Motivation – Basic Concepts and

Theories
8TH DECEMBER 2014 BY DAGMAR RECKLIES

This is the extended and updated version of the original article from 2000.
Dagmar Recklies

This overview is compiled from Michael Armstrong’s book Armstrong’s Handbook of

Human Resource Management Practice . Additional information has been added. It
intends to give a brief overview on the most important concepts and theories of
motivation.

According to Arnold, there are 3 components of motivation:

 direction – what a person is trying to do

 effort – how hard a person is trying

 persistence – how long a person keeps on trying

Direction might point the way, but effort is what establishes momentum, and persistence
determines how far the change is carried (in time as well as in magnitude of outcome).
(from Client-centered Direction) Hence, Arnold’s 3 components are suitable to describe
the level of motivation a person or a team shows. This concept does not give any
reasons for motivation.

Furthermore, literature distinguishes 2 types of factors that influence motivation:

 Intrinsic – self generated factors (responsibility, freedom to act, scope to use

and develop skills and abilities, interesting and challenging work, opportunities for
advancement) – they have a deeper and longer-term effect

 Extrinsic – what is done for people to motivate them (rewards, promotion,

punishment) – they have an immediate and powerful effect, but won’t necessarily
last long

In other words: Intrinsic motivation comes from a person’s internal desire to do

something. Reasons may be that a particular activity gives him or her pleasure, helps to
develop a particular skill of seems to be the right thing to do in moral / ethical terms.
Extrinsic motivation is generated by external factors that are less related to the
particular task.
Most influential is the Needs (content) Theory

 All Needs theories focus on specific needs people want to satisfy. There are
several theories that explain motivation as a result of these needs.

 The underlying concept is the belief that an unsatisfied need creates tension and
a state of disequilibrium. To restore balance, a goal is identified that will satisfy the
need and a behavior pathway to this goal is selected.

 All behavior is motivated by unsatisfied needs.

 People will be better motivated if their work experience satisfies their needs and
wants.

 Needs theories distinguish between primary needs, such as food, sleep and
other biological needs, and secondary psychological needs that are learned and
vary by culture and by individual.

Maslows hierarchy of needs

Maslows hierarchy of needs

 If a lower need is satisfied, it no longer motivates behavior; the next higher one
becomes dominant. (Deficit principle)

 The five needs exist in a hierarchy. Higher needs only become important when
lower needs are satisfied
  Higher-order needs provide greater motivation.

 Different people may have different priorities.

The theory helps managers to identify which particular needs are relevant for
employees and thus to determine appropriate motivators.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Is based on Maslows Hierchy of needs; recategorizes Maslows categories of needs into

three simpler and broader groups:

 Existence needs – need for material and energy exchange; basic physiological
and safety needs

 Relatedness needs – transactions with human environment, process of sharing

or mutuality; need for interpersonal relationships and attention; is about equivalent
to Maslows social needs and part of the esteem needs

 Growth needs – people make creative or productive efforts for themselves; need
for personal growth and self-development; part of Maslows esteem needs and
self-fulfillment needs

On contrast to Maslow, here more than one level of needs can be relevant at the same
time. There is no hierarchy; people may for instance work to fulfill their personal growth
needs, whereas not al relatedness needs are fulfilled. (partly adapted from Management
Study Guide)

McClelland’s needs

Based mainly on studies of managers. 3 most important needs:

 achievement – need for competitive success measured against a personal

standard of excellence

 affiliation – need for warm, friendly relationships with others, interpersonal

relationships

 power – need to control and influence others

The hierarchy of these three groups of needs may differ from individual to individual.
Hence, there are different motivators depending on a person’s high-priority needs.
Herzbergs two-factor model

There are some factors that result in satisfaction and some factors that just prevent
dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction
and the opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction.

 Motivators – factors that really motivate people, also called satisfiers, provide
intrinsic motivation
Examples for Motivators: recognition, growth and career development
opportunities, responsibility, autonomy, self-fulfillment

 Hygiene factors – dissatisfiers; their absence would demotivate people, but their
presence not necessarily improves motivation; essentially describe the
environment, little effect on positive job attitudes
Examples for Hygiene factors: salary, work conditions, relationships with superios
and peers, company policy

Process cognitive theory

 Emphasis on psychological processes that effect motivation and on basic needs

 Concerned with people’s perceptions and the way they interpret and understand
it

 People will be highly motivated if they can control the means to attain their goals

Expectancy theory by Vroom

Value, instrumentality (belief that if we do one thing it will lead to another), expectancy
(probability that action or effort will lead to an outcome).
Strength of expectations may be based on past experiences.
Motivation is only likely when a clearly perceived relationship exists between
performance and an outcome that is seen as a means of satisfying needs.
Porter and Lawler developed this theory into a model suggesting that there are two
factors determining the effort people put into their jobs:

 Value of rewards to individuals in so far as they satisfy their needs

 Probability that rewards depend on effort, as perceived by individuals, their

expectation about relationships between effort and reward

Two additional variables:

  Ability – individual characteristics and skills

 Role perceptions – what he wants to do or thinks he is required to do, good if

they correspond with the viewpoint of the organisation

Goal theory by Latham and Locke

Motivation and performance are higher when individuals are set specific goals.
Goals have to be difficult but accepted.
Feedback on performance allows the individual to track how well he or she is doing in
relation to the goal.
Participation in goal setting is important – goals need to be agreed.
As long as they are accepted – demanding goals lead to better performance than easy
goals.

