BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 1

MOTIVATION: CONCEPT, TYPES, THEORIES (WITH EMPHASIS ON PSYCHOANALYTIC, HUMANISTIC, AND NEED
THEORIES)

INTRODUCTION

Motivation is an inferred variable. It is used to explain certain specific properties of behavior – that
behaviour occurs at all, that behavior occurs as a variety of responses, that responses vary in vigor, that
behavior has direction, that certain subsequent events may strengthen and other kinds may weaken a
behavioral sequence. From all these properties of behavior we infer a variable called motivation. Some
definitions of motivation are:

Marshall Jones (1955): “The subject matter of motivation has to do it how behavior gets started, is
energized, is sustained, is directed, and is stopped”. Referring to the total behavior process, this definition
holds that every phase of the process can be and should be explained by motivation.

Young (1961): “It is a process of arousing action, sustaining the activity in progress and regulation of the
pattern of activity”. This definition emphasizes:
 Motivation arouses action.
 It energizes activity in progress.
 It regulates the pattern of activity.

Brown (1961): “A specific variable is motivational:

 If it tends to facilitate or energize several different responses.
 If its termination or removal, following a new response, leads to learning of that response.
 If sudden increases in the strength of variable leads to an abandonment of responses.
 If its effects on behavior cannot be attributed to other processes: learning, sensation, innate capacities,
and sets.”

McClelland (1987): “Motivation has to do with the why of behavior as contrasted with how or what of
behavior”. He also gives an operational definition of motivation. He says, “motive is a recurrent concern for
a goal state based on a natural incentive. It is a concern that energizes, orients, and selects behavior”. This
definition emphasizes:
 Motives imply a concern about a goal state.
 Motives are recurrent until the goal is reached.
 Goal states are associated with natural incentives i.e. things or events which pull an organism naturally
towards themselves.
 Motives provide activation or energy.
 Motives provide direction. They make us approach or avoid goal states.
 Motives select behavior i.e. they lead to learning of responses.

Edwards (1999): “Motivation is the collection of accounts of choices, intensities, and feelings of acts.” This
definition emphasizes:
 Motivation is an account – a description in words. It is a concept, an idea, not a thing or substance. There
is no reservoir of motivation in the body or the mind that is waiting to be tapped or filled. It is an
intervening variable.
 Motivation is an account of acts. Edwards deliberately chooses the term act rather than behavior or
responses, because he feels that the latter two terms imply a reactivity rather than proactivity. The term
acts has a wider scope than either of these. Edwards emphasizes that acts are all human events that
have meaning and value.
 Ultimately motivation describes why acts differ from one occasion to another. The variation in acts is in
their choice, intensity of performance, and the feelings that accompany them. Thus motivation explains
us why we choose to do something, with how much vigor we do it, and how do we feel while we do it.
The first two can be objectively assessed and observed, but the last is a subjective experience that can
only be reported.

CLASSIFICATION OF MOTIVES OR TYPES OF MOTIVATION

The various motives that activate behavior may be divided into two categories – biological motives and
acquired motives.

BIOLOGICAL MOTIVES
They are important for survival. They are further divided into two kinds:
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 2
 Motives necessary for individual survival.
 Motives necessary for the survival of the species.

Motives that are necessary for individual survival

1. Hunger: Hunger denotes three things. Firstly, it denotes the drive for food due to deprivation. Secondly,
it denotes the sensation of hunger, which is a negative experience of hunger pangs, which occurs due to
contraction of hungry stomach walls. Thirdly, it implies appetite for food. This implies specific hunger. It
is positive anticipation of particular kinds of food. The organic cause of hunger is shortage of blood
sugar, which in turn makes the smooth muscles of the stomach contract, which is experienced as the
pangs of hunger. However, hunger is greatly modified by external stimuli. What and how much a
person eats is generally determined by external factors. A person who is hungry tries to satisfy his
hunger by seeking food and eating it. His search for food affects his personality, memory, learning etc.
2. Thirst – We constantly need water because we are constantly using it for perspiration and elimination.
The organic need for water is signaled by the following symptoms:
 Drying up of the mouth due to decreased salivation.
 Reduction in the water content in the blood vessels.
 Sometimes kidneys signal the need for water.
 Dehydration of the cells in the body.
Thirst is controlled by hypothalamus, which is sensitive to changes in the concentration or distribution of
body fluids and cellular dehydration. A person who is thirsty seeks water. As soon as water is taken,
thirst is satisfied, though, physiologically it is difficult to explain this phenomenon.
3. The need to breathe: Oxygen deficiency alone is not responsible for the need to breathe. It is the
concentration of CO2 in the blood that is important in generating a drive to breathe. This need does not
figure importantly in daily life though it has considerable motivational potential.
4. Need to eliminate: It is generated by the feelings of pressure and pain. Toilet training of a child is a
major concern of psychologists, particularly psychoanalysts. There are wide cultural differences in the
age and the extent to which the need for elimination is brought under control and extent to which
negative feelings and shame are associated with it.
5. The need to sleep: It is indicated by a lower state of alertness, activity, and consciousness. Sleep
deprivation causes changes in behavior, which indicate that we have a need to sleep. The causes of this
need are not clearly known. Mental fatigue is a major factor. An industrial worker who uses his hands
needs sleep only for about 8 hours to awaken refreshed. However, a scientist who works with his brain
needs to sleep at least 11 hours. The strongest effect of sleep deprivation is that, given a chance, the
person goes to sleep immediately. Sleep deprivation also leads to some mistakes in tasks involving
motor skills. But it does not effect performance on complex, challenging, organized activity.
6. The need for arousal/activity – Contrary to the need for sleep, arousal theorists hold that we also have a
need for arousal and activity. This need is shown in studies involving lack of stimulation. Experiments
with sensory deprivation in 1950s in McGill University found that when students/subjects were put in
special deprivation chambers severely restricting their visual, sensory, auditory, and touch sensations,
the subjects grew extremely irritable, asking to be allowed to go outside and eventually showing
symptoms of mental illness. When they were freed from these cubicles, their performance was poor in a
series of psychological tests.
7. Need for avoidance of pain: Pain is often a signal of danger. It is a warning, and a prompt response is
important for biological survival. It is caused by extreme stimulation of sense organs. In general, more
the intensity of the pain, quicker and greater is the response to it. There are wide differences in the
sensitivity to pain. While it lasts, it is a powerful motivating factor and an individual may go to great
extent to avoid pain.
8. Need for homeostasis: The need for homeostasis implies a need for balance/equilibrium/stability. In a
broad sense, all organic needs may be encompassed in a need for homeostasis because they all have
equilibrium as their goal. However, in a narrow specific sense, homeostasis refers to the need to
maintain the internal environment of the body i.e. to maintain a balance among internal biological
conditions such as body temperature, proportion of water, salt, oxygen, fats, minerals, and glandular
secretion in the blood stream. Any excess or deficiency has to be satisfied through apt behavior. E.g. if
an animal lacks salt, he tends to eat salty food.

Biological motives important for the survival of species

1. Sex: Sex is a powerful motive yet the survival of the individual does not depend on it. It aims at the
survival of the species. The physiological components of the sex drive are the sex hormones. However,
their role is much more important in lower animals. Among humans, the sex drive is modified by
sociocultural values. And we find a number of differences and variations in experiments on the sex
drive. E.g. homosexuality is now a taboo. It was accepted during the Greek times as normal but modern
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society still considers it a sexual deviation. Generally, the sex drive leads to an interest in the opposite
sex and particular kinds of behavior towards them.
2. Maternal instinct: Reproduction alone is not enough for survival; caring for the young is also necessary.
It is the mother who fulfils this role. Maternal instinct is shown in behaviors like building the nest,
scrubbing the young, caring for them, and teaching them survival techniques. Among the human
beings, sociocultural norms and values modify this drive.
3. Instinctive behavior: Instinct was a word, which was earlier used to describe all motives. Currently, the
word is used in a very narrow sense. Many animals use and show instincts in fixed action patterns that
are inherited species-specific stereotyped patterns of behavior. E.g. migration of birds, imprinting, etc.
According to some ethologists, behavior is instinctive when the animal has a drive for such behavior,
which is released by environmental stimuli. E.g. Birds migrate only when there is a change of the
season.
ACQUIRED MOTIVES
Secondary or acquired motives are so named because they are learned motives. They are not linked to the
organic state nor are they innate in the organism. Rather, they are learnt when they are associated with
the primary or biological motives E.g. money is a secondary drive. Nevertheless, it is important to
recognize that once a secondary drive is learnt, it is a powerful drive in itself. It is no longer dependent on
the primary drive i.e. a secondary drive is functionally independent of the primary drive. Secondary motives
can be further classified as:
 Psychological motives
 Social motives

Psychological motives
Different psychologists have emphasized different psychological motives:
1. Lewin: In 1930s Lewin established the importance of following motives through experimental work:
a. Incentives – They are stimuli in the external world that are used to arouse an organism to perform a
certain behavior. E.g. workers are paid to work in a factory. Incentives are important because:
 They arouse the drive in the organism.
 They provide direction towards the goal (orienting function).
b. Knowledge of results: One major incentive to perform a task is knowledge of results. Motivationally, it
evokes a desire in the subject to do better. Cognitively, it provides exact knowledge regarding the
present status of the subject so that he knows how much he still has to improve. It is linked to the level
of aspiration i.e. how well a subject expects to do the next time. Successful performance leads to an
increased level of aspiration and failure generally leads to a decrease in level of aspiration.
c. Psychological disequilibrium: According to Lewin, a motivated individual is in a state of disequilibrium.
Equilibrium is attained only if the goal is reached. Thus disequilibrium is a state of motivation which
propels the individual towards fulfilling his goal. One piece of evidence for this disequilibrium in a
motivated individual is the zeigarnik effect. It is the greater recall of incomplete tasks by the individual.
When the subject leaves a task incomplete he remains in a state of tension or disequilibrium.
Disequilibrium is also generated by cognitive dissonance, which is a discrepancy between one piece of
knowledge and another piece of knowledge. E.g. the discrepancy between attitude and behavior.
Dissonance or disequilibrium generates drive in the individual, so that he behaves in a manner that
leads to equilibrium or balance.
2. Maslow (1950) has emphasized the following psychological motives:
a. Safety needs: The need for security and safety in childhood is shown clearly in the child’s dependency
on the mother or other individuals. In adults it is shown when people seek insurance, jobs with pension,
provident fund etc. Security is desirable in a physical, economic, and psychological way. Normally, the
safety needs are satisfied by the society. However, the abnormal individual does show a lot of
insecurity.
b. Need for love and belongingness: This is the need for affectionate relationships with an individual,
friends, groups, etc. In such cases the person seeks others not because they satisfy his personal needs
but for the intrinsic satisfaction of relating to others or being with others.
c. Need for esteem: This is the need for high evaluation of one’s own self. Self esteem comes from two
things:
 Positive interactions with the environment and feelings of mastering the environment.
 Positive evaluation by others – when others think that the person is good.
d. Self-actualization: It implies the realization of one’s own potential. It implies doing what one must do. It
implies expressing and fulfilling one’s potential to one’s own satisfaction. It is the need that leads to
personal fulfillment and happiness. It implies self-realization.
3. Learning theorists: The behaviorists such as Hull have emphasized the following drives:
a. Drive to escape negative stimuli: The urge to escape in danger is natural. However, which stimuli are
considered dangerous is generally a learnt behavior. E.g. young infants do not fear snakes. Eventually,
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they do learn to fear them. This shows that fear of snakes is an acquired motive. Generally, the desire
to escape particular stimuli is learnt through conditioning or social learning.
b. Curiosity and desire for new experiences: All living beings have progressed only due to their intense
curiosity regarding their environment. It is this drive that leads to interaction with environment. Many a
times we perform acts without any apparent goal, just out of curiosity or desire for new experiences.
This drive is termed as intrinsic motivation. In fact if we are rewarded for such actions, then we no
longer perform them. Animals also show these drives. Harlow (1950) used mechanical puzzles to study
this behavior in monkeys. He found that if a puzzle is left in a monkey’s cage, he usually tries to solve it,
and succeeds. He termed this curiosity or intrinsic drive.

Social motives
These try to explain the individual’s behavior in society, in interaction with others. Moreover, their origin is
primarily and generally social i.e. they are learnt or acquired from social relationships. They are learnt in
the society. Thus, they are also called sociogenic motives. Some of these are:
1. Mastery: The urge to emerge the master in all the interactions with the environment is the mastery
motive. Darwin emphasized the struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. This concept is
reflected in the social motive for mastery. Adler had held it to be the most important motive in human
beings. McClelland (1964) has emphasized two motives that can be considered as aspects of the
mastery motive:
a. Need for achievement: It is a task-oriented motive, a concern to do better at whatever task one is
engaged in.
b. Need for power: It is a desire to influence other people. It is a people-oriented or a relationship-oriented
motive.
It is not as if we cannot exist without the mastery motive. Margaret Mead, an anthropologist, who
compared different cultures in New Guinea Islands found this motive to be almost absent in the Arapesh
tribe. Indeed, it was abnormal for a child to show self-assertion. The elders discouraged mastery so
that the child grew up to be dependent on luck, to live peacefully, with a strong belief in God and fate.
The Arapesh were thus not at all active and competitive as a society.
2. Aggression: Aggression may be considered as one aspect of the mastery motive. However, generally it
is considered more of an innate drive with a biological basis. It is defined as behavior executed with the
intent of causing harm – physical, material or psychological harm. It can be classified as:
a. Hostile aggression – It is aggression for the sake of aggression, just intended to cause harm. E.g. killing
insects or animals without any reason.
b. Instrumental aggression – This implies aggression for some specific end or for secondary gains. E.g.
killing for money. It has been found that the physiological arousal associated with instrumental
aggression is different from physiological arousal associated with hostile aggression.
Various reasons are advanced for aggressive behavior:
 It is instinctive/biologically-based behaviour. Freud emphasized aggressive behavior as being a part of
the thanatos, which is the death instinct. It is opposed to the instinct of life, the eros. Other theorists
have emphasized the physiological basis of aggression. Some think that the androgens or the male sex
hormones are related to aggression. Recent researchers have shown that some neurohormones are
related to aggression.
 It is a reaction to frustration. Rosenzweig holds that in reaction to frustration we show three types of
responses: aggression against others, against our own selves, and repression of aggression. Earlier the
frustration-aggression hypothesis (Miller and Dollard, 1941) stated that frustration leads to aggression.
However, later this hypothesis was revised by Berkowitz (1961) to state that frustration merely leads to
a tendency towards aggression. The aggressive act would occur only if it were permitted in the situation.
 It is an acquired motive: Aggressive behavior gets a person what he wants, or he observes other people
getting what they want through aggression. In other words, aggression is learned through conditioning
or social learning. It helps to get the desired reinforcement.
The aggressive behavior shown by an individual depends upon norms and values of the society. E.g. In
Nagaland, there used to be a tribe of head-hunters and a person who had not committed even a single
murder would find it difficult to find a bride.
3. Dependency: As opposed to the tendency for self-assertion psychologists have emphasized the
tendency for self-submission, or conformity, or dependency. Sears et al (1953) suggest that there is a
difference between an act of dependency and the motive for dependency. The act comes first and when
it is reinforced, the motive for dependency is acquired. A child is dependent on his mother, but if she
ignores him, his dependency is not reinforced. He becomes independent and assertive. In adults,
dependency is shown as conformity. It implies making one’s own desire and behaviour the same as
group desire and behavior. Women show greater need for dependency, though it is important in males
also. In matriarchal societies, women show lesser dependency as compared to males.
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4. Affiliation: It is the concern for establishing and maintaining relationships with other people. It is not a
unique human motive rather it is also shown in animals. In one classic study, Harlow (1950) found that
young monkeys spend much more time with a cloth mother than a wire mother, both whom provided
milk, possibly because monkeys also wanted contact comfort. Harlow called it love or need for
affiliation. Need for affiliation occurs due to the following reasons:
 Anxiety leads to attachment or affiliation.
 Affiliation is instrumental in getting physical, emotional, or economic goals.
 Some times affiliation occurs for no observable reason. This includes altruism, which involves affiliative
behavior without any gain to an individual and sometimes is shown at great personal cost.

Differences between biological and psychosocial motives

Biological motives Psychosocial motives
1. They come from organic needs. 1. They are learnt through interaction with the
environment.
2. They are primary, important for survival. 2. They are secondary; not important for survival.
3. They do not necessarily operate in the 3. They operate in society
society.
4. They are well satisfied in normal cases. 4. They are not as well satisfied as biological motives.
5. Their dissatisfaction results in death. 5. Their dissatisfaction results in abnormal behavior

In a person, all these motives may add, interact with, or neutralize each other.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATION

1. Motivation is an inferred variable: Like electricity, motives cannot be seen; only their effects on behavior
can be observed. Thus motives are inferred from various characteristics of the organism’s behavior.
2. Motives lead to the following characteristics of behavior:
a. Motives activate behavior: The mere existence of behavior implies motivation. It is only when an
organism dies that it does not show any change or activation; that we can say that he is not motivated.
Motives underlie all kinds of behavior shown by various organisms.
b. Energy mobilization: Motives provide energy to act or to behave. They provide for the drive or vigor
shown in behavior. As a person shows greater amount of energy, as he performs his work with greater
speed or strength, it can be inferred that his motivation is greater.
c. Motives lead to persistence of behavior: If one really desires a goal, one persists in the behavior required
to reach the goal. Repetition of the act frequently secures the goal. If an individual has failed once,
persistence in the same activity may lead to success sooner or later.
d. Variability in behavior: Sometimes a goal can be reached only by changing the technique or method
used to achieve the goal. A motivated individual seeks to secure the goal through the use of all possible
methods.
e. Goal-directed behavior: Motives provide direction to behavior. The energy of an individual is mobilized
to reach a particular goal. If a goal is not reached the person is frustrated and remains in the state of
tension. If there is more than one goal in front of a person, the person experiences conflict. E.g. if one
has a choice between two equally good careers, one does not know what to do.
f. Selection of behavior: Motivation leads to selection of behavior. This means how a person behaves
depends on his motives. E.g. different people show different behavior in the same situation because
their motives are different. At a dinner party, individuals who have a need to affiliate like to meet
people; the individuals who like to have power may be talking at the top of their voices; the hostess may
show her need for achievement by tying to organize things as well as possible; the hungry man would
show his hunger by starting before others; and so on.
g. Weakening or cessation of behavior: The stopping of behavior generally implies a lack of motivation. E.g.
if one stops seeing a friend it implies that the motive to affiliate with that friend is no longer present.
Activation of behavior is taken to show an increase in motivation. Conversely, weakening, decrease, or
cessation of behavior is taken to be lack of motivation.
3. Motives are affected by physiological factors: All motives are associated with changes in physiological
activity within the organism and arousal of the nervous system. The greater the strength of motivation
the greater the arousal. In fact theorists like Hull, Duffy, and Malmo, insist that motivation is nothing but
arousal.
4. Motives are affected by environmental factors: Theorists who emphasize the direction of behavior to
specific ends hold that the environmental factors are important in motivation. Many motives are
acquired from the environment and even biological motives can be significantly altered and regulated
by sociocultural differences that operate in the environment.
5. Motivation is a universal variable: Not only human beings but also animals show vigor, persistence, and
direction of behavior. Hence motivation is a universal phenomenon. Among human beings, the
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particular type of dominant motive may vary from culture to culture, but there is no denying the
existence of motivation among all people.
6. Motivation affects human beings throughout the life span: Even newborn infants show differences in
arousal and temperament, which is evidence of motivational differences. The elderly also show
differentiation of motives.
7. Motives may be conscious or unconscious: Freud insists that motives spring from the unconscious and
about 95% of behaviors are due to unconscious motives. Most of the time we are unaware of why we
are showing a particular behavior.
8. Motivation is a complex variable: Motivation not only has various functions, but also functions in various
ways. A variety of motives – biogenic as well as sociogenic – are present in an individual at the same
time. Many different drives can be subsumed under the general concept of motivation.
9. Various types of motives may exist in various relations with each other within the same person. Motives
may add together, may interact with each other, or may oppose each other within the person.
10. Motives can be measured: Various aspects of motivated behaviour can be assessed to measure
motivation. It is possible to measure physiological correlates of motivation to assess arousal. One can
measure the various kinds of motivation through objective tests such as the EPPS (Edward’s Personal
Preference Schedule) which measures 15 different needs. One can assess the strength and direction of
motives through projective techniques like TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) which measures the effect
of motives on thoughts and behavior.
11. Motivation is intimately related to a number of other psychological processes. According to Chaplin and
Kraweic (1984) motivation is linked to:
a. Changing physiological states associated with various conditions of deprivation are related to
motivation. A great deal of research and theory is directed toward understanding the fundamental
neurological, metabolic, and physiological factors underlying primary drives.
b. Emotions are closely linked to motivation. Together they constitute dynamic psychology. Both terms
derive from the same Latin root e and movere implying to move or to incite to action. In terms of the
organism’s reactions there is no difference between emotions and motivation. Experiments show that
through learning, emotional states can act as drives. Moreover, emotions often reinforce the motives in
progress. When we strongly desire something, the accompanying emotion increases the strength of our
desire to attain the goal. Negative emotions accompany dissatisfaction of motives and positive
emotions accompany satisfaction of motives. Nevertheless, psychologists do make the following
distinctions between the two:
 Motives are enduring, emotions are transitory.
 Motives act together as a single entity, emotions are many and often in conflict with each other.
 Motives generally lead to organized behavior; emotions lead to disorganization of behavior.
c. Habits enter the realm of motivational psychology because well-established habits can incite the
individual to action. Any employee, habitual of work, finds retirement a difficult adjustment. Habits are
also at the heart of social motives, which are culturally determined.
d. Sets, values and attitudes are complex cognitive processes with a strong motivational component. Sets
are temporary states of motivation leading to selectivity of perception and specificity of response.
Attitudes are more enduring cognitive states, which predispose an individual to react and act in a certain
way. Values are also enduring cognitive processes that function as general guides to conduct and a goal
towards which the individual directs his behaviour.
e. Incentives, reinforcers and other environmental influences are an important aspect of the study of
motivation. Most experimental investigations, especially in the area of social psychology are directed at
incentive motivation.
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THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Edwards (1999) holds that “motivation is the collection of accounts of choices, intensities, and feelings of
acts”. Ultimately all motivational concepts try to explain behavior or acts. They try to explain the choices
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that are made, the intensity of the motive, and the feelings associated with an act. The variety of
motivational theories may be studied as follows:

1. Historical viewpoint: Ever since people first began to think about human nature, the question of motives
has arisen. Closely related is the problem of free will i.e. are individuals the masters of their fate or mere
pawns of fate. Indian philosophers have held both views at various places in different texts. A synthesis of
opposites is the theory of Karma and reincarnation explained in the Bhagavad-Gita; which holds that the
events and happenings in the present birth are determined by action in previous births and the actions in
this birth determine the events of subsequent births of the soul.

The Greek philosophers favored a bodily basis for motivation. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, held
that there are four basic personality types, each originating due to different body humors. The sanguine
individual’s optimistic and hopeful attitude is due to blood. The melancholic temperament is due to black
bile, whereas an abundance of yellow bile gives rise to a choleric disposition. The phlegmatic temperament
is associated with an excess of phlegm.

Another important motivational concept in both eastern and western philosophy is that of psychological
hedonism i.e. all organisms strive to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Currently however, this is considered an
oversimplification. Hedonism is now considered not a cause of our conduct but an emotional
accompaniment to motivated behavior. It is held that satisfaction of motives is associated with pleasure
and dissatisfaction of motives is associated with pain.

2. Psychoanalytic view of motivation: Many critics hold that psychoanalytic theory is nothing but a
description of psychic energy – how it originates, how it is transformed, how it is manifested and so on.
Freud postulated that psychological work is performed due to psychic energy. Greatly influenced by
Darwin’s theory, he held that psychic energy is instinctual and later equated it wholly to the libido – the
sexual component of the life instinct, Eros.

Instincts represent the somatic demands on mental life (Freud, 1938). They are the ultimate cause of all
activity. In 1915, Freud assigned four distinguishing characteristics to instincts: source, aim, impetus and
object.
 Source: Internal bodily stimulation is the source of an instinct. This stimulation may arise as a result of
chemical, physical, mental, or any other change. The instinctual sources of stimulation are distinct from
external stimuli. Firstly, they arise from the body itself. Secondly, instincts represent a fairly constant
stimulation. In contrast, external stimulation is relatively momentary in nature. Thirdly, the organism
may escape external stimulation by removing itself from its presence. This is not possible with the
stimulation from within.
 Impetus: The impetus of an instinct is “the amount of force or the measure of the demand upon energy,
which it represents” (Freud, 1915). Impetus is the function of the intensity of the need from which it
arises; the inclusion of impetus as an essential characteristic of instinct shows the importance of the
concept of energy to Freud.
 Aim: The basic aim of instinct is to eradicate the somatic stimulation from which they arise. Such
somatic modification is experienced as satisfaction. Since, this satisfaction cannot be accomplished
directly; instincts may have different intermediate aims. E.g. in hunger the final aim may be the
abolition of hunger pangs, whereas intermediate aims are obtaining and consuming food.
 Object: Any person or thing in the environment, or in the individual’s own body, that serves to satisfy
the aim of an instinct may become its object. Although Freud considered that instincts themselves were
inherited, he did not believe that there was an innate connection between instincts and objects. As a
matter of fact an object which satisfies an instinct may change any number of times during the life of a
person. This displacement is an important part of the nature of instincts. It allowed Freud to theorize
about all aspects of civilization, all parts of body, indeed any aspect within or without the body as being
the object of instincts.

Types of instincts: Freud held that instincts derive from bodily needs. As such there are many body areas
capable of producing stimulation. A variety of instincts can be distinguished. However, he reduced all
instincts to two fundamental kinds, the life instincts (eros) and the death instincts (thanatos). The life
instinct primarily includes the instinct for survival and maintenance of life and the instinct for reproduction.
The instinct for survival includes drives such as hunger, thirst etc. The instinct for reproduction is held to be
extremely important by Freud for the mental life of the individuals. In fact, he elaborated the stages of
psychosexual development entirely on the basis of the changing nature and objects of this instinct. In his
earlier writings, he thinks of this instinct or energy as libido. Later, he almost equates the concept of
psychic energy to libido. Consequently, Freudian theory is also known as libido theory of motivation. Thus,
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as his thinking developed, the nature and kind of behaviors that came under the purview of libido became
more and more extensive; eventually encompassing all behaviors.
The death instincts, thanatos, were never as clearly defined as the life instincts. However, they are
considered to be equally innate and important in Freud’s final theory. Freud was a psychic dualist, a person
who thought in opposite terms. He was convinced that personality was the battleground for a fierce
struggle of opposing forces. Consequently, his concept of death instinct was proposed as a counterpart to
life instinct. Moreover, the widespread occurrence of cruelty and destruction during the First World War
made Freud realize that aggression was an innate aspect of human behavior since it had such pervasive
effects. Freud dramatically stated, “The goal of all life is death”. He felt that the death instinct was the
ultimate reality of life. Unlike the life instincts, death instincts perform their work silently and thus it has not
been possible to study them extensively except in the case of aggression. Aggression is generally diverted
outward and shows itself in destruction and Sadism. Or sometimes it may be turned inward leading to self-
mutilation and suicide.

Interaction of life and death instinct: The two instincts interact with and against each other. There are
behaviors in which both occur in parallel. E.g. in eating which serves the life instinct of survival, there are
destructive actions such as tearing, biting, chewing. One instinct may also replace the other, as when
former friends become enemies.

The psychic energy manifested in behavior according to the two instincts, eros and thanatos, is a part of
unconscious aspect of mind. This is why we are often unaware of the real motives for our behavior. Freud
held that mind can be divided into conscious, preconscious, and unconscious aspect. The conscious is like
the tip of an iceberg; it is the unconscious, which provides the energy and the motivation for our life. Freud
has also divided personality into three aspects Id, Ego, and Superego. “Id is chaos, cauldron of seething
excitement, it contains every thing that is inherited, that is present at birth, which is fixed in constitution,
above all the instincts” (Freud, 1940). Ego and Superego differentiate out from Id, drawing more and more
energy from it. As the individual grows up, it is the Ego that captures the libido from Id as it identifies itself
with the desired objects. Thus, Ego has no energy of its own; neither does Superego have any energy. The
source of all energy is Id. Freud in fact holds that it is the distribution of psychic energy between Id, Ego,
and Superego, which leads to the development of Ego and Superego. The psychosexual stages of
development refer to the changing objects of libido throughout the course of human life. At birth, libido is
localized in the mouth (Oral stage), then it shifts to anal region (Anal stage) and then it is localized in the
genital region (Phallic stage). Thereafter, there is a latency period where the libido is repressed into the
unconscious. It shows resurgence during the adolescence, the object of psychosexual energy, once again
being the genital region (Genital stage). Thus, one can say that all aspects of Freudian theory derive from
his idea of psychic energy and instincts. The concept of motivation is basic to Freudian theory.

Criticism of the Freudian theory:

Perhaps no other theorist has been criticized as much as Freud. His own students, Jung and Adler, differed
from his view. He did agree with Freud that energy may be shifted or displaced but it cannot be lost from
the system. But Jung held that sexual energy was only one form of an undifferentiated psychic energy.
Jung held that the ultimate aim of life is self-actualization, which is to Jung, a balanced state of tension. On
the other hand, Freud holds that stronger the ego more adjusted the person is. He never advocated a
balanced state of tension. In fact he emphasized that balance is impossible due to the huge intrapsychic
conflicts that occur. Adler also differed from Freud. He emphasized that it is the striving for superiority,
which is the all-consuming single drive of human beings. He felt that it was the weak, helpless, inferior state
of a human being, which is the cause of motivation. Unlike Freud he held that sex is not an all-important
primary drive. It is only one means towards power and superiority.
The neo-Freudians such as Horney, Sullivan and Erikson, collectively called the cultural school of
psychoanalysts, criticized Freud for ignoring the influence of sociocultural factors in the formation of
personality. In place of eros, and as the primary drive, Horney conceived of the helpless infant as seeking
security in a potentially hostile and dangerous world. Feelings of insecurity because of many possible
combinations of parental attitudes and behaviors such as lack of warmth, dominance, discouragement,
overprotection etc., may give rise to basic anxiety. Horney’s term for all the adverse factors is basic evil.
The basic evil experienced by the child naturally provokes resentment or basic hostility. A conflict arises
between resentment and need for love (replacing the Freudian conflict between the instinctual impulse and
internalized prohibition). When the conflict occurs, the person develops various strategies (among them are
the neurotic trends) in an attempt to cope with the conflict. These strategies may take any form and one of
them may become habitual and generalized as the total approach to life.
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 11
In Sullivan’s theory, the elementary energizers of personality are called dynamisms. Dynamism is any
recurring habitual action, attitude, or feeling that one person has about one or more other persons.
Dynamisms accumulate throughout the lifetime of the human being. The wider experience he has, the
greater the number of dynamisms he possesses. The self-system is a complex dynamism built around the
potent energizing emotion of anxiety. Dynamisms maybe openly expressed or secretly practiced within the
self-system i.e. they may be overt or covert. Another central theme of his theory is anxiety in man. Anxiety
is the prime mover, the builder of self-system, and the great educator in life. Anxiety is not present from
birth but emerges at about the time the infant begins to discover that his body is somewhat different from
others i.e. the concept of self starts developing. The source of anxiety is the interpersonal cultural sphere,
whereas the source of bodily needs is the physicochemical world. Anxiety is opposed to the satisfaction of
needs, while the tension of bodily needs serves to integrate interpersonal situations. Another functional
property of anxiety is that its source is non-specific. It seems to come from all around and from within the
person. Relief of anxiety leads to feelings of security. Individuality is manifested in the way man meets the
stress of society.

Erikson talks very little of the id or superego and the unconscious motives and irrational strategies. Erikson
endowed the ego with a number of positive qualities, such as trust, hope, autonomy, will, industry,
competence, identity, fidelity, intimacy, love, generosity, generativity, care and integrity. He recognized
human qualities that are not usually included in psychoanalytic literature. According to Hall and Lindzey
(1978) “the kind of ego that Erikson describes may be called creative ego”. It can and does find creative
solutions to the problems that occur in each stage of life. In fact, the ego thrives on conflict and crisis. It is
usually the master and not the slave of id, the external world, and the super ego. As a practising
psychoanalyst Erikson is aware of the vulnerability of the ego, the irrational defenses it erects, and the
devastating consequences of trauma, anxiety and guilt. However, he emphasizes the potential strength of
the ego to surmount these problems.

The current status of psychoanalytical motivational theory can be summarized in the following points:
 The energy concept – Most psychoanalysts assume that psychic energy is the source of all motivation. It
is not equated to sexual energy, though the latter forms a major part of it.
 Source of motivation – Psychoanalysts no longer believe that energy derives only from bodily sources.
In fact, the sociocultural factors have come to play an important role in psychoanalytic theory.
 Unconscious – Freud’s most significant and lasting contribution has been the idea of the unconscious.
This idea has been accepted not only within psychology but also by all other social sciences. Every one
agrees that we have motives of which we are not even aware.
 Tension – reduction hypothesis – Underlying the psychoanalytical theory is the idea that motivation
implies arousal and tension. The goal of motivated behavior is the reduction of this tension. This idea
has been given various names such as the pleasure principle, consistency, stability etc. Each name
differs somewhat in meaning but the common core of all is the movement from a greater state of
tension to a lower state of tension.
 Anxiety and defense – Anxiety is the result of intrapsychic conflicts. To counter anxiety, defense
mechanisms are used. Freud just gave the idea of anxiety and described some basic defense
mechanisms. Later theorists have added many other defense mechanisms, which are used by the ego
against anxiety. Perhaps Freud’s own daughter Anna Freud has done the maximum number of additions.
 Early experiences – Before Freud early childhood experiences were not held to be important. Adult
reason was the most important aspect of human beings to be studied. Freud held that though early
experiences are never verbalized, they provide an important foundation for the personality of an
individual. Not only psychologists but all literate mankind has come to recognize the importance of early
experience in later development as a result of Freud’s writing.

Despite these major contributions, an unfortunate confusion exists in Freudian theory due to overlapping
concepts, which cannot be measured. E.g. the idea of psychic energy and sexual libido overlap. It is difficult
to differentiate the concept of Id from unconscious. Moreover, psychoanalytical theory lacks support from
experimental work. It is supported only by clinical evidence from a handful of case studies from abnormal
people. Thus it is questionable how far Freudian theory can be extended to all normal human beings.

3. Instinct theory: William James (1890) and William McDougall (1908) were greatly influenced by Darwin’s
idea of survival of the fittest and proposed that much human and animal behavior is instinctive. They
believed that an instinct is a genetically determined tendency to act in a particular manner in the presence
of certain stimuli. E.g. the instinct for flight may be triggered by stimuli such as a lion, a loud noise, a snake
etc. They believed that all organisms share basic instincts such as those to eat, drink avoid pain etc. Various
writers also included instincts such as gregariousness, attachment, aggressiveness etc. in instincts, though
these can be shown only in a social context.
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 12

Human behavior is thus claimed to be as instinctively determined as animal behaviour. It seems more
complex simply we because humans are affected by many more instincts than the lower animals. E.g. in a
tiger the sight of a fawn elicits only one instinct i.e. to kill and eat it. But in human beings, the sight of a
fawn may elicit other instincts as well, such as to protect the fawn, to acquire it as a property, to study it as
curiosity and so on. Such competing instincts influence one another and result in complex and often
unpredictable human behavior. Moreover, humans differ from animals in that they are often aware of their
instinctive behavior and its consequences. E.g. a man may move towards a fire on a cold night knowing that
he does so to get warm. This awareness, however, does not change the fact that his approach to the fire on
the cold night is still instinctive. James and McDougall also acknowledge that learning can modify instinctive
tendencies, especially learning associated with early occurrence of instinctive behavior. James described
this process as inhibition of instinct by habit.

Criticism of this theory: Today scientists still recognize that certain aspects of motivated behavior have
genetic roots but traditional instinct theory is criticized because:
 No one would identify the core instincts. Different authors gave different lists of instincts. By 1920s
authors had proposed the existence of 6000 instincts (Murray, 1964). In fact the belief in instincts was
so common that Weiner (1985) suggested humorously that there must be an instinct to believe in
instincts.
 The theory of instincts gives a circular explanation of behavior. E.g. we eat because of an instinct called
hunger and we have an instinct called hunger because we eat. Such circular explanations only describe
behavior. They do not explain, predict, or help in controlling it. Hence they are unscientific.

Ethologists (scientists who study animal behavior in natural environments) have revived the idea of instincts
as motivators. Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen (both Nobel Prize winners) proposed the ethological drive
theory of instincts. They believe that the drive levels as well as the presence of a releasing stimulus
determine instinct (innate behavior). Animals have innate specific patterns of behavior, which are linked to
particular releasing stimuli. Each behavior pattern has its own energy source or drive. When an animal
encounters an appropriate releasing stimulus it expends the pent up action specific energy (drive). Thus a
dog wags his tail when he sees his master, a baby cries when it hears a loud noise, etc. Such stimulus-
response relationships are instinctive because they do not vary among animals within a species. Ethologists
believe that such instinctive behavior is fuelled by specific drives (energy) because:
 If the animal has not engaged in the instinctive behavior for a long time, the behavior may occur in the
absence of any releasing stimulus e.g. as vacuum behavior.
 If the animal is prevented from engaging in one type of motivated behaviour, it often engages in
apparently unrelated and inappropriate behavior. E.g. if a hungry rat sees food but is afraid to approach
it, it may begin grooming itself. Ethologists believe that such displacement activity occurs because
drive spills over into a different motivated activity.
 When an animal engages in motivated behaviour repeatedly, it becomes more and more difficult to elicit
it by the releasing stimuli, possibly because of reduction in drive level.
 Drive is specific to particular motivated behavior because decreasing drive levels for one type of
behaviour does not decrease drive levels for other types of behavior. An animal that has just eaten has
less motivation to eat but not less motivation to engage in sexual behaviour.

Ethologists’ theory seems quiet capable of accounting for some characteristics of human behavior such as:
 The level of our motivation increases as time passes since we have last engaged in that behavior.
 Intense motivation often feels unpleasant and is associated with displacement activities.
 Motives seem to be action specific. A person who is really hungry cannot be satisfied by sexual activity.
 Particular stimuli powerfully effect human motivation levels. They may be thought of human releasing
stimuli.
 Instinctive behavior occurs in human beings as well. E.g. language learning is largely instinctive and
innate in human beings.
Yet, there are inconsistencies in the concepts and data of ethological theory. The theory is still developing.
Moreover it does not account for the tremendous effect of cognition on motivation.

4. Need theories: The physiological tradition in the area of motivation gave the idea of needs as
motives. Biologists described such needs for food, drink, air, and reproduction psychologists of the present
century. His theory of motivation is known as drive theory. Hull believed that drive is an action as drives
that required satisfaction. Early psychologists adopted this idea in the early to mid twentieth century.
Psychologists such as Woodworth, Hull, and Spence etc. elevated drive to be the central motivation
component in a mechanical analysis of behavior. Need arises from biological requirements of the organism;
when a certain need becomes strong, a drive is activated. Drive implies activation and arousal. It mobilizes
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 13
the organism to seek a goal that will satisfy its needs. A need is a physiological process, largely a function of
deprivation. Thus, a scientist can manipulate drive by creating deprivation, then measure changes in drive,
and then determine whether changes in drive level are accompanied by changes in motivated behavior.

Clark Hull, a professor at Yale University, was one of the most influeneneralized undifferentiated activating
force that can be channeled into a wide range of behaviour. Two things happen when deprivation produces
a state of need in the organism. The drive increases, and the organism detects the need state through
internal receptors. E.g. stomach contractions signal hunger. Drive only activates and energizes behavior but
the signals from the internal receptors serve as cues for particular responses, which had satisfied a need in
the past. These responses are thus occurring due to habit strength. In the terminology used by Hull,
Behavior Potential = Drive  Habit Strength. If the drive is zero, no behavior occurs. On the other hand, if
the habit strength is zero, the behavior potential is still zero. Later Hull (1952) revised his theory to include
incentives in motivation. Incentives are characteristics of the available goals. Other things being equal, the
motivation of a girl who receives Rs.10 as payment for a job is greater than a girl who gets only Re. 1 as
payment. Thus Hull redefined his equation as:
Behavior Potential = Drive  Habit Strength  Incentive

Needs were freed form physiology in the theories of Lewin, Murray, McClelland, Maslow and other
psychologists who focused on social needs as psychological necessities.

Need is Lewin’s concept for any motivated state which can be brought about by physiological conditions,
the desire for an environmental object, or an intention to achieve a goal. Every individual has a
characteristic need structure that is more or less stable. The needs of an individual may be real needs or
quasi needs. Real needs arise from conditions such as hunger, thirst, etc., which are important for biological
survival. Quasi-needs are purely psychic needs such as tensions arising from intentions, acts of will, and
other aspects of the individual. They may even arise because of external circumstances. However, this
distinction does not play a very important part in Lewin’s theory because of his insistence upon the principle
of contemporary action – which holds that it does not matter where a need comes from; the causes of an
action are present in the situation itself and must be analyzed taking all contemporary factors into account.
Tensions are emotional states that accompany a need. When the infant needs food, he is thrown into a
state of tension, which is reduced by food.
Lewin describes the hypothetical relationship between needs and tensions as follows – “Whenever
psychological need exists, a system in a state of tension exists within the individual. Tension is a state of
the system which tries to change itself in such a way that it becomes equal to the state of surrounding
system”.

Murray does not study where motivation originates. In his system motivation is met as if it came full-blown
into man’s existence. The definition of need given by Murray states: “A need is a construct which stands for
a force in the brain region which organizes…action so as to transform in a certain direction an existing
unsatisfied situation.” Murray holds there are about 20 needs in humans – abasement, achievement,
affiliation, aggression, autonomy, counteraction, dependence, deference, dominance, exhibition,
harmavoidance, infraviodance, nurturance, order, play, rejection, sentience, sex, succorance, and
understanding. Murray applied the term press to the external factors of man’s life. The term Press, used in
reference to an object or a person, means that attribute which either hinders or aids him. The person’s
subjective view and impression of the press makes it significant in further understanding the human
personality. Alpha press is the objective and real characteristic of the press. There is no distortion or
subjective interpretation. Beta press is the subjective personal interpretation the individual makes of the
objects that influence him. There may be a wide disparity between alpha and beta aspects of the same
press concept. Some examples of press are – absence of parent, poverty, unsettled home etc.

Using the term cathexis, Murray emphasizes the capacity of the press object to attract or repel the
individual. It may be described as the emotional charge which can attract or repel and which is within the
object itself. Contrary to this is the sentiment of the person toward the press object, the sentiment being
negative or positive, short or long term, but usually long term, and always conditioned by the capacity
within the person rather than within the object. The idea of thema refers to the totality of the sequence
from press to need. It refers to the general direction of progress of personality.

The basic motive is tension reduction. But organic homeostasis is but half the picture describing tension
reduction states. Homeostasis alone tends to a vegetable-like existence. Man is also possessed by a divine
discontent. Progress is a natural state of existence. The desires for better living, more material property,
and all of the motivations for going beyond the present state of being, are also of major importance. Man
has a need for positive thrust, for excitement, for movement, even though it may not evolve into forward
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 14
progress and success. Due to ideas such as these, Murray is considered one of the pioneer humanistic
psychologists.

Three of the twenty needs in Murray’s theory have the focus of research by work psychologists. McClelland
and his associates did extensive work with the need for achievement, need for power, and the need for
affiliation. He used an adapted form of TAT to assess these needs. The need for achievement is a concern
for excellence in comparison to a standard set by others or by oneself. Need for power reflects a desire to
control events and influence other people. Wanting reassurance and companionship marks the need for
affiliation, and it is shown by acts of conforming to the pressures of friends and being interested in their
feelings. These relatively stable aspects of personality affect our success in specific work. Examples of the
need trio abound. People with high needs for power and affiliation do well in religious ministerial work,
nursing, or organizing community service projects. Political dictators have high power and low affiliation
needs. Successful managers are high on power and achievement needs, but low on affiliation needs. The
need to achieve predicts levels of activity in a variety of business settings, academics, and domains of
creativity. McClelland and his associates found that achievement patterns could be developed in individual
entrepreneurs so that their business improved. Researches such as these may be used to guide people in
making career choices in which their needs will be satisfied. Further, McClelland has used the need trio to
predict the rise and fall of civilizations, the levels for entrepreneurship in a society, and the economic
advancement of nations. He has also extensively studied the antecedent conditions linked to the three
needs.

It was natural that concern with acquired motivation among the need theorists resulted in an emphasis on
needs that are peculiarly human such as competence, effectance, self-actualization etc. Currently therefore
need theories also include humanistic theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

5. Reinforcement theory: Most behaviorists explained behavior in terms of reinforcement. According to

Thorndike, learning (which was not distinct from performance or behavior) occurred due to the law of effect
i.e. a connection was strengthened when it was followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” and weakened
when followed by an “annoying state of affairs”. Thus reinforcement in the form of “satisfying state of
affairs” was essential for learning. Skinner also held that all behavior is determined by its consequences.
Positive reinforcement leads to recurrence of approach behaviour whereas negative reinforcement leads to
recurrence of avoidance behavior. Punishment leads to weakening or cessation of behavior. He also studied
the various schedules of reinforcement delineating the partial reinforcement effect which showed that
behavior is acquired and extinguished at a slower rate if reinforcement is not continuous. According to Hull,
drive reduction was reinforcing to the organism. A primary reinforcer is anything, which reduced drive. All
stimuli present during drive reduction acquired secondary reinforcing characteristics. Thus he brought
together drive and reinforcement theory. Reinforcement theory is one of the most widely accepted notions
in psychology today.

