Psychology2016

Motivation and Emotion 365

of the United States to avoid uncertainty, such as Greece and Japan. In those countries,
security needs are much stronger than self-actualization needs in determining motiva-
tion (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede et al., 2002). This means that people in those cultures
value job security more than they do job satisfaction (holding an interesting or chal-
lenging job). In countries such as Sweden and Norway, which stress the quality of life
as being of greater importance than what a person produces, social needs may be more
important than self-actualization needs (Hofstede et al., 2002). to Learning
Objective 13.13.
Other theorists (Alderfer, 1972; Kenrick et al., 2010) have developed and refined
Maslow’s hierarchy. Douglas Kenrick and colleagues have suggested a modification to
Maslow’s original hierarchy that encompasses aspects of evolutionary biology, anthro-
pology, and psychology. Their modification incorporates dynamics between internal
motives and environmental threats and opportunities (Kenrick et al., 2010). However,
their revision has not been without critique and has spawned further contemplation.
Some elements of Kenrick’s theory have been challenged, including a questioning of its
focus on evolutionary aspects instead of human cultural influences (Kesebir et al., 2010)
and its removal of self-actualization from both the pinnacle of the pyramid and from
the hierarchy altogether as a stand-alone motive (Peterson & Park, 2010). Just as there
are many aspects to motivation, any revision or discussion of an appropriate hierarchy
of needs will need to take into account a wide variety of opinions and viewpoints.

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY (SDT) Another theory of motivation that is similar to
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the self-determination theory (SDT) of Richard Ryan and
Edward Deci (2000). In this theory, there are three inborn and universal needs that help
people gain a complete sense of self and whole, healthy relationships with others. The
three needs are autonomy, or the need to be in control of one’s own behavior and goals
(i.e., self-determination); competence, or the need to be able to master the challenging tasks
of one’s life; and relatedness, or the need to feel a sense of belonging, intimacy, and secu-
rity in relationships with others. These needs are common in several theories of personal-
ity; the relatedness need is, of course, similar to Maslow’s belongingness and love needs,
and both autonomy and competence are important aspects of Erikson’s theory of psycho-
social personality development (Erikson, 1950, 1980). to Learning Objective 8.7.
Ryan, Deci, and their colleagues (Deci et al., 1994; Ryan & Deci, 2000) believe that sat-
isfying these needs can best be accomplished if the person has a supportive environment
in which to develop goals and relationships with others. Such satisfaction will not only
foster healthy psychological growth but also increase the individual’s intrinsic motiva-
tion (actions are performed because they are internally rewarding or satisfying). Evidence
suggests that intrinsic motivation is increased or enhanced when a person feels not only
competence (through experiencing positive feedback from others and succeeding at what
are perceived to be challenging tasks) but also a sense of autonomy or the knowledge that
his or her actions are self-determined rather than controlled by others (deCharms, 1968;
Deci & Ryan, 1985; Evans, 2015; Hancox et al., 2015; Ryan et al., 2012; Silva et al., 2014).
Previous research has found a negative impact on intrinsic motivation when an
external reward is given for the performance (Deci et al., 1999), while other studies find
negative effects only for tasks that are not interesting in and of themselves (Cameron et
al., 2001). When the task itself is interesting to the person (as might be an assignment
that an instructor or manager has explained in terms of its importance and future value),
external rewards may increase intrinsic motivation, at least in the short term. The bulk
of current research seems to support this latter idea (Evans, 2015; Rigby et al., 2014; Silva
et al., 2014). Researchers in this field are also using techniques such as fMRI to exam-
ine the role of the brain, particularly the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, in intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation (Marsden et al., 2014; Murayama et al., 2015).

But don’t we sometimes do things for both kinds of motives?

How might this Japanese businessman be

motivated differently than someone from

another country and culture?

self-determination theory (SDT)

theory of human motivation in which

the social context of an action has

an effect on the tyRe of motivation

existing for the action.

“That is the correct answer, Bill, but I’m

afraid you don’t win anything for it.”

©The New Yorker Collection 1986 Lee Lorenz

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