Understanding Motivation: A Comprehensive Exploration, Assignments of Psychology

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General Psychology-online

Fall 2019

MOTIVATION

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Outline 7 Motivation Explain what the term “motivation” means by describing an example. Motivation is the willingness to do something, what helps us achieve either a psychological or physical goal, through the process of starting, directing, and maintaining the required activities (behavior) to meet such goal. A very common example in today’s society is seen when someone wants to live a healthier life style, motivated by the desire of looking better (physical goal) and feeling better (psychological goal). Reaching such kind of goals would leave a feeling of accomplishment or/and pleasure. I. Psychodynamic Perspective

1. Freud’s two basic “drives”: sex and aggression. Explain what a “drive” is, and each of these 2 drives. Drive is the propeller in motivation to pursue or reach a goal. In sex and aggression, this propeller comes in a form of tension that will accumulate until released. Sex drive, or libido, is a motivator to initiate sexual activity (love, lust, intimacy), it is regulated by sexual hormones, and it is believed to be present for the survival of the species or reproduction. Aggression is a hostile reaction commonly driven by frustration, it can present itself in a physical, harming oneself or another person, or psychological way, like humiliation, intimidation, or domination. By presenting an aggressive drive, a person is a merely following a survival instinct to stay alive and procreate. In general, these two basic drives exist for the survival and procreation of the species. 2. Human motives are largely unconscious. A human motive represents the why of a behavior. Most of the times real motives are hidden and unknown (unconscious) and yet they influence human behavior. The fact that a person would reject or be conflicted with the real motives is why they are kept unconscious. For example, why the fascination of watching gruesome content movies, always ending up with an alcoholic partner, usually breaking up with the good guy, having the same awful dream over and over again? Unconscious motives that might be in conflict with a social environment. 3. Motives conflict with each other: dynamic conflict is tension or battle between opposing motives. See Ch. 1, p. 12-14. This definition isn’t there - only descriptions of it. Explain this definition of conflict with an example. As individuals, sometimes we find ourselves stuck while making a decision. This can happen because doing something that will result in pleasure would be encountered by the requirement of doing some hard work and/or even pain when taking such decision. Other times it will mean to decide between two desirable things, having to let go off of one. It also can include to pick between two undesirable options or choose the lesser of two evils. For example, a woman wants to get married (motivated by a feeling of security) but does not want to lose her independence (opposing motive). General Psychology

Outline 7 rewarded group. Their motivation was affected by the reinforcement, an activity done for pure enjoyment lasted longer that a conditioned activity.  Self-determination theory This theory states that a person can be self-determined and intrinsically motivated if their needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy are fulfilled. For example, when studying for an exam, it would be better to create a study group, throw in there some fun activities (exercise sheets, quizzes, etc.), and trying to understand the material you are working on rather than hardly willingly reading through the textbook by yourself.

4. Implicit motives – unconscious activation of motives An implicit motive is that which in unconscious but that can be expressed if the opportunity arises. If an individual has an implicit motive of creating close relationships, they would feel energized and motivated to interact with other persons at work, school, or even at a random place if the opportunity presents. IV. Alternative Theory: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs First explain his idea of a motivation “hierarchy”. Then explain each of the following needs in the hierarch. A hierarchy is an organization of ranks or things according to their importance. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (which is often represented in a pyramid) there are five levels, in the lowest level are the physiological needs, which are the most primitive and basic, and at the top we can find self-actualization needs, which refer to the desire of becoming the most one can be. The motivation to fulfill the next level in the pyramid will appear when the deficiencies at the current level are all covered until reaching the higher lever which is known as the growth needs. 1. Physiological needs (e.g., hunger, thirst) Most basic, essential, and primitive needs are located in the first, or lowest level. These needs are linked to the body’s homeostasis or equilibrium. Deficiency in one of the physiological needs makes it difficult to focus in subsequent levels’ needs. If you’re really hungry, tired, or thirsty you cannot focus on anything else, until all of that is satisfied. 2. Safety needs Needs start to become more complex as one moves up on the pyramid of needs. The second level includes the safety needs, which involve the need of being in a safe environment, having financial security, protection from the elements, etc. This level motivates behaviors such as finding a paying job, opening a savings account, and making sure to count with health care. 3. Love or Belongingness needs In the third level we can find the social needs, the feeling of belongingness could be fulfilled by friendships, romantic relationships, family, social groups, etc. Feeling loved and loving others improves the wellbeing and general health in an individual. General Psychology

