9.1 Motivation

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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL When Mohamed Dirie started first grade, he did not know his ABCs or 123s. He had no idea what the words “teacher,” “cubby,” or “recess” meant. In fact, he spoke virtually no English. As for his classmates, they were beginning first grade with basic reading and writing skills from preschool and kindergarten. Mohamed’s early education had taken place in an Islamic school, where he spent most of his time learning to read and recite Arabic verses of the Qur’an (kə-ˈrän). But Arabic wasn’t going to be much help to a 6-year-old trying to get through first grade in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mohamed: In His Own Words
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Months earlier, Mohamed and his mother, father, and older sister had arrived in St. Paul from the East African nation of Kenya, some 8,000 miles across the globe. Kenya was not their native country, just a stopping point between their homeland, Somalia, and a new life in America.

Perhaps you have heard about Somalia. Many of the news stories coming out of this nation in the past two decades have told of bloody clashes between rival factions, kidnappings by pirates, suicide bombings, and starving children. Somalia’s serious troubles began in 1991, when rebel forces overthrew the government of President Siad Barre. With gunshots ringing through the streets of their home city of Mogadishu, Mohamed’s family, like thousands of others, fled the country, narrowly escaping death.

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War-Torn Somalia
Mohamed’s family comes from the East African nation of Somalia (shaded red on the map). They fled their homeland in 1991 during a violent government overthrow that led to more than 20,000 civilian deaths (Gassmann, 1991, December 21). The image here shows a group of Somali rebels in the capital city of Mogadishu about a month after the regime was toppled.
AP Photo

Note: Quotations attributed to Mohamed Dirie are personal communications.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:

LO 1 Define motivation.

LO 2 Explain how extrinsic and intrinsic motivation impact behavior.

LO 3 Summarize instinct theory.

LO 4 Describe drive-reduction theory and explain how it relates to motivation.

LO 5 Explain how arousal theory relates to motivation.

LO 6 Outline Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

LO 7 Discuss how the stomach and the hypothalamus make us feel hunger.

LO 8 Outline the characteristics of the major eating disorders.

LO 9 Describe the human sexual response as identified by Masters and Johnson.

LO 10 Define sexual orientation and summarize how it develops.

LO 11 Identify the most common sexually transmitted infections.

LO 12 Define emotions and explain how they are different from moods.

LO 13 List the major theories of emotion and describe how they differ.

LO 14 Discuss evidence to support the idea that emotions are universal.

LO 15 Indicate how display rules influence the expression of emotion.

LO 16 Describe the role the amygdala plays in the experience of fear.

LO 17 Summarize evidence pointing to the biological basis of happiness.

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The Scholar
Four-year-old Mohamed (left) dressed in special attire to celebrate his completion of a surah, or chapter in the Qur’an. When this photograph was taken, the Dirie family had left Somalia and was living in a temporary home in Kenya. Some 14 years later, Mohamed graduated from high school in St. Paul, Minnesota (right).

The first day of school in St. Paul, little Mohamed strapped on his backpack and walked with his mother to the bus stop. When the yellow bus pulled up to the curb, Mohamed’s mother followed him inside and insisted on accompanying him to school. But Mohamed was ready to make the journey alone. “No, Mom, I got this,” he remembers saying in his native Somali.

When Mohamed arrived at his new school, he found his way to the first-grade classroom and discovered a swarm of children chattering and making friends. Mohamed wanted to mingle, too, so he endeared himself to the other kids the best way he could—by smiling. Flashing a grin was Mohamed’s way of communicating, Hey, I am a good person and you should get to know me. His strategy worked. “I really felt like other people approached me better,” he says. Mohamed’s warm and welcoming demeanor may have been one reason his teacher took a special interest in him, providing the individual attention he needed to catch up to his peers. And Mohamed caught up quickly.

By the end of third grade, he had graduated from an English as a Second Language (ESL) program and could converse fluently with classmates. He sailed through the rest of elementary school with As and Bs in all subjects. Middle school presented new challenges, as Mohamed attended one of the poorest schools in the district and occasionally got picked on, but he continued to excel academically, taking the most challenging classes offered. In high school, he took primarily international baccalaureate (IB) or pre-IB classes, which prepped him for his undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota. Now, with his bachelor’s degree in scientific and technical communication, Mohamed is contemplating his next step. Will it be law school? A master’s degree? Maybe a PhD?

