Motivation is the driving force by which we achieve our goals.

Motivation is said to be intrinsic or

extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes
for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories,
motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it
may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, goal, state of being,
ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or
avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or
optimism.[1] Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

Motivation concepts

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself,
and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.[2] Intrinsic motivation
has been studied by social and educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Research has
found that it is usually associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students.
Explanations of intrinsic motivation have been given in the context of Fritz Heider's attribution
theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy,[3] and Deci and Ryan's cognitive evaluation theory (see
self-determination theory). Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort
they put in),
believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined
by luck),
are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.

Extrinsic motivation
Comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and
grades, coercion and threat of punishment. Competition is in general extrinsic because it
encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity.
A crowd cheering on the individual and trophies are also extrinsic incentives.
Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to overjustification
and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation. In one study demonstrating this effect, children
who expected to be (and were) rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pictures spent
less time playing with the drawing materials in subsequent observations than children who were
assigned to an unexpected reward condition and to children who received no extrinsic reward.[4]
Self-determination theory proposes that extrinsic motivation can be internalised by the individual if
the task fits with their values and beliefs and therefore helps to fulfill their basic psychological
needs

Self-control

The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a

person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by
many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale
School of Management professor Victor Vroom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of
when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.

Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behavior that is aimed
at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require
external stimuli to encourage the behavior. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as
hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire
for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training
animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals
to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process.

Motivational theories

Incentive theory

A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with
the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to
the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect would
be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can
cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from two sources: oneself, and other people.
These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, respectively.
Reinforcers and reinforcement principles of behavior differ from the hypothetical construct of
reward. A reinforcer is any stimulus change following a response that increases the future
frequency or magnitude of that response. Positive reinforcement is demonstrated by an increase
in the future frequency or magnitude of a response due to in the past being followed contingently
by a reinforcing stimulus. Negative reinforcement involves stimulus change consisting of the
removal of an aversive stimulus following a response. Positive reinforcement involves a stimulus
change consisting of the presentation or magnification of an appetitive stimulus following a
response. From this perspective, motivation is mediated by environmental events, and the
concept of distinguishing between intrinsic and extrinsic forces is irrelevant.
Applying proper motivational techniques can be much harder than it seems. Steven Kerr notes
that when creating a reward system, it can be easy to reward A, while hoping for B, and in the
process, reap harmful effects that can jeopardize your goals.[5]
Incentive theory in psychology treats motivation and behavior of the individual as they are
influenced by beliefs, such as engaging in activities that are expected to be profitable. Incentive
theory is promoted by behavioral psychologists, such as B.F. Skinner and literalized by
behaviorists, especially by Skinner in his philosophy of Radical behaviorism, to mean that a
person's actions always have social ramifications: and if actions are positively received people
are more likely to act in this manner, or if negatively received people are less likely to act in this
manner. Incentive theorists tend to distinguish between wanting and liking, where liking is a
passive function evaluating a stimulus, but wanting adds an active process "attracting" the person
towards the stimulus.[6]
Incentive theory distinguishes itself from other motivation theories, such as drive theory, in the
direction of the motivation. In incentive theory, stimuli "attract", to use the term above, a person
towards them. As opposed to the body seeking to reestablish homeostasis pushing it towards the
stimulus. In terms of behaviorism, incentive theory involves positive reinforcement: the stimulus
has been conditioned to make the person happier. For instance, a person knows that eating food,
drinking water, or gaining social capital will make them happier. As opposed to in drive theory,
which involves negative reinforcement: a stimulus has been associated with the removal of the
punishment-- the lack of homeostasis in the body. For example, a person has come to know that
if they eat when hungry, it will eliminate that negative feeling of hunger, or if they drink when
thirsty, it will eliminate that negative feeling of thirst.

Drive-reduction theories

There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that
we have certain biological drives, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive
increases if it is not satisfied (in this case by eating). Upon satisfying a drive the drive's strength is
reduced. The theory is based on diverse ideas from the theories of Freud to the ideas of feedback
control systems, such as a thermostat.
Drive theory has some intuitive or folk validity. For instance when preparing food, the drive model
appears to be compatible with sensations of rising hunger as the food is prepared, and, after the
food has been consumed, a decrease in subjective hunger. There are several problems,
however, that leave the validity of drive reduction open for debate. The first problem is that it does
not explain how secondary reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money satisfies no biological or
psychological needs, but a pay check appears to reduce drive through second-order conditioning.
Secondly, a drive, such as hunger, is viewed as having a "desire" to eat, making the drive a
homuncular being—a feature criticized as simply moving the fundamental problem behind this
"small man" and his desires.
In addition, it is clear that drive reduction theory cannot be a complete theory of behavior, or a
hungry human could not prepare a meal without eating the food before he finished cooking it. The
ability of drive theory to cope with all kinds of behavior, from not satisfying a drive (by adding on
other traits such as restraint), or adding additional drives for "tasty" food, which combine with
drives for "food" in order to explain cooking render it hard to test.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Suggested by Leon Festinger, this occurs when an individual experiences some degree of
discomfort resulting from an incompatibility between two cognitions. For example, a consumer
may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling, in retrospect, that another decision
may have been preferable.
While not a theory of motivation, per se, the theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people
have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs,
or actions.[7] Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is one of the most
influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Self-determination theory

Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the
importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory
and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike
these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but
instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage
motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness

Cognitive theories

Goal-setting theory
Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a
clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected
by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation
where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close. This explains why
some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than to master algebra. A goal
should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not
optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of
success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will
succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be
objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal
is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to
reach that goal.

Unconscious motivation

Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized and directed
by unconscious motives. According to Maslow, "Psychoanalysis has often demonstrated that the
relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate unconscious aim that underlies it need
not be at all direct