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4. Esteem needs Appreciation and respect are part of the fourth level, the esteem needs. Feeling valued by others and gaining their respect would result in gaining confidence, dignity, and feeling good about one self. Accomplishments in school or at work, in sports, even personal hobbies can be of help in fulfilling the esteem needs. Feelings of inferiority can be a result of not being able to cover these needs. 5. Self-actualization needs Explain how these needs are different than the others. The first four levels of the pyramid are called deficiency needs (D-needs), the last and fifth level is called growth or being needs (B-needs). When a deprivation of a D-need is encountered the motivation to attend to it will arise until met or covered. Motivation to attend to the B-needs will arise once all our D-needs are dealt with. The B-needs are those that give a person a purpose in life, and the felling of reaching their highest potential. They are different from D-needs because they vary from person to person, being able to help others can be a met self-actualization need for one individual, while excelling in artistical or scholastic activities would mean the self-actualization of another. This peak of the pyramid is rarely covered. **Evolutionary Perspective You may need to reread this section of Ch. 1., pp. 19-

1. One of the first theories:** Instincts Explain what an instinct is. Then explain why it is no longer influential in explaining motivation. An instinct is a response, an impulse that is made towards a given stimulus and it does not involve reasoning. For example, self-preservation and survival are two basic instincts. In motivation, the evolutionary perspective states that the instincts drive all behaviors and that such behaviors are not linked with learning or past experience. Cross culturally this could not be seen, because of human’s ability of problem solving (which involves learning and cognition), this is the reason why the instinct theory was debunked. 2. Modern approach – maximizing inclusive fitness. - What is it? It refers to the tendency of not only passing along our genes when directly reproducing (sown offspring), but also in protecting and caring for those that share our genes (nieces and/or cousins). The purpose of this is to assure that, directly and indirectly, some of our genes will be spread and have a chance to keep existing for generations to come. - How does it explain motivation? Motivation for genetic endurance shapes the behavior to find a way to care and protect those sharing our genes. Also, as seen with the crickets’ experiment and for the purpose of reproduction, it motivates a behavior to be sexually available around those that don’t share any genetic information. General Psychology

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2. Agency motives - explain each by giving an example: a. Self-esteem It refers to the sense of personal value. In a student, if they set a goal of obtaining B+ grades, but that goal is surpassed, they would feel good about themselves and their self-esteem would increase. Positive and negative experiences, as well as others’ opinions about you, are of big influence on one’s self-esteem. People with high self-esteem usually show it by being good communicators, knowing what the want, being driven to succeed, having good interpersonal relationships, etc. b. Achievement When a goal is set and successfully reached, that’s what is called achievement. Achievement’s ultimate outcome is getting a feeling of accomplishment and control. People with a high level of achievement will try to avoid failure, they set goals that are not too easy nor too difficult to reach. They are also aware of their skills and aptitudes. In the workforce, a person that looks for achievement will accept working in projects where they feel apt to manage them, also after calculating the involved risks, and where feedback from the managers can be obtained in a regular basis. After explaining achievement motivation and giving an example of it, explain how parenting and culture influence it. Since achievement is a learned motivation, parenting and culture are big influencers on it. When a parent pushes their kids to work a little harder, gives them feedback, allows them to experience failure adding new solutions to the tasks, and gives them praise, the kids are acquiring and learning their limits and ways to achieve goals. Adding to the parenting push, other persons, schools, and social media offer achievement lectures through their experiences or stories. VII. Culture and Motivation – p. 327 Describe how culture shapes motivation. Include an example as part of your explanation. Don’t use the same one that you used above for achievement motivation. In today’s culture, social media is the major shaper in motivations. Influencers from all over the world show an image to the followers that motivates them to a wide range of behaviors (depending on the interests of the followers). From acceptance, power, and love, to self- actualization (mastering a new skill, strive for the best you can be, love what you do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life). From challenges that can be of help in recognizing your strengths/weaknesses, to being able to check out success stories of goals met, acquired fortune, and dreams come true. Support groups, shaming groups, you name it, you might find it in the web. General Psychology