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 7, we described intellectually gifted people as those with very high IQ scores. We also presented the concept of emotional intelligence. Here, we see that in addition to intelligence, motivation plays a role in success.

If you think about where Mohamed began and where he is today, it’s hard not to be awed. He entered the United States’ school system 2 years behind his peers, unable to speak a word of English, an outsider in a culture radically different from his own. Without any tutoring from his parents (who couldn’t read the class assignments, let alone help him with schoolwork), he managed to propel himself to the upper levels of the nation’s educational system in just 12 years.

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How do you explain Mohamed’s success? This young man definitely is intelligent. You can tell he is bright after 5 minutes of conversation. But intelligence is not the only ingredient in the recipe for outstanding achievement. Other factors are important as well, including something psychologists consider essential for success in school: motivation (Conley, 2012; Hodis, Meyer, McClure, Weir, & Walkey, 2011; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002). image

What Is Motivation?

There are people who get kicks from bungee jumping out of helicopters, and those who feel completely invigorated by a rousing match of chess. Human behaviors can be logical: We eat when hungry, sleep when tired, and go to work to pay the rent. Our behaviors can also be senseless and destructive: A beautiful fashion model starves herself, or an aspiring politician throws away an entire career for a fleeting sexual adventure. Why do people spend their hard-earned money on lottery tickets when the chances of winning may be 1 in 175 million (Wasserstein, 2013, May 16)? And what in the world drives teenagers to wrap houses in toilet paper on Halloween night?

One way to explain human behavior is through learning. We know that people (not to mention dogs, chickens, and slugs) can learn to behave in certain ways through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning (Chapter 5). But learning isn’t everything. Another way to explain behavior is to consider what might be motivating it. In the first half of this chapter, you will learn about different forms of motivation and the theories explaining them. Keep in mind that human behavior is complex and should be studied in the context of culture, biology, and the environment. Every behavior is likely to have a multitude of causes (Maslow, 1943).

LO 1 Define motivation.

motivation A stimulus that can direct behavior, thinking, and feeling.

Mohamed: What motivated you to go to college and better your education?
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Psychologists propose that motivation is a stimulus or force that can direct the way we behave, think, and feel. A motivated behavior tends to be guided (that is, it has a direction), energized, and persistent. Mohamed’s academic behavior has all three features: guided because he sets specific goals like getting into graduate school, energized because he goes after those goals with zeal, and persistent because he sticks with his goals even when challenges arise.

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 5, we introduced positive and negative reinforcers, which are stimuli that increase future occurrences of target behaviors. In both cases, the behavior becomes associated with the reinforcer. Here, we see how these associations become incentives.

incentive An association established between a behavior and its consequences, which then motivates that behavior.

INCENTIVE Let’s take a look at how operant conditioning, particularly the use of reinforcers, can help us understand the relationship between learning and motivation. When a behavior is reinforced (with positive or negative reinforcers), an association is established between the behavior and its consequence. If we consider motivated behavior, this association becomes the incentive, or reason to repeat the behavior. Imagine there is a term paper you have been avoiding. You decide you will treat yourself to an hour of Web surfing for every three pages you write. Adding a reinforcer (surf time) increases your writing behavior; thus, we call it a positive reinforcer. The association between the behavior (writing) and the consequence (Web surfing) is the incentive. Before you know it, you begin to expect this break from work, which motivates you to write.

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LO 2 Explain how extrinsic and intrinsic motivation impact behavior.

extrinsic motivation The drive or urge to continue a behavior because of external reinforcers.

EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION When a learned behavior is motivated by the incentive of external reinforcers in the environment, we would say there is an extrinsic motivation to continue that behavior (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999; Table 9.1). In other words, the motivation comes from consequences that are found in the environment or situation. Bagels and coffee might provide extrinsic motivation for people to attend a boring meeting. Sales commissions provide extrinsic motivation for sales people to sell more goods. For most of us, money serves as a powerful form of extrinsic motivation.

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REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION OF ELSEVIER SCIENCE/THE LANCET/JAPAN NEUROSCIENCES SOCIETY FROM LEE, REEVE, XUE, AND XIONG (2012).

intrinsic motivation The drive or urge to continue a behavior because of internal reinforcers.

