25th October 2023

Motivation

Motivation is concerned with why people act and think in the ways that they do. Motivated behaviour can be loosely defined as goal-oriented behaviour, but how motivation is conceptualised varies according to different psychological theories.

Miller’s (1962) definition is that:

‘The study of motivation is the study of all those pushes and prods – biological, social, and psychological – that defeat our laziness and move us either eagerly or reluctantly to action.’

The study of motivation was first initiated by philosophers and looked at issues of free will, reason, suffering and happiness driving behaviour. Psychologists developed these concepts further, with Freud’s pleasure principle seeming to endorse hedonist philosophy and Maslow and other humanistic psychologists emphasising the role of individual reason and choice as rationalist philosophers did. Some psychologists consider it helpful to imagine that motivation exists on a spectrum between the opposite poles of apathy and self-determination.

Needs and drives

The words need, instincts, and drive are sometimes used interchangeably in psychology but have very different meanings. Needs can be considered physiological requirements that can be objectively demonstrated (food, sleep, water, etc.)

In the 1920s, the psychological language that described motivation replaced the word instinct with the word ‘drive’. Drives or instincts are hypothetical constructs that refer to internal psychological processes that motivate behaviour towards specific physical, social, emotional, or intellectual goals. Evolutionary psychologists who hold that humans are essentially animals with advanced cognitive hardware believed that animalistic instincts solely drove motivation. Basic animal instincts can be considered to have evolved with humans to span greater aspirations for more abstract ‘drives’ than we possessed previously. Associated with these simplistic views of motivation are the mechanistic ideas of Woodworth (1918), who described humans as machines and explained that ‘drive’ was the power applied to make it ‘go’.

Psychodynamic psychologists also explain behaviour as being driven by drives; however, they believe drives are slightly more complicated in psychodynamic theory as most are subconscious.

Humanistic psychologists look at motivation in terms of people acting to fulfil different types of needs. For example, Maslow stated that humans are subject to two kinds of motivational states. ‘Deficiency motives‘ ensure survival by satisfying basic physical and psychological needs, i.e. are concerned with physiological safety, love, belongingness and esteem. ‘Being motives‘ promotes the person realising one’s full potential and becoming everything one can be, i.e. needs of creative fulfilment or self-respect.

Extrinsic theories

Extrinsic theories explaining motivation look at the idea that external needs like food, drink, or love will be met by motivated behaviour to fulfil these needs. Extrinsic motivation is closely linked to operant conditioning, i.e. a behaviour is reinforced through either reward or punishment. Extrinsic motivation is an external factor influencing an individual to act based on reward or fear. Intrinsic motivation is an internal desire to act, create, pursue, or seek without any external reward or consequence. Different psychological theories emphasise the importance of one or another and sometimes both (integrative approaches)

Hull originated the idea of the drive reduction theory, which states that all motivation comes from the result of biological needs to maintain homeostasis. He also said that the desire for biological homeostasis provided conditioning and reinforcement that could reduce one’s drive.

The drive reduction theory of motivation is extrinsic in its outlook. It has limitations in that it only accounts for primary drives (or biological drives) such as hunger or cold to explain motivation. A secondary drive does not directly reduce biological or physiological needs, i.e. money and is not considered greatly important in Hull’s theories. His theory believes that secondary drives only support primary drives.

Hypothalamic systems and safety

The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that regulates appetites, arousal, and other physiological motivations via communication with the pituitary, the adrenals, sexual organs, the limbic system and the amygdala.

One of the main functions of the hypothalamus is to preserve homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to an organism’s ability to maintain a consistent internal environment, and attempts to maintain homeostasis underlie many psychological theories of motivation. In addition, the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in sexual function, reproduction, growth, metabolism, fear, defence, love and maternal bonding behaviour via its many and varied neuroendocrine functions. For example, the hypothalamus releases oxytocin (related to love and maternal functions) and also corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) (anger, stress, excitement).

The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus receives inputs from various brainstem structures and the limbic system in response to multiple forms of stress (psychological, physical, or physiologic) and responds by releasing corticotropin-releasing hormone, which leads to the secretion of ACTH from the adenohypophysis and cortisol from the adrenal cortex, cortisol stimulates target organs and tissues to increase blood pressure, blood glucose ensuring the tissues have sufficient glucose and oxygen needed for rapid response thus enabling anger excitement behaviours.

The limbic system is concerned with safety and fear (flight or fight response), and this receives, processes and relays emotional input to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus, through its connections with the autonomic nervous system, initiates appropriate visceral responses such as changes in heart rate and blood pressure mediated by the sympathetic nervous system and associated changes in behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is associated with the stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus.

Another vital area of the brain connected to motivation is the prefrontal cortex (the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is implicated in the control of emotions; the orbitofrontal cortex is known to help control decisions concerning rewards and punishments, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved with social inhibition. The anterior cingulate cortex located in the corpus callosum also plays a role in conscious attention regulation and seeking rewards, which can increase motivation. All of these neuroscientific processes impact motivation and motivated behaviours.

Intrinsic theories

Curiosity often motivates exploratory behaviour and can be triggered by instinctual biological stimulus motivated towards physiological needs/survival, or it can be part of a ‘secondary drive’ or directed towards a cognitive or non physiologically non-essential goal. Curiosity and motivation are intricately linked, and curiosity is mainly associated with intrinsic motivations, i.e. behaviour directed towards goals that are considered rewards in and of themselves (for example, when people can be demonstrated to seek knowledge purely out of curiosity rather than any reward that might result).

