Psychology of Motivation

Title: Psychology of Motivation
Author: Gamez Ivanna, Socorro Stephanie and Riera Jesus.
Date: May, 2010
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4flf6XHJUc


This presentation explains that there are several theories explaining why people conduct their activities like:


1. Instinct theory: there are instincts and people is driven for this reason.


2. Drive-reduction theory: people do something for reducing anxiety and to obtain an internal balance


3. Humanistic theory: personal desire guide to the person.


4. Sociocultural theory: people shape the motivation of others.









Comment:



It's important to add that we are humans and we are influenced by psychological and biological factors. For example, if we want to buy a chocolate cake our motivation can be influenced for hungry (biological agent) or pleasure (psychological agent), as conclusion, we do not depend only of biological factors because we would be like a cat who just eats and sleeps in its house. In addition, it's relevant to relate both approaches because we are going to be able to identify what I want, so if you are conscious about your wishes and you have an efficient self-knowledge, when you want to buy a new car you are going to know what is your real need.

As for the video, I consider that all these theories are valid, however, there is not absolutes. For this reason, I support the idea that we are complete human beings and we do not depend on only one thing. Psychology studies the human behavior, therefore, this topic is really important to understand why people act like they do, as we saw, our motivation can be influenced by situations, anxiety and personal characteristics.  Finally, I uploaded this video because I just want you to know why are you motivated, for example, to study the career that you chose. This topic is gonna help you to make better decisions.