Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Motivational Concepts and Theories319That “something” is what the topic of motivation is about—the biological,emotional, cognitive, or social forces that act on or within you, initiatingand directing your behavior. Typically, psychologists don’t measure motivation directly.Instead, some type of motivation is inferred when an organism performs aparticular behavior, such as curiosity motivating exploratory behavior or hungermotivating eating behavior. Indeed, the forces that activate your behavior can takemany different forms, including biological, psychological, or social forces.As an explanatory concept, motivation is very useful in both the scientific senseand the everyday sense. In conversations, people routinely use the word motivationto understand or explain the “why” behind the behavior of others. “And what motivatedyou to take up hang gliding?” “She is so motivated to get her pilot’s licensethat she started going to the library every night to study for the written exam.” Suchstatements reflect three basic characteristics commonly associated with motivation:activation, persistence, and intensity.Activation is demonstrated by the initiation or production of behavior, such asRichard’s decision to pursue competitive diving in high school. Persistence isdemonstrated by continued efforts or the determination to achieve a particular goal,often in the face of obstacles. Day after day, Richard spent hours at the swimmingpool honing the precision of his dives. Finally, intensity is seen in the greater vigorof responding that usually accompanies motivated behavior.Motivation is closely tied to emotional processes, and vice versa. Often we aremotivated to experience a particular emotion, such as feeling proud. In turn, theexperience of an emotion—such as love, fear, or dissatisfaction—can motivate us totake action. Many forms of motivation have an emotional component, which isinvolved in the initiation and persistence of behavior. One reflection of the emotionalintensity of Richard’s motivation was the exhilaration he experienced whenhe placed third at a national collegiate swimming competition.In the second half of the chapter, we’ll take a detailed look at emotion. As you’llsee, emotion is a psychological state involving three distinct components: subjectiveexperience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive component.“Could you give me a little push?”© 2002 The New Yorker Collection from cartoonbank.com. Barbara SmallerMotivational Concepts and TheoriesKey Theme• Over the past century, instinct, drive, incentive, arousal, and humanistictheories were proposed to explain the general principles of motivation.Key Questions• How does each theory explain motivation?• What were the limitations of each theory?• What lasting ideas did each theory contribute to the study of motivation?During the twentieth century, several broad theories of motivation were proposed.Each model eventually proved to be limited, explaining only certain aspects ofmotivation. However, key ideas and concepts from each model became essential toa complete understanding of motivation and were incorporated into newer theories(Fiske, 2008). As you’ll see in this section, the concepts used to explain motivationhave become progressively more diverse over the years.Instinct TheoriesInborn Behaviors as MotivatorsIn the late 1800s, the fledgling science of psychology initially embraced instinct theoriesto explain motivation. According to instinct theories, people are motivated toengage in certain behaviors because of evolutionary programming. Just as animalsmotivationThe biological, emotional, cognitive, orsocial forces that activate and directbehavior.instinct theoriesThe view that certain human behaviors areinnate and due to evolutionary programming.