Motivation Sources

Motivation Sources

Motivation is the desire to be moved into action. To have motive is to look for positive incentives and avoid negative incentives. An incentive is the holder’s approach to anticipated reward or an adverse event from the environment. Motivation has many sources but most of these sources are from internal or external events or desires. Motivation has a relationship with behavior and can been in a person behavior. This paper takes a look at motivation and what it is; the paper also looks at the internal and external sources of motivation along with motivations relationship with behavior and ends with motivation in behavior.

Motivation

Motivation is an internal state or condition is a want, need, or desire. This internal state can cause a person to act or move toward a goal. Motivation similar to intelligence cannot be directly observed, but it can be inferred by noting behavior (SparkNotes, 2005). Motivation can be extrinsic, intrinsic, or both. Extrinsic motivation is done for external rewards such as a person who sings to be famous, or make money. Intrinsic motivation is for the sake of doing the activity such a person who sings for him or herself. An example of both could be a person who sings for religious reasons such as church, this person sings for his or her faith and the sake of singing, but also has the chance of becoming famous. Motivation is also a person springing into a form of action or thought; this action can be done through the pull of an incentive or the push of a motive. A common push is a biological need such as food, and a common pull is a incentive value such as obtaining a higher degree of education. Sources of motivation can be both internal and external.

Sources of Motivation

Internal Sources: Motivation can be from internal source such as biological attributes and psychological depositions (Deckers, 2010). Psychological variables are a need to belong, and as this need increases, associated feelings can increase along with consummatory behaviors. When a person has a strong need to fit into a social affiliation but his or her level is below the status level the need to belong will arise. Biological attributes that motivate behaviors are in the body and brain. One such attribute can be hunger; the need to eat can cause motivation to: search, prepare, and eat food. The biological and psychological attributes to behavior intertwine as the brain and mind. The mind is an emergence property of the brain. The minds mental process is the activity of neurons in the brain a concept of reductionism. The need to eat and the sensation of hunger come from the merger of brain and mind intertwining of the body and brain. Internal sources push toward the incentive which is the desired end. Internal motivations also have an external source.

External Sources: External sources that affect behavior are environmental. The environment can attract or repel with incentives and goals. These attractions can be positive or negative, positive external sources can attract a person toward the incentive although a negative will repel the person. The higher the level of attraction or the more repulsive the attraction will have a more motivation, than the smaller values (Deckers, 2010). Biological attributes to motivation can be hunger, physical needs, and thirst. While external stimulus to motivation can be exploration, curiosity, and sensory stimulation but also be social such as achievement, power, social experiences, and affiliation. Two sources of motivation explain the desires for obtain goals or needs but the relationship between behavior and motivation should have a closer look.

Relationship between motivation and behavior

Motivation and behavior have a push and pull relationship. A person will initiate and direct toward his or her goals this behavior varies with intensity and persistence. Emotions pull on behavior to show emotion. Emotions are functional reaction to an external stimulus. Behavior is emotion that involves physiological change that guides the thought processes. Another push and pull on behavior motivation is energy. To be motivated is to be moved, behave, think, and each of these needs energy. The release of energy from storage provides thought and behavior. Psychological energies and physical energy need power, behavior, and thought (Deckers, 2010). These behavior empowers are necessary for motivation in behaviors.

Motivation in behavior

Motivation varies in intensity and persistence it initiates and directs goals, these goals are found in behavior. Classical conditioning is a response associated with stimuli and direct behavior (SparkNotes, 2005). The approaches that focus on categories to identify people thoughts, disposition, emotions, and behavior are cognitive. The cognitive approach looks at attributes that can explain success or failure of oneself or others these attributes can be internal or external. A person with a motivation to succeed will take the steps and display the necessary behavior to reach his or her goal, but if a person who wants to succeed is interrupted in his or her quest will lose this motivation. This person can also lose the desired behavior to reach the intended goal.

Summary and Conclusion

In conclusion motivation is a desire to move into action from internal or external sources. Internal sources can be thirst, hunger, or physical needs. External sources of motivation are stimulation, curiosity, and exploration. Both internal and external sources of motivation can have social motives and behaviors to empower them. The relationship of behavior and motivation is a push and pull one. The motivation in behavior can from positive or negative outcomes.

