Preview

Understanding Motivation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
8246 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Understanding Motivation
1 Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
None of us are to be found in sets of tasks or lists of attributes; we can be known only in the unfolding of our unique stories within the context of everyday events. Vivian Gussin Paley Like the national economy, human motivation is a topic that people know is important, continuously discuss, and would like to predict. We want to know why people do what they do. But just as tomorrow’s inflationary trend seems beyond our influence and understanding, so too do the causes of human behavior evade any simple explanation or prescription. We have invented a word to label this elusive topic—motivation. Its definition varies among scholars depending on their discipline and orientation. Most social scientists see motivation as a concept that explains why people think and behave as they do (Weiner, 1992). Many philosophers and religious thinkers have a similar understanding of motivation but use metaphysical assumptions to explain its dynamics. Today, discoveries in the neurosciences offer a biological basis for what motivation is. Although this understanding is very far from complete, what we know about the working of the brain can enrich and integrate fields as disparate as psychology and philosophy. From a biological perspective, motivation is a process that “determines how much energy and attention the brain and body assign to a given stimulus—whether it’s a thought coming in or a situation that confronts one” (Ratey, 2001, p. 247). Motivation binds emotion to action. It creates as well as guides purposeful behavior involving many systems and structures within the brain and body (Ratey, 2001). Motivation is basic to our survival. It is the natural human process for directing energy to accomplish a goal. What makes motivation somewhat mysterious is that we cannot see it or touch it or precisely measure it. We have to infer it from what people say and do. We look for signs—effort, perseverance, completion—and we listen

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Motivation Concepts

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sigmund Freud, a Jewish Austrian neurologist that developed a wonderful theory in 1915 that stated all behavior is motivated and that the primary purpose of someone’s behavior was to serve the satisfaction of needs. This serves to be true in two or more situations in the common workplace. For instance, if company morale is low, there is a very slim chance that the company as a whole will be doing well. People are driven by their need to feel satisfied and wanted at the same time. Therefore, when others exhibit behavior that is non-favorable, it is most likely due to their lack of being satisfied. Behavior can either be motivated in a positive and negative direction.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Motivation” _is the term used to describe those processes, both instinctive and rational, by which people seek to satisfy the basic drives, perceived needs and personal goals, which trigger human behaviour. (Cole, 1996 page 28)_…

    • 1370 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sometimes people have to ask themselves questions such as why do I want to do that, what is it that I need that is going to take to get me from point A to point B, and how do I keep doing what I need to do to accomplish the set task or goal? Many times people wonder what causes an individual to act in a certain way. The word motivation is used in everyday language and can be defined in various ways but, in general, it is referred to as the internal course of action that triggers, directs and maintains the individual’s behaviors toward a particular goal or event (Ferguson, 2000). Hence, this paper defines motivation, addresses a few sources of motivation, gives an idea about how human motivation and behavior are linked together, as well as look at how motivation is displayed in behavior.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Motivation may be defined as psychological forces that determine the direction of a person’s behavior in an organization. Motivation is central to management because it explains why people behave the way they do. A persons’ behavior tells how motivated they are to do their job at a higher performance level. There is intrinsically and extrinsic sources for motivation (Gareth, 2009) There are also two motivational theories which explains how an employee can be motivated.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. Motivation elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Motivation

