MOTIVATION

Motivation is the process by which activities are started directed, and continued so that
physical or psychological needs wants are met. The world itself comes from the Latin word
‘movere’, which means “to move”. Thus motivation is what ‘moves’ people to do the things
they do.

 Motive: A motive is a specific physiological or psychological state of arousal that directs

an organism’s energies towards a goal.

 MOTIVATIONAL CYCLE:
Motivational cycle is a transition of states within an organism that propels the organism
towards the satisfaction of a particular need. The motivation cycle begins with a need. A
need is the absence of some necessity. The next state is drive, which is arousal and
energizing. The activity is a goal directed behaviour that continues till until the person
reaches that goal. Arousal is then reduced as a result of the cycle. After a person’s next
need arises, the cycle repeats itself, and the same pathway is followed. There are four
aspects of Motivational cycle. They are:

1. Need:
A need is lack or deficit of some necessity. It’s a state of physical deprivation that causes
tension within an organism. The tension caused when the organism is deprived of basic
necessities of life as food, water, and sleep, causes the internal environment of an
organism to be imbalanced. The imbalance caused by the need arouses the organism to
maintain its balance. For any goal directed behaviour, need is the first condition or
stimulating factor. While some people may have simple, primary needs such as food,
shelter, clothing, sex etc, some may have secondary needs such as affiliation, power and
achievement.

2. Drive: Need leads to drive, which is the second step towards achieving goal. Drive can be
defined as the state of tension or arousal produced by need. The drive can also be
considered as the original source of energy that activates an organism. For instance, when
an organism is hungry and/or thirsty, the organism seeks to reduce this drive by eating
and/or drinking. Drive acts as a strong persistent stimulus to push an organism towards its
goal.

3. Incentive: The object of the environment that activates, directs, and maintains behaviour is
called incentive. The incentive theory understands incentives as the motivation, which a
person has to achieve any particular goal object. The motivated behaviour is directed
towards incentive and getting closer to the incentive provides satisfaction of the aroused
drive. For example: Behaviour like eating food is an incentive that reduces the drive of the
person caused by the need to fulfil his hunger. The reduction of behaviour then cuts off
and restores balance in an organism.
4. Goal/Reward: The reduction of tension in the body can be considered as the goal of any
motivated behaviour. A hungry man eats food, and his body restores to a balanced
condition. This then reduces the tension. This reduction of tension as a result of an
energized activity is called goal. Once the goal has been completed, the organism is again
ready for another goal-motivated behaviour.

These four steps continue on and on throughout the life-course of an organism. Because
the needs are never ending, it leads to drive, which then lead to incentive and the goal.

For Example: The motivational cycle of the hungry man is over once when he eats and the
goal is satisfied. But, the cycle will restart once the man gets hungry again. The cycle goes
on and on only to end at the demise of an organism, at which point, the needs
permanently stop. Motivational cycle means that behaviour goes on in a sequence.

 BIOGENIC MOTIVES:
Biogenic motives are called as physiological motives or primary motives. These motives
are essential for the survival of the organism. Such motives are triggered when there is
imbalance in the body. The body always tends to maintain a state of equilibrium called
“Homeostasis”- in many of its internal physiological processes.

1. Hunger:
Hunger is satisfied by food. Glucose or blood sugar is believed to be an important
substance in the initiation of hunger motivation. Low rates of Glucose use are correlated
with reports of hunger and high utilization of glucose, such as just after the meals is related
to satiety – the absence of hunger. Feelings of hunger are also controlled by the
Hypothalamus in the brain. Although in animals hunger is controlled by biological factors to
a large extent but in human beings, with biological factors several other external conditions
also influence eating behaviour. The taste, aroma, presentation of food, company of others
influence us to a very large extent. The type of food which satisfies hunger also varies
from culture to culture.

2. Thirst:
Thirst typically drives us to drink water. It was believed that dryness of mouth arouses
thirst, but thirst is quenched even when water is poured directly into the stomach. Thus,
dryness of mouth is merely an indicator of thirst. Thirst motivation and drinking is triggered
by two conditions in the body
I. Loss of water from the cells dehydrates the cells, thereby signalling the person to drink.
II. Loss of water from the body also results in reduction of blood volume, which in turn
lowers the blood pressure. This stimulates the kidneys and through the secretion of certain
enzymes, thirst is triggered.

