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Motivation is a process that drives and directs a goal-oriented behavior. There are many
different types of motivation:
Motives|
Description
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| Physiological
| Motivation driven by biological needs and internal bodily states and is used to explain
hunger and thirst.
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| Learned
| Social motivation for behavior that concerns relationships with others and is used to
explain aggression, affiliation, and achievement.
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| Effectance
| Motivations explaining activity, curiosity, and manipulation. Research has shown that
animals are more likely to be active rather than inert. Animals also like to explore
(curiosity) and grasp objects (manipulation). These tendencies are believe to have been
caused by the effectance motives.
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| Combination
| Motivation explaining human behavior that involves both physiological and acquired
influences. Combination motives for example is used to explain sex. For human beings,
sex is physiological (dependent upon factors like hormones) but it is also learned and
affected by society.
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Psychologists have tried to explain these different motivations through various theories:
Instinct Theory:
Instincts are innate behavior impervious to the influence of learning.
Two instinct theories of motivation were developed by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and
functionalist William James. In Freud's view, human behavior is made up of two instincts,
Eros and Thanatos. Eros is the life instinct and is the basis for sexual motivation while
Thanatos is the death instinct that underlay aggressive motivation. Functionalist William
James argued that humans were born with many different instincts which motivates human
beings. However unlike Freud, James emphasize the survival value of instincts.
Drive Theory: A drive is a force that directs a behavior. It is
believed to motivate a class of behavior until a need is met. For example if a person is
hungry, then the need for food will create a hunger drive which can include a class of
behavior including eating and non-eating behaviors such as restlessness.
Hull's Theory: where Behavior (B) is equal to the product of the strength of the drive
(D), the size of the incentive (I) and the strength of the habit (H).
Maslow's hierarchy of Motives: Certain motives are essential to survival while others are
less critical. Motivation therefore can be ranked. Those on the bottom of the pyramid takes
precedence and must be satisfied first.
Opponent Process Theory:
Acquired motives arises from the interplay of opposing processes
in the brain.
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