Motivation Essay, Research Paper

Motivation explains why people behave as they do. Some scientists view motive as the factor that determines behaviour, as expressed in the phrase? All behavior is motivated? . ( World Book, 1986, p.721 ) . Other scientists focus on two certain facets of motivated behavior, exhilaration or excitement of behavior, that is motive arouses an being and causes it to move, and the way of behavior, which is lead by wonts, accomplishments, abilities and structural characteristics. ( World Book, 1986 ) .

This essay aims to depict the four theories of motive, Instinct theory, Sociobiology, Drive-Reduction theory and Incentive theory. I will be associating each theory to George? s behavior and whether they do or make non use to George? s behavior.

Instinct is behaviour that is inherited instead than learned. Instinct is an congenital tendency/biological force that dominates behavior. ( Weiten, 1995 ) . William McDougall ( 1908 ) viewed inherent aptitudes as unconditioned, cosmopolitan in look and universal in a species. ( Weiten, 1995 ) . John Bowlby ( 1969 ) positions instinct with respects to pamper? s fond regard to their parents or health professionals, as in-built. His ground for this development is that babes stay near to their parents because they are provided with protection. Human inherent aptitudes are more flexible and more unfastened to larning experiences than those of other species. Just like the imprinting of babe geese, so excessively do human babes attach to his/her parents after many hours of interaction. [ Wortman, C. , Loftus, E. and Weaver, C. ( 1999 ) ] .

An illustration of instinctual behavior is that all emmets build formicaries in the same manner, even when they are non raised together, so the formicary constructing behavior is instinctual and non a erudite response. ( Weiten, 1995 ) . Sexual activity in worlds is besides instinctual. We are non born with the desire to prosecute in sexual activities but as we reach puberty, there is a demand for sexual stimulation. Even though we might non cognize what to make, it is instinctual.

But, instincts merely describe behavior, they do non explicate why a individual engages in behavior.

Therefore with respects to the instance survey, George? s behavior, ( running the endurance contest ) , is non instinctual. Not everyone is born to run a endurance contest, it is a erudite response. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

Sociobiology is the survey of the biological footing for the societal behavior of worlds and other animate beings. ( Worldbook, 1986 ) . Sociobiologists try to determine the map of assorted types of behavior in the life of an animate being. Sociobiology is based on the theory that the cardinal procedure of life is the battle of cistrons to reproduce themselves. Theorists believe that natural penchant favors behaviour that maximises generative attainment & # 8211 ; conveying cistrons to the following coevals. Harmonizing to this theory, an being inherits dispositions to develop certain types of behavior, and these behaviors forms increase an being? s opportunities of reassigning its cistrons to the following coevals.

It is believed that an being can convey its cistrons on, non merely by reproducing but besides by assisting related beings survive and reproduce. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .An illustration of this would be a bee biting an interloper bee, in order to protect the life and cistrons of the queen bee ( an being giving their life, for others, hence go throughing on its cistrons ) . A human? s will, for giving their life for a relation or person they know, is much stronger than that of giving their life for person they do non cognize. A lady will non normally give her life by running across the route to salvage a kid, ( that she does non cognize ) , in traffic, whereas if it were her ain kid, she would give her life in order to salvage her kid? s life and to transport on the cistrons. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

There are ongoing arguments about sociobiology and its relevancy to human motive. Some theoreticians believe that sociobiologists overestimate the influence of biological science and undervalue the influence of civilization. ( Deverell, A. , 1999 ) . In the African cultur

vitamin E, African work forces consider African adult females with big natess appealing, but may be viewed as unattractive in other civilizations. [ Wortman, C. , Loftus, E. and Weaver, C. ( 1999 ) ] .

George is exhibiting doggedness in the face of everything bad. George? s doggedness is a trait that is good to his endurance. George did non run to protect his cistrons, it was his ain motive that made him run the endurance contest. Most people would non persist as George did.

Drive Theory: Clark Hull ( 1884-1952 ) defines a thrust as an? observation that being? s seek to keep homeostasis, a province of physiological equilibrium/stability? . ( Hull in Weiten, 1995, p.378 ) . A thrust assists an being in relieving interior tenseness. For illustration imbibing to relieve thirst. Drive theory explains why people eat, sleep, seek pleasance, avoid hurting and engage in sex. [ Wortman, C. , Loftus, E. and Weaver, C. ( 1999 ) ] .

Harmonizing to Hullian theoreticians, there is a differentiation between Primary and Secondary thrusts. Primary thrusts are the most basic, congenital demands in our psychological systems and secondary thrusts, besides known as erudite motivations, are learned through association with the decrease of primary thrusts. [ Wortman, C. , Loftus, E. and Weaver, C. ( 1999 ) ] . It is understood that most drive theories are unconditioned, biological thrusts, which increasingly develop a bigger set of appropriate thrusts through acquisition. [ Wortman, C. , Loftus, E. and Weaver, C. ( 1999 ) ] .

The sleep motivation is an illustration of thrust theory. If a individual goes without slumber, for rather a piece, they begin to see some uncomfortableness, fatigue, which is an internal tenseness and a thrust motivates you to obtain sleep. Sleeping reduces the thrust and restores physiological balance. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

But drive theories can non explicate all aspects of human motive.

In George? s instance, thrust theory can non explicate George? s behavior, as homeostasis is non maintained.

George went beyond the point of hurting, he endured utmost hurting, which is George? s personal motive. George? s running the endurance contest has nil to make with stability/equilibrium. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

Incentive Theory is endeavoring towards achieving external ends. Incentive theoreticians believe that the beginning of motive is external, in the environment, Incentives? pull? you to move, whereas thrusts? push? you to move. Incentive theory is non related to the rule of homeostasis, it emphasises environmental factors. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

Not everyone can ever accomplish his or her coveted ends. Expectancy-value theoretical accounts explain one? s motive to persist in two ways, the virtue of the inducement, if it entreaties to you, and the chance of one? s opportunities achieving the inducement. Gambling at a casino is an illustration of inducement. Your motive to chance will depend on the sum of money you could win and on your opportunities of winning. To pull people to chance, big sums of money are offered as the award, doing the inducement value high. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

Incentives can be both positive and negative. A positive inducement is a student cognizing that they will have a wages if they obtain a good consequence for an test and a negative inducement is a student knowing that if they fail the test, they will be deprived of something they value. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

In relation to George, inducement theory is really suited to his behavior. George? s behavior is extremely individualistic. Very few people would subject themselves to what George did. George persevered, ran the endurance contest, and achieved his end. George? s inducement was an external psychological motive. ( Weiten, 1995 ) .

Through the different theories of motive we can see that incentives can be internal and external. We have seen that inherent aptitude ; sociobiology and thrust theories do non explicate George? s behavior. Incentive theory explains George? s behavior best.

Some psychologists believe that occurrences, that we no longer retrieve, can still impact our lives and can act upon behaviour motivations.