3. Sex:
Sex is a unique motive because it is very powerful in directing the behaviour of the
individual, but it is not essential for the survival of the individual, although it is necessary
for the survival of the species. The physiological basis of sex is the secretion of sex
hormones. The testes of the males and ovaries of the females produce hormones which
are responsible for sex desire. In human beings, sex hormones have a partial role to play.
Learned habits, likes and dislikes, cultural practices play an important role. The sex motive
is not aroused in the presence of just any member of the opposite sex even though sex
hormone is present. Many sexual disorders have a root cause in psychological factors
rather than the physiological ones.
4. Sleep:
All other motives push the person to do something, they make the organism active. Sleep
is a physiological motive which involves passive resting of the body, rather than active
striving. It is a necessary state for the body as the process of body repair and building up
of the body takes place when the person is sleeping. Earlier it was believed that
accumulation of waste products in the body makes the person sleepy. But research has
indicated that sleep is regulated by certain segments in the brain.

5. Pain Avoidance:
This is a powerful motive as it stimulates the organism to look for the ways to relieve pain
or escape it. If a rat is given shock for entering the wrong path in a maze, the rat will learn
to avoid that wrong path. Free nerve - endings widely distributed throughout the skin,
blood vessels and internal organs are receptors for the pain.

 SOCIOGENIC MOTIVES:
They are learnt in social groups as a result of interaction with the family and society. That
is why their strength differs from one individual to another. They help to determine much of
what a person does, they tend to persist, are not fully satisfied and no sooner one goal is
reached, the motive gets directed towards another one. For example, the need for
affiliation – the need to make friends is not limited to few friends, but results in making
several friendships, in a variety of situations.

1. Need for achievement:

It is the need to succeed, need to achieve something and to avoid failure. This motive
determines the goals selected by a person. People in whom the need for achievement is
strong seek to become accomplished. They are task oriented and prefer to work on tasks
that are challenging and on which their performance can be evaluated in some way, either
by comparing it with performance of others or in terms of some other standard.
Achievement motivation can be seen in many areas – in the school, at the workplace, in
sports and so on. Since this is a learned motive, differences in early life experiences lead
to variations in the amount of achievement motivation. Children learn by copying the
behaviour of their parents and other people who serve as role models. People with high
need for achievement motivation select tasks which are moderately difficult, but the
possibilities of success in which are very high. They will not select tasks that are very
easy, tasks which do not give satisfaction for the achievement and will also not select very
difficult tasks, where the possibility of failure is high. This motive plays a very important
role in our competitive culture, with high approval from parents, teachers and the society.

2. Need for Affiliation:

It is the need to be a part of a social group, need to belong, experience attachment
through friendship and group membership. We seek company of others, even when there
is no particular need to do so. We spend great deal of time thinking about actual and
expectant relationships. When relationships form, we experience joy. The self - esteem
increases when we feel included, accepted and loved. The motive of dependency is
related to the motive of affiliation. We all want someone to look upon or to turn for help.
Satisfaction of this need gives a sense of security. It is psychologically painful when we
feel excluded, ignored or shunned.
3. Need for Power:
It is the need to influence the behaviour of others. The goal here is to influence, control,
persuade, lead and charm others. They engage in those activities which will create impact
on others. Socioeconomic status and level of maturity are major factors which influence
this need. The behavioural expression of this motive may take various forms. Following
are some of the ways in which people with high power motivation express themselves
- By joining organizations and holding office in these organizations
- By obtaining and collecting possessions, such as fancy cars, paintings
- By choosing occupations such as teaching, diplomacy, business – occupations in which
people believe that they have an opportunity to have an impact over others.

 Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory:

Abraham Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory of motivation is the most common and simplest
theory of motivation. Maslow in his theory summarised that:

a) Every human being has a different set of needs and unsatisfied needs act as strong
motivators.
b) As every individual has many needs, they are arranged in the order of their importance
starting from most basic need to most complex needs.
c) The individual moves to the advanced level need only when the basic need is satisfied.
If basics needs are not satisfied, the higher level needs will be postponed.
d) There are five basic needs and human beings tend to satisfy them in the order of their
hierarchy.
e) A satisfied need does not act as a motivator, only unsatisfied need continue to motivate
a human being.
f) Physiological and safety needs are finite in nature but higher level needs are infinite in
nature.
g) Various levels of needs are overlapping.

Hierarchy of Maslow’s needs is shown in the following figure:

1) Physiological needs:
These needs include the most basic and obvious needs for survival of human beings.
These are the most powerful needs which motivate an individual till they are satisfied. The
need for food, water, oxygen, sleep, shelter, air etc may be categorised as physiological
needs. This category of needs represent the need for basic necessities of life which are
indispensible for the biological maintenance of a human being. If any of these
physiological needs is unsatisfied, the individual will primarily strive to satisfy that particular
need and will forget about other higher level needs. For example, a hungry person will
never seek any luxury of life or dream of building a new world until his need for food is
fulfilled.
2) Safety or security needs:
Safety needs are next in the hierarchy of needs given by Abraham Maslow. Once the
basic needs of an individual are satisfied, he will strive for fulfilment of second level of
needs which are popularly known as safety or security needs. Safety needs here
emphasise upon an assurance of continuity of job, security of source of income, provision
for old age, insurance, prediction of environmental factors surrounding an individual etc.

3) Belongingness needs:
Affiliation or belongingness needs are at the third level of need hierarchy. When
physiological and safety needs of a human being are met, he starts putting efforts to
satisfy his belongingness needs. These needs represent the need for love, affection,
friendship, membership in groups, social acceptance etc.

4) Self-esteem needs:
Fourth level of need hierarchy is called self esteem needs. These needs are concerned
with self respect, self confidence, recognition, appreciation, prestige, power etc. Esteem
needs represent the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. Fulfilment
of these needs give a sense of self worth and ego satisfaction. For example, in an
organisational context, esteem needs are satisfied by job title, recognition by leader,
challenging work, responsibility, performance feedback and participation in decision
making etc.

5) Self-actualisation needs:
At the top of the hierarchy of needs is need for self actualisation. These needs represent
the need to be what a person is capable of becoming. This need constitute an individuals’
mission of his life. An individual who has satisfied all levels of his needs tries to fully utilise
his talent, potential, skills and capacities. This need signifies a person’s desire of personal
achievement. The sense of personal achievement leads to sense of psychological
satisfaction.
 FORGETTING
 Forgetting refers to the inability to remember or recall something previously learned.

 CAUSES OF FORGETTING:

1. Trace Decay theory:

This explanation of forgetting in short-term memory assumes that memories leave a trace
in the brain. A trace is some form of physical and/or chemical change in the nervous
system. Trace decay theory states that forgetting occurs as a result of the automatic
decay or fading of the memory trace. Trace decay theory focuses on time and the limited
duration of short-term memory. This theory suggests short-term memory can only hold
information for between 15 and 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. After this time the
information / trace decays and fades away. According to the trace decay theory of
forgetting, the events between learning and recall have no influence whatsoever on recall.
It is the length of time the information has to be retained that is important. The longer the
time, the more the memory trace decays and as a consequence more information is
forgotten.
2. Interference theory:
Under this theory, it was assumed that memory can be disrupted or interfered with by what
we have previously learned or by what we will learn in the future. This idea suggests that
information in long term memory may become confused or combined with other
information during encoding thus distorting or disrupting memories. There are two ways in
which interference can cause forgetting:

 Proactive interference: It occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task
that had been learned. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently
learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.
 Retroactive interference: It occurs when you forget a previously learned task due to the
learning of a new task. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning –
where new memories disrupt old memories.

3. Retrieval Failure Theory:

Retrieval failure is when the information is in long-term memory, but cannot be accessed.
Such information is said to be available (i.e. it is still stored) but not accessible (i.e. it
cannot be retrieved). It cannot be accessed because the retrieval cues are not either not
present or are inappropriate. When we store a new memory we also store information
about the situation and these are known as retrieval cues. When we come into the same
situation again, these retrieval cues can trigger the memory of the situation. Retrieval cues
can be external – in the environment, e.g. smell, place etc and internal – inside of us, e.g.
physical, emotional, mood, drunken etc. A retrieval cue is a hint that can help retrieval.

