it is a detailed summary of concept motivation , i have included every subtopic and concepts necessary for understanding of reader, it includes theories classical studies in psychology,and concepts,
For other uses, see Motivation (disambiguation). 2.1 Rational motivations
The idea that human beings are rational and human be-
Motivation is a theoretical construct used to explain
havior is guided by reason is an old one. However, recent
behavior. It represents the reasons for people’s actions,
research (on Satisficing for example) has significantly un-
desires, and needs. Motivation can also be defined as
dermined the idea of homo economicus or of perfect ra-
one’s direction to behavior, or what causes a person to
tionality in favour of a more bounded rationality. The
want to repeat a behavior and vice versa.[1] A motive is
field of behavioural economics is particularly concerned
what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at
with the limits of rationality in economic agents.[4]
least develop an inclination for specific behavior.[2] For
example, when someone eats food to satisfy their hunger,
or when a student does his/her work in school because 2.2 Incentive theories: intrinsic and ex-
he/she wants a good grade. Both show a similar connec-
trinsic motivation
tion between what we do and why we do it. According to
Maehr and Meyer, “Motivation is a word that is part of
Motivation can be divided into two different theories
the popular culture as few other psychological concepts
known as Intrinsic (internal) motivation and Extrinsic
are”.[3] Wikipedia readers will have a motive (or motives)
(external) motivation.
for reading an article, even if such motives are complex
and difficult to pinpoint. At the other end of the range of
complexity, hunger is frequently the motive for seeking 2.2.1 Intrinsic motivation
out and consuming food.
Intrinsic motivation has been studied since the early
1970s. Intrinsic motivation is the self-desire to seek out
1 Types of theories and models new things and new challenges, to analyze one’s capac-
ity, to observe and to gain knowledge.[5] It is driven by an
interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within
Motivation theories can be classified on a number of the individual rather than relying on external pressures or
bases. a desire for reward. The phenomenon of intrinsic moti-
vation was first acknowledged within experimental stud-
• Natural vs. Rational based on whether the under- ies of animal behavior. In these studies, it was evident
lying theory of human Cognition is based on nat- that the organisms would engage in playful and curiosity
ural forces (drives, needs, desires) or some kind driven behaviors in the absence of reward. Intrinsic mo-
of rationality (instrumentality, meaningfulness, self- tivation is a natural motivational tendency and is a critical
identity). element in cognitive, social, and physical development.[6]
Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely
• Content vs. Process based on whether the focus is on to engage in the task willingly as well as work to improve
the content (“what”) motivates vs process (“how”) their skills, which will increase their capabilities.[7] Stu-
motivation takes place. dents are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
• attribute their educational results to factors under
2 Psychological theories and mod- their own control, also known as autonomy or locus
of control
els
• believe they have the skills to be effective agents
in reaching their desired goals, also known as self-
Motivation can be conceived of as a cycle in which
efficacy beliefs
thoughts influence behaviors, behaviors drive perfor-
mance, performance impacts thoughts, and the cycle be- • are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achiev-
gins again. Each stage of the cycle is composed of many ing good grades
dimensions including attitudes, beliefs, intentions, effort,
and withdrawal which can all affect the motivation that An example of intrinsic motivation is when an employee
an individual experiences. becomes an IT professional because he or she wants to
1
,2 2 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND MODELS
learn about how computer users interact with computer sence of threat.[14]
networks. The employee has the intrinsic motivation to
gain more knowledge[8]
2.2.3 Operant conditioning
Advantages: Intrinsic motivation can be long-lasting and
self-sustaining. Efforts to build this kind of motivation Main article: Operant conditioning
are also typically efforts at promoting student learning.
Such efforts often focus on the subject rather than rewards
B. F. Skinner believed in the idea that the best way to
or punishments.
fully understand an individual’s behavior is to investigate
Disadvantages: Efforts at fostering intrinsic motivation the causes of an action and its consequences. Operant
can be slow to affect behavior and can require special and conditioning, the theory which Skinner is well known
lengthy preparation. Students are individuals, so a vari- for, is a method of learning that occurs through rewards
ety of approaches may be needed to motivate different and punishments for behavior. Skinner’s operant condi-
students. It is often helpful to know what interests one’s tioning was based on the work of Edward Thorndike’s
students in order to connect these interests with the sub- “Law of Effect”,[15] which is the theory of learning in an-
ject matter. This requires getting to know one’s students. imals using a puzzle box to propose the theory. In 1948,
Also, it helps if the instructor is interested in the subject Skinner conducted an operant conditioning experiment
to begin with![9] by using animals which he placed in a “Skinner Box”.
Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s re-
action to his/her surroundings in an environment. “A re-
2.2.2 Extrinsic motivation sponse produces a consequence such as defining a word,
hitting a ball, or solving a math problem.”[16] When a par-
Extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an ac- ticular Banana Stimulus Response (B-S-R) pattern is re-
tivity in order to attain a desired outcome and it is the warded over time, an individual will be conditioned to
[17]
opposite of intrinsic motivation.[5] Extrinsic motivation respond.
comes from influences outside of the individual. In ex-
trinsic motivation, the harder question to answer is where
do people get the motivation to carry out and continue 2.3 Push and pull
to push with persistence. Usually extrinsic motivation is
used to attain outcomes that a person wouldn't get from Push motivations are those where people push them-
intrinsic motivation.[10] Common extrinsic motivations selves towards their goals or to achieve something, such as
are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desire for escape, rest and relaxation, prestige, [18]
health
the desired behavior, and the threat of punishment follow- and fitness, adventure, and social interaction.
