DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD

DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

MOTIVATION

Motivation is a need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it

toward a goal. There is no behavior that is not motivated whether consciously

or unconsciously. State of motivation is further comprised of four different

states, which takes place in an organism to drive him towards each action.

Each action is first initiated with “need”, like food, water etc. followed by the

“drive”, that propels the body in accomplishing such work. Positive results

due to certain actions further acts as an “incentive” motivating a person

towards a “goal”. But as a human we tend to achieve more and more, and

we have so many goals in our life that put us in a never-ending loop of a

phenomena called the motivation cycle.

1|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

1. NEED is lack of something that is significant. It’s a physical state of

corruption in which the organism is experiencing. The tension occurs

when the organism is deprived by basic needs, like food, water, & sleep.

If this is not provided, the internal environment loses its homeostatic state.

The imbalance cause by the need arouses the organism to maintain its

balance. Need is therefore the stimulating factor of motivation.

2. DRIVE, the second foot stone in achieving goal. Drive is the state of

tension produced by need. It is considered as the original source of

energy that activates an organism to proceed. Like for instance when a

person is thirsty, he seeks water to reduce this drive by drinking. It acts

as a stimulus that pushes anyone to a restless activity and preparatory

behavior.

3. INCENTIVE is something in the external environment that satisfies the

need and thus reduces the drive through consummative activity. Example

when you drink a lemonade because you are thirsty, after you drink you

feel relieve and satisfied.

4. The reduction of tension in the body can be considered as the GOAL of

any motivated behavior. GOAL creates a sense of fulfillment in oneself in

achieving something; it reduces tension in the body. Goal can be positive

or negative. Positive goals are the ones that an organism tries to attain,

2|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

such as sexual companionship, food, victory etc. whereas negative goals

are the ones that organism tries to avoid, such as embarrassing situation

and punishments.

Motivation affects our behavior more than we expect it. Many

psychologists believe that human being is purposeful in nature. That is

people set goals for themselves and initiate courses of action they think

will help them achieve their goals. Such goal directed behavior appears

as early as 2 months of age. For school-age children and adolescents,

some goals are short term and transitory. Others are apt to be long term

and enduring. Motivation therefore increase our effort and persistence

towards an activity, it also increases our cognitive process and it often

leads to a great performance.

Many have ventured to classify motives into different group, but

generally motives are divided into 3 groups. a.) The PHYSIOLOGICAL

MOTIVES - intention that return the normal homeostatic balance in our body.

It includes hunger that is being triggered when by the lowering of the blood

glucose level in our body. Thirst that is activated when we lose too much

water and ions in our body that may lead to dehydration and death. Sleep

3|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

which is caused by the hypothalamic activity. Sleep is essential in our body

because

during this event the body can relax and repair itself. Other motives include

air hunger, cold and warmth, and pain avoidance. All these drives can act as

a motive of changing a behavior in some way. This physiological motive is

triggered by the body’s homeostatic drive towards balance. The body strives

for survival and it is normal for the body to crave for these drives.

Note: Most of the biological drives that we experience drive us toward

stimulus such as food. However, drive such as pain drives us away from

stimulus.

b.) SOCIAL MOTIVES - are not biological in origin, they usually spring forth

in a relationship, it is associated with satisfaction and contentment by primary

drives. Social motives are specific only to human beings. These are called

social motives, because they are learnt in social groups because of

interaction with the family and society. That is why the strength of each

motive differs from one individual to another. Example is achievement

motive. It is a concern over competition and the desire to live up to a standard

excellence. The degree of achievement sometimes affects some

behavior. This motive is developed in the individual who has seen some

4|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

people in the society attaining high success, reaching high positions and

standards. Another is the Aggressive motive - It is a motive to react

aggressively when faced with frustrations. Frustration may occur when a

person is obstructed from reaching a goal or when he is insulted by others.

Even in a fearful and dangerous do or die situation the individual may resort

to aggressive behavior. The Individual expresses such behavior to overcome

opposition forcefully, which may be physical or verbal aggression.

In addition to the above said physiological and social motives, there are

some other motives which are allied with both above said motives. These

are highly personalized and very much individualized motives, in general it

is called the C.) PERSONAL MOTIVE. The most important among them are:

Force of habits - We see different people having formed different habits like

chewing tobacco, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc. There may be good

habits also like regular exercising, reading newspapers, prayers,

meditations, etc. Once these habits are formed, they act as drivers and

compel the person to perform the act. The specialty of habits is that, they

motivate the individual to indulge in that action automatically. Another is the

Unconscious motivation: Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist has

explained elaborately about unconscious motivation. According to him, there

are certain motives of which we are unaware, because they operate from our

5|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

unconscious. These motives or desires which are repressed by our

conscious remain in our unconscious and will be influencing our behavior.

Our irrational behavior, the slip of tongue, slip of pen, amnesia, multiple

personality, somnambulism, etc., are some examples of such behaviors for

which we do not have answers apparently. These motives can be delineated

only by psychoanalysis. Many times, psychosomatic disorders like paralysis,

headaches, gastric ulcers, etc., also may be due to unconscious motivation.

6|Page
DELA CRUZ, GAYLORD
DELA PENA, RICKY ENGL 04/24/18

The image above shows the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Once our lower

level of needs is met, we are prompted to satisfy our higher-level need. In

this image you will see that finding oneself is significant because it is found

in the peak of the pyramid.

On the other hand, there are different principles of motives according to Lugo

and Hershley. It is said that many of our motives are learned. Most of our

motives are acquired through learning. The urge to achieve in everything.

Another is motive can change. Change in our motives is sometime due to

some drastic events that happens in our life. This event may have created

such a huge impact that it changes our own perception towards life. Another

is that motives arise from within and without. Hunger and thirst are motives

from within. The desire to be a part of fraternity is without. And lastly is the

underlying unity of motivation. Different behaviors may be coming from

different motives. Example a girl who is lacking attention and affection may

become accommodating to others to win their affection.

7|Page