Motivation
Motives contribute to it. But on the basic of information
gained through the analysis of human behaviour, psychologists have attempted to
classify human needs into two broad categories. As mentioned earlier these
categories are as follows. (I) primary or physiological needs, and (ii)
secondary or socio-psychogenic needs.
The primary needs are rooted in the physiological state of
the body . They are innate and include bodily conditions such as hunger ,thirst
sex, temperature regulation, sleep and pain .These needs are of recurring type
because they can be satisfied for short periods only.
The secondary or socio-psychogenic needs are unique to human
beings. Many of them are learned and they drive the individual toward special
kinds of behaviours. Since these needs are learned, their strength differs
greatly from one individual to another. Some of the important socio-psychogenic
needs arecpower, affilation, achivement and approval.
Psycholgists have developed a number of standardized tests
of the assessment of these nrrds. They may also be assessed through non testing
procedures as well.
HIERACHY OF NEEDS
Abraham Maslow, who was a humanistic psychologist, argued
that needs are arranged in a ladder- like steps. He proposed a rising order of
needs is satisfied another higher order need will emerge and assume importance
in life.The hierarchy is shown in Fig.9.1.
Physiological needs: The most potent lowest leval of all the
needs are physiological needs. Thus the needsof hunger, thirst, thirst, sex,
temperature regulation and rest occupy the lowest step in the ladder. According
to Maslow, when these physiological needs are deprived for a long period, all
other needs fail to appear
We must eat to live. The bio-chemical proceesses which
sustain life get their energy and chemical substances from food. Food
deprivation results in contractions in the stomach which are felt by the
individual as hunger pangs. When this happens, the individual spends energy in
trying to get food. Factors like habits and social customs also influence
eating behaviour.
We can go without food for weeks but we cannot live without
water for more than a few days. The brain directs the organism to obtain water.
Sex need differs in many respects from hunger and thirst. Sex is not vital to
the survival of the organism but is essential to the survival of the species.
Children also play an important role in the development of
achievement motivation. Parents who expect their children to work hard,
encourage and praise them for their performance do so as to promote achievment
oriented behaviour.
The degree of achievement oriented behaviour depends on many
factors. One of these is “fear of failure”. It inhibits the expression of
achievment bahaviour. When some one is successful in school, sports and other
activites, we say that achievement motivation is very strong in him or her
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
While thinking about motivation we often try to locate its
source whether it is internal to the person or external to him or
her.Undertaking a given task may be motivated by promise of a prize or some
other kind of gain which is external to the task. Thus, the task is
instrumental in receiving or gaining access to the external reward. In all such
situations the locus of control is external to the person who is asked to
undertake the activity. Such situations characterize the kind of motivation
which is extrinsic.On the other hand, we have situations in which the source of
motivation lies inside the task. In such cases we work because the task itself
is interesting and does not require any external source of motivation. Here ,
the task is not instrumental in obtaining any external reward. The locus of
control is inside the person. Person ,s involvement in the task is spontaneous
and the task itself acts as its own reward. This situation represents intrinsic
motivation such as a child”s play, reading an interesting novel, writing a poem
or a story.
It has been found that intrinsic motivation leads to high
quality of work, meeting challenges, and pursuit of excellence. Infact
attachment with outcome often distracts the process or actvity. This is why
Indian thinkers realized the significance of non- attachment(Anasakti). It is
the action which is important and on which we have control and therefore we
need to focus more and more on the action without bothering much about the
outcome of action. In in modern life extrinsic rewards are being emphasized
more and more and everything is becoming contractual. The exchange
relationships are becoming central. This situation is creating many problems in
personal and social lives of the people. It is therefore important to plan activites and organize
realationships in such a manner that the task remains in the center of
interest.
For which one is well suited. One should realize and be
satisfied that he or she has achieved what one is capable of.
Self actualization is possible only when the needs of a
person are met to the degree that they neither distract nor consume all
available energy. When the person succeeds in satisfying his/her lower order
needs. Only then he can act upon his/her higher order needs.
Self transcendence: This is the highest level of need where
a person becomes conscious of broader reality. He transcends the boundaries of
self and attends to the needs of colectivity and society. At this level one
becomes aware of the entire humanity. At this level spiritual concerns become
very important.
In this hierarchy it is assumed that the lower order needs
dominate people”slives until that level is fairly satisfied; then comes the
next one and so on . However, Maslow explains that every individual does not
follow this hierarchy step by step; exceptions do arise. An individual
sometimes risks his life to save someone or to save a valued object by defying
his own safety needs. There are certain examples in Indian history when woman
sacrificed their lives to save their honour. There have been freedom fighters
who starved themselves to death figting for the cause of the freedom of the
country.Here the higher order needs superceded the hunger and thirst needs.