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Motivation is basically about the desire of one to achieve something as motivation act as a force that pushes us towards performing an actionand finally bringing us the achievement.For example, when we are thirsty, we will go get a glass of water to quench our thirst. Here, quenching our thirst is set as our motivation and the act of getting a glass of water to drink is the performing action. This shows us that motivation is what causes us to act. Hence, motivation can also be said as a process that initiates, guides and maintains our goals until we achieve it. From the resource, Lifehack (n.d.),there are six different types of motivation which can influence different person behavior in its own unique way because each of us has our very own personalities and characteristics.Majority of people can be motivated by incentive, fear, achievement, growth, power and social factors. Incentive is a motivation that involves reward as people are driven by the facts that if they achieve a certain target, they will be rewarded. While fear motivation involves consequences such as when a person is in fear of getting punish he or she will try their best to achieve their targets. Next is achievement motivation which happens when people are driven to compete with others or themselves. The feeling of achievement is their desire motivation. Other than that is the motivation of growth. It happens when people desire self-improvement such as increasing their knowledge or skills. Next is the motivation of power where people are in desire to control everything within their means to achieve something. Furthermore, many people are motivated by social factors too. This can be their desire to be accepted or belong to a specific peer group.It is important to understand the different types of motivation so that we will be able to determine which form of motivation is the most effective one for inspiring our desire in achieving target. As there is a saying goes, “the will to succeed is important…

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sources of Motivation

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People are individually motivated to achieve certain goals, meet particular desires, and ultimately define his or her purpose and the inspiration that guides these thoughts, actions, and behaviors. Motivation refers to a set of factors that “activate, direct, and maintain behavior, usually toward some goal” (Huffman, 2010, p. 406). Theories or sources involved in driving motivation emphasize biological, psychological, social forces, and the environment (Deckers, 2010; Huffman, 2010). This essay thoroughly discusses motivation, examines a couple of sources that contribute to motivation, emphasizes the relationship between motivation and behavior, and includes how behavior can exhibit motivation. Although many researchers debate regarding contributing factors and sources in motivation, a clear and comprehensive approach is to consider all perspectives concerning each person’s individuality.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Motivation Concepts

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Why do people explore the unknown? Research explores that the operands of curiosity and exploration are motivational drivers. Motivation can be defined as the arousal, direction and persistence of behavior. (Franken, 1994) Motivation is an internal state or condition that activates behavior giving direction towards one's desire or want. The motivational drive is a basic or instinctive need associated in the effort of behavior directed towards a goal-oriented cause. Curiosity is central to motivation for exploratory behavior. Curiosity has been referred as a "passion for learning" and a motivational drive in approaching a characteristic form of behavior in exploring the unknown in acquiring new learning.…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Motivation Theory

    • 2363 Words
    • 10 Pages

    1. Outline classical theories of motivation and illustrate their application in different business situation. Discuss their usefulness to the 21st century business manager.…

    • 2363 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Theory of Motivation

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There are many more good motivation theories – Maslow, Myers-Briggs, etc. – but I’ve found these three to be most useful in managing groups.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concept of Motivation

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The word "motivation" comes from the Latin word movere - "to move." And managers often view motivation in exactly those terms ("I need to get my people moving!"). Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action. General motivation is concerned with effort towards any goal, whereas effort towards Organizational goals reflects work-related behavior. Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995);…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Motivation Theory

    • 2303 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Huseman, R., Hatfield, J. & Miles, E. (1987). A new perspective on equity theory: the equity sensitivity construct. Academy of Management Review, 12, 2, pp. 222-234.…

    • 2303 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role of Motivation

    • 4037 Words
    • 17 Pages

    The Role of Motivation as a Moderator of the Job Demand– Burnout–Performance Relationship among Service Employees in a Social Marketing Campaign…

    • 4037 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concepts of Motivation

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gradual changes in behaviors of individuals are greatly explained by motivation and its importance shown as it is a subject matter in several areas of psychology. For instance, psychologists believe that individuals need to get motivated for them to acquire knowledge and as well as in taking advantage of medical intervention among other examples. Motivation gives interests and incentives which results to specified actions or certain changes in behavior. Motivation is currently depicted in every part of an individual’s life. For example, one is motivated to take food because of hunger while schooling is motivated by the need for better employment, promotion in the work place or need for knowledge. What motivates varies from one individual to another as people may be motivated towards one thing but by different motives. Therefore, whatever motivates an individual ranges from incentive to coercion (Deckers, 2010).…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays