Motivation and Theories of Motivation

The Latin word movere, which meaning to move, is where the word
motivation originates. Enforcing an inspiration process that compels
team members to carry out their assigned tasks with diligence, show
their allegiance to the group, and generally contribute effectively to the
work that the group has undertaken is known as motivation. It is the
process of educating staff members about the importance of
maintaining harmonious relationships with one another and a common
goal.

The sources of motivation are different according to

different motivational theories. Some of these theories
are instinctual, desired reducing, arousal, cognitive, and
humanistic.

A) Instinct approaches to motivation

According to instinct theory, all organisms are born with certain tendencies designed to help
them survive. These biologically determined innate patterns of behavior are called instincts, and
our instincts ultimately guide our actions. In humans, instinctual behavior often manifests as
reflexes occurring in early childhood. For example, babies have an innate rooting reflex that
prompts them to seek the nipple for feeding.1Other newborn reflexes include stepping, grasping
and the startle reflex (Moro reflex). This type of behavior occurs automatically, not as a result of
learning or experience. They represent the natural side of the nature versus nature debate. Many
instinctive reactions or reflexes that occur in childhood are also present in adulthood. You may
have noticed some of these reflexes before, as they include:

 cough reflex•
 yawn reflex.
 sneeze reflex
 hay reflex

How Instinct Theory Explains

Motivation

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The instinctual theory of motivation suggests that our desire to act in a certain way is rooted in
our biological makeup. Specifically, we engage in certain behaviors because they aid our
physical survival. Migratory birds are an example. Studies show that joining the migration before
the weather turns cold improves the condition of these birds chances of survival. They are
encouraged or forced to move to warmer climates in winter because it increases their chances of
surviving the colder months. Humans also have basic survival instincts that drive our behavior.
Returning to the example of the rooting reflex, babies are encouraged to "root for" and sucking
on nipples as a means of feeding to help ensure their survival. The presence and/or absence of
certain primitive reflexes can be a sign of developmental problems in children. But what is
instinct worth? In his book Exploring Psychology, author David G. Meyers suggests that
behavior identifiable as instinct must be patterned throughout the species and must be unlearned.
In other words, it must occur naturally in all organisms of that species.

The Power of Instinctive Behaviors

One way to truly understand the power of evolutionary instincts is to look at animals. Animals
have an innate tendency to spontaneously engage in certain behaviors. For example, a dog
naturally shivers after a bath, and turtles intuitively head for water when they hatch. In the mid-
1930s, zoologist Konrad Lorenz famously demonstrated the power of instinct using geese.
According to Lorenz, geese attach to the first moving object they encounter after hatching, which
is usually their mother. But by making sure that he was the first encounter of the new cubs, they
became attached to or stayed with Lorenz instead. These instincts are just as strong in humans.
Thanks to the root reflex, for example, brushing a child's cheek automatically causes the child to
turn its head and move its mouth as if it were sucking.

History of the Instinct Theory of

Motivation
William McDougall was one of the first psychologists to talk about the instinctual theory of
motivation in his writings.7He argued that instinctive behavior has three important elements:
perception, behavior and emotion. In total, McDougall identified 18 different natural human
instincts. These included, in addition to survival behaviors such as foraging, a natural inclination
towards curiosity, laughter and sex.Psychologist William James identified his instincts, which he
believed were necessary for survival. These included, for example, fear, anger, love, shame and
purity.9Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud presented a broader picture of motivation. Instead of relying
on several different instincts, he proposed that only two instinctive patterns guide human
behavior. Freud called them the instincts of life and death.

Although instinct theory can explain what drives certain behaviors, its
critics believe it has some serious limitations. These include:-

 Instinct is not easily observed or scientifically tested.

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  Not all behavior can be explained by instincts.
 Labeling something instinct does nothing to explain why certain
behaviors occur in some cases but not in others.

B. Drive reduction theory

Drive's reduction theory is a theory of learning in which the goal of
motivated behavior is to reduce controllable space. The theory posits that
all motivated behavior results from urges resulting from a disruption of
homeostasis, and that responses that lead to a reduction in those urges tend
to be enhanced or strengthened. the purpose of human behavior is to
reduce "desire". "Drive" is a feeling of excitement or discomfort triggered by
a person's physiological or biological needs, such as hunger, thirst and heat.
According to the theory, when a person's desire arises, there is an
unpleasant state of tension that makes him behave in such a way that he
relieves this tension. To reduce the tension they feel, they look for ways to
satisfy their biological needs. The drive reduction theory is based on the
concept of homeostasis, which is the idea that the body actively works to
maintain balance or a state of balance.

