Chapter 8: MOTIVATION

CHAPTER VIII

MOTIVATION

Motivation translated in Latin word movere means “to move.” From there, people have associated the word motivation to a lot of things. In the behavioral perspective, people try to understand the meaning of each and every behavior that they exhibited and try to relate them to the goals or direction where the person is heading.  When it comes to business and industry, motivation is necessary to keep workers satisfied in their respective work. Without motivation, workers may not attend to their work because of lack of desire to be physically present in the company. Dissatisfaction from the salary or wages may also cause a worker to lose motivation to accomplish anything. In job hiring, motivation of the applicant is also being questioned that is why they make inferences on the motive of the person.

Motivation may also include needs which are necessary for man’s survival and is considered a primary motive.  On the other hand, wants may also be considered a motive  because it involves whims, desires and other things that is considered a secondary motive because a person can live without it and it has nothing to do with his survival.

To illustrate,  needs can be any of the following: water, food, air (oxygen).  Without these, a person cannot survive.  Deprivation of any of the needs for a prolonged period of time could be fatal and can  lead to serious illnesses.

Wants can be in the form of money, shoes, cellphone or any kind of gadgets. Deprivation of any of these will not affect the person’s survival but it could affect his behavior specifically his mood if he does not obtain want he wants.

Motivation as a Cycle

Motivation can be considered cyclical because the process is repeated over a duration of time. Upon satisfaction of a goal, a person may want or may need something else.  

A person is continually wanting so all his needs are never fully satisfied.  Once a need is satisfied, a new need arises that replaces the previous need. This is a never-ending process experienced by a person on a day to day basis.

Classification of Motives

Motives can be classified  into (1) physiological/primary motives.  These motives are necessary for man’s survival.  (2) psychological or social motives which are necessary for man’s social being.

Under physiological motives the examples are the following:

·         need for food to supply body’s nutrients (hunger)

·         need for water (thirst)

·         need for oxygen (air to breathe)

·         need to maintain a balanced temperature of the body

·         need to be free for physical pain or harm

·         need for re-energizing the body (rest and sleep)

·         need to regularly remove body waste through the process of defecation

·        need for reproduction to continue human race (sex drive)

Under psychological motives the examples are the following:

·         contentment (self-fulfillment in life)

·         self-status (elevate oneself with pride or esteem)

·         growth (maturity in decision-making)

·         achievement (major accomplishment in life)

·         happiness (over-all satisfaction and feelings of joy in life)

Motivational Theories

Motivation can be explained using several theories conceptualized by famous personalities.  One of those is Abraham Maslow who conceptualized the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory.

Abraham Maslow is the eldest in the family, having six brothers and sisters. Their family migrated from Russia to the United States to escape the harsh conditions and socio-political conditions.  He completed his B.A. Psychology in 1930 and pursued his Masters Degree a year later. He continued to pursue his Doctorate and completed it in  1934.  He wrote a paper entitled A Theory of Human Motivation in 1943 which was published in Psychological Review.  He developed the Hierarchy of Needs Model in 1940s-1950s and from there on, his theory/model remains valid in understanding human motivation, management training and personal development.  

The needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance, ranging from the lowest need which is the  Physiological needs (primary needs), to safety and security (social needs), love and belongingness,  esteem (ego) and lastly, self-actualization. This 5-level model is the original model used by Maslow in 1943. It has been revised in 1970 and 1990.  For the latest model, additional levels were added which include cognitive needs, aesthetic needs and transcendence.

The physiological needs shown at the bottom of the hierarchy (1) because they tend to have the highest strength. It includes basic human needs like food, water and air. It also includes the life-sustaining clothing and shelter. These needs must be satisfied first up to the degree needed for the sufficient maintenance and operation of the human body. Once this need becomes fulfilled, other levels of needs become important hence motivating and dominating the behavior of the individual.

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• ·         When the physiological needs are satiated, the safety and security needs become predominant. It is the need to be free from fear or any physical danger and deprivation of physiological needs or simply, the need to preserve oneself (self-preservation).  Concerns about providing food and shelter on a day to day basis are an example of safety and security needs. If this is in danger, other things seem unimportant to the individual.

• ·         Men are basically social beings therefore love and belongingness or his social needs become dominant once physiological needs and safety needs are satiated.  Acceptance to various groups is always in the forefront of his daily activities. A person will always strive for meaningful relations with other people.

• ·         After a person’s need to belong is satisfied, esteem needs emerge because he wanted to be more than just a mere member of a group, he wanted to excel, to gain self-esteem as well as to gain recognition from other people.  Satisfaction of esteem needs may produce feelings of self-confidence, self-pride, prestige or even a sense of power over other people in his group.

• Once esteem needs are satisfied, self-actualization needs become more dominant.  It is the person’s need to reach or maximize his potential. It could be a desire of a young mother to be an ideal mother to her child, an athlete surpassing his limits in sports, or a soldier putting his life in danger to save lives. Self-actualization may vary depending on the person’s 

William McDougal’s Instinct Theory (1908)

Instinct or the innate behavior of an individual acts as a guide throughout his development. It is basic for human survival to have such instincts because it allows him to follow a certain pattern of behavior.  Some people say that it is inborn or inherent for all individual. When a person is faced with danger, survival instincts takes over the behavior of the person. For example: When a person is trapped on a deserted island with no tools for survival, he will try to find a way to look for food and water if not, he will starve to death.

Clark Hull and Kenneth Spence’s Drive Reduction Theory (1940)

The drive reduction theory explains that when a man’s need is satisfied, the drive is reduced.  A person becomes tensed when his needs are not met or satisfied and in order to surpass this  body state, the needs must be reduced or lessened to a certain degree. For example: if a person is deprived of sleep he may not be able to focus on his task. Taking a nap will enable him rejuvenate his energy and finish his task.

Incentive Theory

Rewards can be considered as a type of incentive and because of this, a person can be motivated to do whatever it takes to get this.  The incentive reinforces the behavior of a person to act accordingly. For example: For being the class valedictorian, the student was given a four-year full scholarship by the school.

Claude Bernard and Walter Cannon’s Homeostatic Theory

Homeostatis originated from a Greek word homoios which means similar and statis meaning standing still.  Similar and standing still is synonymous with balance. Specifically, the state of balance of an individual. In motivation, the body must maintain a specific state of balance in order to function but if it starts to crave for something, the body becomes aroused. Once the body is satisfied, it returns to its original state and therefore it will be balanced. For example: if a person is thirsty, his body is in need of water. In order to reduce this drive, he must drink water to quench his thirst.