What Is Motivation?

 

What Is Motivation?

A motive is an impulse that causes a person to act. Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal. Motivation, like intelligence, can’t be directly observed. Instead, motivation can only be inferred by noting a person’s behavior.
Researchers have proposed theories that try to explain human motivation. These theories include drive reduction theories and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory.

Drive Reduction Theories

Drive reduction theories of motivation suggest that people act in order to reduce needs and maintain a constant physiological state. For example, people eat in order to reduce their need for food. The idea of homeostasis is central to drive reduction theories.Homeostasis is the maintenance of a state of physiological equilibrium.
Drive reduction theories fail to explain several aspects of motivation:

• People sometimes aren’t motivated by internal needs.

Example: Some people fast for long periods for political causes, despite feeling extreme hunger.

• Sometimes, people continue being motivated even when they have satisfied internal needs.

Example: People sometimes eat even when they don’t feel hungry.

• People are often motivated by external incentives as well as internal needs.

Example: If a person is hungry, he or she may choose to eat a salad rather than a cheeseburger because he or she wants to be slimmer.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

In the 1970s, the psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that people are motivated by a hierarchy of needs:

• First, most basic level: physiological needs, such as the need for food, water, safety, and security.
• Second level: needs for social interaction, such as the need to belong.
• Third level: needs for esteem, which include the need for respect from oneself and others.
• Fourth level: needs for self-actualization, or realizing one’s full potential.

Maslow believed people pay attention to higher needs only when lower needs are satisfied.

9 Types of Motivation That Make It Possible to Reach Your Dreams

by Dylan Buckley

What no one tells you when you first begin working towards your dreams is that motivation is the key to everything!
Without motivation, there will be no fuel to the fire so to speak. You would have no drive to achieve everything you have ever wanted and there would be no reason to move forward!
If you’re looking to achieve your goals and you need some help, learn more about how these 9 types of motivation will make it possible to reach your dreams:

The Two Main Categories of Motivation

 

Different types of motivation fall into two main categories. We are going to review and discuss those major categories before we begin moving into more minor forms of motivation.

1. Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is a type of motivation in which an individual is being motivated by internal desires.
For example, let’s say an individual named Bob has set himself a goal to begin losing weight and becoming healthier.
Let’s also imagine that Bob’s reason to pursue this path of fitness and wellness is to improve his health overall and feel more happier with his appearance.
Since Bob’s desire to change comes from within, his motivation is intrinsic.

2. Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is a type of motivation in which an individual is being motivated by external desires.
Rather than being motivated by the need to look better and feel healthier, let’s say that Bob was feeling pressure from his wife to slim down and improve his physique so that she would be more attracted to him.
Since this pressure comes from the outside, this is an example of extrinsic motivation.

Minor Forms of Motivation

All types of motivation are going to fall into one of the two categories above. Now that we’ve covered these motivational types and provided you with some examples, here are minor forms of motivation that are capable of making a big impact in your life!

3. Reward-Based Motivation or Incentive Motivation

Incentive motivation or reward-based motivation is a type of motivation that is utilized when you or others know that they will be a reward once a certain goal is achieved.
Because there will be something to look forward to at the end of a task, people will often become more determined to see the task through so that they can receive whatever it is that has been promised.
The better the reward, the stronger the motivation will be!

4. Fear-Based Motivation

The word “fear” carries a heavy negative meaning but when it comes to motivation, this is not necessarily the case. Anyone who is big on goal-setting and achievement knows that accountability plays a huge role in following through on goals.
When you become accountable either to someone you care about or to the general public, you create a motivation for yourself that is rooted in the fear of failure. This fear helps you to carry out your vision so that you do not fail in front of those who are aware of your goal.
Fear-based motivation is extremely powerful as long as the fears is strong enough to prevent you from quitting.

5. Achievement-Based Motivation

Titles, positions, and roles throughout jobs and other areas of our lives are very important to us. Those who are constantly driven to acquire these positions and earn titles for themselves are typically dealing with achievement-based motivation.
Whereas those who use incentive motivation to focus on the rewards that come after a goal is met, those who use achievement-based motivation focus on reaching a goal for the sake of achievement.
Those who need a boost in their professional life will find achievement-based motivation extremely helpful.

6. Power-Based Motivation

Those who find happiness in becoming more powerful or creating massive change will definitely be fueled by power-based motivation.
Power-based motivation is a type of motivation that energizes others to seek more control, typically through the use of positions in employment or organizations.
Although it may seem to be a bad thing, power-based motivation is great for those who wish to change the world around them based on their personal vision.
If you’re looking to make changes, power-based motivation may just be the way to go!

7. Affiliation Motivation

People often say that it’s not what we do but who we know that dictates our success. For people driven by affiliation motivation, this is most certainly true.
Those who use affiliation motivation as a driving force to meet their goals thrive when they connect with others in higher power positions than them.
They also thrive when those people compliment the work that they do as well as their achievements.
Affiliation motivation is a great force to help you achieve your social goals and move up in the world.

8. Competence Motivation

Have you always wanted to be better at anything you do? Is one of your goals to learn how to do your job better or improve at your hobby? If so, you may be in need of some competence motivation.
Competence motivation is a type of motivation that helps others to push forward and become more competent in a certain area.
This type of motivation is especially helpful when it comes to learning new skills and figuring out ways around obstacles that one is faced with in different areas of life.

9. Attitude Motivation

A problem with our attitude, perspectives, and beliefs is an issue that many of us face. It can become a problem on the way that we move throughout to the point that we begin to lose our happiness and miss out on our dreams.
For those of you who are losing out on life because of your attitude, attitude motivation will help you to recover and move forward properly.
Attitude motivation is a type of motivation that comes to those who intensely desire to change the way that they see the world around them and the way that they see themselves. Goals associated with self-awareness and self-change will be met with attitude motivation.
Motivation is absolutely vital if you want to achieve your dreams. Using the 9 types of motivation mentioned above, nothing will be able to stand in the way of you and your goals any longer