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION But learned behaviors can also be motivated by personal satisfaction, interest in a subject matter, and other variables that exist within a person. When the urge to continue a behavior comes from within, we call it intrinsic motivation (Deci et al., 1999). Reading a textbook because it is inherently interesting exemplifies intrinsic motivation. The reinforcers originate inside of you (learning feels good and brings you satisfaction), and not from the external environment.

What compels you to offer your seat to an older adult on a bus: Is it because you’ve been praised for helping others before (extrinsic motivation), or because it simply feels good to help someone (intrinsic motivation)? Perhaps your response is a combination of both.

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Adrenaline Junkie
Why are some people drawn to thrill-seeking activities like bungee jumping? Their behaviors are best explained by intrinsic motivation—the stimulation from these experiences is highly rewarding. “Sensation seeking” appears to be an inherited trait associated with certain patterns of dopamine activity in the brain (Derringer et al., 2010).
VisualCommunications/Getty Images

EXTRINSIC VERSUS INTRINSIC Many behaviors are inspired by a blend of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, but there do appear to be potential disadvantages to extrinsic motivation (Deci et al., 1999). Researchers have found that using rewards, such as money and marshmallows, to reinforce already interesting activities (like doing puzzles, playing word games, and so on) can lead to a decrease in what was initially intrinsically motivating. Perhaps the use of external reinforcers causes people to feel less responsible for initiating their own behaviors.

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In general, behavior resulting from intrinsic motivation is likely to include “high-quality learning,” but only when the activities are novel, challenging, or have aesthetically pleasing characteristics. Extrinsic motivation may be less effective, resulting in resentment or disinterest (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Unfortunately, researchers have found that “tangible rewards—both material rewards, such as pizza parties for reading books, and symbolic rewards, such as good student awards—are widely advocated by many educators and are used in many classrooms, yet the evidence suggests that these rewards tend to undermine intrinsic motivation for the rewarded activity” (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 2001, p. 15).

For Mohamed, the most powerful source of extrinsic motivation was the approval of his mother. He recalls how proud she was after returning from a parent–teacher conference in which his first-grade teacher said, “Your child is as bright as the sun.” Mohamed doesn’t remember his mom rewarding him with material things like toys and candy; apparently, making her proud was gratifying enough. But there were also forces driving Mohamed from within (intrinsic motivation). He enjoyed the process of learning. It was rewarding to master a second language and nail down his multiplication tables. Outside of class, Mohamed read books for fun. He still enjoys reading science fiction, so much that he hopes to write his own novel one day. Says Mohamed, “I want to be the first Somali to write a science fiction [book] in Somali.”

Instinct Theory

image GOODBYE, SOMALIA Somalia was not a safe place in 1991. The groups that orchestrated the revolution began warring among themselves, and the country plunged into bloody chaos. Over 20,000 innocent people were killed in the crossfire (Gassmann, 1991, December 21). A famine and food crisis ensued, which, in addition to the ongoing fighting, led to 240,000 to 280,000 deaths within the next 2 years (Gundel, 2003). It is easy to understand why Mohamed’s parents, or anyone, would want to remove their family from Somalia during this period. Faced with a life-or-death situation, they were motivated by what you might call a “survival” instinct. image

LO 3 Summarize instinct theory.

instincts Complex behaviors that are fixed, unlearned, and consistent within a species.

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Hungry and Waiting
A group of starving Somalis hope to receive food from an aid center in the city of Bardera. The situation in Somalia turned to chaos and desperation after rebels toppled the government in 1991. Over 240,000 people died in the ensuing war and famine (Gundel, 2003).
Les Stone/Zuma

What are instincts, do humans really have them, and how do they relate to motivation? First observed by scientists studying animals, instincts are complex behaviors that are fixed, unlearned, and consistent within a species. Instincts motivate South American ovenbirds to construct elaborate cavelike nests, and sea turtles to swim back hundreds of miles to feeding grounds they visited years earlier (Broderick, Coyne, Fuller, Glen, & Godley, 2007). No one teaches the birds to build their nests or the turtles to retrace migratory routes; through evolution, these behaviors appear to be etched into their genetic make-up.

Instincts form the basis of one of the earliest theories of motivation. Inspired in part by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, early scholars proposed that humans have a variety of instincts (McDougall, 1912). American psychologist William James (1890/1983) suggested we could explain some human behavior through instincts such as attachment and cleanliness. At the height of instinct theory’s popularity, several thousand human “instincts” had been named, among them curiosity, flight, and aggressiveness (Bernard, 1926; Kuo, 1921). Yet there was little evidence they were true instincts—that is, complex behaviors that are fixed, unlearned, and consistent within a species. Only a handful of human behaviors might be considered instincts, such as rooting behavior in newborn infants (Chapter 8). But even these are more related to reflexes than is a complex activity like nest building.

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Nesting Instinct
South American ovenbirds build cozy cavelike nests using mud, grass, and bark. Elaborate home-building behaviors, which are seen in all 240 ovenbird species, appear to be innate, or unlearned (Wuethrich, 1999, November 29). Their architectural aptitude seems to be the result of instinct.
Fritz Poelking/Age Fotostock

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 1, we presented the evolutionary perspective, which suggests humans have evolved adaptive traits through natural selection. Behaviors that improve the chances of survival and reproduction are most likely to be passed along to offspring, whereas less adaptive behaviors decrease in frequency. Humans do appear to have innate responses that have been shaped by our ancestors’ behaviors.

Although instinct theory faded into the background, some of its themes are apparent in the evolutionary perspective. A substantial body of research suggests that evolutionary forces influence human behavior. For example, emotional responses, such as fear of snakes, heights, and spiders, may have evolved to protect us from danger (Plomin, DeFries, Knopik, & Neiderhiser, 2013). But these fears are not instincts, because they are not universal. Not everyone is afraid of snakes and spiders; some of us have learned to fear (or not fear) them through experience. When trying to pin down the motivation for behavior, it is difficult to determine the relative contributions of learning (nurture) and innate factors (nature) such as instinct (Deckers, 2005).

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Surviving in Somalia
Habiba Ibrahim hauls wood to build a new home near Baidoa, Somalia, in December 1993. The 30-year-old mother was pushed off her land by fighting between ethnic groups. In the years following the government overthrow, 1–2 million Somalis fled their homes. Some resettled in the Western world, but most became refugees within their own country or in the neighboring nations of Kenya and Ethiopia (Gundel, 2003).
AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan

image FOUR YEARS IN KENYA After fleeing the bullet-riddled city of Mogadishu, Mohamed and his family made their way across the border into the neighboring country of Kenya, where they lived for about 4 years. Mohamed considers himself one of the “more fortunate ones.” Many Somalis had no choice but to settle in squalid, overcrowded refugee camps, while Mohamed’s family had the means to rent a small apartment in the capital city of Nairobi.

Mohamed: How have your childhood experiences impacted you as an adult?
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Being an outsider in Kenya was not easy, however. Back in Somalia, Mohamed’s father had earned a solid living constructing buildings, and his mother had been a successful entrepreneur selling homemade food from their house. In Kenya, neither parent could find employment. They had no choice but to live off “remittances,” or money sent from family members outside of Africa, and relying on other people was not their style. “You’re waiting on other people to feed you,” Mohamed says, “and [my father] didn’t like that.”

Daily life presented its fair share of challenges, too. Mohamed’s diet was painfully monotonous, with most meals centering around ugali, a dense gruel made of corn or millet flour—similar to oatmeal, but harder in consistency. At times, the apartment building lost electricity for weeks, or water stopped flowing from faucets. During water shortages, the whole family would carry empty buckets and tubs to a nearby army base and ask for water. Despite these difficulties, Mohamed never went hungry or thirsty. His basic physiological needs were met. image

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Drive-Reduction Theory

needs Physiological or psychological requirements that must be maintained at some baseline or constant state.

homeostasis The tendency for bodies to maintain constant states through internal controls.

Humans and nonhuman animals have basic physiological needs or requirements that must be maintained at some baseline or constant state to ensure continued existence. Homeostasis refers to the way in which our bodies maintain these constant states through internal controls. In order to survive, there is a continuous monitoring of oxygen, fluids, nutrients, and other physiological variables. If these fall below desired or necessary levels, an urge to restore equilibrium surfaces. And this urge motivates us to act.

LO 4 Describe drive-reduction theory and explain how it relates to motivation.

drive-reduction theory Suggests that homeostasis motivates us to meet biological needs.

drive A state of tension that pushes us or motivates behaviors to meet a need.

