Motivation Many Psychologists Have Put Forward Theories Essay

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Motivation

Many psychologists have put forward theories to advance the concept of motivation. Some of the psychological theories and models that explain motivation include incentive theory, drive theory, self-control model, push and pull model, intrinsic and extrinsic model, and rational motivations among others. Motivation stems from a number of sources, which dictate the way a person acts. It is paramount to note that motivation is one of the greatest determinants of motivation, and one can tell the level of motivation of a person through the way one behaves. The discussion below is an insight into this concept for a better understanding of motivation.

Motivation is a term in psychology that is hard to define; a number of theories have different views of motivation. These views of motivation include drive theories, incentive theories, and homeostasis, and one can draw a common definition of motivation from these views (Kalat, 2011). According to the drive theory, motivation is an irritation that goes on until one finds a way to ease it. The basic position of this view is that motivation is based on irritants, or needs that one tries to reduce. The theory, however, does not define the course of action that one takes to lessen these irritants. The incentive theory, on the other hand, views motivation as a response to attractive stimuli even in the absence of needs. According to homeostasis view, motivation tends to uphold body states near some optimum intermediate level and may react to current needs and expect future needs. From these three theories, one can define motivation as a psychological attribute that provokes an individual or organism to take action towards a desired goal, and bring outs out, controls, and upholds certain behaviors that are goal-oriented.

A number of factors compel people to act in a given way, but psychologists have had to organize all the motivators into four main categories. It is, however, pertinent to note that it has been difficult to draw a clear line on these categories, so they are overlapping.

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These are emotional, biological, cognitive, and social factors, which form the basis of an individual acting towards a given direction (Bernstein, 2007). Motivation may stem from the social factors, which include the influence of parents, television, siblings, peers, and teachers among other sociocultural factors. For instance, a person may buy a piece of clothing because it is on fashion, or her she saw a celebrity on television dressed in a similar suit or dress. Motivation may also arise from cognitive factors, which shape their behavior in a certain way because issues such as perceptions of the world, anticipations of how others may respond to them and beliefs of what they are able to do and what they cannot do. This will make them act in a particular manner such as becoming timid or bold. In addition, biological factors may motivate one to act in a given way towards achieving some goals. For, instance hunger makes a person to look for food in order to meet the biological aspect of a need for food. Emotional factors such as hatred, love, panic, anger, fear can also influence one's actions, which may range from selfless giving to murder. Four famous theories have presented varied combinations of these motivational sources. These theories include instinct theory, optimal arousal theory, and incentives theory and drive reduction theory. However, none has a full explanation of how and why individuals behave in a given way (Bernstein, 2007).

Over years, psychologists have argued that there is a considerable relationship between motivation and behavior. First, motivation directs behavior toward achieving a given goal. According to many psychologists, human beings by nature are purposeful meaning that they set goals for themselves and set off courses of action, which they believe will enable them to attain those set goals. Second, motivation….....

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