Motivation and Personality Development

 

Introduction

Motivation is the action that makes a person do something so that they feel happy, happy when they do some activity or the result of their actions, and they can achieve something. In psychology it is known as an aspect is the desire for achieving something which motivates people. Motivation can be described as a set of reasons to act in certain ways like the need for money, respect, achievement and social recognition. However, sometimes people might not be motivated enough or simply lack the will power. The purpose of this paper will be to introduce the concept of motivation and personality. It will also explain the correlation between motivation and personality, especially with reference to the research studies. Furthermore, this paper will explain why this field of study is important to psychologists and students to improve their understanding of human behavior and behaviorism. The research papers related to this topic are divided into three sub-topics: the definition of motivation, the differences between psychological theories and motivational theories, types of different motivational theories to choose the most suitable one and the implications of other researchers on the chosen theory to make predictions about human behavior in the future.

Defining Motivation

Motivation is the reason for people to take any desired action. There are various theories about motivation that try to define what motivates us. The traditional theory of “why should I work to gain money” has been criticized by many psychologists. Some believed that this motivation exists only in the form of a subconscious need. Others argued that it is an accurate conception of the real state of mind (Schunk, 2007). This traditional theory also had its weaknesses since it could only explain a very small part of the total behavior, but did not explain motivation itself. To understand motivations better, psychologists propose two new theories: expectancy theory and equity theory. These two theories try to show that we are motivated by internal rewards or punishments and by external rewards or punishments.

There are also non-traditional theories about motivation. Many of them include cognitive theories and behavioral theories. Behavioral theories of motivation focus on how individuals acquire information which help them to find alternatives. For example, there is an experiment conducted in 1980 by Edward Thorndike that showed that workers who worked harder get more pay, thus leading to greater happiness and effort. He gave participants rewards depending on the time and amount but they received no extra pay, and others get additional payment. Nevertheless, the same workers who were less rewarded with money tended more to work hard and got lower pay and fewer bonuses. Although these findings have some flaws and limitations they are still helpful as a starting point for psychologists.

The first factor theory of motivation is called Expectancy Theory (E.T.). According to E.T., all the decisions we make are based on our expectations. So, we are supposed to act toward an anticipated outcome, and expect the consequences. According to expectancy theory people will always want to act in order to receive higher reward, rather than acting because they have no choice and want to receive a high payoff. People would prefer to act more towards the expected outcome instead of the undesired outcome, or even vice versa. If a person has a lot of money he expects to have good pay, but if people have little money he expects to go hungry and poor. E.T. also supports such results as those found by Edwin Locke in 1886. As a matter of fact, such negative outcomes often motivate the people to act negatively. Moreover, expectancy theory does not only relate to the individual behavior but also to groups, organizations, and communities. It is also used in the workplace and the school to motivate employees, students, or teams

According to Equity Theory (E.V.) people act for the fear of punishment. People react differently to punishment. They will tend to behave badly by expecting negative outcomes. The hypothesis of equity theory states that the situation is unfair when the punishment is unequal and the rewards for doing wrong are too small. People dislike being punished. On the other hand, they will try to avoid being punished by looking for means to overcome punishments. Such people will never act unfairly. Another factor of Equity Theory is that punishment is considered as a threat and people avoid anything threatening their status. Such people tend to act aggressively only in situations when they think that they can achieve success or earn rewards from any consequence of wrongdoing. Equity theory can explain the behavior if you give yourself a special task and then you expect a good outcome. However, both these aspects are quite weak in comparison with using expectancy theory. One of the advantages of the Expected Behavior Theory (E.B.T.) is that it explains the effects that punishment has on society and individual behavior. The main advantage is that the explanation of the behavior of offenders is much more easy to comprehend than it is with expectancy theory. It allows you to see why people behaved in certain specific way without any assumptions about intentions, actions or feelings. Secondly, it helps you explain the problem of people who cannot pay for mistakes but still want to achieve social status. Finally, it can be important to examine why people have strong emotional reactions and reactions such as anger, aggression and hatred towards people who do bad things. So, applying this theory it is possible to explain why people react the way they do, how they act and why they believe that they can succeed.

