MOTIVATION
UMER FAREED
o What Motivates a Human ?
o Motivation and Emotions
o Biological Causes of Human Behavior
o Reflexes
o Instincts
o Imprinting
o Drive Reduction Theory
o Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
o Incentive Theory
o Arousal Theory
o Question & Feedback
WHAT MOTIVATES A HUMAN ?
EMOTIONS
We all have them
Yet most of us can't explain them
Emotions are thought to be the Causes and Reasons for a large number of human
actions (behavior)
They are thought to be comprised of cognitive, physiological and behavioral
components
COGNITIVE
PHYSIOLOGICAL
BEHAVIORAL
• We have perceptions of
emotions that usually
ranges from pleasantnessunpleasantness & weakstrong (Woodworth &
Sehlesberg). We perceive
our emotions as having
some level of pleasantness
and strength
• Emotions are
accompanied by
physiological arousal,
usually at an autonomic
level (involuntary) e.g.
increase in heart rate,
blood pressure, breathing,
pupils dilation, etc
• Very often organisms
communicate without
words. We may
communicate emotions
nonverbally; through body
language e.g. smiling,
frowning, clenching fists
BIOLOGICAL CAUSES FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
A simple unlearned (inherited) act that occurs in response to a specific
stimulus
Human reflexes are classified as
REFLEXES
Tendon Reflexes provide information on the integrity of the central and peripheral nervous
system
• Biceps reflex
• Triceps reflex
• Ankle jerk reflex
• Blink reflex
• Orienting reflex
Primitive Reflexes displayed by newborn babies but are not seen in adults. Also known as
infant or new-born reflex
• Babinsky reflex
• Grasp reflex
• Hand-to-mouth reflex
• Moro reflex, also known as the startle reflex
• Rooting reflex
• Step reflex
• Crawl reflex
INSTINCTS
Complex inherited patterns of behaviour that are common to all creatures and are
associated with specific innate knowledge about how to survive (James, 1890)
Animals are born with innate
tendencies pre-programmed at
birth with the capacity and
often times knowledge of how
to survive by spinning webs,
building nests, avoiding danger,
and reproducing
Humans have same types of innate
tendencies when compared to animals.
Babies are born with a unique ability to
survive; they are born with the ability to
cry. Helps in when to feed the baby, know
when he needed changing, or when she
wanted attention and affection?
Early
theorists
(James,
McDougall)
associated enormous tendencies with
humans but still not all psychologists
believe these tendencies to be instincts
IMPRINTING
Animal behaviour develops as a result of the interaction between genetic and
environmental influences at an early stage of life. (John Bowlby, 1982)
Imprinting describes an
instinctual,
unlearned
behaviour that is specific to a
species until an animal has
been exposed to the
stimulus(Releaser),
provided
the
exposure
occurs at right period of
animal’s life (critical period)
According to Lorenz, ducklings and chicks will follow
and become attached (socially bonded) to the first
moving object they encounter (which usually, but not
necessarily, is the mother duck or hen)
Imprinting does not occur in the absence of a releaser, or if
the releaser is presented too early or too late
DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY
According to Hull (1940) organisms possess a hierarchy of needs which
are aroused under conditions of stimulation and drive
NEED
DRIVE
(lack of food, lack of
water)
(hunger, thirst)
We act so as to reduce the push exerted by drives
DRIVE
REDUCING
BEHAVIOR
(eating, drinking)
MASLOW’s HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Maslow formulated a hierarchy of biogenic
and psychogenic needs, in which certain
levels of motives are specified
Maslow believed that human motivation is
driven by a set of needs
The order of development is fixed:
a certain level must be attained before
the next higher one is activated
One must first satisfy basic needs
before progressing up the ladder: a
starving man shouldn’t be interested in
status symbols, friendships or selffulfilment
If we are interested in what actually
motivates us and not what has or will,
or might motivate us, then a satisfied
need is not a motivator
MASLOW’s HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
SELF-ACTUALIZATION The highest and most difficult level to reach
It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the
tendency for one to become actualized in what one is
potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the
desire to become more and more what one is, to
become everything that one is capable of becoming
A musician must make music, an artist must
paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately
happy. What a man can do, he must do (Maslow )
If a person has a talent for painting, but they become a doctor, they will be
forever frustrated because the need for self-actualization will be hindered
According To Rowan (1998), self-actualization is an ongoing search to develop
and to grow and the Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy of needs is misleading as it
suggests that there is an end point to personal growth
INCENTIVES
Incentive theory holds that certain external stimuli act as incentives,
pulling us toward some behaviour
The basic concept behind the incentive theory is goals
Incentives may be tangible
(involve feeling good about
oneself)
O
R
intangible (involve awards or something
to give public recognition)
AROUSAL THEORY
Arousal is a term used for a general state of physiological activation. You could
think of it as the extent to which your body and mind are "revved up"
YERKES-DODSON LAW
The graph of performance vs arousal is an
inverted U: Performance improves with
increased arousal up to a point, then it
drops off.
Optimum performance on an easy task
occurs at a higher level of arousal than on
a difficult task.
Ability to do a menial job may actually be
improved by having music on, and so forth
Arousal theory holds that we act so as to bring about an optimal level of
arousal (Donald Hebb [1955]).
When we are too aroused (e.g. hungry) we act to reduce arousal (e.g. eat).
When we are not aroused enough (e.g. bored), we act to increase arousal (e.g.
read a book)
WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
UNPARALLELED CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE
FEEDBACK