Reactance theory by Brehm

Individuals are not passive receivers but responders.

They seek to reduce uncertainty by seeking control about factors influencing rewards.
Management initiatives about motivation will only work if they make sense to the people
in terms of their own values and orientation.
There are four important elements to reactance theory: perceived freedom, threat to
freedom, reactance, and restoration of freedom. Freedom is not an abstract
consideration, but rather a feeling associated with real behaviors, including actions,
emotions, and attitudes. (from Wikipedia)

Equity theory by Adams

 Perceptions people have about how they are being treated as compared with
others

 Involves feelings and perceptions, is always a comparative process

 People will work better if they are treated equitably

 Two forms of equity:

Distributive – fairness people feel they are rewarded in accordance with their
contribution and in comparison with others
Procedural – perceptions of employees about fairness of company procedures

 We hope/expect that the inputs we give into our job equal the outputs we get

Other theories
Behavioral theory (Skinner): behavior is learnt from experience, learning takes place
mainly through reinforcement

Social learning theory (Bandura) significance of reinforcement as a determinant of

future behavior, importance of internal psychological factors, esp. Expectancies

Attribution theory (Guest) explanation of performance after we have invested

considerable effort and motivation in a task; 4 types of explanations: ability, effort, task
difficulty, luck; motivation depends on the factor used to explain success or failure

Role Modeling: people can be motivated if they have the chance to model their own
behavior on a ‘role model’, i.e. someone who’s working or leadership style serves as an
inspiration and a positive example

By Dagmar Recklies

——————————-

Our book recommendations on motivation

 A Theory of Human Motivation

Abraham H. Maslow
This is the article in which Maslow first presented his hierarchy of needs. It was
first printed in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”.

 The Motivation Myth: the simple yet powerful key to unlock human potential and
create inspired performance and achievement
Mattison Grey and Jonathan Manske
Most people believe praise, appreciation, and compliments are great ways to
motivate and inspire people. That is a myth, say the authors. Praise, compliments,
and appreciation do not do what people think they do. They do not unlock human
potential. Fortunately, there is an alternative, acknowledgement.

 Taking People with You: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen
David Novak
Novak knows that managers don’t need leadership platitudes or business school
theories. So he cuts right to the chase with a step-by- step guide to setting big
goals, getting people to work together, blowing past your targets, and celebrating
after you shock the skeptics. And then doing it again and again until consistent
excellence becomes a core element of your culture.
CARL JUNG PERCEPTION ABOUT HUMAN PERSONALITY

 Carl Jung was born in July 26, 1875. The psychologist has been vital in the
world of psychology throughout his career, until his death in June 6, 1961.

 Carl Jung established a theory, which saw universal types in human

personality. The types categorized by Carl Jung are present in all of us.
But, certain types are predominant over the normal mode of organizing our
experience.

 Carl Jung also developed a theory of personality. His theory is one of the
type theories of personality, as it involved typology
of introversion and extroversion.

 Introverts

 Introverts are people who prefer their own world of thoughts, dreams,
feelings, fantasies and need private space. Interaction drains their energy
whereas being alone energizes them.

 Extroverts

 The characteristics of extroverts are in contrast to introverts. They prefer

outer world and interaction with people to being alone. They are sociable
beings who get energized from going to parties, interacting with people
and so on.
Differences between Jung and
Freud

Carl Jung was an early supporter of Freud because of their shared interest in the
unconscious. He was an active member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society
(formerly known as the Wednesday Psychological Society). When the
International Psychoanalytical Association formed in 1910 Jung became
president at the request of Freud.
However in 1912 while on a lecture tour of America Jung publicly criticized
Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex and his emphasis on infantile sexuality.
The following year this led to an irrevocable split between them and Jung went on
to develop his own version of psychoanalytic theory.
Most of Jung's assumptions of his analytical psychology reflect his theoretical
differences with Freud. For example, while Jung agreed with Freud that a
person’s past and childhood experiences determined future behavior, he also
believed that we are shaped by our future (aspirations) too.
Differences between Jung and
Freud

