Motivation Flashcards
What is Motivation?
The driving force behind behaviour that leads to either performing a behaviour or not performing the behaviour.
Explain the Psychodynamic Perspective of Motivation
Humans are motivated by drives, internal tensions that build up until they are satisfied. There are two primary drives (Sex & Aggression).
What are the two primary drives/motives?
Sex - Desire for pleasure, love & sexual intercourse
Aggression - Elimination of enemies, prevention of harm
Additional motives include:
Relatedness - The need to relate to others.
Self-esteem - The need to feel good about oneself.
Explain Conscious Motives & Unconscious Motives:
Conscious Motives - Motives you are consciously aware of, flexible & controllable goals that can be accessed through self-report (non-projective tasks)
Unconscious Motives - Motives expressed overtime without conscious effort (uncontrollable). Assessed via projective tasks (Thematic Apperception Test).
What is the Thematic Apperception Test?
A test where you present an individual with ambiguous stimuli and ask questions like: Explain what is going on here? who is this? what let to this happening? what happens next?
Response is then observed as it is presumed to tell us something about the individual’s unconscious motives.
What is the Behavioural Perspective of Motivation?
That humans are motivated to repeat behaviours that are positively reinforced and avoid behaviours that are associated with punishment.
What is the model ‘Operant Conditioning’?
A model that supports the Behavioural Perspective of determining motivation to complete behaviour on whether it is reinforced or punished by the environment.
Explain ‘Drive-Reduction Theory’:
A model that presents that behaviour is motivated out of desire for ‘drive-reduction’ or to relieve tension and return the body to a state of homeostasis.
The tension refers to our psychological needs like thirst, hunger, sleepiness.
What is the Cognitive Perspective of Motivation?
That humans are motivated to perform behaviours that they value and that they believe they can attain.
Describe the Goal-Setting Theory:
The idea that goal-setting is linked to task performance. (behaviour completion). According to the Goal-Setting Theory, maximum job performance only occurs under certain conditions:
o Discrepancy between has/wants
o Specific (rather than general) goals
o Somewhat challenging (not too easy) goals
o Belief in ability to attain goal
o High commitment to goal
o Continuing feedback to gauge progress
Describe the Expectancy-Value Theory:
The concept that Motivation is a joint function of value & expectancy associated with a goal.
Value: How much the goal matters to us.
Expectancy: How much we believe we can accomplish the goal.
According to this theory, we will be more motivated if we highly value the goal and if we highly believe we can accomplish the goal.
Describe the Self-Determination Theory:
There are two types of motivation:
Extrinsic Motivation - Engagement in behaviour due to external outcomes.
Intrinsic Motivation - Engagement in behaviour due to personal interest & enjoyment.
There are three fundamental needs that are to be met:
Competence - Need to feel affective & capable
Autonomy - Need to feel energetic & free from external control
Relatedness - Need to belong and feel meaningful to others.
When conditions allow an individual to meet these three needs are considered to be most intrinsically motivating.
Describe the Theory of Planned Behaviour?
A model that puts forth the concept that behaviour can be strongly predicted by intention. And for intention to be understood, three factors need to be identified:
Attitudes - Positive/Negative evaluation of the behaviour
Subjective Norms - Other’s perceptions of the behaviour
Perceived Behavioural Control - belief in one’s ability to perform the behaviour.
What is the Humanistic Perspective of Motivation?
That humans are motivated to achieve self-actualisation, after achieving basic survival needs. A central concept introduced here is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