The drive-reduction theory of motivation proposes that this biological balancing act is the basis for motivation (Hull, 1952). According to this theory, behaviors are driven by the need to maintain homeostasis—that is, to fulfill basic biological needs for nutrients, fluids, oxygen, and so on (see Infographic 9.1, below). If a need is not fulfilled, this creates a drive, or state of tension, that pushes us or motivates behaviors to meet the need. The urges to eat, drink, sleep, seek comfort, or have sex are associated with physiological needs. Once a need is satisfied, the drive is reduced, at least temporarily, because this is an ongoing process, as the need inevitably returns. For example, when the behavior (let’s say eating) stops, the deprivation of something (such as food) causes the need to increase again.

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INFOGRAPHIC 9.1

Figure 9.1: INFOGRAPHIC 9.1
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Credits: Woman with water bottle, iStockphoto/Thinkstock; Sad businessman silhouette, shutterstock; Skydiver silhouette, shutterstock

Let’s look at another concrete example of drive reduction. Imagine you visit a mountainous area 6,500 feet above sea level, which puts a strain on breathing. While jogging, you find yourself gasping for air because your oxygen levels have dropped. Motivated by the need to maintain homeostasis, you stop what you are doing until your oxygen levels return to normal. Having an unfulfilled need (not enough oxygen) creates a drive (state of tension) that pushes you to modify your behavior in order to restore homeostasis (you stop and breathe deeply, allowing your blood oxygen levels to return to a normal level). The drive-reduction theory helps us understand how physiological needs can be motivators, but it is less useful for explaining why we climb mountains, go to college, or drive cars too fast.

Arousal Theory

Mohamed arrived in America when he was 6 years old. Stepping off the plane in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) was quite a shock for a young boy who had lived most of his childhood in the crowded, pavement-covered city of Nairobi. “It was really strange to me,” Mohamed says. “At that time, I hadn’t really seen a place that had space.” How odd it was to see patches of green grass in front of every house. “Everything looked like it sparkled.”

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Dangerous Fun
Babies and toddlers are notorious for climbing on furniture, mouthing nonfood items, and reaching for hazardous objects (this is why many parents “baby proof” their homes). Like adults looking for exciting places to travel and new electronic gadgets to own, these babies may be searching for novel forms of stimulation.
BSIP/Phototake

New places, people, and experiences can be frightening. They can also be delightfully exhilarating. Humans are fascinated by novelty, and you see evidence of this innate curiosity in the earliest stages of life. Babies grab, suck, and climb on just about everything they can get their hands on, including (much to the horror of their parents) dangerous electrical devices. Ignoring the most forceful parental warnings (Do NOT touch that hot plate!), many toddlers still reach out and touch extremely hot cookware or recklessly leap between pieces of furniture. But mind you, children are not the only ones seeking new experiences. Grown men and women will pay hundreds of dollars to parachute out of airplanes or float over jagged mountains in hot-air balloons. They also spend hours tooling around Web sites like Wikipedia and YouTube—just to learn about new things. Why engage in activities that have little, if anything, to do with satisfying basic biological needs? Humans are driven by other types of urges, including the apparent need for stimulation.

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Our primate cousins are also inquisitive, which suggests that they too have an innate need for enrichment and sensory stimulation. Researchers have found that monkeys will attempt to open latches without extrinsic motivation; apparently, their curiosity motivates their behavior (Butler, 1960; Harlow, Harlow, & Meyer, 1950).

LO 5 Explain how arousal theory relates to motivation.

arousal theory Suggests that humans are motivated to seek an optimal level of arousal, or alertness and engagement in the world.

According to arousal theory, humans (and perhaps other primates) seek an optimal level of arousal, as not all motivation stems from physical needs. Arousal, or engagement in the world, can be a product of anxiety, surprise, excitement, interest, fear, and many other emotions. Have you ever had an unexplained urge to make simple changes to your daily routines, like taking a new route to work, preparing your morning eggs differently, or adding new clothes to your wardrobe? These behaviors may stem from your need to increase arousal, as optimal arousal is a personal or subjective matter that is not the same for everyone (Infographic 9.1). Evidence suggests that some people are sensation seekers; that is, they appear to seek activities that increase arousal (Zuckerman, 1979, 1994). Popularly known as “adrenaline junkies,” these individuals relish activities like cliff diving, racing motorcycles, and watching horror movies. High sensation seeking is not necessarily a bad thing, as it may be associated with a higher tolerance for stressful events (Roberti, 2004).

