Creating Value

Motivation

Psychologists from all branches of the discipline study the topic of motivation, an inner state that moves an organism toward the fulfillment of some goal. Motivat

ion is an internal process that actively guide and maintains behavior. It helps to explain cause of behavior. People engage in various activities even if they are not rewarded. Motives are the center of our lives which direct what we think, feel and act. The word motivation comes from Latin word “movere” which means “to move”. Motivation emphasizes on internal and external forces that leads us to move. It is synonymously used with word desire, wants, whishes, aims, goals, need etc. Motivation being hypothetical construct, like other cognitive processes cannot be seen or touched but can be referred form observed behaviors.

Davis and Palladino (2004):-“psychology and psychological factors that accounts for the arousal (energizing), direction, and persistence of behavior.”

Pinder (1984):-“motivation refers to the force within a person that affects his or her direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behavior.”

The motivational cycle

Desire for something is followed by the action to get the desired thing which leads to attainment the thing or same type of thing. If the need moving in cycle is not fully satisfied, it moves again to find its end. And if it is achieved then new need crops and follows the same pattern. This circular movement is known as motivation cycle. The individual always tries to satisfy his wishes or desires following in a cycle around need, drive, incentive and reward.

1. Need: the physical or psychological deprivation in the body creates the needs. It is the lack of what we want. When the stimuli remains constant we don’t feel need. The tendency to restore a balanced condition in the body is known as Homeostasis. It is characterized by physiological functioning. The aroused condition motivates the organism to imitate behavior to remedy the need. For example, the person who is hungry needs food. Similarly, a person may desire for power. This shows motivational need has two categories: physiological (primary) or psychological (secondary). Physiological needs are basic necessities without which organism cant live, for example need for food, rest, oxygen, water etc. psychological need are related to the individual happiness and wellbeing. For example, love, power, prestige, recognition, status etc.

2. Drive: an internal motivational state that is created by a need is a drive. For example, a hungry person seeks for food to satisfy his or her need. Drives are the action oriented component or the motion to fulfill the desire of the motivated behavior. Search for food by a hungry person can be translated into hunger drive. Drive can activate more than one response. Drive is the internal tension state that builds up until they are satisfied.

3. Incentive: the third concept that moves around the motivational cycle is incentive. Incentive is the appropriate object or situation toward which motivated behavior is directed. Incentive eases a need and reduces a drive. It can provide satisfaction for the aroused drive. For example, food is the incentive for the hungry person. It can be anything we have learned to value like money, status, and the approval of the others. Incentives control much of human behavior. An organism will approach positive incentive, and avoid negative incentives. For example cooked food is the positive incentive for the hungry person and chocolate is negative incentive as it will not satisfy the hunger of the person. Incentive either directs behavior towards or away forms them.

4. Reward: once the organism has obtained the incentive it drives pleasantness or satisfaction, which is the reward. Reward restores the homeostatic condition. It brings readjustment. It the reward is achieved, the individual feels inspired, and his or her performance will improve. For example, food is reward for hungry person who feels relieved and satisfied with it. Chocolates may not be his reward as it will not satisfy his hunger. If a person is fully satisfied the homeostasis sate is achieved for that particular need.

We know that person has unlimited wants, needs or desire. As soon as one need is satisfied another crops up. The person starts to work (or get motivated) to fulfill that want this leads to start of new motivation cycle. Thus this cycle never stops it goes on and on. If the need moving in a cycle is not fully satisfied, it moves again to find its need. As a result every individual is dominated by the motivation.