Content theory
Abraham Maslow believed that man is inherently good and argued that individuals possess a constantly growing inner drive that has great potential.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory can be summarized as follows: One of the first influential figures to discuss the topic of hedonism was Socrates, and he did so around 470–399 BCE in ancient Greece.
Without the romantic love bond, the male will pursue satiation of his sexual desire with as many mates as possible, leaving behind the female to rear the offspring by herself.
Romantic love therefore solves the commitment problem of parents needing to be together; individuals that are loyal and faithful to one another will have mutual survival benefits.
Some females are more attracted to charm, as it is an indicator of being a good loyal lover that will in turn make for a dependable child-rearing partner.
[24] According to McGregor's Theory Y, human behavior is based on satisfying a hierarchy of needs: physiological, safety, social, ego, and self-fulfillment.
These actions stand "in direct opposition to the ideas underlying their system of financial incentive, which countenanced no upper limit to performance other than the physical capacity of the individual.
"[27] Accordingly, the natural management system assumes that employees prefer autonomy and responsibility on the job and dislike arbitrary rules and overwhelming supervision.
[34] According to various research reported by Deci's published findings in 1971, and 1972, tangible rewards could actually undermine the intrinsic motivation of college students.
The CET essentially states that social-contextual events like feedback and reinforcement can cause feelings of competence and therefore increase intrinsic motivation.
[32]: 70–71 Offering people choices, responding to their feelings, and opportunities for self-direction have been reported to enhance intrinsic motivation via increased autonomy.
As the task is completed for the reward, the quality of work may need to be monitored,[30] and it has been suggested that extrinsic motivators may diminish in value over time.
[32] Flow theory refers to desirable subjective state a person experiences when completely involved in some challenging activity that matches the individual's skills.
[50] Csikszentmihalyi describes 8 characteristics of flow as - the complete concentration on the task, clarity of goals & reward in mind and immediate feedback, transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down of time), the experience is intrinsically rewarding, effortlessness & ease, a balance between challenge and skills, merged actions and awareness, loss of self-conscious rumination and a feeling of control over the task.
Incentive theory in psychology treats motivation and behavior of the individual as they are influenced by beliefs, such as engaging in activities that are expected to be profitable.
[52] For instance, a fast-food worker earning minimal wage, forced to work more than one job to make ends meet, would be highly motivated by a pay raise, because of the current deprivation of money (a conditioned establishing operation).
Critical elements to socio-cultural theory applied to motivation include, but are not limited to, the role of social interactions and the contributions from culturally-based knowledge and practice.
For example, bowling alone is naught but the dull act of throwing a ball into pins, and so people are much less likely to smile during the activity alone, even upon getting a strike because their satisfaction or dissatisfaction does not need to be communicated, and so it is internalized.
It is because of this phenomenon that studies have shown that people are more intrigued in performing mundane activities so long as there is company because it provides the opportunity to interact in one way or another, be it for bonding, amusement, collaboration, or alternative perspectives.
Another journal article that helped to develop temporal motivation theory, "The Nature of Procrastination",[70] which received American Psychological Association's George A. Miller award for outstanding contribution to general science.
In a 1997 study conducted by Dianne Tice and William James Fellow Roy Baumeister at Case Western University, college students were given ratings on an established scale of procrastination and tracked their academic performance, stress, and health throughout the semester.
In contrast, avoidance motivation (i.e., aversive salience) can be defined as when a certain behavior or reaction to a situation/environment is punished or results in a negative or undesirable outcome.
The death instinct can be closely related to Freud's other concept, the id, which is our need to experience pleasure immediately, regardless of the consequences.
[98] He also believed that there are three hierarchical tiers of personality traits that affect this motivation:[98] Mental fatigue is being tired, exhausted, or not functioning effectively.
Mental fatigue arises when an individual becomes involved in a complex task but does no physical activity and is still worn out, the reason for this is because the brain uses about 20 percent of the human body's metabolic heart rate.
One study suggests that after engaging in a complex task, an individual tends to consume about two hundred more calories than if they had been resting or relaxing; however, this appeared to be due to stress, not higher caloric expenditure.
Mental fatigue can affect an individual's life by causing a lack of motivation, avoidance of friends and family members, and changes in one's mood.
Reversal theory,[104] first introduced by Dr. Michael Apter and Dr. Ken Smith in the 1970s, is a structural, phenomenological explanation of psychological states and their dynamic interplay.
Reversal theory proposes in its principle of bistability that any level of arousal or stimulation may be found either desirable or undesirable depending on the meta-motivational state one is in.
[106] Reversal theory has been academically supported and put to practical use in more than 30 fields (e.g., sports psychology, business, medical care, addiction, and stress) and in over 30 countries.