Needs and More Needs: Maslow’s Hierarchy

LO 6 Outline Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

hierarchy of needs A continuum of needs that are universal and ordered in terms of the strength of their associated drives.

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 1, we discussed Maslow and his involvement in humanistic psychology. The humanists suggest that people are inclined to grow and change for the better, and this perspective is apparent in the hierarchy of needs. Humans are motivated by the universal tendency to move up the hierarchy and meet needs toward the top.

Have you ever been in a car accident, lived through a hurricane, or witnessed a violent crime? At the time, you probably were not thinking about what show you were going to watch on HBO that night. When physical safety is threatened, everything else tends to take a backseat. This is one of the themes underlying the hierarchy of needs theory of motivation proposed by Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), a leading figure in the humanistic movement. Maslow organized human needs into a hierarchy of biological and psychological needs, often depicted as a pyramid (Infographic 9.1). The needs in the hierarchy are considered universal and are ordered according to the strength of their associated drives, with the most critical needs at the bottom. Food and water, for example, are situated at the base of the hierarchy, and generally take precedence over higher-level needs.

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS Physiological needs, as stated earlier, include the requirements for food, water, sleep, and an overall balance of bodily systems. If a life-sustaining need such as fluid intake goes unsatisfied, other needs are placed on hold and the person is motivated to find ways to satisfy it. For example, the Chilean miners introduced in Chapter 1 spent weeks trapped underground with no clean drinking water. To quench their thirst, they were willing to drink oil-contaminated water (and urine, in the case of one man).

SAFETY NEEDS For most North Americans, basic physiological needs are “relatively well gratified” (Maslow, 1943), and thus Maslow would suggest their behavior is motivated by the next higher level in the hierarchy: safety needs. But how you define safety depends on the circumstances of your life. If you were living in Mogadishu during the 1991 revolution (and many times subsequent to that period), staying safe might have involved dodging bullets and artillery fire. For those currently living in Somalia, safety includes having access to safe drinking water and disease-preventing vaccines. Most people living in America do not have to worry about access to clean water or routine vaccinations. Here, safety is more likely equated with the need for predictability and order: having a steady job, a home in a safe neighborhood, health insurance, and living in a country with a stable economy. What does safety mean for you?

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LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS NEEDS If safety needs are being met, then people will be motivated by love and belongingness needs. Maslow suggested this includes the need to avoid loneliness, to feel like part of a group, and to maintain affectionate relationships. Except for a rare run-in with neighborhood bullies, Mohamed enjoyed a fairly secure existence in Minnesota. His need for safety was met, so he was motivated at this next level of the hierarchy. In addition to cultivating deep family bonds, Mohamed befriended two boys he met in middle school, one who had emigrated from Bangladesh and the other a first-generation Mexican American. The three pals all ended up going to the University of Minnesota, and they remain very close.

We all want to belong, and failing to meet this need has significant consequences. People who feel disconnected or excluded may demonstrate less prosocial behavior (Twenge, Baumeister, DeWall, Ciarocco, & Bartels, 2007) and behave more aggressively and less cooperatively, which only tends to intensify their struggle for social acceptance (DeWall, Baumeister, & Vohs, 2008).

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Love, Affection, and Belongingness
Relationships with friends help fulfill what Maslow called love and belongingness needs.
TobKatrina/Shutterstock

ESTEEM NEEDS If the first three levels of needs are being met, then the individual might be motivated by esteem needs, including the need to be respected by others, to achieve, and to have self-respect, self-confidence, and feelings of independence. Cultivating and fulfilling these needs foster a sense of confidence and self-worth, both qualities that Mohamed seems to possess. It was early in life that Mohamed began doing things for himself. His parents may have been there to encourage him, but they could not hold his hand when it came to tasks demanding proficiency in English—like filling out employment applications. But Mohamed did just fine on his own, landing his first job at a nonprofit student loan company just after ninth grade, and performing so well that the company employed him throughout college. Mohamed, it appears, began meeting esteem needs very early on.

self-actualization The need to be one’s best and strive for one’s fullest potential.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION Even with the above-mentioned needs actively being met, Maslow suggested that the need for self-actualization would provide motivation “to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming” (Maslow, 1943, p. 382). Self-actualization is the need to reach one’s fullest potential. Some will meet this need by being the best possible parent, while others will strive to be the best artist or musician. Self-actualization is at the heart of the humanistic movement: It represents the human tendency toward growth and self-discovery (Chapter 10). For Mohamed, self-actualization means being an exceptional scholar, employee, and father.

