Theories of Motivation

Motivation and Emotion

Theories of Motivation

We will learn and understand what motivates behavior.

In the 1900s, psychologist William McDougall proposed that humans were motivated by a variety of instincts. Instincts are natural or inherited tendencies of an organism to make a specific response to certain environmental stimuli without involving reason. Instincts occur in almost the same way among all members of a species.

Instinct & Behavior

Multiple Choice

Dr. Petra is a psychologist who explains motivation in terms of underlying physiological states. To which theory does Dr. Petra subscribe?

• social learning theory

• actualization theory

• drive-reduction theory

• instinct theory

You may go out to dinner with your friends because you need to satisfy your hunger, which is an extrinsic motivation. You also may go out to dinner with your friends because you enjoy the taste of the restaurant’s food and you wish to socialize with your friends, both of these things being intrinsic motivations.

Motivation

Multiple Choice

The _______ theory of motivation stresses the role of the environment in motivating behavior.

• incentive

• instinct

• drive-reduction

• overjustification