6. Incentive theory of motivation: Many motivational theorists argue that people’s behavior is often
motivated by the quality and desirability of stimuli, rather than by internal states. They hold that
motivational behavior depends strongly on the presence of powerful motivational stimuli or incentives such
as the smell of food, the sight of attractive sexual partners and so on. Incentive theorists recognize that
needs influence behavior but they place greater emphasis on incentive stimuli than on drives. Drive
theorists view behavior as being pushed by drives. An incentive theorist sees behaviour as being pulled by
incentives.

A powerful method to motivate behavior is to expose the organism to a small amount of incentive stimulus,
a technique called priming. It is shown when a person finds it difficult to resist things like popcorn or
peanuts after taking the initial few. Clearly the hunger drive is stronger before the first peanut is eaten but
one has more trouble resisting peanut no. 12 or 20 than peanut no. 1. This is known as the ‘peanut effect’.
Clearly, the organism need not be in the state of deprivation for priming to work. Priming is effective
because it ‘reminds’ the organism of the pleasant and unpleasant qualities or incentives.

Incentives effect people even if priming has not occurred. Previous learning often creates expectations
about goals. Motivated behavior is often due to expectations. Incentive theory has been modified greatly
as it has been realized that complex cognitive processes influence human motivation.

7. Arousal theory of Motivation: According to drive theorists, drive is always aversive. However, according
to arousal theorists, the pleasantness of drive or arousal depends on the type or amount of stimulation. If
the animal has had relatively little stimulation, stimuli that increase arousal level are rewarding. However, if
one has been exposed to a lot of stimulation, more stimulation is punishing. Thus organisms work for an
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 15
optimum level of arousal. Arousal theory of motivation is supported by research on sensory deprivation by
Hebb (1941). His subjects were paid 20 dollars a day to do nothing, see nothing, and hear or touch very
little for 24 hours a day. They suffered no pain and were fed on request. The remuneration was quiet high,
far more than the students could earn by any other means. Results showed that the subject was well
motivated for about 4-8 hours and thereafter became increasingly unhappy. He developed a need for
stimulation of any kind. Some listened again and again to a stock market report. Others to a talk on
alcohol meant for 6-year-old children. The whole situation was rather hard to take. One subject gave up the
experimental reward of 20 dollars a day doing nothing and instead joined a job requiring hard labor for 8
dollars a day.

Arousal theory explains why people ride roller coasters, read murder mysteries, and listen to loud music.
Even animals like monkeys work so that they can play with puzzles later on (Harlow, 1950), though they are
not rewarded for solving the puzzle. Arousal theorists have used the Yerkes – Dodson law to support the
assertion that there is an optimum level of arousal, required by each animal. Yerkes – Dodson (1908), an
experimental psychologist, noted that animals seem to perform best at moderate rather than high level of
motivation. Higher level of motivation leads to best performance on easy tasks whereas low level of
motivation leads to best performance on difficult tasks. In general, moderate level of arousal facilitates
performance. E.g. to write an essay, moderate arousal is best. One will not perform well either in a half
asleep state or in a highly anxious state.

8. Theories of balance, equilibrium or homeostasis : Motivation theorists used the term homeostasis in a
physiological sense as well as a psychological sense. The French physiologist Claude Bernard (1853-1878)
was the first to observe that animals must maintain a stable internal environment to survive. They must be
able to control their level of blood sugar to function properly. This is true of human beings as well in whom
homeostatic imbalance leads to a drive to return to a balanced state. Lewin used the concept of
psychological equilibrium as the motivator of human behavior. He held that all human beings try to
maintain a balance among the various areas of their life. Imbalance exists either due to needs within the
person or conflicts due to environment. Human beings behave in response to the various environmental
demands on their personality so that they can return to a state of psychological equilibrium.

9. Opponent process theory: This theory explains how the effect of powerful motivation changes over time.
Solomon holds that the central nervous system of mammals is organized such that it automatically opposes
strong emotional reactions. These opposing reactions get stronger with every repetition of strong emotion,
eventually, overwhelming the initial process. Solomon uses the term a – processes for the initial emotional
reaction to stimuli and b – processes for the opponent processes. This theory explains behavior such as sky
diving, roller coaster riding, drug addiction, etc. In such behaviors the later happiness and exhilaration
overwhelm the initial fear reactions. E.g. A student worries more about her psychology exam rather than
other exams. She gets 60% marks in psychology whereas she gets above 70% in other subjects, but she is
happy because her initial worry regarding psychology was more. In reverse, a student hopeful of topping
the class in psychology is more depressed on getting bad marks in psychology as compared to other
subjects were she never hoped for more in the first place.

10. Attribution theory of motivation: It emphasizes the cognitive factors in motivation. It holds that the
causes to which people attribute their behavior strongly determine their level of motivation and the type of
motivated behavior they engage in. E.g. A student is higher in motivation as long as she believes that her
effort will determine her marks i.e. she makes an internal attribution. However, if she believes that her
marks depend on luck or chance i.e. she makes an external attribution, she would not pay any attention to
her studies. According to Weiner (1986) making attributions leads to specific emotions, and emotions in turn
influence our behavior (Causal attribution  specific emotion  action). E.g. if a student fails, he feels bad.
Soon however, he asks why he failed. If he believes that lack of effort causes failure, he feels guilty and in
future increases his efforts. However, if he believes he lacks ability, he feels ashamed, and in future drops
out of the course. Thus the future course of behavior or action depends upon the initial attribution made by
the individual.

11. Humanistic theories: Humanistic psychologists such as Goldstein, Angyal, Rogers and Maslow give a
very different perspective of human motivation. They hold that all human beings possess an inherent drive
towards self-actualization. Self-actualization implies the realization of one’s own potential. Though the
humanistic theorists popularized the notion of self actualization, it is the psychoanalysts who must be
credited with the origin of the concept. Jung coined the term “self-actualization” by which he meant, “The
fullest most complete differentiation and harmonious blending of all aspects of man’s personality” (Hall and
Lindzey, 1957). He stressed the goals/aims of the individual and the potential for “individuation” through
transcendence of opposites. Adler emphasized the striving for perfection as basic to all human pursuits.
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 16
Regarded by Maslow as the pioneer humanistic theorist, Adler admitted the role of conscious processes in
personality and emphasized that – goals or expectations related to the future are quite important for
motivation. He believed in the uniqueness of self and that if sufficient feelings of personal worth can be
achieved early in life, then the individual’s natural social interest will be able to express itself satisfactorily
in his relations with others.

Goldstein, the pioneer humanistic psychologist, held that the only motive the organism possesses is self-
actualization. Drives such as hunger, sex, power, achievement, and curiosity are merely manifestations of
the sovereign purpose in life, to actualize oneself. Any need is a deficit state that motivates a person to
replenish that need. This fulfillment of a need is self-actualization or self-realization. It is the creative trend
in human nature, the organic principle by which the organism becomes more fully developed and more
complete. The individual’s potentialities can be determined by finding out what he prefers and what he does
best. Their preferences correspond to their potentialities. In general, Goldstein stresses conscious
motivation. To him the unconscious is the background to which conscious material recedes when it is no
longer useful for self-actualization in a particular situation; and from which it emerges when it again
becomes suitable for self-actualization. A normal, healthy organism is one, “in which the tendency towards
self-actualization is acting from within, and overcomes the disturbance arising from the clash with the world,
not out of anxiety but out of the joy of conquest”(Goldstein, 1939).