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Breaking Fast
Iraqi families gather for Iftar, the evening meal eaten after the daytime fast. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims foreswear food and water from dawn to dusk. They also step up charity work and other efforts to help those less fortunate (Huffington Post, 2012, July 16). Here, basic needs (food and water) are put on hold for something more transcendent.
Johan Spanner/Polaris

SELF-TRANSCENDENCE Toward the end of his life, Maslow proposed an additional need: that for self-transcendence. This need motivates us to go beyond our own needs and feel outward connections through “peak experiences” of ecstasy and awe. Fulfilling this need might mean devoting oneself to a humanitarian cause, pursuing a lofty ideal, or achieving spiritual enlightenment. If you walked into Mohamed’s room, you would see a huge poster that says, “Live a simple life so others can simply live.” What this means, explains Mohamed, is that you should do the best you can in life, but also strive to allow others to do the same. “It’s balancing your life so that you’re always doing the most positive good,” he says. As president of the University of Minnesota’s Somali Student Association, Mohamed put this slogan to work, organizing activities to support Somali students, and arranging cultural awareness events at the university and in the greater Twin Cities communities.

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EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE Maslow’s hierarchy provides suggestions for the order of needs, but this sequence is not set in stone. In some cases, people abandon physiological needs in order to meet a self-actualization need—going on a hunger strike or giving up material possessions, for example. During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Mohamed refrains from drinking or eating from dawn to dusk—not an easy task during August in Minnesota, where the sun rises at about 6:00 A.M. and sets well after 8:00 P.M. The practice of fasting, which also occurs in Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism, illustrates how basic physiological needs (food and water) can temporarily be placed on hold for a greater purpose (religion).

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Figure 9.1: Self-Determination Theory
Deci and Ryan’s theory proposes that we are born with fundamental needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
© 2005 by the American Psychological Association. Adapted with permission from Lyubormirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade (2005); photo: Justin Horrocks/Getty Images

Safety is another basic need often relegated in the pursuit of something more transcendent. Just think of all the soldiers who have given their lives fighting for causes like freedom and social justice. Somali parents living in a war zone and battling hunger may neglect their own basic needs to ensure their children’s well-being, thus fulfilling higher needs such as love and esteem.

CONNECTIONS

In Chapter 8, we introduced Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, which suggests that stages of development are marked by a task or emotional crisis. These crises often touch on issues of competence, relatedness, and autonomy.

self-determination theory (SDT) Suggests that humans are born with the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy, which are always driving us in the direction of growth and optimal functioning.

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY Building on the ideas of both Maslow and Erik Erikson, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (2008) proposed the self-determination theory (SDT), which suggests that humans are born with three universal, fundamental needs that are always driving us in the direction of optimal functioning: competence, relatedness, and autonomy (Figure 9.1; Stone, Deci, & Ryan, 2009). Competence represents the need to reach our goals through successful mastery of day-to-day responsibilities. Relatedness is the need to create meaningful and lasting relationships. And autonomy means managing one’s behavior to reach personal goals. Self-determination theory does not focus on overcoming one’s shortcomings, but on moving in a positive direction.

need for achievement (n-Ach) A drive to reach attainable and challenging goals, especially in the face of competition.

NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT In the early 1930s, Henry Murray proposed that humans are motivated by 20 fundamental human needs. One of these has been the subject of a great deal of research: the need for achievement (n-Ach), or a drive to reach attainable and challenging goals especially in the face of competition. McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, and Lowell (1976) suggested that people tend to seek out situations that provide opportunities for satisfying this need. A child who aspires to become a professional basketball player might start training at a very young age, read books about the sport, and apply for basketball camp scholarships. A high school student dead set on going to college may set up meetings with the college counselor, take practice SATs, and read books about how to write an exceptional application essay.

need for power (n-Pow) A drive to control and influence others.

