Motivation: from drives to self-actualization

Transcript

RyanMarcus played guitar every night for ten years, just for the joy of it. Then a restaurant offered him a paid gig, four nights a week. He was thrilled. Six months later, on his nights off, the guitar stays in its case.

SoheeHe still loves music. But something about the paycheck changed why he plays.

RyanWelcome to EPPP Prep, the podcast. I'm Ryan.

SoheeI'm Sohee. Today, motivation. Why we do what we do, and the theories that try to explain it, from biological drives all the way up to Maslow's pyramid.

RyanThe OpenStax psychology textbook defines motivation as the wants or needs that direct behavior toward a goal. Besides biological motives, motivation can be intrinsic, arising from internal factors, or extrinsic, arising from external ones.

SoheeIntrinsically motivated behaviors are done for the personal satisfaction they bring. Extrinsically motivated behaviors are done to receive something from others.

RyanAnd in reality our motivations are usually a mix. But the mix can shift in ways that seem counterintuitive. Which is Marcus.

SoheeSome research suggests that getting paid for something we enjoy can turn it into work that no longer brings the same enjoyment. The textbook's example is Odessa, who loved baking in her free time, until she took a job in the store's bakery. After a few months, she rarely baked for fun.

RyanThat's the overjustification effect: intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation is given. It can even extinguish the intrinsic motivation and create dependence on extrinsic rewards.

SoheeBut it's not universal, and the details matter. Other studies suggest verbal praise might actually increase intrinsic motivation.

RyanSo two conditions matter. First, the kind of reward. Tangible rewards, like money, tend to have more negative effects on intrinsic motivation than intangible ones, like praise.

SoheeSecond, expectation. If the person expects the extrinsic reward, intrinsic motivation tends to drop. If the reward comes as a surprise, intrinsic motivation tends to persist.

RyanPause and think. A ten-year-old already loves reading. Her parents announce she'll earn five dollars for every book she finishes. What does the overjustification research predict, and what would protect her love of reading?

SoheeAn expected, tangible reward for something she already enjoys is the riskiest combination. It may reduce her intrinsic motivation. Praise, or an occasional surprise, is less likely to undermine it.

RyanThe textbook also describes what supports intrinsic motivation to learn. Students feel more of it when they have a sense of belonging and respect in the classroom, when evaluation is de-emphasized, and when they feel some control over the learning environment.

SoheePlus activities that are challenging yet doable, and a rationale for doing them. The textbook contrasts two law classes. In one, the professor puts students on the spot and posts test results on the door. In the other, students debate respectfully in small groups and design their own projects. Research suggests more intrinsic motivation in the second.

RyanNow the theories, roughly in historical order. William James, often called the father of psychology in the United States, proposed that behavior was driven by a number of instincts that aid survival.

SoheeFrom a biological perspective, an instinct is a species-specific pattern of behavior that's not learned. But instinct theory drew a fair amount of criticism, because learning clearly shapes so much human behavior.

RyanNext, drive theory, built on homeostasis, the tendency to keep a biological system in balance. Deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs. Those needs produce psychological drive states that direct behavior to meet the need and bring the system back to balance.

SoheeThe textbook's example: your blood sugar drops, which creates a need and a drive, hunger, which sends you looking for food. Eat, and the drive goes away.

RyanAnd drive theory gives habits a role. Once a behavior successfully reduces a drive, we're more likely to use it again the next time we face that drive.

SoheeBut drive reduction alone has a puzzle. Why would anyone seek out excitement? Extensions of drive theory add arousal. There's an optimal level of arousal we try to maintain. Underaroused, we get bored and seek stimulation. Overaroused, we act to reduce it.

RyanThink of students at the end of spring semester, overwhelmed and craving rest. A few weeks into summer, many are bored, and by fall they're often happy to go back.

SoheeSo what's the optimal level for performance? Research shows moderate arousal is generally best. When arousal is very high or very low, performance tends to suffer.

