Motivation

Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

Example
The need to communicate in English can be a good motivation for learning English pronunciation. Her teacher told her that she had made much progress, and this increased her motivation to keep on learning. Some people do not have motivation to change the way they live.

What is the difference between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Intrinsic motivation

Refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Intrinsic motivation has been studied by social and educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as work

to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

Attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy,

Believe they have the skill that will allow them to be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck),

Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.

Extrinsic motivation
Refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain an outcome, which then contradicts intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, coercion and threat of punishment. Competition is in general extrinsic because it encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity. A crowd cheering on the individual and trophies are also extrinsic incentives.

Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to over justification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation. In one study demonstrating this effect, children who expected to be (and were) rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pictures spent less time playing with the drawing materials in subsequent observations than children who were assigned to an unexpected reward condition For those children who received no extrinsic reward, Self-detrrmination

theory proposes that extrinsic motivation can be internalised by the individual if the task fits with their values and beliefs and therefore helps to fulfill their basic psychological needs.

Maslow's Hierarchy
In 1943 Abraham Maslow, one of the founding fathers of humanist approaches to management, wrote an influential paper that set out five fundamental human needs and their hierarchical nature. They are quoted and taught so widely now that many people perceive this model as the definitive set of needs and do not look further. The hierarchical effect A key aspect of the model is the hierarchical nature of the needs. The lower the needs in the hierarchy, the more fundamental they are and the more a person will tend to abandon the higher needs in order to pay attention to sufficiently meeting the lower needs. For example, when we are ill, we care little for what others think about us: all we want is to get better. Needs in the diagram below for more detail, or read below for a quick summary of each.

Note that in practice this hierarchy is only approximate and you do not have to have your physiologically needs fully satisfied before going on to seeking higher needs. In their global survey, for example, Tay and Diener (2011) found that people can be living in hazardous poverty and yet still derive much satisfaction from having social needs (belonging and esteem) fulfilled.

The five needs Physiological needs are to do with the maintenance of the human body.
If we are unwell, then little else matters until we recover.

Safety needs are about putting a roof over our heads and keeping us

from harm. If we are rich, strong and powerful, or have good friends, we can make ourselves safe.

Belonging needs introduce our tribal nature. If we are helpful and kind

to others they will want us as friends.

Esteem needs are for a higher position within a group. If people respect

us, we have greater power.

Self-actualization needs are to 'become what we are capable of

becoming', which would our greatest achievement.

Three more needs

These are the needs that are most commonly discussed and used. In fact Maslow later added three more needs by splitting two of the above five needs. Between esteem and self-actualization needs was added:

Need to know and understand, which explains the cognitive need of the

academic.

The need for aesthetic beauty, which is the emotional need of the artist.

Self-actualization was divided into:

Self-actualization, which is realizing one's own potential, as above. Transcendence, which is helping others to achieve their potential.

Equity Theory
The equity theory attempts to explain relational satisfaction with regards with the distribution of resources. It was developed by John Stacey Adams in 1963. It means that individuals who are under paid or over paid may experience distress that will lead to relationship disorders with other people. Therefore in order to create equilibrium, we need to have to achieve balance or equality with things, such as in live we need love, care and security in order for us to be considered as complete individuals.

The theory presents factors that affect each persons perception of their relationship with others. For example in work or job, if a person is under paid, they tend to be angry and might lead to violent reaction or conflict with the workers relationship with the employer. Because the salary may be one of the key factors or reason why people work, therefore if that specific key is not induced then it might cause aggravation in behalf of the worker. Another bitter fruit of this it may lead to the poor work habit or performance of the worker or worst, resignation. In the other hand, if the worker is satisfied with the pay or rewarded for something extra that he/she has done, then it may lead to satisfaction or the motivated desire to work. Another definition for equity is it is the ratio between the outcomes and the equivalent to those around him. A good example of this is a tenure employee and a newbie. More likely, the employer will give a greater compensation to the tenured employee based from the work experience and the input to the job. While the newbie may have the basic salary and benefits and may increase when he performs at his best and gets more input to the company. It follows a basic pattern that the individuals outcomes are directly proportional to his outcomes. So if you want to get more positive outcomes from work, it is easy! Just add more input to the company. Some of the inputs discussed in this theory are: time, loyalty, hard work, flexibility, tolerance, determination, personal sacrifices and etc. while the outputs are: job security, responsibilities, praise, stimuli and a simple thank you is considered as an output as well.

The equity theory has 4 theories namely: 1) individuals always seek to maximize the outcomes. Just like any worker, they want to maximize the things that they can get from

their job like salary, benefits and additional bonuses or incentives. 2) Groups can maximize their outcomes if they work as a team, as in any workforce, teamwork plays a major part of the game. So when the team is motivated to be successful the outcomes will be sweet as well. 3) When each person sees themselves in a relationship that will never benefit them, they end up distresses. It is always true that an individual never joins something because of nothing, therefore setting the objectives is crucial in order to keep the individual motivated and in shape. 4) lastly, people who sees that they are in a relationship that will never benefit them; they end up finding something to restore equity.

As human beings we always find a way to keep everything in balance, maybe it is in our nature and a God given trait.So this theory definitely means make everything balance in order for us to be our best.

Expectancy Theory of Motivation Definition:

Instrumentality may be defined as the personal belief that first-level outcomes lead to second level outcomes. This could include coming to work late and leaving or accepting a position. Expectancy may be defined as the subjective belief that a given effort will lead to a first-level outcome on the job. Expectancies are judgments about the relationships between given levels of effort and various first level outcomes. According to Vroom, individuals will ask 3 questions before deciding how to act: 1. If I attempt this behaviour, how likely is it that I will succeed? (Expectancy) 2. 3. If I am successful, will the outcome be desirable? (Instrumentality) and How much do I value the outcomes? (Valence)

Theory X and Theory Y Definition

Two distinct sets of assumptions that managers, in general, have about their employees and which often turn out to be self-fulfilling prophesies. Theory-X assumptions are: Most people dislike work and will avoid it to the extent possible, therefore They must be continually coerced, controlled, and threatened with punishment to get the work done, and that They have little or no ambition, prefer to avoid responsibility, and choose security above everything else. Theory-Y assumptions are: Physical and mental effort are natural and most people (depending on the work environment) find work to be a source of satisfaction.

They

generally,

on

their

own motivation, exercise self-control,

self-

direction, creativity, and ingenuity in pursuit of individual and collective (company) goals, They either seek responsibility or learn to accept it willingly, and that Their full potential is not tapped in most organizations.