Analytical essay concepts and methods

¶ … two forces that motivate people: self-Interest and fear.

Motivation is too much of a complex subject to narrow it down to two forces. However, the many forces that motivate people may indeed be classified under these two broad terms. In order to examine the forces that motivate people it is important to first define motivation and examine some of the theories of motivation. The complexity of the subject can be seen even in attempting to do these two things. There are many definitions offered for the term motivation. Motivation has been described as an internal state or condition that activates behavior and gives direction. Or, it has been described as a desire or want that energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior. The definition that I like best is by a psychologist, Samuel Bell, who defines motivation as ' the processes involved in arousing, directing and sustaining behavior'. Whatever the definition, the important aspect of motivation is that the human is engaging in certain behaviors and is in some way driven to sustain that behavior. There must therefore be forces that will make the person want to engage in the behavior and not give up. Being interested in the activity and fear of failure can be two such forces. But they are not the only forces involved.

Research on motivation has concluded that there are two basic types of motivation- intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within. Some of the internal forces that may drive a person to engage in a task include personal pride, love of the work itself, or a particular value system. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, depends on outside forces such as pay, praises, bonuses and other types of rewards or avoidance of punishment. Self-interest and fear can both be considered internal forces. Although motivational theorists are not agreed on which is more effective in motivation, intrinsic or extrinsic forces, it is decided that both play a part. Therefore self-interest and fear cannot be the only forces affecting motivation. In addition the same forces cannot be effective in all the different kinds of behavior that humans engage under so many different conditions and circumstances. A good example of this would be in a classroom where the same learning potential is offered to more that twenty students in the same environment with the same teacher, yet the range of student motivation and achievement is so wide.

Researchers seeking to understand the forces that arouse sustain and direct behavior have focused on basic biological drives such as the need for food, sleep and sex. Motives for behavior have been paralleled with Maslow's hierarchy of needs in humans. So that our basic motives are to satisfy needs such as hunger and thirst, then we are motivated to satisfy needs for security and social contacts and when these needs are met we can then concentrate on filling our self-esteem needs. Thus biological factors play an important role in eating behavior. And although the instinctive need to survive will ensure that we eat the necessary foods, other factors affect eating habits, for example, personal tastes, stress, cultural patterns of acceptable weight, and even biological disorders of the body. Maintaining biological equilibrium in a changing environment is important to the survival of humans. Much of human behavior is geared towards maintaining this equilibrium.

Beyond the biological needs, humans are driven to live a particular kind of life. To this end setting goals is a common activity that is related to motivation. These goals may also be paralleled with the hierarchy of needs. Goals are usually related either directly or indirectly to the basic needs, for example a goal to eat well all the time, or to succeed in a particular course. Some goals are more immediate than others, for example, to pass a certain exam, or may be more long-term, for example to develop and maintain a relationship with someone special. No matter the immediacy of the goal, motivation to persist is enhanced with a proper goal setting process. In a lot of cases it is not that someone lacks the motivation to set and persist with a goal. It is more that he does not know how to set realistic goals nor how to keep working towards them, for example, by breaking down the goal into smaller, more attainable and measurable bits, nor how to use rewards to sustain his efforts. It has generally been found that successful people are successful at setting goals. A goal of developing and maintaining a good relationship with someone is a good example of a goal that warrants different kinds of motivation for different people. For one person the motivation may be to fulfill the need for social contact- it matters to the person to have someone to talk with or someone to share activities with. For another person, the motivation may be to stay in the person's good graces to maintain his job. The former may find it easier to be motivated all the time, whereas the latter may have a harder time staying motivated. In either case there is more than self-interest and fear driving the behavior. There may be pleasure, sense of fulfillment, love of the work itself, valuing friendship, avoiding reprimand (in the job), etc.