Angyal coined a new term biosphere to convey his conception of a holistic entity that includes both the
individual and the environment “not as interacting parts, not as constituents which have independent
existence, but as aspects of a single reality which can be separated only by abstraction”(Angyal, 1941).The
most important trend of the biosphere is self-expansion. It includes two phases – autonomy or self-
determination, and homonomy or self-surrender. The trend towards autonomy is expressed through the
desire for superiority, acquisition, exploration, achievement etc. The trend towards homonomy expresses
itself as the desire for love, interpersonal relations, esthetic experiences, love of nature, religious
sentiments etc. It motivates a person to submerge his individuality by forming a harmonious union with the
social group, nature, or a supernatural, omnipotent being. Both phases are necessary for the full
development of the individual.

Rogers (1951) has a deep abiding optimism regarding the basic goodness of man. He believes that
generally people are socialized, forward moving, rational, and realistic individuals. If left on their own and
not blocked by social concerns, a human being’s inherent tendencies for socialized self-realization prevail
and he becomes a fully functioning personality. The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to
actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism.

Similarly, Maslow (1954) states, “a painter must paint, a musician must make music…whatever a man can
do, he must do”. Self-actualization is not a deficit motive, which can be satisfied. It is a growth motive; the
more an individual tries to satisfy it, the more it grows. Thus, motivation due to self-actualization is never
ending. The individual consistently seeks new avenues to express his own self. Maslow (1954) has given a
hierarchy of needs:
 Physiological needs: At the base of the hierarchy are the physiological needs like hunger, thirst etc. They
are the most powerful ones and if unsatisfied can dominate the individual, as in the case of a starving
man. In our society such needs are seldom dominant because they are generally satisfied. However,
during the time of disaster they may dominate the conduct of human beings. E.g. hunger dominated the
behaviour of individuals who ate their fellow members when their plane crashed in the Andes
mountains.
 Safety needs: These are seen mainly in children. Among adults, various security measures such as the
need for saving, all sorts of insurance, etc. are also a search for safety. This need for security can be
seen in emergencies, war, disease, etc. The need for security is also seen in neurosis.
 Love and belongingness: These needs arise when physiological and safety needs are relatively satisfied.
They are often frustrated in our society and are a common basis for maladjustment and
psychopathology. Human beings who live in a society perhaps seek social support more than anything
else. Repeated studies have found that most human beings are at this level in Maslow’s hierarchy.
 Esteem needs: These are the next to appear in the hierarchy. They represent the need or desire for self-
respect, self-esteem, and the esteem of others. According to Maslow, there are really two sub-sets of
the needs in this category.
 First is the desire for strength, for achievement, for adequacy, for mastery and competence, for
confidence in the face of the world and for independence and freedom.
 Second is the desire for reputation or prestige, status, dominance, recognition, attention, importance, or
appreciation.
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 17
The second is the need for respect and esteem from other people, but the first is simply a need for self-
esteem. It is emphasized that both are required for the esteem needs to be satisfied.
 Cognitive and aesthetic needs: Next in the hierarchy are cognitive and aesthetic needs mentioned by
Maslow, but not stressed or explained.
 Self-actualization: Highest in the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization. This need is present in all
of us though it is evident in only a few. Self-actualization implies the realization of one’s own potential.

Maslow holds that a higher need operates only if the lower one is satisfied. Thus, the need for self-
actualization, which is present in every one, manifests itself only if all lower needs are satisfied. However,
Maslow provided a number of qualifications to the hierarchy of needs described above. For example, in
addition to the conative needs contained in the hierarchy, we also possess cognitive needs, (most notably
the desires to know and to understand) as well as a truly basic aesthetic need. It is not completely clear how
these ancillary needs fit into the hierarchy, but their similarity to the metaneeds suggests that they serve as
a component of or a precondition for self-actualization. In addition, there may be exceptions to the order of
the basic needs. The most common reversal occurs when self-esteem is more important to a person than
love. Maslow (1970) qualified his statement that a higher need emerges when the next lower need is
satisfied. In fact, one need does not have to be completely satisfied before the next need emerges: rather
Maslow proposed, “decreasing percentages of satisfaction as we go up the hierarchy of prepotency”. For
example, it is as if the average person dissatisfied about 85% in physiological needs, 70% in safety needs,
50% in love needs, 40% in self-esteem needs and 10% in self-actualization needs.

There are also, occasionally, “apparently innately creative people’ in whom the drive to creativeness
emerges not as part of self actualization, but in spite of the lack of gratification of basic needs. Alternatively,
the less prepotent needs may simply be lost in people who have experienced life at a very low level. People
may choose to risk deprivation of a lower need in the service of a higher need, as in a person who gives up
a job to preserve his self respect. Eventually, however, the more prepotent need will reassert. Finally,
Maslow (1970) introduced what he called “increased frustration-tolerance through early gratification. People
who have been satisfied in their basic needs throughout their lives, particularly in their earlier years, seem
to develop exceptional power to withstand present or future thwarting of these needs”.

Finally, Maslow offered a number of reasonable complications to his model. First, he did not commit to
needs being either completely conscious or unconscious. Although we typically are not aware of our basic
needs, we may become conscious of them with effort. Echoing Cattell, Maslow (1970) suggested that our
everyday conscious desires are “surface indicators of more basic needs” Second, Maslow recognized the
reality of cultural diversity, and he did not claim that his hierarchy was universal. He did suggest, however,
that the hierarchy is universal and more basic than the superficial conscious desires and behaviors to which
we usually attend. Third, Maslow agreed with Freud that most behavior is over determined or multi
motivated by all the basic needs. Drawing on his early research with animals, he offered eating and sexual
behavior as illustrations. Finally, some behavior is not motivated, but is determined by the external field or
is a reflection of the person’s style.

Maslow (1954) studied many famous personalities such as Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma
Gandhi. On the basis of his study he described several characteristics of self-actualized persons.
1. More efficient perception of reality.
Self actualization
2. Acceptance of self and of others.
3. Spontaneity.
4. Task oriented or problem oriented, rather then ego – centered. Cognitive-aesthetic needs
5. Detachment, need for privacy.
6. Autonomy – independence from the culture and environment. Esteem needs
7. Continued freshness of appreciation of life.
8. Peak experiences. Love and belongingness
9. Social interest – a feeling of identification with mankind.
10. Deep and profound interpersonal relationships with few individuals. Safety needs
11. Hostility, if shown, is reactive and not chronic.
12. Democratic character structure. Physiological needs
13. Discrimination between means and ends.
14. Sense of humor: They have a philosophical and non-hostile sense of humor creativity.
15. Resistance to enculturation: They get along in the culture but are also detached from it.

An appraisal of the theories: Each theory of motivation tells only a part of the story. Drive theories account
for effects of deprivation, yet they cannot account for motivated behaviour in the absence of physiological
need. Incentive theories tell us that goals effect behavior but do not explain fully how they exert their
BA I, Paper A, Section B, Unit IV 18
effects. In general, physiological explanations ignore cognitive factors whereas theories emphasizing
cognitive factors are too simplistic and fail to account for the wide variety of human behavior. Not
surprisingly, many investigators feel that the era of grand theory in motivation is over. They feel that
behavior is too complex, too varied, too extensive, ever to be explained by a single theory. Thus, the
interests of modern researchers since the 1950s have shifted. They are investigating particular types of
motivated behaviour such as hunger, achievement, power, sexual behaviour, etc. They have abandoned
the attempt to account for all motivated behaviors in terms of a general motivational model.