Motivational Psychology

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Motivational Psychology

• What drives people to do the things they do?

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Basic Concepts

• Motives internal states that arouse and direct
  behavior toward specific objects or goals
• Needs states of tension within a person

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Motive Psychology

• People differ in the type and strength of their
  motives
• These differences are measurable
• These differences cause or are associated with
  important life outcomes
• Differences will be stable over time
• Motives can answer why do people do what they
  do. Traits answer the question how people do
  what they do

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Motive Psychology
Henry Murrays Theory of Needs

• A need refers to a potentiality or readiness to
  respond in a certain way under certain given
  circumstances

• Needs organize perception, guiding us to see
  what we want (need) to see

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Motive Psychology

• Henry Murrays Theory of Needs
• Figure 8-1 20 fundamental human needs
• Hierarchy of needs an individuals various needs
  can have different levels of strength
• The interaction of the levels of needs makes the
  motive concept dynamic

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Motive Psychology

• Henry Murrays Theory of Needs
• Press need-relevant aspects of the environment
• Alpha press real environment
• Beta press perceived environment

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Motive Psychology

• Henry Murrays Theory of Needs
• Apperception the act of interpreting the
  environment and perceiving the meaning of what is
  going on in a situation
• Thematic Apperception Technique (TAT)

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Sample TAT card
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Sample TAT card
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TAT and Questionnaire Measures of Motives Do
They Measure Different Aspects of Motives?

• McClelland argues that responses to TAT and
  questionnaire measures are not correlated because
  they measure two different types of motivation
• TAT measures implicit motivationunconscious
  desires, aspirations, and needs

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TAT and Questionnaire Measures of Motives Do
They Measure Different Aspects of Motives?

• Questionnaires measure explicit or
  self-attributed motivationreflect a persons
  self-awareness of conscious motives
• Implicit motives better predict long-term
  behavioral trends over time

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TAT and Questionnaire Measures of Motives Do
They Measure Different Aspects of Motives?

• Explicit motives better predict responses to
  immediate, specific situations and to choice
  behaviors and attitudes

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The Big Three Motives
Achievement
Power
Intimacy
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Need for Achievement

• People who have a high need for achievement
• Prefer activities that offer some, but not too
  much, challenge
• Enjoy tasks where they are personally responsible
  for the outcome
• Prefer tasks where feedback on their performance
  is available

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Need for Achievement

• Sex differences Life outcomes and childhood
  experiences
• Promoting achievement motivation Independence
  training and setting challenging standards for
  children

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Need for Power

• Readiness or preference for having an impact on
  people
• People with a high need for power are interested
  in controlling situations and controlling others

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Need for Power

• Sex differences Largest is that men but not
  women with high need for power perform a variety
  of impulsive and aggressive behaviors
• Profligate impulsive behaviors (drinking,
  aggression, sexual exploitation) is less likely
  to occur if a person has responsibility training

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Need for Power

• People with a high need for power do not deal
  well with frustration and conflictshow strong
  stress responses, including high blood pressure

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Need for Intimacy

• Recurrent preference for or readiness for warm,
  close, communicative interactions with others
• People with a high (compared to those with low)
  need for intimacy
• Spend more time during day thinking about
  relationships
• Report more pleasant emotions when around other
  people

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Need for Intimacy

• People with a high (compared to those with low)
  need for intimacy
• Smile, laugh, make more eye contact
• Start up conversations more frequently and write
  more letters

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Need for Intimacy

• Consistent sex difference Women, on average,
  have a higher need for intimacy

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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• The meaning of any persons life is found in the
  choices that person makes and the responsibility
  they take for those choices
• Emphasizes the human need for growth and
  realizing ones full potential

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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
• Needs are hierarchically organized
• Needs must be satisfied at the lower levels
  before we proceed to satisfy the higher needs
• Lower needs are more powerful and pressing

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self- Actualization
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
• Research Findings
• Characteristics of Self-Actualizing Persons

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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• Rogers Contributions
• The fully functioning person
• Positive regard
• Conditions of worth

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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• Rogers Contributions
• Anxiety and Distortion
• Client-Centered Therapy
• Genuine Acceptance
• Unconditional Positive Regard
• Empathic Understanding

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The Humanistic Tradition The Motive to
Self-Actualize

• Research on empathy
• Not heritable
• Can be effectively taught
• Empathic ability increases with practice

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Summary

• Murray needs differ in strength, and the
  intensity fluctuates over time and situations
• TAT technique of motivation measurement
• Achievement, Power, Intimacy
• Self-Actualization