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Human Motivation

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Human Motivation
Ever wondered what drives a person to complete a task in their lives? Why people choose to put forth more effort for a rewarding experience than one without a reward? An explanation could be the motivational drive or the lack of a motivational drive that a person has. By understanding where motivation comes from and how people use motivation, a person can better understand how and why people push forward to complete a task, and what people can do as ‘teachers’ to increase a persons motivation.
People wake up every day of their lives and go about doing their daily routine. They see the same people time after time again but do not really think about why people act the way they do. People do not think about why people are doing what they are doing. They see people playing sports, going to work, or acting their part in society, but do not realize why these people are participating in such events. The factor behind why these people are doing what they need to do is a motivational drive that acts upon peoples decisions.
Motivation is defined as the driving force which causes people to achieve goals (Maslow, 1994). The key words to take away from the meaning of motivation are the words ‘driving force’. Driving force is not an object that people can see, nor is it an emotion that people can see such as happiness or sadness. People often say “if you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want to.” When people say these words, they are speaking of driving force which is defined as a feeling or drive that comes from within a person and motivates them to complete a task or a goal.
Motivation can be broken down into three types of motivation which are intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself. This type of motivation exists within the individual rather than relying on an external pressure. Intrinsic motivation is usually associated with



References: Covington, M. V. (2000). Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review. Review of Psychology , 51, 170-172. Elliot, A. J. (2006, July 25). The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation. Approach/Avoidance , pp. 111-115. Franken, R. E. (2007). Human Motivation. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth. Kelley, H. H., & Michela, J. L. (1980). Attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology , 31, 457-501. Maslow, A. H. (1994). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row. Rundle-Gardiner, A. C., & Carr, S. (2005). Quitting a workplace that discourages achievement motivation: Do individual differences matter? New Zealand Journal of Psychology , 34, 149. Sanchez Jr., W. (2007, October). Retrieved December 03, 2010, from Motivation vs Self-Control: http://www.wsanchez.net/papers/motives/ Stevenson, S. J., & Lochbaum. (2008). Understanding exercise motivation: examining the revised social-cognitive model of achievement motivation. Journal of Sport Behavior , 31, 389-403. Vallerand, R. J., Koestner, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (2008). Reflections on self-determination theory. Canadian Psychology , 49, 257-262. Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review , 92, 548-573.

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