4. Factors related to learner:

Health of learner, his mental set, emotional conditions and motivational conditions are also
factors responsible for forgetting. For example, slowing down of the Central Nervous
System due to ageing, which also sometimes leads to conditions of Alzheimer’s, Amnesia
and Dementia.

5. Factors related to learning:

Nature of learnt behaviour, length of learnt task, degree of learning, serial position of items
(items placed at the beginning or end of the serial list are less likely to be forgotten than
items placed in the middle of the list), whether the words learnt were meaningful or
meaningless (meaningless words are more likely to be forgotten).

FORGETTING CURVE
 The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve is a graphical representation of the forgetting process.
The curve demonstrates the declining rate at which information is lost if no particular effort
is made to remember it. The forgetting curve was defined in 1885 by German psychologist
Hermann Ebbinghaus in his book Memory.

Ebbinghaus’ experimental method, like that of many of his peers, consisted of

conducting a series of extensive tests on himself. He created hundreds of three-
letter words, or “nonsense syllables” as he called them, like “wid”, “zof”, and “qax.”
The psychologist then tried to memorize lists made of these words and determined
for how long he could remember them after different time intervals. He plotted his
results in a graph that we know today as the forgetting curve.

 Rate of forgetting: Ebbinghaus found that the forgetting curve is exponential in nature. It
starts off very steep—the amount of retained knowledge drops dramatically soon after we
acquire new information. In fact, most of the forgetting occurs within the first hour of
learning. And that’s not all. After a day or two, we typically forget around 75% of what we
have learned.

There is a point at which the forgetting rate starts to decline at a slower pace. After a day
or so, it usually levels off. This is when we can partially absorb essential details and store
them in our long-term memory. In other words, the day after taking a course, we will retain
only a few details but we will be able to remember them for several more days.

 Contributing factors: According to Ebbinghaus, the basic forgetting rate doesn’t differ
significantly between individuals. Still, this rate can be influenced to a certain extent by
different factors.

1. Prior Knowledge and Meaningfulness of the Subject: If we can connect a lecture to

information that is already encoded in our long-term memory, we are more likely to
remember it. Our connections to previous knowledge give this information meaning.
Similarly, if we believe that the information has meaning, whether we have prior
knowledge of it or not, it is likely to stick. When our minds believe that something is
important, we are more likely to keep our focus on it.
2. The Complexity of the Material :Before memories are stored as long-term or even short-
term memories, they exist in our working memory. Working memory contains information
that we are currently “working” with, and if we focus on it for long enough, it will make its
way to other types of memory storage. Working memory is limited to only a few items. For
this reason, complex material may be hard to remember. Our working memory cannot
focus on everything about the matter. If we have nothing to connect complex material to or
cannot focus on it for a long period of time, it will get lost.
3. How the Information Is Presented: The presentation of the information also impacts
whether the information will “stick.” Simplicity is the key to presenting information, but
other factors also influence how complex, meaningful, or memorable it is. When the
information is clear, there is little room for its disappearance from your memory.
4. Physiological Factors (Lack of Sleep, Hunger, etc.): Sleep is crucial for memory storage
and brain health. Getting eight hours of sleep a night can improve the ability to restore
memories from the day before. Getting very few hours of sleep every night means
overworking the brain and preventing it from storing memories properly!.
5. Psychological Factors (Stress, Anxiety, etc.): Stress and anxiety can negatively affect the
ability to form and store memories. If one is under great stress during an event, one may
not be able to remember it. Details may be fuzzy, or they may not pick up on everything
that was happening around them leading up to, or after, an event.

 S-O-R MODEL:

The S-O-R( stimulus organism response) theory states that there’s a stimulus that triggers
a response based on the internal feelings or behaviour of an organism (person). This
internal processing of the stimulus can be conscious or unconscious. It further triggers an
emotion that leads to a response. The resulting response can be internal, like an
increased heart rate, or external, like crying.