NEED FOR POWER According to McClelland and colleagues (1976), some people are motivated by a need for power (n-Pow), or a drive to control and influence others. People with this need may project their importance through outward appearances. They may drive around in luxury cars, wear flashy designer clothing, and buy expensive houses. Some even flex their influence muscles on the pages of Facebook, building massive numbers of contacts just to show how important and popular they are.

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SOCIAL MEDIA and psychology

Network Needs

image Some of the most enthusiastic users of Facebook—those who tend to have large numbers of contacts, status updates, and wall posts—score high on assessments of a personality trait called narcissism (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008; Mehdizadeh, 2010). Narcissistic people are vain and self-absorbed; they seek prestige and power, and they may feel a sense of superiority over others. These characteristics shine through online, and presumably have a negative impact on the Facebook social climate (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008; Carpenter, 2012).

Social media users are driven by the desire for love and belonging (the third level from the bottom on Maslow’s hierarchy). Facebook seems to appeal to people who struggle to get those needs met in real life (Song et al., 2014), but it may not be the answer to their problems. One study of college students, for example, found no evidence that using Facebook eliminated loneliness. Those who were socially isolated offline were also socially isolated online (Freberg, Adams, McGaughey, & Freberg, 2010). In some cases, using social media actually intensified feelings of loneliness (DiSalvo, 2010, January/February). Perhaps this is because interactions with network “friends” tend to be more superficial than those in real life. Can anyone really maintain deep and meaningful relationships with 300 Facebook friends?

FACEBOOK: A CURE FOR LONELINESS?

But there is a bright side. Facebook does appear to be a useful tool for strengthening established relationships (DiSalvo, 2010). A century ago, families were not as geographically scattered as they are today. Grandparents, siblings, and cousins might have lived in the same town or county, and this would have created more opportunities for love, affection, and belonging. These days, families are dispersed all over the globe, and staying connected through social media may be a lot easier (and cheaper) than buying airplane tickets. image

In the next section, we return our focus to the base of Maslow’s pyramid, where basic drives such as hunger and thirst are represented. Sadly, many people in the world do not get those needs fulfilled.

show what you know

Question 1

1. ____________ is a stimulus that directs the way we behave, think, and feel.

Motivation

Question 2

2. Imagine you are a teacher trying to motivate your students. Explain why you would want them to be influenced by intrinsic motivation as opposed to extrinsic motivation.

Answers will vary. Extrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of external reinforcers. Intrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of internal reinforcers. A teacher wants to encourage intrinsic motivation because the reinforcers originate inside of the students, through personal satisfaction, interest in a subject matter, and so on. There are some potential disadvantages to extrinsic motivation. For example, using rewards, such as money and candy, to reinforce already interesting activities can lead to a decrease in what was intrinsically motivating. Thus, the teacher would want students to respond to intrinsic motivation because the tasks themselves are motivating, and the students love learning for the sake of learning itself.

When activities are not novel or challenging or do not have aesthetically pleasing characteristics, intrinsic motivation will not be useful. Thus, using rewards might be the best way to motivate these types of activities.

Question 3

3. Your instructor suggests that gender differences in dating behavior are ultimately motivated by evolutionary forces. She is using which of the following to support her explanation?

  1. operant conditioning

  2. arousal theory

  3. instinct theory

  4. homeostasis

c. instinct theory

Question 4

4. The ____________ theory of motivation suggests that the need to maintain homeostasis motivates us to meet our biological needs.

  1. arousal

  2. instinct

  3. incentive

  4. drive-reduction

d. drive-reduction

Question 5

5. According to Maslow, the biological and psychological needs that motivate us to behave are arranged in a ____________.

hierarchy of needs

Question 6

6. How does drive-reduction motivation differ from arousal motivation?

The drive-reduction theory of motivation suggests that biological needs and homeostasis motivate us to meet needs. If a need is not fulfilled, this creates a drive, or state of tension, that pushes us or motivates behaviors to meet the need. Once a need is met, the drive is reduced, at least temporarily (because this is an ongoing process, as the need inevitably returns). Arousal theory suggests that humans seek an optimal level of arousal, and what is optimal is based on individual differences. Behaviors can arise out of the simple desire for stimulation, or arousal, which is a level of alertness and engagement in the world, and people are motivated to seek out activities that fulfill this need. Drive-reduction theory suggests that the motivation is to reduce tension, but arousal theory suggests that in some cases the motivation is to increase tension.