MOTIVATION
When you come from school, you feel hungry and want to eat something. You want to eat because
there is a force which compels you to have food. Likewise if a question is asked why do you want to
join a college? The answer can be given in various ways like you want to learn or you need a degree
to get a good job. You may want to join college to have lot of friends. This basic question of the ‘why
of behaviour’ or factors which compel us to do certain activities makes us study the psychological
process called motivation. In this lesson you will study about the nature of motivation, types of
motives, intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation, conflict, and frustration. Understanding
motivation helps us to have insights into the dynamics of action. OBJECTIVES After studying this
lesson, you will be able to: • explain the meaning of motivation; • describe the types of motives; •
differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; • describe self efficacy, life goals and values
as motivators; and • describe conflict and frustration.
Motivation is one of the most frequently used words in psychology. It refers to the factors which
move or activate the organism. We infer the presence of motivation when we see that people work
toward certain goals. For example, we might observe that a student works hard at almost every task
that comes to him/her; from this we infer that the person has motive to achieve. All human
behaviour appears to arise in response to some form of internal (physiological) or external
(environmental) stimulation. The behaviours, however, are not random. They often involve some
purpose or goal. It is often held that behaviours take place as a result of the arousal of certain
motives. Thus motivation can be defined as the process of activating, maintaining and directing
behaviour towards a particular goal. The process is usually terminated once the desired goal is
attained by the person. The process of initiating action is technically called ‘motivation’. Directing
behaviour towards certain goal is the essence of motivation. Motivation is not always directly
observable. It is inferred and used to explain behaviour. When we ask “What motivates a person to
do a particular task?” We usually mean why does she behave as she does. In other words,
motivation, as popularly used, refers to the cause or why of behaviour. Interestingly, we are not
aware of all our motives. Behaviour can be governed by unconscious motives too. If our
understanding of motives is correct, we have a powerful tool for explaining behaviour. We explain
our everyday behaviour in terms of various motives. Motives also help us make predictions about
behaviour. We may tell what a person will do in future. Motives may not tell exactly what will
happen but they give us an idea about the range of activities a person will do. Thus a person with a
need to achieve in academics will work hard in school, an individual with a strong need to excel in
sports will put in a lot of hard work in that field; similarly in business and in many other situations.
There are certain terms which you will commonly come across when you learn this lesson on
motivation such as needs, goals, incentives etc. Let us understand some of these concepts. (a) Needs
and Motives A need is a condition of lack or deficit of something required by the organism.In order
to maintain homeostasis or balance the organism finds it necessary to satisfy the needs. The needs
are of different types. The need for food or water is a physiological need, which arises out of lack or
deficit of food or water in the organism. The needs for excretion and urination are also physiological
needs. They are due to the organism’s necessity to eliminate waste matter from the body. The need
for contact with other persons is a social need. The other social needs include need for prestige,
status, affection, self-esteem, and so on. A person becomes more aware of his needs when they are
not fulfilled. In other words, when you are hungry, you need food, and, when you are thirsty you
need water. In these cases you are in a state of deprivation and your bodily system suffers from
some kind of imbalance. The needs may be broadly categorised as, primary or physiological needs
and secondary or social needs. Needs for food, water, sex, sleep and rest, and elimination are
When you come from school, you feel hungry and want to eat something. You want to eat because
there is a force which compels you to have food. Likewise if a question is asked why do you want to
join a college? The answer can be given in various ways like you want to learn or you need a degree
to get a good job. You may want to join college to have lot of friends. This basic question of the ‘why
of behaviour’ or factors which compel us to do certain activities makes us study the psychological
process called motivation. In this lesson you will study about the nature of motivation, types of
motives, intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation, conflict, and frustration. Understanding
motivation helps us to have insights into the dynamics of action. OBJECTIVES After studying this
lesson, you will be able to: • explain the meaning of motivation; • describe the types of motives; •
differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; • describe self efficacy, life goals and values
as motivators; and • describe conflict and frustration.
Motivation is one of the most frequently used words in psychology. It refers to the factors which
move or activate the organism. We infer the presence of motivation when we see that people work
toward certain goals. For example, we might observe that a student works hard at almost every task
that comes to him/her; from this we infer that the person has motive to achieve. All human
behaviour appears to arise in response to some form of internal (physiological) or external
(environmental) stimulation. The behaviours, however, are not random. They often involve some
purpose or goal. It is often held that behaviours take place as a result of the arousal of certain
motives. Thus motivation can be defined as the process of activating, maintaining and directing
behaviour towards a particular goal. The process is usually terminated once the desired goal is
attained by the person. The process of initiating action is technically called ‘motivation’. Directing
behaviour towards certain goal is the essence of motivation. Motivation is not always directly
observable. It is inferred and used to explain behaviour. When we ask “What motivates a person to
do a particular task?” We usually mean why does she behave as she does. In other words,
motivation, as popularly used, refers to the cause or why of behaviour. Interestingly, we are not
aware of all our motives. Behaviour can be governed by unconscious motives too. If our
understanding of motives is correct, we have a powerful tool for explaining behaviour. We explain
our everyday behaviour in terms of various motives. Motives also help us make predictions about
behaviour. We may tell what a person will do in future. Motives may not tell exactly what will
happen but they give us an idea about the range of activities a person will do. Thus a person with a
need to achieve in academics will work hard in school, an individual with a strong need to excel in
sports will put in a lot of hard work in that field; similarly in business and in many other situations.
There are certain terms which you will commonly come across when you learn this lesson on
motivation such as needs, goals, incentives etc. Let us understand some of these concepts. (a) Needs
and Motives A need is a condition of lack or deficit of something required by the organism.In order
to maintain homeostasis or balance the organism finds it necessary to satisfy the needs. The needs
are of different types. The need for food or water is a physiological need, which arises out of lack or
deficit of food or water in the organism. The needs for excretion and urination are also physiological
needs. They are due to the organism’s necessity to eliminate waste matter from the body. The need
for contact with other persons is a social need. The other social needs include need for prestige,
status, affection, self-esteem, and so on. A person becomes more aware of his needs when they are
not fulfilled. In other words, when you are hungry, you need food, and, when you are thirsty you
need water. In these cases you are in a state of deprivation and your bodily system suffers from
some kind of imbalance. The needs may be broadly categorised as, primary or physiological needs
and secondary or social needs. Needs for food, water, sex, sleep and rest, and elimination are
