"Motivation is a specific internal factor or condition that is inclined to initiate or sustain a behaviour." -J.P. Guilford
"Motivation is a transformation in the internal strength of a person, which is identified by the zeal or arousal and goal oriented premeditated behaviour." -McDonald
"Term (Motivation) express the tendency of arousal or a reaction to produce one or more than one effect." -Atkinson
"Motivation is a problem of determining the force which impel or incite all living organisms to action." -Boring and Filed
"Motive is a status or set of an individual which disposes him for certain behvaiour and for seeking certain goals." -WoodWorth
CHARACTERISTIC OF MOTIVATION:-
1. Motivation behaviour is goal oriented.
2. Motivated behaviour is sustained behaviour.
3. Motivated behaviour is more forceful.
4. Motivated behaviour is selective.
5. Motivated behaviour is contagious. It spreads energy and consciousness.
6. Motivated behaviour can be positive or negative.
7. Wants, desires, ambitions, urges and need are synonyms of motivation and are interrelated.
TYPES OF MOTIVES:-
Motives can be divided into two catagories. First catagory includes biological motives like hunger, thirst, sleep and sex etc. second catagory includes learned or acquired motives, which are related to individual or social needs. Motives can be expressed as needs, motives, inclinations, attitudes etc. Given below in the description of some of the motives.
Primary / Physiological / Biological Motives:-
1. Hunger:- Person needs food after working or losing physical energy. Hunger is affected by the environment, physical condition, smell of food, look like and dislike of person, activity of liver and hunger center, and mental condition etc. Hunger is very strong motive and can drive a person to do anything.
2. Thirst:- Water is the basis of life. Factors influencing thirst include: Thirst center, quality of water, bodily need, fluid balance and drying of throat and mouth etc. This motive also leads to the satisfaction of biological needs as hunger.
3. Sex:- According to Freud, Sex is the most important of human motives. Sex behaviour is affected by the cultural, environmental and social factors. This is why all people, whether men or women have varying intensity of sexual needs. sexual drive also depends upon the flow of hormones. Beauty of women or feminity, or the masculinity or strength of man fuels the drive for sex. Suppression of sexual drive may be comouflaged by sexual disorder. This motive has a deep influence on the personality and progress of man, and structure of the society.
4. Sleep:- The sleep is essential to remove fatigue and to achieve physical and mental relaxation. Sleep may be deep or light. Sleep is a natural reaction to lack of stimuli. Insomnia or less sleep may be due to mental imbalance or maladjustment of the person. Interests, ethusiasm and activities of the person are influenced by the need of sleep. Effect of effect of sleep is more during at night.
Personal Motives:-
1. Life goal:- Everyone in this world has one or other goal. Coming in contact with other people helps setting one's goals. Life goals are the psychological motives, which play an important conducting one's activities, motivating one to work hard and building the personality.
2. Level of aspiration:- This is also related to goal of life. Every individual harbours many aspiration and these may vary with individual. Aspiration od a person may be reflected in his behaviour.
3. Interests and Attitude:- A person focuses his attention according to his interest. A person may have and varying interests. The Interests have a major influence on the motives of human behaviour. If the task is of his interest, a person completes it with more desire and ease. Similarly, favourable aptitude encourage a person, while he tries to escape from unfavourable aptitudes.
4. Habits:- Habit may be good or bad. The person may develop addictions by becoming slave to habits. It becomes difficult to get rid of bad habits. Thus habits function like an effective motive.
General Motives:-
1. Laughter and humour:- Laughter and humor communicate energy by generating happiness. Laughing is a special tendency or man and it is universal in nature. It reduces tension. There is a common saying that if one laugh ten times in a day, he does not have to visit a doctor. Setting up of "Laughter clubs" indicate the importance of this motive.
2. Curiosity:- Everyone wants to know about new object and conditions. "Curiosity motive is the father of invention." There is no specific biological basis of this movie. It is more dependent on the interest of the person.
3. Urge to escape:- Owing to the risk taken, one may suffer physical harm or bear mental strain. Therefore, to escape from the place at the time of possible harm or lose, is the natural tendency of human beings. Person learns about the signs or alarms of forthcoming dangers through experience or company. Escaping nature of people may vary from individual to individual.
