psychological theories

1. THEORIES OF
MOTIVATION

2. MOTIVATION
 Motivation is an internal process
which makes a person move toward a
goal.
 Motivation initiates, guides and
maintains goal oriented behaviours of a
person.
 Motivation involves biological, social and

3. MOTIVE
 A motive is an impulse that causes a
person
to act.
 Motives can be categorized into
primary, or basic, motives, which are
unlearned and common to both animals and
humans; and secondary, or learned,
motives,

4.  Primary motives are thought to include
hunger, thirst, sex, avoidance of pain,
and
perhaps aggression and fear.
 Secondary motives typically
studied in humans include achievement,
power motivation, and numerous other

5. COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION
There are three major components of
motivation and they are : activation,
persistence and intensity.
1. Activation involves the decision to
initiate a behaviour.

6. 2. Persistence is the continuous effort
toward a ‘goal’ even though
obstacles may exist.
3. Intensity can be seen in the
concentration and strength that goes
into pursuing a goal.

8.  There are two primary types of motivation
- Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic
Motivation.
 Extrinsic motivation refers to the
behaviours that is directed by external
rewards such as money, fame, praise and
grades. This type of motivation arises from
outside the individual and we can create it
with external rewards.

9.  Intrinsic motivation refers to the
behaviours that are directed by
internal rewards of a person such as
enjoyment, achievement and a sense
of competence etc. Intrinsic motivation
originates within the individual.

11. DIFFERENT THEORIES OF
MOTIVATION
HEDONISTIC THEORY OF
MOTIVATION

12.  Hedonistic theory or theory of
psychological hedonism, is the
concept or idea that human behaviour
is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure
and the avoidance of pain [more
correctly displeasure].

13.  Hedonistic goods are consumed for
luxury purposes which are the
desirable objects that will allow the
consumer to feel pleasure, fun and
enjoyment from buying that product.
 This is different from utilitarian goods
which are purchased for practical uses
and are based on the consumer’s

14. ACTIVATION THEORY OF
MOTIVATION
Activation involves the decision to
initiate a
behaviour. Activation theory is also
known
as ‘ Arousal Theory’.

15.  The arousal theory of motivation
suggests that people are driven to
perform actions in order to maintain an
optimum level of physiological arousal.
 When our arousal levels drop below
these personalized optimal levels, we
seek some stimulation to elevate
them.

16.  The Yerkes-Dodson Law points out
how
people need a certain amount of
activation
to be motivated . It is an empirical
relationship between arousal and
performance. Developed by
psychologists

17.  The law states that increased levels of
arousal can help improve performance, but
only up to a certain point.
 At the point when Arousal becomes
excessive, Performance diminishes.
 People are motivated to behave in
ways that maintain their optimal level People
can
tolerate high levels of arousal on easy tasks

18.  The anxiety you experience before an
exam is one example of how the Yerkes-
Dodson Law operates.
 When we taking we taking final exams,
increased arousal can lead to better test
performance by helping us stay alert,
attentive and focused.

19.  Excessive arousal can lead to test
anxiety and Leave us nervous, anxious
and unable to concentrate on the test.
 When arousal levels are very high or
very low performance tends to be worse.
 So always an Optimal level of arousal
is good for proper functioning.

20. The below diagram shows the graphical
representation of Yerkes-Dodson law:

21. PSYCHO ANALYTIC AND CLINICAL
THEORY OF MOTIVATION
 Sigmund Freud is the father of
psychoanalysis. Freud recognized two
fundamental motivating forces.
 The first one is the constructive called
the ‘Eros’ or life urges and the other is
the
destructive one called the ‘Thanatos’ or

22.  Eros find its output through drives
known as self preservation drive or ego
drive and sex drive or ‘libido’ which play a
Significant role in Freudian
psychoanalysis.
 Sigmund Freud applied the concept of
Eros
to psychoanalysis In his 1920

23.  He referred to Eros as the life instinct,
which includes sexual instincts, the drive
to live, and basic instinctual impulses
such as thirst and hunger.
 These elements are all necessary to
preserve and prolong life, both for the
individual and for the human race.
 Eros is associated with behaviours that
support harmony among people such as
collaboration and cooperation.

24.  ‘Thanatos’ is a Greek word for death.
It is
the death instinct or the death drive.
The
death drive controls aggression, risky
behaviours, destruction, death and
takes into ‘born to die’ approach.

26. HUMANISTIC THEORY OF
MOTIVATION
The humanistic theory of motivation is a
type of motivational theory that addresses
the meaning of behaviour and the
importance and nature of healthy human
development.

27.  One of the important theory
comes under humanistic approach is
proposed by Abraham Maslow and the
theory is called Maslow’s theory of
Hierarchy of Needs.

28.  He suggested that humans were driven
to
fulfil certain needs.
 When a single need is
fulfilled humans seek to satisfy the next
need and so forth.

29.  He developed a five
stage model [five levels of the hierarchy
of
needs] : Physiological Needs, Safety
and
Security Needs, Love and Belonging
Needs,
Esteem Needs, Self Actualizing Needs.

