What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior

Instinct Motivation Theory

According to instinct theory, motivation is developed through evolutionary programming. It's similar to how animals know to migrate. They don't learn how to do this; instead, it's an inborn or instinctual behavior.

In the late 1800s, William James, the father of American psychology, identified a list of survival instincts. Among them were fear, anger, love, shame, and modesty.

The main problem with the instinct motivation theory is that it doesn't explain all human behavior. James presumed that we act on impulse or instinct, but this ideology leaves out behaviors that are learned or conditioned.

By the 1920s, instinct theories were pushed aside in favor of other motivation theories. That said, contemporary evolutionary psychologists still study the influence of genetics and heredity on human behavior.

Drive Motivation Theory

Drive theory proposes that motivation is derived from a person's desire to reduce the internal tension that occurs when certain needs go unmet. It's based on the concept of homeostasis or the idea that the body actively works to maintain a certain state of balance or equilibrium.

Drive theory helps explain behaviors that originate from biological or physiological needs, like hunger or thirst. However, our behaviors aren't always motivated by unmet needs.

As an example, you may find yourself eating a meal or snack when you aren't physically hungry. This theory doesn't explain these types of actions.

Arousal Motivation Theory

The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people take certain actions to maintain an optimal level of physiological arousal or alertness. Additionally, optimal arousal levels can vary from one person to another, also changing depending on the situation.

Based on this theory, if our arousal level gets too low, we are motivated to engage in activities that make us feel more energized, like exercising or going to a nightclub or sporting event. Conversely, if our physiological arousal is too high, we are motivated to pursue activities that relax the body and mind, such as meditation or taking a nap.

One weakness of arousal theory is that it doesn't explain why we engage in behaviors for reasons outside of physiological alertness—such as deciding to read when you aren't overly aroused. It also doesn't account for the role that emotions can play in motivating us to do certain things.

Humanistic Motivation Theory

Humanistic theories state that people are motivated to perform actions by the desire to meet certain needs. These needs are represented in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Maslow's hierarchy suggests that people are first motivated to fulfill basic physiological needs, such as air, water, and food. Once those needs are satisfied, they are motivated to meet safety, love, and esteem needs before moving on to the need for self-actualization.

Humanistic psychology is interested in learning about what makes people happy and the things that they do to achieve that aim rather than focusing on problematic behaviors. It is often criticized as being "unscientific and naively overoptimistic."

Incentive Motivation Theory

Incentive theory suggests that people are motivated by external rewards. For example, you might be motivated to go to work each day for the monetary reward of a paycheck. It adds that the greater the perceived rewards, the more strongly people are motivated to pursue those reinforcements.

This theory shares some similarities with the behaviorist concept of operant conditioning. In operant conditioning, behaviors are learned by forming associations with outcomes. Reinforcement strengthens a behavior while punishment weakens it.

Incentives can arise from outside (extrinsic) or inside (intrinsic) an individual. Intrinsic motivation is when you engage in a behavior because you find it rewarding for your own sake, rather than from the desire for an external reward.

Expectancy Motivation Theory

The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that when we think about the future, we formulate expectations about what we think will happen. When a positive outcome is predicted, we believe that we can make that possible future a reality. This leads us to feel more motivated to pursue those likely outcomes.

This theory is sometimes referred to as the valence-instrumentality-expectancy model of motivation as it proposes that motivation consists of these three key elements:

• Valence: the value people place on the potential outcome
• Instrumentality: whether people believe they have a role to play in the predicted outcome
• Expectancy: the belief that one has the capabilities to produce the outcome

A weakness of expectancy theory is that it doesn't account for the impact of one's social environment. For example, research has found that, in the workplace, groups of individuals can influence the motivation level of a single worker.