The word motivation comes from the verb "to move” and hence we may define motivation as a need,

want, interest, or desire that propels someone (or an organism) in a certain direction or towards some
goal/destination. Motivating mechanism can be many things, a habit, a belief, a desire, an instinct, a
need, an interest, a compulsion, drive, it is this motivation that prompts us to take action. Psychology
books define the field of motivation as the study of goal-directed behavior.

Theoretical Perspectives: The different theories of motivation do not differ much from one another,
except for the amount of emphasis they each place on either biology or environment. Some include
them independently and some both, in their own proportions.

(A) Instinct Theories: This theory that completely emphasizes on biology and states that motivation
is the result of biological and genetic programming of each living person/organism. It
emphasizes that our primary motivation is to survive and that we are biologically programmed
to survive. Thus, all of our behaviors and motivations stem from biological programming, where
our actions are our instincts as well.

For instance, a human mother, will stay awake with a crying infant all night long trying to
provide comfort. Why? Instinct theory suggests that she is programmed to behave in this
manner, not due to learning or conditioning, but pure motherly instinct, i.e. biology.

(B) Sociobiological Perspective (Sociobiology): This theory emphasizes on the study of genetic and
evolutionary bases of behavior in all organisms, including human, that drive motivation. Unlike
the Instinct theory, that focuses primarily on survival, this theory further add to the former by
putting further emphasis on survival through passage of genes form from one generation to
another, by way of succession.

Instinct theory argued that people try to survive, and that any quality that increases survival will
eventually become genetically based. However, sociobiology has changed this view slightly by
arguing that the organism's fundamental goal is not mere survival, or even the survival of its
offspring. Rather, the fittest individual is the one that succeeds in passing the maximum number
of genes on to the next generation. It can also explain motives such as competition, aggression,
sexual activity, and dominance, along with differences in men and women's mating preferences.

(C) Drive Theories: This theory puts its focus on drive within an individual, which will lead to
motivation. A Drive is an internal state of tension that motivates an individual to engage in
activities that should (hopefully) reduce this tension. Most individuals try and maintain
Homeostasis - a state of physiological equilibrium; until some factors tend to disturb this state.
For instance, when we feel thirsty (tension) we are driven towards drinking a glass of water and
once this thirst is quenched (equilibrium), the drive for water is reduced. Similarly, in some
cases, unless we face certain problems, we are less driven.

Motivation may exist without a drive arousal. For example, humans do not eat only when they
are hungry. Ever go out for a nice dinner, eat enough to be full, but then still decide to have that
great chocolate desert anyway.
(D) Incentive Theory: An incentive may be defined as an external goal that has the capacity to
motivate behavior. This does not mean that it will always motivate behavior, only that it can.

(E) Malsow's Need Hierarchy: This is a more Humanistic perspective and is a blend of biological and
social needs, where Maslow believes that all needs vary in strength and desire. He arranged
them in a pyramid form to indicate which have more strength and desire, with the most basic
needs (like shelter and food) are vital to daily survival, and are at the bottom and needs that are
less important to staying alive are higher on the pyramid.

We may define the Need Hierarchy as - a systematic arrangement of needs according to priority,
which assumes that basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused. We must
meet one need before we move on to the next.

Levels of Need Hierarchy:

(i) Physiological - these are the most basic and important needs essential to survival like
need for food, water, and other vital components of life.
(ii) Safety and Security - these needs refer more to the long term survival than day to day
needs as they seek out stable lives with careers, homes, insurance, etc.
(iii) Social belongingness and love - after obtaining a safe environment to live and
establishing some long term plans, people seek out love and affection from family
members, friends, and lovers.
(iv) Esteem - Here, individuals are concerned with self-esteem which may be based on
achievements that they earn, recognition from others for jobs they do, etc.
(v) Cognitive - needs are based on acquiring knowledge and understanding of the world,
people, behavior, etc.
(vi) Aesthetic - aesthetic needs include beauty and order in life. Getting your life in order
may provide a sense of comfort.
(vii) Self-actualization - Self-actualization is the need to fulfill one's own potential. This is the
highest and most difficult level that can be achieved and only a few actually do so. A
persons true desires are hard to achieve and if they fail to do so, he/she will always be
unsatisfied with life. For instance, if a person who wishes to be a doctor, but becomes
painter instead, he/she will be unsatisfied.
EMOTIONS
Emotion, a complex experience of consciousness, bodily sensation, and behaviour that reflects the
personal significance of a thing, an event, or a state of affairs.
Emotions can be discussed in terms of,

Cognitive Level
We perceive our emotions as having some level of pleasantness and strength, i.e. the level of
activation. For instance, if your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you, you experience some
type of emotion, like sadness. Then, you experience this emotion along the pleasantness and
strength dimensions - if you loved this person, you may experience sadness that is very
unpleasant and intense (the strength of emotion).
Physiological Level
Emotions are accompanied by physiological arousal or catalysts, usually at autonomic or
involuntary levels. For example – if you experience your car when it spinning out of control on
an icy road. Almost instantly, you experience an increase in heart rate, blood pressure,
breathing, your pupils dilate, etc. This occurs, at some level, with all emotions.
Behavioral Level
Emotion communicated without words through non-verbal expression and body language like
smiling, frowning, clenching their fists, turning their backs, etc.

THEORIES OF EMOTIONS

JAMES-LANGE THEORY OF EMOTION

James-Lange theory states, an event first lead to emotional changes and then finalizes as an experience.
(a) Environmental influence (event) > (b) Physiological change (emotion) > (c) Psychological experience.
The bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the
same changes as they occur is the emotion. However, perceptions of bodily changes could not be
the only factor involved in emotions.

THE CANNON-BARD THEORY

This theory made use of information about physiological structures not available to James and Lange.
Cannon critiqued the James-Lange Theory by stating that –
a) People who show different emotions may have the same physiological state. (We cry when
happy & sad, both);
b) Physiological changes are often too difficult to notice by a person having the experience to be
used as cues;
c) Physiological changes are often too slow to be a source of emotions, which erupt very quickly.
(When something bad happens to you, do you always cry before you feel sad? Or can you feel
sad before crying?)
d) Physiological arousal may occur without the experience of an emotion. (Exercising leads to
increased heart rate but no emotional significance)
COGNITIVE VIEW: SCHACHTER AND SINGER TWO FACTOR THEORY
Schachter-Singer theory is an example of a cognitive theory of emotion. This theory suggests that the
physiological arousal occurs first, and then the individual must identify the reason for this arousal to
experience and label it as an emotion. A stimulus leads to a physiological response that is then
cognitively interpreted and labeled, resulting in an emotion.
Schachter and Singer’s theory draws on both the James-Lange theory and the Cannon-Bard theory. Like
the James-Lange theory, the Schachter-Singer theory proposes that people infer emotions based on
physiological responses. The critical factor is the situation and the cognitive interpretation that people
use to label that emotion. Like the Cannon-Bard theory, the Schachter-Singer theory also suggests that
similar physiological responses can produce varying emotions. For example, if you experience a racing
heart and sweating palms during an important exam, you will probably identify the emotion as anxiety.
If you experience the same physical responses on a date, you might interpret those responses as love,
affection, or arousal.