RyanBut Robert Yerkes and John Dodson found the optimum depends on the task. The Yerkes-Dodson law holds that a simple task is performed best when arousal is relatively high, and a complex task is performed best when arousal is lower.

SoheeThat direction is exactly where people slip. High arousal helps simple tasks. Lower arousal helps complex ones.

RyanPause and think, and this one is personal. A licensing exam with long, complex scenarios. Per Yerkes-Dodson, what arousal level helps most?

SoheeA complex task is best performed at lower arousal. Very low arousal hurts too, but extreme anxiety can be paralyzing. So on test day, some energy is good, and calm is your friend.

RyanNow a more cognitive motive. Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their own capability to complete a task. Albert Bandura theorized that self-efficacy plays a pivotal role in motivating behavior.

SoheeBandura argues motivation comes from our expectations about the consequences of our behavior. If you sincerely believe you can achieve at the highest level, you're more likely to take on challenges and not let setbacks stop you.

RyanThen social motives. Theorists such as McClelland and Murray describe needs for achievement, affiliation and intimacy. The need for achievement drives accomplishment and performance. Affiliation encourages positive interactions with others. Intimacy makes us seek deep, meaningful relationships.

SoheeAnd Henry Murray grouped needs into domains. Achievement and recognition fall under ambition. Dominance and aggression fall under human power.

RyanFinally, the most famous one. Abraham Maslow, in 1943, proposed a hierarchy of needs, usually drawn as a pyramid, spanning biological, individual and social motives.

SoheeFrom the bottom: physiological needs necessary for survival. Then security and safety. Then love and belonging. Then esteem, self-worth and confidence. And at the top, self-actualization, achieving one's full potential.

RyanThe key rule: lower-level needs must be satisfied before higher ones. Someone struggling to find enough food is unlikely to spend much energy on whether others see them as a good person.

SoheeMaslow suggested self-actualization is an ongoing, lifelong process, and that only a small percentage of people achieve it. And the theory has been criticized for its subjective nature and its inability to account for some real-world phenomena.

RyanLater in life, Maslow also proposed a level above self-actualization, self-transcendence: striving for meaning and purpose beyond oneself. The textbook's example is Gandhi's hunger strikes. People sometimes put themselves in danger for motives beyond their own needs.

SoheeA quick word on hunger, the classic biological motive. When blood glucose drops, the pancreas and liver send signals that induce hunger. As glucose rises, they signal to shut it off. And fat cells release leptin, a satiety hormone.

RyanThose hunger and satiety signals are integrated in the brain, especially in areas of the hypothalamus and hindbrain.

SoheeAnd set-point theory says each person has a genetically predetermined ideal weight that resists change. But some of its predictions lack empirical support, and it doesn't account for social and environmental factors.

RyanSo how might the exam test motivation? Matching the theory to the scenario. A behavior that restores balance? Drive theory. Seeking stimulation when bored? Arousal theory. Losing interest after being paid? Overjustification. Needs met in order? Maslow.

SoheeLet's recap. Intrinsic motivation comes from inside, extrinsic from outside. Expected, tangible rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation. Praise and surprises are less likely to.

RyanJames proposed instincts. Drive theory says imbalance creates needs and drives that restore homeostasis. Arousal theory says we seek an optimal level.

SoheeYerkes-Dodson: moderate arousal is generally best, higher for simple tasks, lower for complex ones.

RyanBandura: self-efficacy drives effort. McClelland and Murray: achievement, affiliation, intimacy. Maslow: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization, with self-transcendence added later.

SoheeAnd for you, today: your reasons for this exam may be a mix, a career, a calling, people counting on you. All of those count. And remember Bandura: belief in your own capability helps you take on challenges and keep going through setbacks. Successes on similar tasks feed that belief, one question at a time.

RyanTry a few practice questions, and keep your arousal in that calm, focused middle. See you next time on EPPP Prep.

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