31. 1. Physiological Needs:-
These include the most basic needs
that are vital to survival, such as the
need for water, food, sleep and air.
Maslow believed that these needs are
the most basic and instinctive needs in
the hierarchy.

32. 2. Safety And Security Needs:-
These include needs for safety and
security. Security needs are important
for
survival. Examples of security needs
include
security of body, health, desire for
steady

33. 3. Love And Belonging Needs:-
These include the need for love,
acceptance
and belonging. Relationships such as
friendship, romantic attachments and
families help to fulfil this need for
companionship and acceptance.

34. 4. Esteem Needs:-
After the first three needs have been
satisfied, esteem needs becomes
increasingly important. These include
the
need for things that reflect on self
esteem,
achievement, personal worth,

35. 5. Self Actualizing Needs:-
This is the highest level of Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs. In this level we have
the
need to realize our own fullest potential.
Self actualizing people are self aware,
concerned with personal growth, less
concerned with opinions of others.

36. Once we fulfil our lower needs we get
motivated to fulfil our higher needs. It is
important to note that Maslow's
(1943, 1954) five-stage model has been
expanded to include cognitive and
aesthetic
needs (Maslow, 1970a) and later

37. 6. Cognitive Needs:-
Knowledge and understanding, curiosity,
exploration, need for meaning and
predictability.
7. Aesthetic Needs:-
Appreciation and search for beauty,
balance, form, etc.

38. 8.Transcendence Needs : -
A person is motivated by values which
transcend beyond the personal self (e.g.,
mystical experiences and certain
experiences with nature, aesthetic
experiences, sexual experiences, service
to
others, the pursuit of science, religious
faith,

39. EXISTENTIAL THEORY OF
MOTIVATION
 Existentialism is a philosophy that
emphasizes individual existence,
freedom
and choice. It is the view that humans
define their own meaning in life

40.  It is focused on the belief that the
essence of human is their existence.
 This theory’s most Influential concept is
Being-in the-world.
 The motivational factor for a person is
his/her being or existence in the world.

41.  The world changes as the person’s
ideas about it change.
 The person and the human world are
one, because they cannot exist apart
from each other.

42. MOTIVATION THEORY OF MURRAY
 American psychologist Henry Murray
[1893-1988] developed a theory
personality based on “needs”.
 Murray described a need as a
“potentially or readiness to respond in
a certain way under certain given
circumstances”[1938].

43.  He suggested that our personalities
are a reflection of behaviour controlled by
need.
 He states that needs are mostly
unconscious and they influence and drive
human behaviour.
 Murray assumed that the human natural
state is a state of disequilibrium, and that
is why people have needs to satisfy the

44.  He divided needs into:
 1. Overt and Covert Needs[manifest
and latent]: -
Latent needs are not openly
displayed, usually belong to the world
of fantasy and dreams. Manifest
needs observed in people's action

45.  2. Proactive and retroactive
Needs:-
Proactive needs is one that is largely
determined from within, one that
becomes ‘spontaneously kinetic’ as
the result of something in the person /
rather than environment. Reactive
needs are activated as a result of or
in response to some environmental

46.  3. Process Activity, Modal Needs and
Effect Needs:-
 Effect needs are needs that lead to some
desired state or end result.
 Process activity are tendencies to perform
certain acts for the act of performance
itself.
 The random, uncoordinated non-functional
operation of various process (vision,
hearing, thought and speech) that occurs

47.  Modal involved doing something
with a certain degree of excellence or
quality.

48.  4. Primary Needs [ Biological
Needs/ Viscerogenic Needs]: -
Need for food, water, air, avoidance of
pain.
 5. Secondary Needs [
Psychological Needs/ as murray
called them “Psychogenic
Needs”]:-
 These needs might not be

49.  According to Murray psychogenic
needs functions mostly on the
unconscious level but play a major
role in our personality. Murray listed
27 psychogenic needs and they are :

50.  This is the list of 'psychogenic' needs
identified in Explorations in
Personality, edited by Henry A. Murray
in 1938. They are divided into five
groups.

51.  Ambition needs
Need Definition
Achievement
To accomplish difficult tasks,
overcoming obstacles and
achieving expertise.
Exhibition
To impress others through one's
actions and words, even if
what is said or done is shocking.
Recognition
To show achievements to others
and gain recognition for
these.

52.  Materialistic needs
Need Definition
Acquisition To acquire things.
Retention To keep things that
have been acquired.
Order To make things clean,
neat and tidy.
Construction
To make and build
things.

53.  Power needs
Need Definition
Abasement
To surrender and submit to others,
accept blame and punishment. To
enjoy pain and misfortune.
Aggression
To forcefully overcome an
opponent, controlling, taking
revenge or punishing them.

54. Autonomy
To break free from
constraints, resisting
coercion and dominating
authority. To be
irresponsible and
independent
Blame avoidance
To not be blamed for
things done.
Contrariance
To oppose the attempted
persuasion of others.
Deference
To admire a superior
person, praising them and
yielding
to them and following their
rules.

