8-2. Theories of Motivation Although psychologists agree that it is important to understand why humans and lower animals do things, they do not agree about the precise nature of motivation. Let’s consider various theoretical perspectives on motivation. 8-2a. The Evolutionary Perspective The evolutionary perspective notes that many animals are neurally “prewired”—that is, born with preprogrammed tendencies—to respond to certain situations in certain ways (Macedo & Machado, 2014; Shackelford & Hansen, 2014). Spiders spin webs by instinct . Birds build nests by instinct. Bees “dance” instinctively to communicate the location of food to other bees. These instinctive behaviors are found in particular species. That is, they are species-specific and are inborn. They are genetically transmitted from generation to generation. Psychologists have asked whether humans have instincts, and if so, what kind and how many. More than a century ago, psychologists William James (1890) and William McDougall (1908) asserted that humans have instincts that foster survival and social behavior. James numbered love, sympathy, and modesty as social instincts. McDougall compiled 12 “basic” instincts, including hunger, sex, and self-assertion. Other psychologists have made longer lists, and still others deny that people have instincts. The question of whether people have instincts—and what they might be—remains unresolved. A Fixed Action Pattern George Diebold/Photodisc/Getty Images In the presence of another male, Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) assume stereotypical threatening postures in which they extend their fins and gills and circle one another. If neither male retreats, there will be conflict. What Are These Infant Monkeys Doing, and Why Are They Doing It? © Harlow Primate Lab/University of Wisconsin Do organisms have innate drives to obtain sensory stimulation, manipulate objects (like these young rhesus monkeys), and explore the environment? The monkeys appear to monkey around with gadgets just for the fun of it. No external incentives are needed. Children similarly enjoy manipulating gadgets that honk, squeak, rattle, and buzz, even though the resultant honks and squeaks to do not satisfy physiological drives such as hunger or thirst. 8-2b. Drive-Reductionism and Homeostasis Sigmund Freud believed that tension motivates us to behave in ways that restore us to a resting state. His views are similar to those of the drive-reduction theory of learning, as set forth by psychologist Clark Hull in the 1930s (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013). According to Hull, primary drives such as hunger, thirst, and pain trigger arousal (tension) and activate behavior. We learn to engage in behaviors that reduce the tension. We also acquire drives—called acquired drives—through experience. We may acquire a drive for money because money enables us to obtain food, drink, and homes, which protect us from crime and extremes of temperature. We might acquire drives for social approval.

1. 8-2. Theories of Motivation
Although psychologists agree that it is important to understand
why humans and lower animals do things, they do not agree
about the precise nature of motivation. Let’s consider various
theoretical perspectives on motivation.
8-2a. The Evolutionary Perspective
The evolutionary perspective notes that many animals are
neurally “prewired”—that is, born with preprogrammed
tendencies—to respond to certain situations in certain
ways (Macedo & Machado, 2014; Shackelford & Hansen, 2014).
Spiders spin webs by instinct . Birds build nests by instinct.
Bees “dance” instinctively to communicate the location of food
to other bees.
These instinctive behaviors are found in particular species. That
is, they are species-specific and are inborn. They are genetically
transmitted from generation to generation.
Psychologists have asked whether humans have instincts, and if
so, what kind and how many. More than a century ago,
psychologists William James (1890) and William McDougall
(1908) asserted that humans have instincts that foster survival
and social behavior. James numbered love, sympathy, and
modesty as social instincts. McDougall compiled 12 “basic”
instincts, including hunger, sex, and self-assertion. Other
psychologists have made longer lists, and still others deny that
people have instincts. The question of whether people have
instincts—and what they might be—remains unresolved.
A Fixed Action Pattern
George Diebold/Photodisc/Getty Images
In the presence of another male, Siamese fighting fish (Betta
splendens) assume stereotypical threatening postures in which
they extend their fins and gills and circle one another. If neither
male retreats, there will be conflict.
What Are These Infant Monkeys Doing, and Why Are They
Doing It?

2. © Harlow Primate Lab/University of Wisconsin
Do organisms have innate drives to obtain sensory stimulation,
manipulate objects (like these young rhesus monkeys), and
explore the environment? The monkeys appear to monkey
around with gadgets just for the fun of it. No external incentives
are needed. Children similarly enjoy manipulating gadgets that
honk, squeak, rattle, and buzz, even though the resultant honks
and squeaks to do not satisfy physiological drives such as
hunger or thirst.
8-2b. Drive-Reductionism and Homeostasis
Sigmund Freud believed that tension motivates us to behave in
ways that restore us to a resting state. His views are similar to
those of the drive-reduction theory of learning, as set forth by
psychologist Clark Hull in the 1930s (Hergenhahn & Henley,
2013).
According to Hull, primary drives such as hunger, thirst, and
pain trigger arousal (tension) and activate behavior. We learn to
engage in behaviors that reduce the tension. We also acquire
drives—called acquired drives—through experience. We may
acquire a drive for money because money enables us to obtain
food, drink, and homes, which protect us from crime and
extremes of temperature. We might acquire drives for social
approval and affiliation because other people, and their
goodwill, help us reduce primary drives, especially when we are
infants. In all cases, reduction of tension is the goal. Yet some
people appear to acquire what could be considered excessive
drives for money or affiliation. They gather money long after
their material needs have been met, and some people find it
difficult to be alone, even briefly.
Primary drives like hunger are triggered when we are in a
state of deprivation. Sensations of hunger motivate us to act in
ways that will restore the bodily balance. This tendency to
maintain a steady state is called homeostasis . Homeostasis
works like a thermostat. When the temperature in a room drops
below the set point, the heating system turns on. The heat stays
on until the set point is reached. Similarly, most animals eat

