Motivation: Why Do We Do What We Do? 91
directs the way it is expressed. In this chapter you will discover the signifi-
cant role that motivation plays in behavior.
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to
- define the concept of motivation;
- list and describe the principal biological drives;
- specify the characteristics of the general drives;
- identify some of the principal acquired motives;
- explain the nature of unconscious motives;
- define the concept of self-actualization;
- explain the importance of the will to meaning.
Human beings spend most of their time during the day engaged in actions.
They drive cars, raise children, have vocations, spend time with hobbies, go on
vacations, gamble, take unnecessary risks, play, and so forth. Why do we do what
we do? This is the great question associated with the subject of motivation.
The word motivationis related to words such as motor, motion,and emotion.
(Emotion is discussed in chapter 8.) All of these words imply some form of activ-
ity, some kind of movement. And this is one of the principal features of life—a
kind of restless movement that appears to arise from sources within the organism.
These sources are called motives.
A motiveis a state of physiological or psychological arousal that is assumed to
play a causal role in behavior. Physiological arousal refers to such states as hunger
and thirst. Psychological arousal refers to motives such as the need for achieve-
ment. The two factors, physiological and psychological, of course interact. For
example, a biological drive such as sex tends to interact with a psychological
motive such as the need to be loved.
It is important to note that from the point of view of psychology as a science, a
motive is an intervening variable. Anintervening variableis a variable used to
explain behavior. It is assumed to reside within the organism and “intervene”
between stimulus and response. An intervening variable can’t be seen or otherwise
directly observed. It is inferred from studying behavior. If we see someone buying a
sandwich in a snack bar, we may infer that the individual is hungry. However, he or
she may in fact be buying the sandwich for a friend. The important point is that when
we act as investigators of the behavior of others, we do not experience their motives.