Who Developed The Drive-Reduction Theory?

Drive reduction theory was created by behavioral scientist Clark Hull and

further developed by his collaborator Kenneth Spence. Hull based his

theory on earlier theories related to the concepts of motivation. He was

inspired by prominent scientists such as John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and

Edward Thorndike. Hull's theory became popular in the 1940s and 1950s as

a way to explain behavior, learning, and motivation. Hull based his theory

on the concept of homeostasis, the idea that all organisms strive to keep

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their internal physiological systems stable and balanced. Drive Reduction

theory proposes that the goal of motivated behavior is to reduce

physiological arousal and return to homeostasis. Drive is any internal factor

that causes an organism to seek certain stimuli or perform certain

behaviors to reduce arousal. According to motor reduction theory, all

motivated behavior results from desires, essentially desires or needs,

resulting from a disturbance in homeostasis (a state of balance). The higher

the level of arousal, the greater the desire (Hull, 1952). Hull student

Kenneth Spence also made important contributions to the theory of drive

reduction. Spence disagreed with Hull's assumption that performance

improvement was due only to habit factors and emphasized the role of

motivation. He also believed that reinforcement can act as an incentive for

learning, but it does not necessarily promote response learning. This idea

later became known as the Hull-Spence hypothesis of conditioning and

learning (Spence and Spence, 1966). Spence further argued that learning

does not always occur based on what has been learned, which he explained

in terms of implicit learning. This is when an organism learns something

but does not display the behavior until there is a reason or stimulus to do

so. For example, a rat in a maze may initially explore randomly, but after

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being rewarded for finding the exit, appears to have learned the behavior of

going directly to the exit (Spence and Spence, 1966). This concept of

implicit learning is important because it helps explain why organisms do

not always act on what they learn. It also provides evidence of the role of

motivation in learning. Although the drive reduction theory was once the

dominant theory in psychology, it is now largely neglected as new theories

are developed. Although this is no longer a widely held theory, it is still

useful to understand how earlier researchers tried to explain human

motivation.

How Does Drive-Reduction Theory Explain Human

Behavior?
Drive reduction theory suggests that people's behavior stems from
a desire to reduce their resources. It is believed that there are
primary and secondary positions. Primary desires are innate
biological needs such as hunger or thirst. Secondary desires are
those that are learned through conditioning or association with a
primary desire, such as money and social approval. One can go to
the store, buy food, prepare it and then eat it to minimize the
discomfort caused by the main causes, such as hunger. Drives
cause all of these behaviors according to drive-reduction theory.
Once the individual's needs are satisfied, he again reaches
homeostasis and the desire to fulfill the needs diminishes.

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 C. The arousal theory of motivation
states that people are motivated to seek out activities or situations
that maintain or increase their arousal. Arousal can be thought of
as a continuum, with low levels of arousal associated with
boredom and high levels of arousal associated with anxiety.

Table 1.1
Motivation theory is a psychological theory that suggests that arousal levels
play an important role in determining motivation levels. This theory states
that individuals are motivated to seek stimulation when they have low
levels of arousal, but become bored and demotivated when they become
over-arousal (APA). Henry Murray first proposed the theory of motivation
in 1938. Murray's theory was based on his observations of people's needs
for achievement, power, and belonging. He believed that these needs
stemmed from a desire to reduce arousal levels. Other psychologists such as
Robert Zajonc (1965) and John Atkinson (1957) further developed
motivation theory over the years. Zajonc proposed that there is an optimal

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level of arousal for task performance and that people seek stimulation when
they are below this optimal level. Atkinson argued that people have
different "arousal thresholds", meaning that some people need more
stimulation than others to perform at their best. According to arousal
theory, two main factors influence arousal levels: challenge and threat.
When people face challenges or threats in their environment, they
experience heightened arousal. These higher levels of arousal can in turn
motivate people to take action or increase their efforts to achieve a goal or
objective.

D. Incentive approaches: motivation’s pull

Some psychologists feel that we are motivated to do things because of our inner
wants and desires (e.g we go to the gym every day because it makes us feel better).
Others say that there are extrinsic rewards behind our actions (we exercise every
day to win a monetary prize). Motivation theory is one of the psychological
theories of motivation that suggests that behavior is motivated by external
reinforcement or incentives against internal forces. Understanding how motivation
theory works can help you better identify what might motivate you to act in a
certain way or engage in certain behaviors. It also allows you to introduce your
own motivations that can facilitate the achievement of your desired goals.