3. until they are no longer hungry. But many people eat
“recreationally”—as when they see an appealing dessert—
suggesting there is more to eating than drive reduction.
8-2c. The Search for Stimulation
Physical needs give rise to drives like hunger and thirst. In such
cases, we are motivated to reduce the tension or stimulation that
impinges on us. However, in the case of stimulus
motives, organisms seek to increase stimulation.
A classic study conducted at McGill University in Montreal
during the 1950s suggests the importance of sensory stimulation
and activity. Some “lucky” students were paid $20 a day
(which, with inflation, would now be more like $200) for doing
nothing—literally. Would you like to “work” by doing nothing
for $200 a day? Don’t answer too quickly. According to the
results of this study you might not like it at all.
In this experiment, student volunteers were placed in quiet
cubicles and blindfolded (Bexton et al., 1954). Their arms were
bandaged so that they felt little if anything with their hands.
They could hear nothing but the dull, continuous hum of air
conditioning. Many slept for a while, but after a few
hours of sensory-deprived wakefulness, most felt bored and
irritable. As time went on, many grew more uncomfortable.
Many students quit the experiment during the first day despite
the financial incentive. Many of those who remained for a few
days found it hard to concentrate on simple problems for days
afterward. For many, the experiment did not provide a relaxing
vacation. Instead, it produced boredom, discomfort, and
disorientation.
Humans and other animals appear motivated to seek novel
stimulation. Even when they have been deprived of food, rats
may explore unfamiliar arms of mazes rather than head
straight for the food source. Animals that have just copulated
and thereby reduced their primary sex drives often show
renewed interest in sex when presented with a novel sex partner.
People (and nonhumans) take in more calories at buffets and
smorgasbords than when fewer kinds of food are

4. available (Wansink & Shimizu, 2013; Yip et al., 2013).
Children spend hour after hour playing video games for the
pleasure of zapping virtual people or monsters (Ferguson &
Olson, 2013).
Truth or Fiction
· Getting away from it all by going on a vacation from all
sensory input for a few hours is relaxing.
· T
· F
Stimulus motives provide an evolutionary advantage. Animals
that are active and motivated to explore and manipulate their
environment are more likely to survive. If you know where the
nearest tall tree is, you’re more likely to escape a leopard and
transmit your genes to future generations.
But note that survival is more or less a question of defending
oneself or one’s group against dangers of one kind or another.
In the following section, we see that many psychologists believe
people are also motivated to develop their unique potentials,
even in the absence of external threat.
8-2d. Humanistic Theory
Humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow (1908–
1970) suggest that human behavior is not just mechanical and
aimed toward survival and the reduction of tension. Maslow
believed that people are also motivated by a conscious desire
for personal growth. Humanists note that people tolerate pain,
hunger, and many other kinds of tension to obtain personal
fulfillment.
“Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the
anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we
have made it, the next wish is to change again.”
—Dr. Samuel Johnson , English writer, editor, and
lexicographer (1735–1752)
Maslow believed that we are separated from other animals by
our capacity for self-actualization , or self-initiated striving to
become what we believe we are capable of being. Maslow
considered self-actualization to be as important a need in

5. humans as hunger. The need for self-actualization pushes people
to strive to become concert pianists, chief executive officers, or
best-selling authors—even when they have plenty of money to
live on.
Maslow (1970) organized human needs into a hierarchy.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ranges from physiological needs
such as hunger and thirst, through self-actualization (see Figure
8.1). He believed that we naturally strive to climb this
hierarchy.
Fig. 8.1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
© Cengage Learning®
© iStockphoto.com/gaspr13
What do you do when you’re no longer hungry? Maslow
believed we progress toward higher psychological needs once
basic survival needs have been met. Where do you fit in this
picture?
Critics of Maslow’s theory argue that there is too much
individual variation for the hierarchy of motives to apply to
everyone. Some people whose physiological, safety, and love
needs are met show little interest in achievement and
recognition. Some artists devote themselves fully to their craft,
even if they have to pass up the comforts of a warm home or
alienate their families. And many children from broken and
unsafe homes strive to achieve in school (Noltemeyer et al.,
2012).
8-2e. Cognitive Perspectives on Motivation
Cognitive theorists note that people represent their worlds
mentally. As in Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, they
see people as natural scientists who strive to understand the
world so that they can predict and control events. Therefore,
people try to eliminate inconsistencies—or, as we saw in the
case of the Seekers at the beginning of the chapter—
discrepancies in information so that their ability to make
sense of the world remains whole.
Children also attempt to create consistency between their own
gender and what experience teaches them that boys and girls are

6. expected to do in their cultural settings. As soon as they come
to understand whether they are male or female, they begin to
imitate the behavior of older people of the same gender (Halim
et al., 2013; Ruble et al., 2006). According to cognitive-
dissonance theory, people are generally motivated to hold
consistent beliefs and to justify their behavior. That is why we
are generally more likely to appreciate what we must work to
obtain.
Each theory of motivation may have something to offer. Drive-
reduction theory may explain why we drink when thirsty, but
stimulus motives might explain why we go clubbing and drink
alcohol. Each theory might apply to certain aspects of behavior.
As the chapter progresses, we will describe research that lends
support to each theory.