2. What is Motivation?
Motivation is described as a force from within to achieve one’s goals (Wikipedia, 2010). For
example, every living creature has a need to survive. To help with this need all living things
need a food chain, fair environment, and procreation. When a person is motivated, they are
moved into action to do something (Deckers, 2010). Take the human race for example. We are
motivated to eat so we get food. We need a place to live, so we have a living space. We want to
have a mate, so we groom ourselves. To keep the human species going, we have sex to create
offspring. Another element needed to have all those things is money, so we work to get money.
The definition of motive is the same as a person’s reason behind their action (Deckers, 2010).
For example, Sigmund Freud stated that sex is the reason why any human is moved into action.
According to him it is the reason why we work, eat, and have shelter. For example, a man has
an executive job, nice car, and works out. This man does all this on an unconscious level
because he wants to be the most suitable mate. He wants to get the best females.
The Main Sources of Motivation
The main sources of motivation can be divided into two. Not going in any particular order, the
first source is internal. The second source is external. With biological factors, motivation can be
tangibly measured in the brain and body. For example, a person is tired. Melatonin is released
to signal to the person that they are sleepy. This is what motivates a person to get to get rest by
sleeping. Psychological factors also have an effect on motivation. One aspect that was touched
on in the book Motivation. Biological, Psychological, and Environment, Third Edition was the
need to belong. A good example of something like this would be the world of high school. Many
teenagers, both male and female, do various things to belong. For instance some go out and
play football. Some join the cheerleading squad. Others write for the school paper or run for
class president. Then you have the kids that skateboard or are in a band. This is part of our
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3. evolution. We all want to be part of a group. This is our motivation behind doing various things
or participating in various activities. The extremely motivated individuals end up leading these
groups.
External factors can be thought of as a person’s environment. For example, there is a teenage
girl. In her environment, she is surrounded by magazines with thin models on the cover. These
models are everywhere including billboards and commercials. Even Carl’s Jr. used the slim and
trim Paris Hilton as a spokesperson for their high fat fast food chain. All the males seem to like
the thin girls. She has a sister who is slimmer than she is and all the boys seem to be more
interested in her. So this girl, in order to fit in better with society, becomes bulimic. In addition to
the need to be socially accepted, she is also motivated by her need to be thin and attractive.
These motivations were produced by her environment.
While bulimia is a bit on the extreme side, it is true that both men and women lose weight to be
considered more physically attractive. This way they can have a mate. There are those that do it
for health reasons. Being overweight is attributed to health risks like heart attack, diabetes, high
blood pressure, and other diseases. Taking this into consideration it has been suggested that
people are less likely to be attracted to overweight people because of health risks. They do not
want offspring to be predisposed to these health problems. So people who are obese do
ultimately slim down to be more attractive.
Another example to be considered is one’s past. A good model for this would be rap artist
Shawn Carter also known as Jay-Z. Jay-Z grew up very poor. He lived in Marcy Houses project.
His brother was a drug addict, of whom Shawn says he shot in the shoulder for stealing his
jewelry. He did not graduate high school, but sold drugs. He later became a rap artist. After that
he became a rap artist and business man (Wikipedia, 2010). He is now one of the richest men
in America. In records Jay-Z constantly talked about celebrating having money because he was
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4. poor. “Watching your moms do five dollars worth of work just to get a dime” is one line of his
that best fits his mind set. Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, was very motivated by his past.
He got as big as he did so he would never have to be poor again. Another comparison can be
made of those who become body builders. A great deal of them were picked on as children.
They become big so no one will mess with them anymore. Women in body building can also
have this complex. The ones who were raped are more likely to use steroids in order to be big.
They do this to never be attacked again.
What is the Relationship between Motivation and Behavior?
The relationship between motivation and behavior is very simple. Thoughts, more often than
not, turn into an action. Either you are driven to get something or you are driven to get away
from something. Either a reward is to be had or a negative consequence is to be avoided. This
can be seen in a scenario of a child stealing candy. The motivation to steal the candy is
because the child wanted it. The child was also motivated by the fact that they wanted to satisfy
their sweet tooth. The child who got their candy stolen goes and tells an adult. When the child
who stole the candy is then questioned by the adult, the child then lies. The reason why the
child lies is to avoid the negative consequence of their actions. The child is motivated by the fact
that they do not want to pay for what they have done. Another good example would be a
student. A serious student always wants to get good grades. Also good grades open the doors
to scholarships and good colleges. In order to get these grades, the student studies hard and
does all homework. The motivation is good grades, scholarships, and college. The behavior is
studying hard and doing all homework (Yahoo!Answers.com, 2010).
How is Motivation Exhibited in Behavior?
As mentioned before, motivation is the drive of a person. It is the reason why a person does
what they do. Motivation and behavior are frequently intertwined. In a previous example, the
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5. scenario of the student was given. The motivation was good grades, college, and scholarships.
The behavior was studying hard, doing all homework, and turning in all assignments. The same
could also be said for the student performing badly. A student who is unmotivated has behavior
problems. A student who has behavior problems does not care much about learning in school
(Curwin, 2010). Motivation and behavior are very close in relation. Whenever a person does
something, there is always some sort of payoff whether they realize it or not. Take for instance
the “playboy”. A playboy is a man who is unable to commit or be in a serious relationship. He
sleeps around with many different women. His motivation is that he wants recognition. More
often than not, these type of men grow up without fathers in their lives. They do not know how to
be a man so they try to be “the man”. Another motivation for this type of man is female attention.
Most of the time, these types were ignored by their mother as children. Still with the child
mentality, they relate things in terms of quantity instead of quality. The same could be said for
the female or “playgirl”. In addition to attention and wanting the label as “the man” or “the
woman”, there is a serious lack of real self esteem. The lack of real self esteem is also a form of
motivation. Seducing a man or woman into doing their bidding is a great source of power to
them. They equate this to self esteem.
Conclusion
It can be seen that motivation is a very intricate part of human behavior and interaction.
Motivation is the very reason why people do anything. We get up, brush our teeth, take a
shower, and get dressed to go to work. We work to have money. We want money in order to
provide food, clothes, and shelter for ourselves and family. Motivation is both internal and
external. Motivation is needed in order to achieve the necessary goals to survive.
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6. References
(2010). Motivation. Wikipedia.com. Retrieved December 19, 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation.
Deckers, Lambert. (2010). Chapter 1: Introduction to Motivation and Emotion. Motivation.
Biological, Psychological, and Environment, Third Edition. Retrieved December 19,2010 from
https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader.aspx?assetMetaId=e4be5
6dc-ae6b-485e-a3c8-663ec3ff09b5&assetDataId=e2320e64-14fa-413c-be8e-
87a017b86769&assetpdfdataid=2c208f73-d0ab-45fc-928c-9f1c214bb885.
(2010). Jay-Z. Wikipedia.com. Retrieved December 20, 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Z.
(2010). What is the relationship between motivation and behavior? How is motivation
demonstrated by behavior? Yahoo!Answers.com. Retrieved December 22,2010 from
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080804222357AAea2jN.
Curwin, Richard. (2010). Chapter 11: The Relationship Between Behavior and Motivation.
Ascd.org. Retrieved December 24. 2010 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109110/
chapters/The-Relationship-Between-Behavior-and-Motivation.aspx.
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