Economic Motives:-
Prize, salary, increment, promotion, bonus and other monetary benefits are included in economic motives. In this materialistic era, these motives influence the behaviour of individual to large extent.
Psychological Motives:-
1. Master motives:- Man tries to dominate others in every field. He uses his education, age, strength, position, experience, intellect etc to dominate others.
2. Praise and blame:- Man by nature has a hunger for praise, and dislikes the blame or cirticism. Praise as a motive has more positive effect than the blame.
3. Self Submission:- This motive is acquired attitude, because man has acquired the tendency of self submission from the family or society, only. This motive contradicts self glory. Different persons may have different degrees of self submission. Few lock it.
4. Gregariousness:- This motive works in the root of benefits one gets from the group or society. Also some people hate the society, so gregariousness cannot be considered universal universal despite being a social motive.
5. Limitation and Sympathy:- Man learns from limitation, but the ability to imitate varies from person to person. Similarly, sympathy is also an acquired motive and every day person can have more or less sympathy for others.
The Maslow's Theory
Maslow (1954) developed this theory. This theory gives more importance to self actualization. Self actualization is the top most need in the need hierarchy of Maslow. It is believed that every individual is born with certain potential and capabilities and the highest need is the realization of these potentials. Once these are realized then actualization of these needs is the highest goal in life of an individual.
But the achievement of this goal is not easy. Before realization of this need, certain others needs lower in order must be fulfilled. Maslow has given five types of need which are arranged in a hierarchy or in an order as shown.
These needs are also categorized as D and B needs. D needs are deficiency needs which are realized only on developing or existing same deficiency in body or in life. Physiological needs, safety and security needs. Individual feel the pressure to satisfy these needs to release the stress. Whereas B needs are growth needs which individual wants to increase. An individual is not satisfied with less popularity, fame and respect but desires to have more and more until reach the need of self actualization.
As show in need hierarchy, these needs must be fulfilled in the same order. As long as the lower need is not fulfilled, upper need in hierarchy cannot be realized. The lowest in order are physiological needs. Every person is born with these physiological needs like hunger and thirst. For survival, it is essential to satisfy these needs. Satisfaction of these needs leads to realization of second need in order i.e. safety and security. Individual wants to feel safe and secure in the type of environmental conditions, in which he is living. Surety and guarantee is desired for the satisfaction of physiological needs even for future under safety and security. When the person feels safe and secure, then relationship with others are needed.
Individual wants to relate with other. No one wants to live alone isolate. Individual wants to live in family and also wants good and cordial relation with others. There after, the fourth needs to self esteem is experienced and individual wants to earn respect, fame and prestige in society. To satisfy it, he learns specific skills of expertise in a particular field. Success obtained as a result earns respect and prestige in society. Satisfaction of the fourth needs helps leads the person to realization of inborn potential within the individuals. The Individual now wants to bring these potential out in reality to prove him best.
For example:- Successful businessman, political leaders, players, scientist and many others. Self actualization is further sub-divided into two needs.
1. Cognitive:- It is the need to know, to understand and to explore the truth. Various scientists and discovers fall under this need like Newton, Einstein, Freud, Columbus, Darwin and many others. The needs they realized to search the truth is related to the world around them and the things happening in it.
2. Aesthetic needs:- It is the need of growth and praise of beauty. Various poets, singers, dramatists, novelists, painters have realized this need.
Maslow conducted a study on self-actualized people, who were the established successful persons of society in different arches of life and found that their all lower four needs were satisfied before achieving the highest glory of life. One more interesting finding was that most of these were only sons. Being only sons all favourable conditions were available to them for the satisfaction of lower four needs
Limitations:-
1. This theory gives significance to five types of need only and ignored various other needs, e.g. needs of aggression, needs of power etc.
2. It is said that for the realization of higher order needs, it is essential that lower order needs should be satisfied. However, in real life such cases can cited where lower order needs are skipped.
3. Such cases can be cited, where all the needs are not completely satisfied. Even some people experience partial satisfaction of five need given by Maslow.