Reference

Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

SparkNotes Editors. (2005). SparkNote on Motivation. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/motivation/

Arousal, Behavior, Stress, and Affect Worksheet

Using the text for this course, the University Library, the Internet, and/or other resources answer the following questions. Your response to each question should be at least 250 words in length.

1. What are the differences between physiological and psychological needs? Provide examples of each in your response.

Needs are a simple requirement for life and health. Needs are very simple and not often met. Physiological needs affect the body while psychological needs affect the mind. Psychological needs are air, water, food, shelter, sanitation, sleep and touch. Psychological needs are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Physiological needs are in the brain and body while psychological needs have no material existence and are mental in nature. Physiological need is maintenance of condition within the body and psychological need is when a person strays from this need and the pushes the body into action.

If a person is thirsty than the person would drink water, this thirst or need for water is physiological. If someone decides they are not going to drink water even though he or she is thirsty, than this physiological need becomes a psychological need. This is when the need becomes great and a person does whatever it takes to meet this need. Going without water can cause a person to die; the will to meet this need will make the person use their resources in order to find water.

An example of a psychological need is the desire to be in a relationship. If the person is unable to find a partner this psychological need is not met and the person can become chronically unsatisfied. If the need lies dormant until it is aroused. Such as the person may be able to stay busy where being single doesn’t bother them until they are in situation where they see others couples then the need will arise again. This need reappearing and wanting filled once more is redintegration.

2. What is the relationship between arousal and behavior? Does this relationship impact performance and affect?

Arousal is the energy that develops in preparation of or during behavior. Physiological arousal is the body changes during arousal. Brain arousal is the stages of sleep, awake, and alertness within the brain. How a person feels about an anticipated event such as a first date is psychological arousal. Arousal is energy produced by within the interaction of external and internal stimuli, and the energy from psychological and physiological needs.

This energy is brought about from drive it helps to satisfy intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, that physiological and psychological arousal manifest. Since arousal occurs during the preparation of or at the time of behavior it is safe to say that arousal and behavior have a relationship. Arousal and behavior impact performance based on the task being performed. Arousal can enhance performance, such as a little arousal before a speech can help the speaker deliver the speech better while too much will mess it up.

Arousal before a big game will make the person more alert and have better performance. Little arousal before trying to sleep will prevent the person from falling asleep. Arousal can help reaction time, but then the performance will level off and further performance will suffer. According to Yerkes-Dodson low arousal maximizes performances with difficult tasks. Hull’s theory says that arousal helps with the complexity of task. Arousal can increase focus and attention; it is arousal that energizes a person behavior having a direct effect on it. The relationship between arousal and behavior is a direct one as arousal impacts performance and how a person will behave with the different amounts of arousal.

3. Assess the long-term and short-term effects of stress on the body, brain, and behavior.

The way the body responds to and adjusts to change is stress. Changes can cause an emotional, mental or physical change from the body. Stress an internal or external affect on an individual and a fact of nature. Humans are designed to react to and experience stress. Stress can be positive or negative; it’s positive in keeping us from harm and negative when there is no relief from challenges. Stress as a negative can result in an overworked person with tension. This stress tension can cause internal problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, sleep deprivation, and upset stomach.

Stress can make a person partake in harmful activities such as smoking, drug use, and excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. Stress can cause weight gain and loss as a person eating habits will change with stress. Short-term stress can even cause lasting changes in a person brain. While the birth of a baby or a promotion can be a good change it is still stress, this stress can posttraumatic stress disorder, different forms of depression, and anxiety. Stress can become problematic when arousal is too high or too low becoming a negative feeling, maladaptive behavior, or disease. Learning to how to handle stress is very important to a person health. Stress can cause impotence in men, vaginal infections in woman, premature ejaculation in men, and menstrual disorders. One of the scariest effects of stress on the human body is death. Stress is one of the common causes for heart attacks, stroke, and hypertension.