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Sources of Motivation

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Sources of Motivation
Sources of Motivation Paper
Yvonne Cherie Dugger
PSY/355
October 8, 2012
Paul Knoll

Sources of Motivation Paper
People are individually motivated to achieve certain goals, meet particular desires, and ultimately define his or her purpose and the inspiration that guides these thoughts, actions, and behaviors. Motivation refers to a set of factors that “activate, direct, and maintain behavior, usually toward some goal” (Huffman, 2010, p. 406). Theories or sources involved in driving motivation emphasize biological, psychological, social forces, and the environment (Deckers, 2010; Huffman, 2010). This essay thoroughly discusses motivation, examines a couple of sources that contribute to motivation, emphasizes the relationship between motivation and behavior, and includes how behavior can exhibit motivation. Although many researchers debate regarding contributing factors and sources in motivation, a clear and comprehensive approach is to consider all perspectives concerning each person’s individuality.
Sources of Motivation Each organism experiences differing sources of motivation usually concerning an ultimate goal. Motivation can be internal or external, which refers to a push or pull toward the goal, and intrinsic or extrinsic, which refers to the sheer joy that motivates individuals or environmental factors, such as money (Sheldon & Kasser, 2008). The primary perspectives regarding motivation include biological, psychological, environmental, social forces, and the interactionism of these concepts. Encompassed within these theories are numerous sources that contribute to motivation. Two of these sources include the drive reduction theory, which emphasizes an organism’s internal or physiological needs, and the incentive theory, which centers on external or environmental pulls (Deckers, 2010; Huffman, 2010).
Examples of biological needs that push people in certain directions include food and water. When the need to drink water or eat food


References: Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/ Huffman, K. (2010). Psychology in action (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (2008). Psychological threat and extrinsic goal striving. Motivation & Emotion, 32(1), 37-45. doi:10.1007/s11031-008-9081-5
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