motivation

1. University of Babylon, faculty of Nursing
Psychology for Nurses
Lecture: Motivation
Motivation
 Motive: defined as an active tendency functioning within the individual to oblige,
encourage him to act for the satisfaction of his essential needs or achievement of some
specific purpose.
Motivation is a process that starts with physiclogical or psychogical deficiency or need that
activates a behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or an incentive
Therefore motivation lies in the meaning of interrelationship between
 Need
 Drive
 Incentive
Need: Created whenever there is a physiological or psychological imbalance e.g. when the body
is deprived of food
Drive: it is a deficiency with direction – actions which provide an energising thrust towards
reaching an incentive e.g. need for food translates to hunger (drive) need for friends translates to a
drive for affiliation
Incentive: anything that allievates the need and reduces the drive, restores the physiological
or psychological balance
 Types of Motives
Motives can be classified into:
1- Primary or physiological motives
- Hunger motive, - Respiratory motive, - Need for rest and sleep, - Need for Elimination of
waste, and - Sex motive
Motivational
Cycle
Need
Drive
Response
Goal

2. 2
2- Secondary or social motives
- Belonging motives, Need for Status, - Power motive, and - Social Approval
3- Personal motives
- Need for achievement, Levels of aspiration, Force of habit, Interest and attitudes, Fear
4- Unconscious motives
These motives are those which persons are not aware of. They may be in the form of person’s
repressed desires or wishes or complexes. These types of motives determine irrational fears or
phobias, likes and dislikes.
Modelof motivation
A. simplified model
The need is created when there is a psychological or physiological imbalance in the person.
Stimulus Response outcome

 A stimulus - e.g. Hunger ( physical) or desire for company (social/psychological)
……….give rise to a response ( some kind of behaviour) ………which leads to an
outcome….( either satisfaction or frustration)
 Motives may or may not be clear to individual
 But as manages we need to understand the motives of each individual actions because how
we understand others will influence our attitude and behaviour towards them.
Need/drive
(physical/psychological)
Behaviour Satisfaction/
frustration
Deprivation/
Deficiency
Deprivation/
With direction
Reduction of
drive

3. 3
B. Schein’s classification of needs
Schein propounded a classification of managers’ assumption about people based on a review of
earlier approaches of motivation. His classification follows a broadly chronological pattern as
follows:
1. Rational- Economic
Human motivation has its roots from the need for self-interest and the maximization of gains as
the prime motivations. According to Schein, this view places human beings into two categories:
1) The untrustworthy, money- motivated, calculative masses
2) The trustworthy, more broadly motivated, moral elite whose task is to organizes and
control the masses.
2. Social model
Views people as predominantly motivated by social needs – the need for personal relationship
Self-actualization model
Individual needs for self-actualization is the prime motivator
3. Complex model
Presupposes that understanding people motivation is a complex business in which interrelated
factors are at work.
Approach and avoidance motivation:
The BAS and BIS:
According to Jeffrey Gray (1991), the behavioural activation system (BAS) is roused to action by
signals of potential reward and positive need gratification. It produces emotions of hope, elation,
and happiness.
The behavioural inhibition system (BIS) responds to stimuli that signal potential pain, no
reinforcement, and punishment. It produces fear, inhibition of behaviour.
Stimulates Resulting in
Stimulates Resulting in
Reward
Relevant input
Punishment
Relevant input
Aversion anticipation
of pain Fear,
depression, avoidance
and inhibition
Desire Anticipation of
pleasure Approach
behaviour
BIS
BAS

4. 4
 Nurse’s implication of motives
A- The nurse has to understand his/ her own motives so that he/ she can better understand
patient’s motives.
1. The nurse can maintain his/ her mental health and stay positive by an insight into the
dynamics of motivation;
2. Knowing the physiological needs such as; hunger, thirst, foods and sleep, etc. help him/
her in the physical care of the patient.
3. Knowing psychological needs give him/ her an insight into how to utilize them positively
for cure.
B- Understanding motives in the patient help the nurse in the following ways:
1. To recognise motives behind the behaviour of the patient.
2. To recognise patient’s needs.
3. To build a good relationship between the patient and health team members.
4. To provide priority care.
Lecturer
Burhan Hadi Alsultany