55. Dominance
To control one's
environment,
controlling other
people
through command or
subtle persuasion.
Harm avoidance
To escape or avoid
pain, injury and death.
Infavoidance
To avoid being
humiliated or
embarrassed.

56.  Status defence needs
Need Definition
Counteraction To make up for failure by trying again,
pridefully
seeking to overcome obstacles.
Defendance To defend oneself against attack or
blame, hiding any
failure of the self.
Infavoidance To avoid being humiliated or
embarrassed.

57.  Affection needs
Need Definition
Affiliation To be close and loyal to another
person, pleasing
them and winning their friendship
and attention.
Nurturance To help the helpless, feeding
them and keeping them
from danger.
Play To have fun, laugh and relax,
enjoying oneself.

58. Rejection To separate oneself from
a negatively viewed object
or person, excluding or
abandoning it.
Sex To form relationship that
lead to sexual intercourse
Succourance To have one's needs
satisfied by someone or
something. Includes being
loved, nursed, helped,
forgiven and consoled.

59.  Information needs
Need Definition
Cognizance To seek knowledge and ask
questions about things in
order to understand.
Exposition To provide information educate
others.

60. MOTIVATIONAL THEORY OF
ERIKSON
 Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of
development studies the impact of
external factors, parents and society
on personality development from
childhood to adulthood.

61.  According to Erikson’s theory, every
person must pass through a series of
eight interrelated stages over the entire
life cycle.
 Each stage have a particular tasks to
fulfill, if we finish that successfully then
we get motivation to complete the
further stages.
 Stages of psychosocial theory of

62.  1. Infancy : Birth to 18 months old.
[ Basic Trust vs. Mistrust - Hope ] :-
 During first/second year of life, the
major emphasis is on the mother and
father’s nurturing ability and care for a
child, especially in terms of visual
contact and touch.

63.  The child will develop optimism, trust,
confidence and security if properly
cared and handled.
 If a child does not experience trust
he/she may develop insecurity,
worthless and general mistrust to the
world.

64.  2. Toddler/Early childhood Years : 18
months to 3 years.[ Autonomy vs.
Shame - Will ] :-
 At this point, the child has a opportunity
to build self esteem and autonomy as
he/she learns new skills and right from
wrong.
 The well cared child is sure of himself,
carrying himself with pride rather than

65.  During this stage temper, tantrums
and stubbornness can also appear.
 Children tend to be vulnerable during
this stage, sometimes feeling shame
and low self esteem during inability to
learn certain skills.

66.  3. Preschooler/Young Children : 3 to 5
years.
[ Initiative vs. Guilt - Purpose ] :-
 Children begin to assert their power and
control over the world through directing play
and social interaction.
 If caregiver encourages and allows this
behaviour the child develop a sense of
initiative and leadership that will leads to

67.  If the caregiver tries to stop the
behaviour through criticism or control
the child can feel a nuisance and
remain a follower, lack self initiative
and feel guilt.

68.  4. Older Children : 6 to 12 years.
[ Industry vs. Inferiority - Competence ] :-
 Children begin to develop a sense of pride
in their own accomplishments and abilities.
 If the child is encouraged and positively
reinforced for their behaviour they will
begin to feel confident in their abilities to
achieve their goals and leads to the virtue
of competence.

69.  If the child is not encouraged and
negatively reinforced for their
behaviour they begin to feel inferior,
doubt their own abilities and may not
reach their potential.

70.  5. Adolescents : 12 to 18 years.
[ Identity vs. Role Confusion -
Fidelity ] :-
 Children become more independent
and begin to look at the future in terms
of career, relationships, families,
housing etc.
 Two identities are involved - sexual
and occupational.

71. - Sexual : Development of “manhood” or
“womanhood” and adoption of a
sexual orientation.
- Occupational : Development of goals
for the future [ job, family, salary].
Success will lead to a development of
their own identity and the virtue of
fidelity.
 Failure will lead to confusion about

72.  6. Young Adult : 18 to 35 years.
[ Intimacy vs. Isolation - Love ] :-
 We begin to share ourselves more
intimately with others and explore
relationships that leading toward long term
commitments.
 Success can lead to a comfortable
relationship, a sense of commitment,

73.  Failure can lead to the avoidance of
intimacy, fear of commitment and
relationships, isolation, loneliness and
sometimes depression.

74.  7. Middle Aged Adult : 35 to 55 or 65
[ Generativity vs. Self absorption or
Stagnation - care ] :-
 We establish careers, settle down with a
relationship, begin a family and develop a
sense of being a part of a bigger picture.
 Success can lead into a feeling of
contribution to society and virtue of care.
 Failure can lead to feelings of stagnation
and unproductiveness.

75.  8. Late Adult : 55 or 65 to death
[ Integrity vs. Despair - Wisdom ] :-
 We slow down our productivity and
explore retirement and examine our
accomplishments.
 Success leads to a sense of integrity and
the virtue of wisdom.
 Failure leads to a sense of integrity and
the virtue of wisdom. Failure leads to a
sense of despair, regret and hopeless.