What is Motivation?

Definition:

Driving force that causes us to achieve some goal(s)

Motives:
 An incentive to act or a reason for doing something or anything that prompted a choice of action.
 Anything that arouses the individual and directs his or her behavior towards some goal is called a Motive.
 “Motive is a factor which influences to do anything because anything we do has a motive behind”.

Aspects of Motives:

Motives have following aspects:
• Cognition
Cognition is the scientific term for "the process of thought" to knowing. Usage of the term varies in different disciplines; for example in psychology and cognitive science, it usually refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions. Other interpretations of the meaning of cognition link it to the development of concepts; individual minds, groups, and organizations.
• Goal
A goal or objective is a projected state of affairs that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
• Affection
Affection is a "disposition or state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning: emotion (popularly: love, devotion etc); disease; influence; state of being, and state of mind.
• Conation
Conation is a term that stems from the Latin conatus, meaning any natural tendency, impulse or directed effort. It is one of three parts of the mind, along with the affective and cognitive. In short, the cognitive part of the brain measures intelligence, the affective deals with emotions and the conative takes those thoughts and feelings to drive how you act on them. The personality is almost continuously involved in deciding between alternative or conflicting or tendencies or elements…the most pressing and demanding are conflicts between different conations. Since conations (purposes) derive their energies from needs

Types of Motives

Primary or Biological (biogenic)
Primary motives also known as biological motives, have a definite physiological basis and are biologically necessary for survival of the individual or species. These arouse the behavior of the organism in directions that lead to the required change in internal environment.
The sources of biological motivational needs include:

• increase/decrease stimulation (arousal)
• Activate senses (taste, touch, smell, etc.
• Decrease hunger, thirst, discomfort, etc.
• maintain homeostasis, balance
The biological motives consist of:
• Hunger
• Thirst
• Pain
• Sex
• Air or need for respiration
• Fatigue
• Sleep
• Maternal

Secondary or psychosocial (sociogenic)

Secondary motives are learned motives and are sometimes known as psychsociological motives. They are not physiologically based. These are the causes of the development of a personality. Secondary motives originate during our life time. They are acquired and learned through our interaction with people.

They are classified in two types which are:

• Social motives
Social motive are those which motivates us to go out, interact with people and do the things that gives a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. Social motive evoke unity love sympathy love cooperation coordination and the formation of a leadership in a group for its existence and survival. Everybody loves to live according top his social norms. Social Motive helps to
• Imitate positive models
• Be a part of a group or a valued member
• Know one’s self
• Communicate

• Psychological motives

Psychological motives are individualistic in nature as they are related to self esteem, self security, self exhibition, self freedom and self assertion. As psychology is the scientific study of an individual’s behavior in relation to his environment, psychological motives are regarded very important in the development of an individual’s behavior and personality. Emotions are psychological perspectives and Emotions occur as a result of an interaction between perceptions of environmental stimuli, neural/hormonal responses to these perceptions. So psychological motives are very important; because our emotions motivate us to do thing

Psychological motives help us in many things like:

• Maintain attention to something interesting or threatening
• Develop meaning or understanding
• Increase/decrease cognitive disequilibrium; uncertainty
• Solve a problem or make a decision
• Figure something out
• Eliminate threat or risk Secondary or psychosocial motive are important to live a happy life and adequate satisfaction of secondary motives is necessary for mental health to avoid depressions etc.
Psychosocial or secondary motives contain:
• Need for affiliation
• Need for approval
• Need for achievement
• Need for security
• Curiosity motive
• Competence motive
• Power motive
• Aggression motive
• Self actualization

Measurements of Motives in human

Interview
An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee. It can give the information about an individual’s interest, needs and the motives according to his gradation.
Questionnaires
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton. Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data.
Rating Scale
A rating scale is an instrument that requires the rater to assign the rated object that have numerals assigned to them. A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a quantitative or a qualitative attribute. In the social sciences, common examples are the Likert scale and 1-10 rating scales in which a person selects the number which is considered to reflect the perceived quality of a product.
Situational Tests
It measures an individual’s motivational force through observation of an individual’s behavior. In this test the situation created is so natural that the subject under observation does not know that his behavior us being observed or tested. Projective Techniques Projective techniques measure the unconscious motives of an individual. It does not contain clear cut questions. This test can easily misinterpret a response and inexperienced tester can misuse the information obtained.

The famous projected tests are:
• Rorschach Ink Blot Test
• T.A.T.
• Four Picture Test Or The Van Len up
• The Shncidmam Make Picture Story test
• H.T.P
• Clay Modeling Test
• The World Test
• Word Association Test

Homeostasis

-Organisms attempt to maintain homeostasis--a balanced physiological state or equilibrium--by constantly adjusting themselves to the demands of the environment
-Every living thing has certain biological needs--sex, hunger, thirst--that are caused by imbalance

The Process of Homeostasis:
Changes in the environment activate a physiological need (a biological requirement for survival)
This pushes or pulls the organism out of homeostasis
This imbalance then causes a psychological state of arousal which is uncomfortable and is called a drive
To get back into homeostasis, which is the preferred state, the organism engages in behaviors that are designed to reduce the drive and thereby reduce the need.