Motivation
Motivation is an internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time. It is a complex phenomenon and its precise definition is disputed. It contrasts with amotivation, which is a state of apathy or listlessness. Motivation is studied in fields like psychology, motivation science, and philosophy.
For other uses, see Motivation (disambiguation), Motivate (disambiguation), and Motiv8.
Motivational states are characterized by their direction, intensity, and persistence. The direction of a motivational state is shaped by the goal it aims to achieve. Intensity is the strength of the state and affects whether the state is translated into action and how much effort is employed. Persistence refers to how long an individual is willing to engage in an activity. Motivation is often divided into two phases: in the first phase, the individual establishes a goal, while in the second phase, they attempt to reach this goal.
Many types of motivation are discussed in the academic literature. Intrinsic motivation comes from internal factors like enjoyment and curiosity. It contrasts with extrinsic motivation, which is driven by external factors like obtaining rewards and avoiding punishment. For conscious motivation, the individual is aware of the motive driving the behavior, which is not the case for unconscious motivation. Other types include rational and irrational motivation, biological and cognitive motivation, short-term and long-term motivation, and egoistic and altruistic motivation.
Theories of motivation are conceptual frameworks that seek to explain motivational phenomena. Content theories aim to describe which internal factors motivate people and which goals they commonly follow. Examples are the hierarchy of needs, the two-factor theory, and the learned needs theory. They contrast with process theories, which discuss the cognitive, emotional, and decision-making processes that underlie human motivation, like expectancy theory, equity theory, goal-setting theory, self-determination theory, and reinforcement theory. Motivation is relevant to many fields. It affects educational success, work performance, athletic success, and economic behavior. It is further pertinent in the fields of personal development, health, and criminal law.
In various fields[edit]
Neurology[edit]
In neurology, motivation is studied from a physiological perspective by examining the brain processes and brain areas involved in motivational phenomena. Neurology uses data from both humans and animals, which it obtains through a variety of methods, including the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.[136] It investigates regular motivational processes, pathological cases, and the effect of possible treatments.[137] It is a complex discipline that relies on insights from fields like clinical, experimental, and comparative psychology.[138]
Neurologists understand motivation as a multifaceted phenomenon that integrates and processes signals to make complex decisions and coordinate actions.[139] Motivation is influenced by the organism's physiological state, like stress, information about the environment, and personal history, like past experiences with this environment. All this information is integrated to perform a cost–benefit analysis, which considers the time, effort, and discomfort associated with pursuing a goal as well as positive outcomes, like fulfilling one's needs or escaping harm. This form of reward prediction is associated with several brain areas, like the orbitofrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate, and the basolateral amygdala.[140] The dopamine system plays a key role in learning which positive and negative outcomes are associated with a specific behavior and how certain signals, like environmental cues, are related to specific goals. Through these associations, motivation can automatically arise when the signals are present. For example, if a person associates having a certain type of food with a specific time of day then they may automatically feel motivated to eat this food when the time arrives.[141]