Arousal in psychology can be defined as a state of physiological activation and the sensation of being alert and awake. This arousal can be mental, emotional, or physical; environmental factors can affect arousal via optimal or adverse stimulation. Many things, including food, emotions, and neurotransmitters, can affect physiological arousal. Emotional arousal can vary from high to low levels depending on the emotion being felt, i.e. feeling happy can lead to low arousal, and anger can cause high arousal levels. The reticular activating system (RAS) is part of the brainstem that regulates arousal.

Arousal theory says that each individual has an optimal level of arousal and will seek to modulate their environment and activities to bring arousal to that level. According to Eysenck’s theory of cortical arousal, people have differences in the sensitivity of their reticular activating system. He believed introverts have higher baselines of arousal and are more sensitive to arousal and that extroverts can handle higher levels of stimulation without experiencing stress as they have lower baseline levels of arousal.

High arousal can be beneficial in situations needing heightened mental function, while low arousal levels are associated with less-than-optimal performance in demanding situations. Conversely, if arousal is too high, it can cause problems concentrating with physical symptoms of panic, and the individual can be said to be overstimulated. The Yerkes-Dodson law illustrates this graphically but can be summarised as saying that there is an optimal level of stress corresponding with an optimal level of performance. Very Low arousal and very high arousal are equally detrimental.

Cognitive consistency

Cognitive consistency theory is a psychological concept that denotes human inclinations to maintain consistency of thought and behaviour, and belief. This theory and ideas of cognitive appraisal were able to explain motivation and behaviour by examining thought patterns and distortions of thinking that affect the accuracy of cognitions and judgement and motivated behaviour.

Cognitive appraisal is a process by which people can quickly evaluate a situation by drawing on past experiences and beliefs. For example, cognitive appraisal can help us process external stimuli that are threatening or makes us happy and helps us determine appropriate behavioural measures. Lazarus is the principal psychologist associated with cognitive appraisal theory. Lazarus defined two types of cognitive appraisal: primary and secondary.

Primary appraisal evaluates whether a stimulus is perceived as negative or positive, i.e., dangerous or relaxing. Secondary appraisal is used to consider what the behavioural response to the initial stimulus should be and draws on past experiences and memories. Lazarus identified three main components to a cognitive appraisal model of response to a stimulus: a relational aspect, a motivational aspect, and a cognitive aspect.

• Relational aspect – This identifies the partnership between the person receiving the stimulus and the environment.
• Motivational aspect – This component of the cognitive appraisal model refers to the drive or motivation a person may have and its relationship to the perceived stimulus.
• Cognitive aspect – This is evaluating a particular situation to determine its worth.

Other key ideas associated with theories of cognitive consistency are:

• Negative bias – An ingrained bias that causes negative stimulus to have more effect than positive stimulus even when negative and positive stimuli are of equal intensity.
• Thinking traps – When a negative light is cast on situations inaccurately due to past experiences that alter our way of evaluating a situation.
• Cognitive reappraisal – When thinking traps / negative bias is causing a situation to be incorrectly evaluated, cognitive appraisal can aid a patient in identifying these things and correcting these.
• Cognitive dissonance – Cognitive dissonance is the mental tension that results from beliefs, values, or attitudes being challenged by new information. As people seek to remain in cognitive consistency, when they encounter cognitive dissonance, they often act to relieve tension by rejecting anything that challenges their cognitive consistency.

McClelland proposed a theory of human motivation based on three components: needs for power, needs for affiliation, and needs for achievement. These needs were developed through experience and not innate. Achievement motivation theory is the idea that some individuals thrive when competing to reach their highest potential by setting realistic goals, never giving up and allowing feedback to drive them onward. Other people might prioritise involvement in a community or the need for affiliation, whilst others prioritise the need for power and be driven to control their environment or other people by legitimate or illegitimate means.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

‘A musician must make music; an artist must paint; a poet must write if he is ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.’ – Maslow

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that needs lower down the hierarchy must be satisfied before we can attend to needs higher up, i.e. studying for an exam will not be something you are motivated to do if hungry or in pain. However, Maslow also said a need does not have to be 100% satisfied before the next need arises; it’s normal for most people’s needs to be only partially satisfied at any one time. They are listed below in reverse order, i.e., the start of the list is the bottom of the pyramid and ascends the pyramid as you read down the list.

• Physiological – Food, drink, oxygen, temperature, regulation, rest, elimination, sex.
• Safety – Protection from danger.
• Love and belonging – Receiving and giving love.
• Esteem needs – Esteem from others and self-esteem.
• Self-actualisation – Realising one’s full potential.

This theory explains that one need always predominates at any one time, not excluding all other needs. The higher the hierarchy you go, the more needs will be, more difficult to achieve, less biological and more linked to life experience.

Maslow’s theories of motivation and personality are ideographic, emphasising how unique every individual is.

References

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• Gross Richard. 1994. Psychology is the science of mind and behaviour Hodder education. London.
• Carver CS. 1992. Perspectives on Personality Allyn and Bacon. Boston.
• Freud, S. (1900/1976). The interpretation of dreams Harmondsworth. Penguin.
• Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality (3rd ed.). Harper & Row. Publishers.
• Larsen R. Buss D. Wisnmeijer A. Song J. Van Der Berg, S. 2021. Personality psychology; Domains of Knowledge about Human Nature. Mcgraw Hill. London.
• Anthony S. David, Simon Fleminger, Michael D. Kopelman Simon Lovestone John D. C. Mellers. 2012. Lishman’s Organic Psychiatry: A Textbook of Neuropsychiatry, Editor(s):Wiley Blackwell. London.