Sometimes individual rejects love, family, friends, etc. By committing suicide,
thus defying the needs of love and sense of belongingness.
It may be noted that the hierarchy, however, does not imply
that lower order needs become dormant
once they are satisfied and the higher order need
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
One of the important needs present to some degree in all
human beings is the “need for achievement” or the need to attain excellence and
higher level of performance. People in whom the need for achievement is strong
seek difficult work and persist on the task chosen. They are task oriented and
prefer to work on task that are challenging and on which their other
person”sperformance in terms of some standard. Achievement motivation can be
seen in many areas of human endeavour such as job, school or sports compettion.
The differences in early are found to be related to the
strength of achievment motivation in later stage. The expectations parents have
from their
Self Transcendence
Self actualization
Esteem needs
Love and
Belongingness needs
Safety
needs
Physiological needs
Safety needs: When the physiogical needs are satisfied
safety needs become the dominant force in life. Safety needs are mainly
concerned with maintaining order and security , to feel secure, safe and out of
danger.
Love and Belongingness needs: These are the needs of making intimate
realationship with other members of the society. People want to become an
accepted member of an organised group, need a familiar environment such as
family. These needs are dependent on the fulfilment and satisfaction of
physiogical and safety needs.
The Esteem needs: Esteem needs are divided into the
following two categogies:
(a) Needs realted to respect from other like reputation,
status success and fame. The need of self evaluation occurs in those persons
who are comfortably situated with the fulfilment of lower order needs. For
example. A competent professional who has established a high reputation and
does not have to worry about getting a job, may become quite choosy about what
type of work he/she would accept.
(b) Self esteem, self respect and self gegard.
The other type of esteem needs include need to achieve, to
be competent, to gain approval and to get recognition. The need to feel
superior to others also falls under this category. For fulfilling this, a
person may buy good quality and costly clothes.
Self actualisation: Self actualisation refers to the desire
to utilise one’s personal capacities, to develop one, s potentialities to the
fullest and to engage in activites
SELF EFFICACY
People hold beliefs about their competence to undertake some
task and such beliefs influence the level of their performance. The self efficacy
beliefs are the subjective standards held by the people that inform judgements
about choosing specific goals. Introduced by Bandura, the concept of self
efficacy has been used to motivate
people in a variety of settings. By learning appropriate or realistic
self efficacy beliefs one can plan behaviour and perform at a higher level.
Self efficacy beliefs are found to play significant role in adjustment and
physical health. It is what people believe they can do with their skills under
certain conditions. Self efficacy beliefs develop over time. They reflect
development of understanding that actions produce results and one can produce
action that causes results. It may be noted that efficacy beliefs also operate
at collective levels. Thus, collective efficacy involves a group” s shared
belief in its joint capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action
required to produce the given level of attainment.
VALUES
Values work as important motivators. They are considered as
desorable and cherisliable goals that serve as guiding principles in people”s
lives.Values help to make choices. Values prioritize needs. It is only because
of values that people take purposeful long range actions. Pleasura and pain
connected with specific behaviours have momentary effects.
In the analysis of values, moral values are given special
significance. These values guide choices and actions. Moral values disserentiate
between good and bad .In a recent stuby based on data from several countries.
Some values have been noted which are given below:
Power: This includes social status and prestige, control and
dominance over people and resources
Achievement: This includes personal success by demonstrating
competence according to social standards.
Self-direction: This includes independent thought and
action, choosing, creating, and exploring.
Universalism: This includes understanding, appreciation,
tolerance and protection for the welfare of all people.
Benovelence: This includes preservatio and enhancement of
the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact.
Tradition: This includes respect, commitment and acceptance
of the customers and ideas that are given importance in the traditional
cultures or religions.
Conformity:This includes restraint of action, inclination,
and impules likely to upset or harm other and violate social expectations or
norms.
Security: This includes safety, harmony and stability of
relationships and of self.
In the Indian context the framework of Dharma provides a set
of values which are considered central to the sustenance of life. They include
truth(Satya), non stealing (asteya), keeping tolerance (driti), intellect(dhi),
knowledge (vidya), non-anger (akrodh), forgiveness (kshama). Purity (saucha),
control of sense organs (indriyanigraha) and self control (dam). These values
provide basic for maintaining and promoting life at the individual and the
social levels. It maintains a the view that holds entire universe into account.
No comments:
Post a Comment