"Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time."
This topic covers the factors that drive human behavior and the emotional experiences that accompany them.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Hierarchy of physiological and psychological needs that motivate human behavior, arranged in a pyramid from basic physiological needs to self-actualization.
Drive reduction theory: Theory explaining that human behavior is motivated by the need to reduce physiological drives, such as hunger and thirst.
Incentive theory: Theory explaining that human behavior is motivated by external rewards or incentives, and that different people are motivated by different things.
Self-determination theory: Theory explaining that human beings are motivated by the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in their lives.
Achievement motivation: The drive to succeed or perform at a high level, often measured by a person's need for achievement (N-ach).
Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation: The distinction between motivation that comes from external rewards or factors (extrinsic) and motivation that comes from within oneself (intrinsic).
Emotion regulation: The ability to monitor and manage one's emotional experiences in order to achieve desired outcomes.
Emotional intelligence: The ability to perceive, understand, and manage one's own emotions as well as the emotions of others.
Appraisal theory of emotion: Theory explaining that emotions are the result of the cognitive appraisal of a situation, including evaluating the situation's relevance to one's goals and the ability to cope with it.
Cultural differences in emotion expression: Variations in how emotions are experienced and expressed across different cultures, including the role of social norms and cultural expectations.
"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."