"Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time."
The internal and external factors that drive behavior and the neural mechanisms behind them.
Reward and Reinforcement: This topic covers the biological mechanisms involved in the reward and reinforcement process, including the role of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, in motivation and addiction.
Homeostasis and Hunger: This topic explores the role of the brain and body in regulating food intake and energy balance, including the effects of hormones, such as leptin and ghrelin, on appetite and metabolism.
Emotion and Motivation: This topic examines the relationship between emotion and motivation, including how emotions can drive behavior and influence decision-making.
Motivation and Learning: This topic covers the role of motivation in learning and memory, including the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on academic performance and achievement.
Motivational Disorders: This topic explores the biological basis of motivational disorders, such as depression and addiction, and the role of pharmacological and behavioral interventions in their treatment.
Motivation and Social Behavior: This topic examines how motivation influences social behavior and group dynamics, including the effects of social influence and peer pressure on motivation.
Motivation and Goal-Setting: This topic explores the process of setting and achieving goals, including the role of motivation in goal selection and persistence.
Motivation and Stress: This topic covers the biological basis of stress and its effects on motivation, including the relationship between stress and addictive behaviors.
Motivation and Personality: This topic examines the role of personality traits, such as conscientiousness and extraversion, in motivation and goal pursuit.
Motivation and Aging: This topic explores changes in motivational processes and behavior across the lifespan, including the effects of aging on motivation and self-regulation.
Primary motivation: Motivation derived from basic physiological needs like hunger, thirst, sex or sleep.
Secondary motivation: Motivation that is not directly tied to physiological needs, but rather is based on the pursuit of psychological desires like power, achievement, or praise.
Intrinsic motivation: Motivation that stems from the enjoyment of the activity or the task itself. People perform the activity because they find it inherently satisfying and enjoyable.
Extrinsic motivation: Motivation from external factors, such as rewards or punishments that come as a direct or indirect result of completing an activity or task.
Achievement motivation: The type of motivation that is driven by a desire to accomplish or reach a specific goal or outcome.
Affiliation motivation: The motivation that stems from the desire to build relationships or to belong to a group.
Fear motivation: Motivation driven by fear of an unfavorable outcome or consequences.
Incentive motivation: A motivation that is based on incentives, such as the promise of a reward or positive reinforcement.
Opponent-process theory of motivation: A type of motivational theory that describes how the brain creates a counterbalancing opponent process in response to the rise of an excitement-inducing process.
Reactance motivation: Motivation resulting from perceived threats to one’s freedom and autonomy.
Social motivation: Motivation that is driven by the desire to interact with others or to seek approval from those around them.
Self-determination theory: A motivation theory that describes three types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation.
"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."