History of Incentive Theory

 The idea that external factors influence or reinforce our behavior is largely
due to psychologist B.F Skinner. In Skinnerand's 1938 book Behavior of
Organisms, he argued that people do not act out in an internal state like
aggression because they feel anger. Instead, we are directed or encouraged to
act primarily by three environmental events: deprivation, satiation, and
aversive stimulation.1Innovation in motivation theory continued in the
1940s and 1950s. During this period, its development was influenced by
several theories of attraction, such as those established by the psychologist
Clark Hull. Hull argued that behavior is driven by a biological lack, thus
creating an incentive to act. In the late 1950s, Frederick Herzberg further
expanded this ideology and created the so-called two-factor motivation
theory. This theory is based on research that Herzberg conducted on
employees to find out what contributed to or removed their job satisfaction.

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 In this study, employees were asked what made them feel good and bad
about their jobs. Based on these answers, Herzberg proposed that job
satisfaction was based on two factors:

 Motivators, such as the desire for recognition, achievement, or

advancement
 Hygiene, which includes company policies, salary, working conditions, etc.

How Incentive Theory Works

Unlike other theories that suggest that internal or internal motivations make us act,
motivation theory suggests that external stimuli make us act. Specifically, people
are attracted to behaviors that lead to extrinsic rewards and repelled by those
behaviors that lead to negative consequences. Motivation theory can be compared
to operant conditioning, where behavior occurs either to obtain reinforcement or to
avoid punishment. What rewards do we want to receive? Good grades are a
motivator that can motivate students to study hard and do well in school. Gaining
appreciation and recognition from teachers and parents can be another. Money is
also a great example of an extrinsic reward that motivates behavior. Rewards must
be motivated. For example, a student will not be motivated to get the best grade in
an exam if the task is so difficult that it is not realistically possible. Rewards must
also be meaningful or they cannot be effective enough to motivate a person to act.
In many cases, extrinsic rewards can motivate you to do things you might
otherwise avoid, such as chores, chores, and other unpleasant tasks. They can also
be used to stop certain actions, such as quitting smoking, to prevent the negative
consequences of developing lung cancer.
Types of Incentives
In psychology, a stimulus is defined as an external stimulus, such as a condition or object, that
increases behavior or serves as a motive for behavior. American Psychological Association.
Incentives Motivational theory includes two different types of motivations :
 Positive motivations. These are rewards for taking certain actions, such as receiving
a commission when you make a certain Amount of sales.
 Negative incentives. These are penalties for certain actions, such as getting a
speeding ticket for driving faster than the law allows.
We can take examples for this theory as the following
You can probably think of many different situations where the promise of a reward
directly influenced your behavior. Maybe you studied for a test to get a good
grade, ran a marathon to get a ribbon, or started a new job to get a paycheck. All
these activities come with an incentive to get something in return for your efforts.
Or perhaps your behavior was more motivated by avoiding punishment. Examples
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of motivational theory in this context include completing a large assignment to
avoid failing a class, eating a salad instead of a hamburger to avoid gaining weight,
or biting your tongue in an argument to avoid a fight.

Challenges of Incentive Theory

Not all incentives are created equal, and the rewards you provide may not be
enough to motivate someone to take action. Physiological, social and cognitive
factors can influence which stimuli motivate you. For example, food is more likely
to motivate you when you are really hungry than when you are full. Similarly,
while one teenager may be motivated to clean his room by the promise of a desired
video game, another teen may find such a game completely unpleasant, which does
not motivate him to take action. Discounts may also change depending on the
situation. In the book Psychology: A Discovery Experience, author Stephen L.
Franzoi gives an example: When you are at home, your parents praise can be a
positive motivator. However, when your friends come to visit, you may try to
avoid praise from your parents because your friends may bully you Two people
may behave differently in the same situation because of the motivations they
attract. them at that time.