ing misbehavior. Competition is an extrinsic motivator However, with push motivation it’s also easy to get dis-
because it encourages the performer to win and to beat couraged when there are obstacles present in the path of
others, not simply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the achievement. Push motivation acts as a willpower and
activity. A cheering crowd and the desire to win a trophy people’s willpower is only as strong as the desire behind
are also extrinsic incentives.[11] the willpower.[19] Additionally, a study has been con-
Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic ducted on social networking and its push and pull effects.
rewards can lead to overjustification and a subsequent re- One thing that is mentioned is “Regret and dissatisfaction
duction in intrinsic motivation. In one study demonstrat- correspond to push factors because regret and dissatisfac-
ing this effect, children who expected to be (and were) tion are the negative factors that [20]
compel users to leave
rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pic- their current service provider.” So from reading this,
tures spent less time playing with the drawing materials we now know that Push motivations can also be a nega-
in subsequent observations than children who were as- tive force. In this case, that negative force is regret and
signed to an unexpected reward condition. [12]
However, dissatisfaction.
another study showed that third graders who were re- Pull motivation is the opposite of push. It is a type of
warded with a book showed more reading behavior in motivation that is much stronger. “Some of the factors
the future, implying that some rewards do not undermine are those that emerge as a result of the attractiveness of
intrinsic motivation.[13] While the provision of extrinsic a destination as it is perceived by those with the propen-
rewards might reduce the desirability of an activity, the sity to travel. They include both tangible resources, such
use of extrinsic constraints, such as the threat of pun- as beaches, recreation facilities, and cultural attractions,
ishment, against performing an activity has actually been and traveler’s perceptions and expectation, such as nov-
found to increase one’s intrinsic interest in that activity. In elty, benefit expectation, and marketing image.”[18] Pull
one study, when children were given mild threats against motivation can be seen as the desire to achieve a goal so
playing with an attractive toy, it was found that the threat badly that it seems that the goal is pulling us toward it.
actually served to increase the child’s interest in the toy, That is why pull motivation is stronger than push moti-
which was previously undesirable to the child in the ab- vation. It is easier to be drawn to something rather than
, 2.5 Drives 3
2.5 Drives
Main article: Drive theory
A drive or desire can be described as a deficiency or need
that activates behavior that is aimed at a goal or an in-
centive.[22] These drives are thought to originate within
the individual and may not require external stimuli to en-
courage the behavior. Basic drives could be sparked by
deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to
seek food whereas more subtle drives might be the de-
sire for praise and approval, which motivates a person
to behave in a manner pleasing to others. Another basic
drive is the sexual drive which like food motivates us be-
cause it is essential to our survival.[23] The desire for sex is
wired deep into the brain of all human beings as glands se-
crete hormones that travel through the blood to the brain
and stimulates the onset of sexual desire.[23] The hor-
mone involved in the initial onset of sexual desire is called
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).[23] The hormonal ba-
sis of both men and women’s sex drives is testosterone.[23]
Men naturally have more testosterone than women do and
so are more likely than woman to think about sex,[23]
There are countless amount of drives society obtains, it
is primarily the reason why people have a willingness to
act in a particular way; that being generally a desire or
interest in something.
2.6 Incentive theory
to push yourself for something you desire. It can also
be an alternative force when compared to negative force. Incentive theory is exactly what it sounds like it is, it is an
From the same study as previously mentioned, “Regret incentive or motive to do something. The most common
and dissatisfaction with an existing SNS service provider incentive would be a reward. Rewards can be tangible
may trigger a heightened interest toward switching ser- or intangible, and is presented generally after the occur-
vice providers, but such a motive will likely to translate rence of the action or behavior that one is trying to cor-
into reality in the presence of good alternative. There- rect or cause to happen again. This is done by associating
fore, alternative attractiveness can moderate the effects positive meaning to the behavior and or action. Studies
of regret and dissatisfaction with switching intention”[20] show that if the person receives the reward immediately,
And so, pull motivation can be an attracting desire when the effect is greater, and decreases as delay lengthens.[24]
negative influences come into the picture. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the ac-
tion to become a habit.[25] Motivation comes from two
sources: oneself, and other people. (Refer to Intrinsic
and Extrinsic motivation for more information)
“Reinforcers and reinforcement principles of behavior
2.4 Self-control differ from the hypothetical construct of reward.”[25] A
reinforcer is anything that follows an action, with the in-
tentions that the action will now occur more frequently.
Main article: Self-control Positive reinforcement is demonstrated by an increase
in the future frequency or magnitude, this is due to the
The self-control aspect of motivation is increasingly con- fact that in the past such action was followed by a rein-
sidered to be a subset of emotional intelligence;[21] it is forcing stimulus. Positive reinforcement involves a stim-
suggested that although a person may be classed as highly ulus change consisting of the presentation or magnifica-
intelligent (as measured by many traditional intelligence tion of a positive stimulus following a response. Nega-
tests), they may remain unmotivated to pursue intellectual tive reinforcement involves stimulus change consisting
endeavours. Vroom’s "expectancy theory" provides an of the removal of a stimulus following a response. From
account of when people may decide to exert self-control this perspective, the concept of distinguishing between
in pursuit of a particular goal. intrinsic and extrinsic forces is irrelevant.
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