Chapter SummaryPerspectives on Motivation
Motivation is the energizing and directing of behavior, the force behind our yearning for food, our longing for sexual intimacy, our need to belong, and our desire to achieve. Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology Under Darwin’s influence, early theorists viewed behavior as controlled by biological forces, such as specific instincts. When it became clear that people were naming, not explaining, various behaviors by calling them instincts, this approach fell into disfavor. The underlying idea—that genes predispose species-typical behavior—is, however, still influential in evolutionary psychology. Drives and Incentives Drive reduction theory states that most physiological needs create aroused psychological states, driving us to reduce or satisfy those needs. The aim of drive reduction is internal stability, or homeostasis. Thus, drive reduction motivates survival behaviors, such as eating and drinking. Not only are we pushed by our internal drives, we are also pulled by external incentives. Depending on our personal experiences, some stimuli (for example, certain foods) will arouse our desires. Optimum Arousal Rather than reducing a physiological need or tension state, some motivated behaviors increase arousal. Curiosity-driven behaviors, for example, suggest that too little as well as too much stimulation can motivate people to seek an optimum level of arousal. A Hierarchy of Motives Maslow’s hierarchy of needs expresses the idea that, until satisfied, some motives are more compelling than others. It indicates that physiological needs must first be met, then safety, followed by the need for belongingness and love, and finally, esteem needs. Once all of these are met, a person is motivated to meet the need for self-actualization. This order of needs is not universally fixed but it provides a framework for thinking about motivation. Hunger The Physiology of Hunger Hunger’s inner push primarily originates not from the stomach’s contractions but from variations in body chemistry, including hormones that heighten or reduce hunger. For example, we are likely to feel hungry when our glucose levels are low or when ghrelin is secreted by an empty stomach. This information is integrated by the hypothalamus, which regulates the body’s weight as it influences our feelings of hunger and satiety. To maintain weight, the body also adjusts its metabolic rate of energy expenditure. The Psychology of Hunger Our preferences for certain tastes are partly genetic and universal, but also partly learned in a cultural context. The impact of psychological factors, such as challenging family settings and weight-obsessed societal pressures, on eating behavior is dramatic in people with anorexia nervosa, who keep themselves on near-starvation rations, and in those with bulimia nervosa, who binge and purge in secret. In the past half-century a dramatic increase in poor body image has coincided with a rise in eating disorders among women in Western cultures. In addition to cultural pressures, low self-esteem and negative emotions (with a possible genetic component) seem to interact with stressful life experiences to produce anorexia and bulimia. Sexual Motivation The Physiology of Sex Physiologically, the human sexual response cycle normally follows a pattern of excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution, followed in males by a refractory period, during which renewed arousal and orgasm are impossible. Sex hormones, in combination with the hypothalamus, help our bodies develop and function as either male or female. In nonhuman animals, hormones also help stimulate sexual activity. In humans, they influence sexual behavior more loosely, especially once sufficient hormone levels are present. The Psychology of Sex External stimuli can trigger sexual arousal in both men and women. Sexually explicit materials may also lead people to perceive their partners as comparatively less appealing and to devalue their relationships. In combination with the internal hormonal push and the external pull of sexual stimuli, fantasies (imagined stimuli) influence sexual arousal. Sexual disorders, such as premature ejaculation and female orgasmic disorder, are being successfully treated by new methods, which assume that people learn and can modify their sexual responses. Adolescent Sexuality Adolescents’ physical maturation fosters a sexual dimension to their emerging identity. But culture is a big influence, too, as is apparent from varying rates of teen intercourse and pregnancy. A near-epidemic of sexually transmitted infections has triggered new research and educational programs pertinent to adolescent sexuality. Sexual Orientation One’s heterosexual or homosexual orientation seems neither willfully chosen nor willfully changed. Preliminary new evidence links sexual orientation with genetic influences, prenatal hormones, and certain brain structures. The increasing public perception that sexual orientation is biologically influenced is associated with increasing acceptance of gays and lesbians and their relationships. Sex and Human Values Sex research and education are not value-free. Some say that sex-related values should therefore be openly acknowledged, recognizing the emotional significance of sexual expression. Human sexuality at its life-uniting and love-renewing best affirms our deep need to belong. The Need to Belong No one is an island; we are all, as John Donne noted in 1624, part of the human continent. Our need to affiliate—to feel connected and identified with others—boosted our ancestors’ chances for survival and is therefore part of our human nature. We experience our need to belong when suffering the breaking of social bonds, when feeling the gloom of loneliness or the joy of love, and when seeking social acceptance. For people experiencing ostracism, stress and depression can result. On the other hand, people who feel a sense of belongingness are happier and healthier. Motivation at Work For most people, work is a huge part of life. At its best, when work puts us in "flow," work can be satisfying and enriching. What, then, enables worker motivation, productivity, and satisfaction? I/O psychology studies behavior in the workplace through its primary subfields: personnel psychology, organizational psychology, and human factors psychology. Personnel Psychology/Harnessing Strengths Personnel psychologists aim to identify people’s strengths and to match them with organizational tasks. Subjective interviews lead to quickly formed impressions, but they also frequently foster an illusory overconfidence in one’s ability to predict employee success. Structured interviews, pinpointing job-relevant strengths, enhance interview reliability and validity. Personnel psychologists also assist organizations in appraisal that boosts organizations, motivates individuals, and is welcomed as fair. Organizational Psychology: Motivating Achievement People who excel are often self-disciplined individuals with strong achievement motivation. To motivate employees to achieve, smart managers aim to create an engaged, committed, satisfied workforce. Effective leaders build on people’s strengths, work with them to set specific and challenging goals, and adapt their leadership style to their situation. |
Key TermsMotivation - a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
Instinct - A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned. Drive-Reduction Theory - the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need. Homeostasis - process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment. Incentive - a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior. Hierarchy of Needs - Maslow's theory of the most important motivations people have. Glucose - The body's blood sugar; a simple form of carbohydrate. Set Point - the point at which one's body tries maintain weight. Basal Metabolic Rate - body's resting rate of energy expenditure. Anorexia Nervosa - an eating disorder in which a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve. Bulimia Nervosa - an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise. Sexual Response Cycle - the four stages of sexual responding described by Matsters and Johnson-excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Refractory Period - a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm. Sexual Disorder - a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning. Estrogen - general term for female steroid sex hormones. Testosterone - male sex hormone. Sexual Orientation - an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex or the other sex. Flow - a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills. Industrial - Organizational Psychology - the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.. Personnel Psychology - a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development. Organizational Psychology - a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change. Structured Interviews - interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales. Achievement Motivation - a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard. Task Leadership - goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals. Social Leadership - group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support. ChartsExtras
Videos |