11.3 | Social and Achievement Motivation

Question 1

Hierarchy of Needs

Answer 1

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943, 1954)
• self-actualization: the point at which a person reaches his or her full potential as a creative, deep-thinking, and accepting human being
• criticisms with this model:
  
  • the idea that we must fulfill one need before moving on to the next is too simplistic; you can have multiple motivations simultaneously
  • appears to be biased toward an individualistic (Western) culture
• even if the hierarchy element may be inaccurate, Maslow’s work highlighted the fact that human motivation extends to a number of different areas rather than simply being a matter of eating, sleeping, and reproducing

Question 2

Belonging is a Need, Not a Want

Answer 2

• need to belong: (or affiliation motivation) the motivation to maintain relationships that involve pleasant feelings such as warmth, affection, appreciation, and mutual concern for a person’s well-being
• humans cannot survive without it
• an individual who has many positive social interactions with a series of different individuals does not enjoy the same satisfaction and other benefits as an individual who interacts with only a few people, but regularly and for a long period of time
• social connectedness leads to happiness and life satisfaction
• also has an effect on physical health; loneliness is a risk for illnesses such as heart disease and cancer
• lonliness also elevates a person’s risk for having hypertension, a weaker immune system, and high levels of stress hormones.

Question 3

Love

Answer 3

composed of two main components: passionate love and compassionate love

• passionate love: associated with a physical and emotional longing for the other person
  
  • associated with activity in areas of the brain related to physical rewards as well as the insula, a region that is sensitive to internal bodily feelings such as having “butterflies in the stomach”
• compassionate love: related to tenderness, and to the affection we feel, when our lives our intertwined with another person
  
  • has a greater influence on the long-term stability of a relationship

Question 4

Love and Commitment

Answer 4

number of factors influencing commitment:

• the initial strength of attraction which can include happiness
• barriers of leaving such as children, religious convictions, and socioeconomic pressures
• the availability of alternatives; if people think there are few alternatives, they’re more likely to remain committed

Question 5

Achievement Motivation

Answer 5

• achievement motivation: the drive to perform at high levels and to accomplish significant goals
• approach goal: an enjoyable and pleasant incentive that a person is drawn toward, such as praise, financial reward, or a feeling of satisfaction
• avoidance goal: an attempt to avoid an unpleasant outcome such as shame, embarrassment, losing money, or feeling emotional pain
• our motivation to achieve is also influenced by numerous other factors, including personal preferences, values, the setting we are in, and whether we feel that we actually have the ability to achieve our goal

Question 6

Universal Needs

Answer 6

three universal needs:

• relatedness: feeling connected with others
• autonomy: the need to find control of your own life
• competence: the ability to perform a task at a skill level that is satisfying to the individual
  
  • competence can simply be based off of how competent you think you are, not necessarily how competent you actually are.
  • this can be referred to by self-efficacy: an individual’s confidence that he or she can execute a course of action to solve a problem

Question 7

Self-Determination Theory

Answer 7

• self-determination theory: a theory that states that an individual’s ability to achieve their goals and attain psychological well-being is influenced by the degree to which he or she is in control of the behaviours necessary to achieve those goals
• i.e. if we are able to achieve this control, or at least feel like we have control, then we will be more motivated to perform the actions necessary to achieve that goal

Question 8

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

Answer 8

• extrinsic motivation (or performance motive): motivation geared toward gaining rewards or public relations, or avoiding embarrassment
  
  • the problem for extrinsic motivation is that people can become amotivational: a feeling of having little or no motivation to perform a behaviour
• intrinsic motivation (or mastery motive): the process of being internally motivated to perform behaviours and overcoming challenges (e.g. a genuine desire to master a task rather than being motivated by a reward)
• people who are intrinsically motivated tend to perform better
• motivation isn’t fixed, people who were once extrinsically motivated towards something can become intrinsically motivated and vice-versa

Question 9

A Continuum of Motivation

Answer 9

• the over-justification effect: e.g. if you give someone a reward for an intrinsically motivated behaviour, the intrinsic motivation decreases, as does the frequency of the behaviour
• this is because the behaviour ceases to be dependent on internal motivation (high autonomy), and becomes dependent upon a reward (low autonomy)
• extrensically motivated behaviours are not intially associated with much passion, but over time it’s possible that these behaviours will be internalized so that they’re part of a person’s identity
• how do you harness the power of intrinsic motivation?
• you have to attach a powerful personal meaning to the task

Question 10

Framing, Values, and Pro-Environmental Messages

Answer 10

• framing effect: when the correct course of action is not obvious, the different phrasing of the question or problem can produce different results
• research shows that if people want to create rapid behavioural change, focussing on how problems could have frightening effects on humanity would influence how people thought about these issues.
  
  • e.g. the environment
  • “Reducing pollution will make our rivers clean” vs. “If we don’t reduce pollution, then our streets will be filled with streams of deadly toxic waste”
  • people will choose the more uncertain option in each circumstance; the second one gets people to act because the first is too positive and doesn’t seem like change is needed
• but messages framed negatively tend to lose its effect quicker than positive messages
• framing a message in a way that is congruent with a person’s values can influence the likelihood that people will become intrinsically motivated