There are four major approaches to this approach: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, learning theory and self-efficacy. Classical conditioning, which is referred to as reflexology, refers to learned behaviors when conditioned through association with a particular stimulus. Classical conditioning can explain how drugs and other substances affect our reaction to punishment and how certain foods affect our appetite. Operant conditioning explains how behavior or behavior change when put under certain stimuli. When given free rein to conduct any action, the consequences depend on the condition and its results. Learning theory involves the processes of acquisition, reinforcement and regulation. The idea of operant conditioning can explain how children learn to obey their parents’ orders, so that they will not get punished for disobedience. Self-efficacy refers to how likely one is to become successful. There are lots of examples showing this concept. A student is highly likely to know how to solve math problems. He can demonstrate his knowledge and self-efficacy by performing well at the final exam.

Classical conditioning is applicable to a wide range of behaviours, since it requires the presence of a neutral stimulus (or context) that is followed by an unconditioned response. The application of classical conditioning is evident in almost all the life choices. What people choose, whether they want to become successful businessman, start a business or spend sleepless nights studying is due to classical conditioning. Similarly, operant conditioning involves the use of incentives and punishments. By giving punishment for some actions, people modify their behavior. Sometimes punishment can even reverse the consequences of unacceptable actions. Skinner was the greatest influence on classical conditioning. With the help of Pavlov, he established his experiment to prove the existence of operant. Skinner wanted to prove that people, when getting rewarded, start behaving in a certain way. Even though this approach has some drawbacks there are some people that accept it and apply it in practice. For instance, many athletes practice classical conditioning when choosing their sports team. Their coaches inform them about what activities they have to do, what sport they play, when they receive praise and criticism.

Operant, however, goes beyond the laboratory. Its applications can be seen practically in training. In the past, the role of the coach was limited. Now, as a human being. The trainer tells you how hard it is to play, and you get more resistance than before. At the end of the day it depends. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning can be applied in the world of business and personal life. Human beings are controlled and told what to do, so that they perform certain actions. Thus, classical conditioning implies the use of the right instrument in order to achieve the desired outcome. Therefore, there are two instruments that are required to create desirable behavior, the reward and punishment.

Classical conditioning (for example the introduction of a drug with the aim to cure somebody of a disease) requires the presence of stimuli that elicit both the action and the response. Depending on who and what kind of drug the organism was subjected to to, these two sets of cells become activated. Classical conditioning is mostly observed in living creatures. The brain cells get active when you make a speech, when you learn a language, when you feel proud because you win a competition. Classical conditioning is based on the idea of automaticity. The notion of automaticity emerged in the 1960s following the discovery by John B. Watson and John C. Macklin of chemical processes in the nervous system. Since then, numerous studies followed by the creation of computer models (e.g., the biological model of the neural cortex) have demonstrated the importance of the notion of automaticity in the study of human behavior.

Operant conditioning or habituation may be defined as the process that occurs naturally at a certain stage of the learning cycle when an animal is subjected to the same stimulation over more than once. Habituation usually takes place after a period of exposure to the same stimulus for long periods of time, without any intervention. An example of operant conditioning is a dog. Whenever you meet a dog you cannot resist going close. However, the next time you see him you will try to stay away from him. You can consider that your behavior was induced by previous experience and cannot be called habituation. In addition to associative learning, operant conditioning may be characterized by the usage of reinforcements in certain circumstances, such as rewarding someone for eating certain food. In the study of classical conditioning a stimulus is associated to a consequence. If a dog eats fruits and vegetables the dog will enjoy it. In case of operant conditioning, such reinforcement is called a variable consequence. Variable consequences are usually used during daily routines.

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