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Motivational Psychology
Everybody knows at least one successful businessman that is always highly motivated and whose energy never seems to run out. Where do they get this motivation from? What is their drive? These questions have been the topic of many debates in the field of applied psychology. The reason for this is simple, everybody wants to be noticed as being motivated and we all want to be successful.
More than one theory exists as to how motivational psychology works. These can be divided into 5 different theories:
Motivation based on Instinct
Just like a spider knows how to build a web and birds know how to create a nest, humans instinctively know certain things, and the theory is that motivation is one of the drives that come from these instincts. This makes motivational psychology a matter of biology and less a matter of mentality.
Motivation based on Needs
Humans fill their days with fulfilling their needs. The most primal examples of this being the need to eat, sleep and breathe. The more important the matter the higher the need for it, which in turn produces our motivation towards a certain goal. With this theory, just like the motivation through instinct, it would be a matter of biology instead of a mental state.
Motivation through Arousal
Similar to motivation based on needs, this theory assumes we are maintaining a certain state of arousal in order to be calm and comfortable. In this case arousal is a state of activity that can be emotional, intellectual, physical, or a combination of the three. The difference with this theory is that it does not take the drive to fulfill needs into account. Instead it assumes a balanced state that needs to be maintained at all times.
Psychoanalytic Theory
This theory assumes that Sigmund Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory applies here. This means humans only have two basic instincts; one for survival and one for preventing our demise.
Arguably this theory would state that we get educated to survive and no more.
Humanistic Theory
This is the most well known theory. It assumes humans have a natural drive for being the best they can be and will always strive to achieve it unless factors in life prevent it. Those factors can be anything that takes away the attention from the goal.
Everybody endures stress at various levels and in order to get the most from ourselves in our careers we need to reduce those levels to a minimum allowing people to grow into their true potential. Psychological motivation is one of the key factors for reducing those stress levels and therefore one of the best tools for achieving success at the work place.
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