Motivation is the driving force that causes the flux from desire to will in life .

For example: a flower with no water still desires for water to sustain life; h owever, due to its incapability to move and get water, the flower cannot will fo r water, hence, suffering from a break in the driving force of motivation; it is not to say, however, that, necessarily, the flower lacks the driving force; the refore, all life can said to have, at its very minimal, the igniting spark of mo tivation. It can be considered a psychological state that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicit s a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Motivation may be rooted in a basic impulse to optimize wellbeing, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. It can also originate from specific physical needs such as eating, sleeping or resting, and sex. Motivation is an inner drive to behave or act in a certain manner. "It's the dif ference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around th e house all day."[1] These inner conditions such as wishes, desires and goals, a ctivate to move in a particular direction in behavior. Types of theories and models[edit]Motivational theories[edit]A class of theories about why people do things seeks to reduce the number of factors down to one an d explain all behaviour through that one factor. For example, economics has been criticized for using self-interest as a mono-motivational theory. [2] Mono-moti vational theories are often criticized for being too reductive or too abstract. Conscious and unconscious motivations[edit]A number of motivational theories emp hasize the distinction between conscious and unconscious motivations. In evoluti onary psychology, the "ultimate", unconscious motivation may be a cold evolution ary calculation, the conscious motivation could be more benign or even positive emotions. For example, while it may be in the best interest of a male's genes to have multiple partners and thus break up with or divorce one before moving onto the next, the conscious rationalization could be, "I loved her at the time". [3 ] Freud is associated with the idea that human beings have many unconscious motiva tions that cause them to make important decisions because of these unconscious f orces, such as choosing a partner. Psychological theories and models[edit]Rational motivations[edit]The idea that h uman beings are rational and human behaviour is guided by reason is an old one. However, recent research (on Satisficing for example) has significantly undermin ed the idea of homo economicus or of perfect rationality in favour of a more bou nded rationality. The field of behavioural economics is particularly concerned w ith the limits of rationality in economic agents. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation[edit]Motivation can be divided into two types : intrinsic (internal) motivation and extrinsic (external) motivation. Intrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoy ment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures or a desire for reward. Intrinsic motivation has been studie d since the early 1970s.The phenomenon of intrinsic motivation was first acknowl edged within experimental studies of animal behavior. In these studies, it was e vident that the organisms would engage in playful and curiosity driven behaviors in the absence of reward. Intrinsic motivation is a natural motivational tenden cy and is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical development.[4] Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task w illingly as well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capa bilities.[5] Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also kno wn as autonomy believe they have the skills to be effective agents in reaching their desired go als, also known as self-efficacy beliefs are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades Extrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain an outcome, whether or not that activity is also intrinsically motivated. Extri nsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivatio ns are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desired behavior, a nd the threat of punishment following misbehavior. Competition is in an extrinsi c motivator because it encourages the performer to win and to beat others, not s imply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity. A cheering crowd and the d esire to win a trophy are also extrinsic incentives.[6] Comparison of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to o verjustification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation. In one stud y demonstrating this effect, children who expected to be (and were) rewarded wit h 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.[7] However, another study showed that third gra ders who were rewarded with a book showed more reading behavior in the future, i mplying that some rewards do not undermine intrinsic motivation.[8] While the pr ovision of extrinsic rewards might reduce the desirability of an activity, the u se of extrinsic constraints, such as the threat of punishment, against performin g an activity has actually been found to increase one's intrinsic interest in th at activity. In one study, when children were given mild threats against playing with an attractive toy, it was found that the threat actually served to increas e the child's interest in the toy, which was previously undesirable to the child in the absence of threat.[9] For those children who received no extrinsic reward, self-determination theory p roposes that extrinsic motivation can be internalized by the individual if the t ask fits with their values and beliefs and therefore helps to fulfill their basi c psychological needs. Operant conditioning Operant conditioning, a term coined by B.F. Skinner, is a method of learning tha t occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Skinner believed that in ternal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behaviour; instead to look at external, observable causes of human behaviour. His theory explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.[10] Push and pull[edit]This model is usually used when discussing motivation within the context of tourism. Push factors determine the desire to go on holiday, wher eas pull factors determine the choice of destination. Push motives are connected with internal forces, for example the need for relaxation or escapism, while pu ll factors are the external factors, such as landscape, cultural image or the cl imate of a destination, that induce a traveller to visit a certain location.[cit ation needed] Push factors can be stimulated by external and situational aspects of motivation in the shape of pull factors. Then again pull factors are issues that can arise from a location itself and therefore push an individual to choose t o experience it.[11] Since then, a large number of theories have been developed over the years in many studies there is no single theory that illustrates all mo tivational aspects of travelling. Many researchers have highlighted that because several motives may occur at the same time it should not be assumed that only o ne motive drives an individual to perform an action, as was presumed in previous studies.[12] On the other hand, since people are not able to satisfy all their

