Sources of Motivation

Sources of Motivation
Jason J. Curiale
University of Phoenix
Motivational Processes in Human Psychology
PSY 355
Denise Wiseman Bean
March 22, 2011

Sources of Motivation
      The lever is a simple mechanical device, which utilizes a bar (rigid object) and fulcrum (pivot point), to amplify motion (Schuetz, 2008). Through these mechanisms, smaller objects can move or measure larger objects over large distances with less effort.   Human motives and incentives work in a similar fashion. Motives and incentives are the psychological equivalent to an object, which when leveraged by the bar (motivation), can amplify the motion of behavior. It can also be deduced that behavior can be observed and measured against the psychological objects of incentive and motive. In other words, to be motivated is to be moved into action, or to cause a change in behavior; and collectively, to be moved to action or behavior (Deckers, 2005). Moreover, incentives are the anticipated positive and negative rewards which exist in the environment. Motives and incentives are linked since; incentives are the catalyst for whereby individual goals are attained. However, the full scope of motivation is best understood through a more comprehensive examination of the relationship between motivation and behavior as well as an understanding of the underlying sources of motivation.
      Motivation stems from the sequence of events which move from motives or anticipated incentives to end-states where motives are satisfied or incentives are attained. There are three primary sources of motivation which are: biological, psychological, and environmental. These biological attributes, psychological dispositions, and environmental variables are determinants of what will ultimately motivate an individual. Biological variables (internal sources) refer to the internal states of the human body and brain such as the increase and decline of blood glucose levels, and the interplay among various hormones in the... [continues]

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