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In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Classification of Motives 2. Functions of Motives 3. Modification 4. Important Situational Determinants.
Classification of Motives:
It is divided into two general classes:
1. Physiological:
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Primary Drives:
It consists of unlearned drives that emerge in the course of maturation. Physiological drive.
2. Social:
Secondary Drive:
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Those which are acquired through learning. These drives involve a large element of learning.
1. Physiological Drive or Primary Drive:
Three cause of physiological drive:
(i) Stimuli
(ii) Tissue, and
(iii) Hormonal substance in blood.
Homeostasis:
This is the tendency of the body to maintain a balance among internal physiological conditions. It is essential for individual’s survival.
Body temperature, pressure, blood circulation, pulse and heart beating. Many homeostatic mechanisms are involved in keeping the condition within the normal limits. The behaviour that has the effect of regulating internal physiological condition to maintain the balance physiological mechanism for maintaining homes state balances within the body.
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Hunger warmth, cold and pain physiological drives, thirst, hunger and sex. Thirst motivates to drink. Sleep is a typical of physiological drive. The need of sleep is real. Sexual motivation is unique in biological motivation.
Sex habit then, is much more important in sexual behaviour of man and higher animal, than it is among the lower animals.
Maternal drive has its basis in a combination of hormones secreted during pregnancy.
2. Secondary Drives—Psychological and Social:
Much behaviour is motivated by psychological drive:
i. Activity:
One of the drive that is generally characteristic of all species in the drive for bodily activity. But physiological needs are more active. Activity may also have its origin in sensory stimulation. Activity is a drive shows that activity itself can be reward for rearing habit.
ii. Fear:
It must be considered a drive simply because it motivates behaviour. It motivates one to try to escape a fear-producing situation or negative goal. It is powerful drive. Many fears are learned but some are unlearned.
iii. Curiosity:
The interest in novel stimulation has been called curiosity drive. This is characteristic of the satisfaction of all drives. Curiosity drive like physiological drive is an unlearned drives that increase with deprivation and decrease with satisfaction.
iv. Manipulative Drive:
It is quite difficult, if not impossible; to separate that is done in exploring a novel situation from what is experienced. We have not as yet determined whether different drives are involved. The manipulated drives are not distinct from curiosity drive or exploratory drive. It manipulates the objects.
v. Affectional Drive:
Love is a powerful motive in human affairs. Learning aside the sexual component, affection for others is still a drive of considerable importance. It emerges in the normal course of maturation. The affection largely learned.
Fear curiosity and affectional drives may conflict with one another. Novel situation may arouse fear as well to curiosity. An affectional drive for contact comfort with a mother like object appears to be an unlearned drive. Its satisfaction can alleviate fear support the expression of curiosity.
In the comparison of primary drives in animals the maternal drive is stronger than the thirst, hunger, and sex drives; these in turn are stronger than curiosity or exploratory drives.
vi. Deprivation:
When a drive is severely deprived, it dominates other drives, and activity is directed towards its satisfaction. Reducing sensory stimulation to a minimum causes restlessness and loss of ability to concentrate. It usually cannot be tolerated very long by human subjects.
Functions of Motives:
(i) Three Functions of Motive:
(a) Motive energises the behaviour
(b) Motive arouses the activity,
(c) Motive releases the energy
(ii) Selective Function of Motive:
Select the motive according in need.
(iii) Motive Directs the Behaviour:
All the motives and incentives are not equally forceful. They vary with time and environment. Human nature wants to get rid from the tension so learning experience is always useful.
Modification of Motives:
The drives which have been discussing such as hunger, thirst, curiosity and affection are all present in the human being.
1. Acquired Fear:
One of these called conditioning most of the things we now fear as adults we did not fear as infants. We learned to fear them by a conditioning process. These learned fears in many cases are highly motivating and cause to learn new habits.
2. Secondary Goal:
Through conditioning we may also learn positive goals. The process is same but the sign is different. We acquire new goals called secondary goals which we did not have before.
Example, a mother picks up her baby each time he cries (because of hunger) in order to feed him, the baby in time acquires the goal of being picked up and may cry to be picked up event when he is not hungry.
3. Social Values:
Some of the values one acquires in this way involve other people and some do note, are called social values.
A person tends to acquire social values because from the moment of his birth other people so much to do with the satisfaction of his needs to eat, to be warm, to be dry or to be in a comfortable position.
4. Generalization and Fixation:
It is tendency to respond in the same way.
Complex Motives:
The motivated behaviour may be modified through aging and learning. Affiliation, social approval, status, security.
Achievement:
Achievement is a powerful motive. This is motive to accomplish something to succeed at what one undertake and avoid failure. The strength of achievement motive like that other complex motive varies from individual to individual. In some people the drive to successful at what they undertake is tremendously strong they have very high levels of aspiration.
Level of aspiration – Levels of achievement = Goal discrepancies
There is large or small discrepancy between the level of aspiration and the level of achievement, people set their goals just a little higher than they are sure of attaining and this is healthy. The discrepancy often occurs because individuals have learned to fear failure. They do not set their goals high for fear of attaining them.
The achievement motive has been studied internally in recent years. It is considered as the level of aspiration.
Important Situational Determinants of Achievement Motive:
1. The tendency to achieve success.
2. The tendency to avoid failure.
Tf = Maf x Pf x lf
3. Effect of tendency to avoid failure of performance.
4. Approach-avoidance conflict in achievement situations.