needs at once, they usually seek to satisfy some or a few of them.[citation need ed] Self-control[edit]The self-control aspect of motivation is increasingly consider ed to be a subset of emotional intelligence; it is suggested that although a per son may be classed as highly intelligent (as measured by many traditional intell igence tests), they may remain unmotivated to pursue intellectual endeavours. Vr oom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of when people may decide to exert self-control in pursuit of a particular goal. Drives[edit]Main article: Drive theory A drive or desire can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behavi or that is aimed at a goal or an incentive.[13] These drives are thought to orig inate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage th e 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 f or praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others. Another basic drive is the sexual drive which like food motivates us because it is essential to our survival.[14] The desire for sex is wired deep in to the brain of all human beings as glands secrete hormones that travel through the blood to the brain and stimulates the onset of sexual desire.[14] The hormon e involved in the initial onset of sexual desire is called dihydroepiandosterone (DHEA).[14] The hormonal basis of both men and women's sex drives is testostero ne.[14] Men naturally have more testosterone than women do and so are more likel y than woman to think about sex, have sexual fantasies, seek sex and sexual vari ety (whether positions or partners), masturbate, want sex at an early point in a relationship, sacrifice other things for sex, have permissive attitudes for sex , and complain about low sex drive in their partners.[14] By contrast, the role of e of training animals by The treat motivates the hen the treat is removed extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the exampl giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. animals to perform the trick consistently, even later w from the process.

Incentive theory[edit]A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the o ccurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intention of causing the behavio r 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 is g reater, and decreases as delay lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination c an cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from two sources: oneself, and other people. These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrins ic motivation, respectively. Reinforcers and reinforcement principles of behavior differ from the hypothetica l construct of reward. A reinforcer is any stimulus change following a response that increases the future frequency or magnitude of that response, therefore the cognitive approach is certainly the way forward as in 1973 Maslow described it as being the golden pineapple. Positive reinforcement is demonstrated by an incr ease in the future frequency or magnitude of a response due to in the past being followed contingently by a reinforcing stimulus. Negative reinforcement involve s stimulus change consisting of the removal of an aversive stimulus following a response. Positive reinforcement involves a stimulus change consisting of the pr esentation or magnification of a positive stimulus following a response. From th is 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, whil e hoping for B, and in the process, reap harmful effects that can jeopardize you r goals.

Incentive theory in psychology treats motivation and behavior of the individual as they are influenced by beliefs, such as engaging in activities that are expec ted to be profitable. Incentive theory is promoted by behavioral psychologists, such as B.F. Skinner and literalized by behaviorists, especially by Skinner in h is philosophy of Radical behaviorism, to mean that a person's actions always hav e social ramifications: and if actions are positively received people are more l ikely to act in this manner, or if negatively received people are less likely to act in this manner. Incentive theory distinguishes itself from other motivation theories, such as dr ive theory, in the direction of the motivation. In incentive theory, stimuli "at tract", to use the term above, a person towards them, as opposed to the body see king to reestablish homeostasis and pushing towards the stimulus. In terms of be haviorism, incentive theory involves positive reinforcement: the reinforcing sti mulus has been conditioned to make the person happier. For instance, a person kn ows that eating food, drinking water, or gaining social capital will make them h appier. As opposed to in drive theory, which involves negative reinforcement: a stimulus has been associated with the removal of the punishment the lack of homeos tasis 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. Escape-seeking dichotomy model[edit]Escapism and seeking are major factors influ encing decision making. Escapism is a need to breakaway from a daily life routin e, turning on the television and watching an adventure film, whereas seeking is described as the desire to learn, turning on the television to watch a documenta ry. Both motivations have some interpersonal and personal facets for example ind ividuals would like to escape from family problems (personal) or from problems w ith work colleagues (interpersonal). This model can also be easily adapted with regard to different studies. Drive-reduction theory[edit]There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Redu ction Theory grows out of the concept that people have certain biological drives , such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases if it is no t satisfied (in this case by eating). Upon satisfying a drive the drive's streng th is reduced. The theory is based on diverse ideas from the theories of Freud t o the ideas of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat. Drive theory has some intuitive or folk validity. For instance when preparing fo od, 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 subj ective hunger. There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of d rive reduction open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain ho w secondary reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money satisfies no biological or psychological needs, but a pay check appears to reduce drive through secondorder conditioning. Secondly, a drive, such as hunger, is viewed as having a "de sire" to eat, making the drive a homuncular being a feature criticized as simply m oving the fundamental problem behind this "small man" and his desires. Drive reduction theory cannot be a complete theory of behavior, or a hungry huma n 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 satis fying a drive (by adding on other traits such as restraint), or adding additiona l drives for "tasty" food, which combine with drives for food in order to explai n cooking render it hard to test. Cognitive dissonance theory[edit]Suggested by Leon Festinger, cognitive dissonan ce occurs when an individual experiences some degree of discomfort resulting fro m an inconsistency between two cognitions: their views on the world around them,

and their own personal feelings and actions. For example, a consumer may seek t o reassure themselves regarding a purchase, feeling in retrospect that another d ecision may have been preferable. Their feeling that another purchase would have been preferable is inconsistent with their action of purchasing the item. The d ifference between their feelings and beliefs causes dissonance, so they seek to reassure themselves. While not a theory of motivation, per se, the theory of cognitive dissonance pro poses that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. The cognitive miser perspective makes people want to justify things in a simple way in order t o reduce the effort they put into cognition. They do this by changing their atti tudes, beliefs, or actions, rather than facing the inconsistencies, because diss onance is a mental strain. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, an d denying. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. Content theories[edit]Motivation, as defined by Pritchard and Ashwood, is the pr ocess used to allocate energy to maximize the satisfaction of needs.[15] Maslow's hierarchy of needs[edit]Content theory of human motivation includes bot h Abraham Maslow's hierarchy