Theory of the Libido

Jung (1948) disagreed with Freud regarding the role of sexuality. He believed the
libido was not just sexual energy, but instead generalized psychic energy.
For Jung the purpose of psychic energy was to motivate the individual in a
number of important ways, including spiritually, intellectually, and creatively. It
was also an individual's motivational source for seeking pleasure and reducing
conflict

Theory of the Unconscious

Like Freud (and Erikson) Jung regarded the psyche as made up of a number of
separate but interacting systems. The three main ones were the ego, the personal
unconscious, and the collective unconscious.
According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind as it comprises the
thoughts, memories, and emotions a person is aware of. The ego is largely
responsible for feelings of identity and continuity.
Like Freud, Jung (1921, 1933) emphasized the importance of the unconscious in
relation to personality. However, he proposed that the unconscious consists of
two layers.
The first layer called the personal unconscious is essentially the same as
Freud’s version of the unconscious. The personal unconscious contains
temporality forgotten information and well as repressed memories. Jung (1933)
outlined an important feature of the personal unconscious called complexes. A
complex is a collection of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories that focus
on a single concept.
The more elements attached to the complex, the greater its influence on the
individual. Jung also believed that the personal unconscious was much nearer the
surface than Freud suggested and Jungian therapy is less concerned with
repressed childhood experiences. It is the present and the future, which in his
view was the key to both the analysis of neurosis and its treatment.
However, by far the most important difference between Jung and Freud is Jung’s
notion of the collective (or transpersonal) unconscious. This is his most
original and controversial contribution to personality theory. This is a level of
unconscious shared with other members of the human species comprising latent
memories from our ancestral and evolutionary past. ‘The form of the world into
which [a person] is born is already inborn in him, as a virtual image’ (Jung, 1953,
p. 188).
According to Jung, the human mind has innate characteristics “imprinted” on it
as a result of evolution. These universal predispositions stem from our ancestral
past. Fear of the dark, or of snakes and spiders might be examples, and it is
interesting that this idea has recently been revived in the theory of prepared
conditioning. However more important than isolated tendencies are those
aspects of the collective unconscious that have developed into separate sub-
systems of the personality. Jung called these ancestral memories and images
archetypes.

Archetypes
Archetypes (Jung, 1947) are images and thoughts which have universal meanings
across cultures which may show up I dreams, literature, art or religion.
Jung believes symbols from different cultures are often very similar because they
have emerged from archetypes shared by the whole human race. For Jung, our
primitive past becomes the basis of the human psyche, directing and influencing
present behavior. Jung claimed to identify a large number of archetypes but paid
special attention to four.
The “persona” (or mask) is the outward face we present to the world. It conceals
our real self and Jung describes it as the “conformity” archetype. This is the
public face or role a person presents to others as someone different to who we
really are (like an actor).
Another archetype is the anima/animus. The “anima/animus” is the mirror
image of our biological sex, that is, the unconscious feminine side in males and
the masculine tendencies in women. Each sex manifests attitudes and behavior of
the other by virtue of centuries of living together. The psyche of a woman
contains masculine aspects (the animus archetype), and the psyche of a man
contains feminine aspects (the anima archetype).
Next is the shadow. This is the animal side of our personality (like the id in
Freud). It is the source of both our creative and destructive energies. In line with
evolutionary theory, it may be that Jung’s archetypes reflect predispositions that
once had survival value.
Finally, there is the self which provides a sense of unity in experience. For Jung,
the ultimate aim of every individual is to achieve a state of selfhood (similar to
self-actualisation), and in this respect, Jung (like Erikson) is moving in the
direction of a more humanist orientation.
That was certainly Jung’s belief and in his book “The Undiscovered Self” he
argued that many of the problems of modern life are caused by “man’s
progressive alienation from his instinctual foundation.” One aspect of this is his
views on the significance of the anima and the animus.
Jung argues that these archetypes are products of the collective experience of
men and women living together. However, in modern Western civilization men
are discouraged from living their feminine side and women from expressing
masculine tendencies. For Jung, the result was that the full psychological
development both sexes was undermined.
Together with the prevailing patriarchal culture of Western civilization this has
led to the devaluation of feminine qualities altogether, and the predominance of
the persona (the mask) has elevated insincerity to a way of life which goes
unquestioned by millions in their everyday life.
Critical Evaluation
Jung’s ideas have not been as popular as Freud’s. This might be because he did
not write from the layman and as such his ideas were not a greatly disseminated
as Freud’s. It may also be because his ideas were a little more mystical and
obscure, and less clearly explained.
On the whole modern psychology has not viewed Jung’s theory of archetypes
kindly. Ernest Jones (Freud’s biographer) tells that Jung “descended into a
pseudo-philosophy out of which he never emerged” and to many his ideas look
more like New Age mystical speculation than a scientific contribution to
psychology.
However, while Jung’s research into ancient myths and legends, his interest in
astrology and fascination with Eastern religion can be seen in that light, it is also
worth remembering that the images he was writing about have, as a matter of
historical fact, exerted an enduring hold on the human mind.
Furthermore, Jung himself argues that the constant recurrence of symbols from
mythology in personal therapy and in the fantasies of psychotics support the idea
of an innate collective cultural residue. In line with evolutionary theory it may be
that Jung’s archetypes reflect predispositions that once had survival value.
However, Jung’s work has also contributed to mainstream psychology in at least
one significant respect. He was the first to distinguish the two major attitudes or
orientations of personality – extroversion and introversion. He also identified
four basic functions (thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting) which in a cross-
classification yield eight pure personality types.
Psychologists like Hans Eysenck and Raymond Cattell have subsequently built
upon this. As well as being a cultural icon for generations of psychology
undergraduates Jung, therefore, put forward ideas which were important to the
development of modern personality theory.