E. Cognitive Approaches: the thoughts behind

motivation
Cognitive theories of motivation present a different perspective in
understanding an individual's primary needs to keep the individual
motivated and satisfied, which is likely to lead to greater efficiency and
productivity. Certainly, the entire work scenario depends on how much
the employee is motivated and satisfied with the effort to benefit the
company. It is a fact that a workplace is a need for both sides, ie. both
the employee and the organization.
Cognitive theories of motivation consist of the latter two theories,
which are expectancy theory and goal setting theory. The expectancy
theory explains how and why an individual makes a particular decision
to choose the best behavioral option among many. The goal-setting
theory, on the other hand, proposes the importance of creating goals

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and how goals make a person sufficiently motivated and satisfied.
Further explanations of both motivational theories are provided below.
The Expectancy Theory was proposed by Victor H. Vroom in 1964. It
develops the behavioral process by which an individual chooses one
particular and necessary alternative over others and the role of the
decision in the achievement process. career goals The theory consists
of three variables introduced by Vroom to clearly explain the given
behavioral process. The variables are: "E" for Expectation "V" for
Valence "I" for Instrumental.
1. Expectancy
The expectancy variable explains the belief that an employee's efforts
are driven by the need to achieve desired performance goals. There are
three factors that greatly influence an individual's perception of
expectations. Self-Efficacy: – An individual's belief in his own
effectiveness and ability to perform a certain behavior effectively. Goal
Difficulty: – This factor occurs when desired performance goals are
larger or higher than expected, which can lead to a lack of perception of
high expectations and impair perception. Control: – This is the degree
to which a person perceived control over an activity.
2. Valence
Simply put, valence refers to the price/value an individual places on
rewards or reinforcements. In general, the process of setting values
depends on an individual's internal/external sources of motivation, goals,
needs and values. Different forms of individual values are represented by
three terms. The term -1 indicates that the person is not satisfied with the
result and tries to avoid it, the term 0 indicates that the person feels
indifferent or strange about the results, and the term +1 indicates that the
person feels warmth about the result.

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 3. Instrumentality

Instrumentality refers to the belief that a person will receive a reward

based on a certain required performance. Compensation can be of
various types such as extrinsic, intrinsic, non-monetary, non-monetary
and many more. The level of instrumentality is low when a person
receives a reward for a set of activities that must be performed as a
work task. On the other hand, there are three factors associated with
the instrument which are control, policy and trust.
Motive force: It is the result of the three variables of
expectancy theory ie. expectation, valence and
instrumentality. Briefly, the product of the waiting time of the three
variables is called the motivational force. The appropriate formula to
calculate the motivational strength is:
Motive strength = Expectation * Instrumentality * Valence
According to the formula, if the variables are strong or large for a
person, his motivation level also can be called higher.
Goal Setting Theory
Another cognitive theory of motivation is the goal theory. Edwin
Locke introduced the theory in the 1960s. A key factor that the
theory explains is that goal setting has a direct and sufficient
effect on task performance.

A set of concrete and hard-to-achieve goals will undoubtedly lead

to better task performance and may motivate a person in
addition. Additionally, easy-to-achieve goals can lead to poor or
very low task performance. Therefore, the goals you set must be
SMART. The perfect form of

SMART is:
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"S" for a specific
"M" measurable
"A" achieved
"R" for a realistic
"T" time frame.
F. Humanistic approaches to motivation
Humanistic motivation theory is a type of motivation theory that deals
with the meaning of behavior and the nature of overall personal
development. American psychologist Abraham Maslow wanted to know
what motivates people. He suggested that people are driven to fulfill
certain needs. Once one need is satisfied, people seek to satisfy the
next need and so on (Maslow, 1943). He developed a five-stage model
that included basic, physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-
actualization needs. This theory intrigues me because the human
element (depending on the individual) never seems to meet the needs
of all levels at once. It is a multi-level revolving door throughout that
provides complete human satisfaction. I enjoy how this particular
theory traces the motivation of the "whole person". In my view, this
element of the "whole person" consists of a person's emotional,
mental, physical and spiritual well-being in the balance of life. I also
believe this is what is meant when people say they are trying to "find
themselves". The intimate relationship between ego, superego, and id
(me, me, and me). We set goals, achieve them, and set more goals. Why
do we do this? Motivation comes from an inner spark. Dopamine is a
chemical neurotransmitter in the brain that is partially responsible for
arousing motivation. Once activated, this spark can travel through the
brain in several ways. Increased dopamine in the nucleus accumbens
signals a response to reward prediction (Richard et al., 2013). Our brain
recognizes that something important is happening (whether positive or
negative), which activates the motivation to act in the form of behavior.
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According to Bindra (1985), the functioning of our goals changes from
time to time, and no particular event determines that change. We can
identify these changes as impulses (short-term changes) or
attitudes/beliefs (long-term changes). If you separate the word
motivation, it started at the end of the 19th century from the motive,
which is reinforced by the word motivate. The application of this theory
in the teaching environment can be realized by creating confidential
student-teacher relationships and creating a constructive learning
environment that supports the development of student motivation. This
strategy is also useful in leader-follower relationships in any
organization.

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