"Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time."
Explains how our desires, needs, and expectations influence our behavior, and how they are influenced by our environment.
Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation: Intrinsic motivation is driven by internal rewards such as personal satisfaction or enjoyment, while extrinsic motivation comes from external rewards such as money or recognition.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: A theory that proposes that human needs are organized into a hierarchical order, with basic physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top.
Self-determination theory: Focuses on the importance of psychological needs such as autonomy, competence and relatedness in driving motivation and well-being.
Expectancy theory: A theory that suggests that individuals make decisions based on their expectations of achieving desired outcomes.
Self-efficacy: A person's belief in their ability to successfully complete a task or achieve a goal.
Goal-setting theory: A theory that suggests that specific goals, feedback and commitment are important in driving motivation and performance.
Equity theory: A theory that proposes that individuals are motivated by a sense of fairness and equity in their work environment.
Reinforcement theory: A theory that suggests that behavior is shaped by consequences, with positive consequences reinforcing behavior and negative consequences deterring behavior.
Cognitive dissonance theory: A theory that suggests that individuals experience psychological discomfort when their beliefs or actions are inconsistent, motivating them to change their behavior.
Theory of learned helplessness: A theory that proposes that individuals who perceive that they have no control over their environment become passive and unmotivated.
Intrinsic motivation: This type of motivation arises from within oneself. It is driven by personal interest, enjoyment, and satisfaction of an activity, rather than external rewards or punishments.
Extrinsic motivation: This type of motivation is driven by external factors, such as rewards, praise, or punishment.
Positive motivation: This type of motivation is driven by a desire to attain a positive outcome and achieve success.
Negative motivation: This type of motivation is driven by a fear of negative consequences or failure.
Achievement motivation: This type of motivation is driven by a desire for personal achievement and success.
Social motivation: This type of motivation is driven by a desire to connect with others and form social relationships.
Personal motivation: This type of motivation is driven by personal goals, values, and beliefs.
Emotional motivation: This type of motivation is driven by emotional factors, such as fear, anger, or excitement.
Cognitive motivation: This type of motivation is driven by cognitive factors, such as curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving.
Biological motivation: This type of motivation is driven by biological factors, such as hunger, thirst, and sex drive.
"Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior."
"This means that we can be motivated to do something without actually doing it."
"The paradigmatic mental state providing motivation is desire."
"But various other states, such as beliefs about what one ought to do or intentions, may also provide motivation."
"Motivation is derived from the word 'motive', which denotes a person's needs, desires, wants, or urges."
"It is the process of motivating individuals to take action to achieve a goal."
"The psychological elements fueling people's behavior in the context of job goals might include a desire for money."
"Content theories... aim to describe what goals usually or always motivate people."
"Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs... posit that humans have certain needs, which are responsible for motivation."
"Behaviorist theories try to explain behavior solely in terms of the relation between the situation and external, observable behavior without explicit reference to conscious mental states."
"Motivation may be either intrinsic if the activity is desired because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable."
"Motivation may be... extrinsic if the agent's goal is an external reward distinct from the activity itself."
"It has been argued that intrinsic motivation has more beneficial outcomes than extrinsic motivation."
"Motivational states can also be categorized according to whether the agent is fully aware of why he acts the way he does or not, referred to as conscious and unconscious motivation."
"Motivation is closely related to practical rationality."
"Failing to fulfill this requirement results in cases of irrationality, known as akrasia or weakness of the will, in which there is a discrepancy between our beliefs about what we should do and our actions."
"In the field of business, a central question concerns work motivation, for example, what measures an employer can use to ensure that his employees are motivated."
"Motivation is also of particular interest to educational psychologists because of its crucial role in student learning."
"Specific interest has been given to the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in this field."