MYER

In the mid 90s, Jung’s theories were studied and applied by Isabel Briggs Myers
in the real world. Having applying the theory, Myers also added to the existing
theory of personality. The result was development of the Myers Briggs Type
indicator, a world renowned and respected questionnaire that indicates
personality type.
According to this model, there are 16 personality types. Of course, each
individual is unique. Yet, the patterns of personality organization represented by
the 16 personality types are readily observable.

Regardless of our personality type, we are forced to deal with the world, both
inner and outer. The personality type isn’t an excuse to ignore the world we don’t
want to be a part of. Personality type instead is determined by the way he/she
chooses to deal with the world, the way they are comfortable in.

“Jung noted that it is not possible to use the attitudes of Extraversion and
Introversion and the Judging and Perceiving functions independently of each
other. People who prefer Extraversion are most like to focus their Perception and
Judgment in the outer world while people preferring the Introverted attitude, when
circumstances permit, will concentrate Perception and Judgment on ideas.”
– Isabel Briggs Myers, Gifts Differing

According to Jung as supplemented by Myers, personality type is based on four

pairs of opposing preferences. This means, personality can be typed into four
dimensions.

Extraversion – Introversion (E/I):

Extraversion refers to a preference of engagement with the outer world and

initiating contact with people.

Introversion refers to a preference for the inner world, contemplation, responding

to contact from others.

“Strictly speaking, there are no Introverts and Extraverts pure and simple, but
only Introverted and Extraverted function-types.” – Carl Gustav Jung

Sensing – iNtuiting (S/N)

Sensing refers to a preference for perceiving the world through facts, evidence,
data and details.
iNuiting refers to a preference for perceiving the world through concepts, theories
and abstractions.

Thinking – Feeling (T/F)

The capacity to decide objectively based on the evidence and applicable

principles is defined as thinking.

Feeling is a preference for making decisions based on values and effects on

people rather than logic.

Judging – Perceiving (J/P)

Judging is a preference for living a planned and organized life in the external
world.

Perceiving is a preference for living spontaneously, with many options, in the

external world.

“The four functions are somewhat like the four points of the compass; they are
just as arbitrary and just as indispensable. Nothing prevents our shifting the
cardinal points as many degrees as we like in one direction or the other, or giving
them different names…but the one thing I must confess: I would not for anything
dispense with this compass on my psychological voyages of discovery.” – Carl G.
Jung

Eight Mental Functions in Attitude

After Jung came up with four dimensions for personality types, Jung observed
that Perceiving and Judging function were always used hand-in-hand with
attitudes of Extraversion and Introversion.

Rest of the four functions (Sensing, iNtuition, Thinking, and Feeling) combine
with two attitudes (Extraversion and Introversion) to form eight mental Functions-
in-Attitude. These eight mental functions were called his Eight Types by Jung.
These eight mental functions-in-attitude are the functions that we use to adapt to
the world, and these functions are the core of Jung’s theory of psychological
types.
“Strictly speaking, there are no Introverts and Extraverts pure and simple, but
only Introverted and Extraverted function-types.” – Carl Gustav Jung

Function-
Definition
Attitude

Extraverted Refers to gathering sensory experiences and factual data from the objective

Sensing world.

Introverted Refers to storing factual historical data and gathering sensory experiences

Sensing from the subjective world.

Extraverted
Refers to possibilities, patterns and meanings in the objective world.
Intuition

Introverted Refers to means, patterns, symbols and insight in the subjective world, which

Intuition is acquired unconsciously.

Extraverted Refers to application of logical order through structure building, decision

Thinking making and organization in the objective world.

Introverted Refers to seeking understanding through logical principles in the subjective

Thinking world.

Extraverted Refers to building and seeking harmony and alignment with others through
Function-
Definition
Attitude

Feeling openly expressed values in the objective world.

Introverted Refers to seeking harmony and alignment of personal behavior with deeply

Feeling felt values and evaluation of such phenomenon with respect to those values.