible and easy to get? Some people with weight issues also overeat
when they are emotionally upset. They are likely to eat when anxious, angry or
sad.
b. Diet –Your current diet is defined by the types and amounts of food you
regularly eat. People are sensitive to dietary content. Dieting is usually followed
by rapid weight gain. Behavioral dieting is an overhaul in eating habits. E.g.
Exercise, count calories, but don’t starve yourself, diet diary, avoid unhealthy
snacks…
c. Eating disorders –Anorexia nervosa – self starvation (suffer devastating weight
losses from severe self-inflicted dieting.) They have excessive thinness & suffer
debilitating health problems. Bulimia nervosa gorge on food, then vomit or take
laxatives to avoid gaining weight. Bingeing an purging can seriously damage
health. Typical risks include sore throat, hair loss, muscle spasms, kidney
damage, dehydration, tooth erosion, swollen salivary glands, menstrual
irregularities, loss of sex drive, and even heart attack.

B. The Sex Drive

The term sex drive refers to the strength of one’s motivation to engage in sexual
behavior. In humans, the sex drive can be aroused at virtually any time by almost
anything. People may seek to arouse the sex drive as well as to reduce it. This unusual
quality makes the sex drive capable of motivating a wide range of behaviors. It also
explains why sex is used to sell almost everything imaginable.

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 Maslow's theory holds that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs; lower
needs take precedence over higher needs and must be satisfied first. When a need is
mostly satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place.
Maslow's theory offers insight about the motivations behind "difficult" behaviors.
Many of our clients have unsatisfied needs in the hierarchy's first four levels. People
who are homeless, for example, are focused at the most basic physiological needs.
Many other clients are focused on safety needs. Their level of need has implications
for what kind of information clients need from us, how we might deliver that
information, and how they might react when we don't or can't deliver what they need.

Physiological Needs Physiological needs are the very basic needs such as air, water,
food, sleep, sex. When unsatisfied we may feel sick, irritated, uncomfortable. These
feelings motivate us to alleviate them as soon as possible to reestablish our
equilibrium. Once alleviated, we are able focus on other things. Physiological Needs:
• can affect perception - when on a diet, we are preoccupied with food; • can be
satisfied, e.g., by getting enough to eat, drink; • at work, focuses us on the next pay
check; • if deprived, can cause illness, e.g., lack of Vitamin D can result in rickets; • if
pathological, we can eat, drink too much or engage in hoarding behaviors.

Safety Needs When physiological needs are largely satisfied, we become increasingly
interested in finding safe circumstances, stability, and protection. We might develop a
need for structure, order, some limits. In many American adults, this needs set manifests
itself in wanting a home in a safe neighbor-hood, some job security, or a good retirement
plan. When safety needs are not met, we can't move to the next level. If one partner in a
relationship is abusive to the other for example, the abused partner cannot move to the
next level because of constant concern for safety. Love and belongingness have to wait
until fear subsides. Safety needs: • can affect our perception, e.g., paranoia; • can be
satisfied, e.g., getting a stable job; • at work, focuses us on getting fringe benefits, dental
insurance; • if deprived, can lead to neurosis, insecurity; • if pathological, can develop
phobias such as agoraphobia.
Belonging - Love Needs When physiological needs and safety needs mostly are met, we
begin to feel the need for friends, a partner, children, affectionate relationships, a sense of
community. Humans have a desire to live and belong to groups including clubs, work
groups, religious groups, family, gangs. We need to feel loved and accepted by others.
Viewed negatively, we become increasing susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties.
Belonging - Love Needs: • can affect our perception, e.g., singles vs. couples; • can be
satisfied; e.g., good partnership or marriage; • at work , we focus on getting a good boss
and good working conditions • if deprived, can lead to loneliness • if pathological, can
lead to antisocial behavior.
Esteem Needs Maslow posed two versions -- lower and higher esteem needs. Lower
form needs are respect from others, for status, fame, glory, recognition, attention,
reputation, appreciation, dignity, even dominance. Higher form involves the need for
self-respect, including such feelings as confidence, competence, achievement, mastery,
independence, and freedom. Maslow considers this latter version a “higher” form because
he considers self-respect as harder to lose than respect from others. Low self-esteem and
an inferiority complex are negative versions of these needs. Maslow agreed with

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psychologist Alfred Adler's theory that self-esteem needs are at the root of many, if not
most, psychological problems. This theory also assumes that the more basic
physiological, safety and love-belonging needs are mostly satisfied. Esteem needs: • can
affect our perception, e.g., "I get no respect;" • can be satisfied, e.g., doing a job well; • at
work, can focus us on "employee of the month" awards; • if deprived, can lead to feelings
of inferiority; • if pathological, can lead to depression.
Self-Actualization Needs The need for self-actualization is "the desire to become more
and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming." People can
seek knowledge, peace, esthetic experiences, self-fulfillment. Self-actualization needs: •
do not distort our perception as do other needs; when self-actualized, we more accurately
perceive what exists; • can never be satisfied -- when can you have enough truth, beauty,
or justice? • at work, focus on creativity, fulfillment; ways to increase employee
enjoyment and satisfaction; • if deprived, can cause feelings on lack of meaning in life,
boredom; • if pathological, metapathologies such as boredom, cynicism, alienation.
Deficit Needs The first four levels -- physiological, safety, belonging, self-esteem --
Maslow calls deficit needs, or D-needs. If you don’t have enough of something, i.e., you
have a deficit -- you feel the need. But if needs are met, they are no longer salient and
you feel nothing at all. Consequently, these needs don't motivate. As the old blues song
goes, “you don’t miss your water 'til your well runs dry.” Maslow extends to needs the
principle of homeostasis or dynamic equilibrium. When lacking a certain substance, our
bodies develop a hunger for it; when the body gets enough of that substance, hunger
stops.
The Need For Achievement
To many people being motivated means being interested in achievement. The
need of achievement is a desire to meet an internal standard of excellence. You may be
able to improve everyday motivation by increasing your self confidence. People with
self-confidence believe they can successfully carry out an activity or reach a goal. Self-
confidence affects motivation by influencing that challenges you will undertake, the
effort you will make, and how long you will persist when things don’t go well. You can
be confident that self-confidence is worth cultivating.

Draw Abraham Maslow hierarchy of human needs

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 Write a summary of his view of the pyramid
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Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation occurs when we act without any obvious eternal rewards. We simply
enjoy an activity or see it as an opportunity to explore, learn, and actualize our potentials.
In contrast, extrinsic motivation stems from external factors, such as pay, grades,
rewards, obligations and approval.