Motivation and Behavior free essay sample

MOTIVATION AND BEHAVIOR To be motivated is to be moved into action, or to decide on a change in action, according to the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1841/1960). Motivation is an internal energy that creates a change in action for an incentive. Motivation can be caused by specific needs or the basic need of increasing pleasure and decreasing pain. Motivation begins with internal and external sources. Internal sources include biologica and psychological variables, while external sources include incentives that are achieved by the motivation. Biological variables include the direct biological needs of one’s body. As there is little food in one’s stomach the motivation to eat food increases. An example of the internal source of biological variables on motivation is the influence that ghrelin has on hunger. Ghrelin is a hormone that increases the need for eating and hunger. During a research study two groups of participants were given different injections, one group was injected with ghrelin, while the other group was injected with a placebo. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Behavior or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The results were that the participants injected with ghrelin ate more and reported more hunger when at a buffet where one could eat as much as they want. The incentive here is to satisfy the biological need to eat. Psychological variables in relation to internal sources â€Å"refer to motives and are studied indirectly through measurable indicators†(). When stepping on a scale, a higher weight indicates a greater motive or need. A prime example of the psychological variables is one’s need to belong. This occurs when a person’s social affiliation is lower than desired. This depends on a person’s ability to interoperate social cues. Individuals that feel more of a need to belong are more accurate at interpreting social cues. To prove this theory an experiment was drawn where people with different levels of the need to belong were more accurate in identifying facial expressions. Another source of motivation is the environment. â€Å"Environmental variables refer to those characteristics of incentives and goals that have the ability to attract or repel†( Deckers, 2010). Attractive incentives pull a person towards that goal while unattractive incentive pushes away. Higher incentives are more appealing than those with smaller values. An example of incentive and motivation is attending classes and studying with society’s value of education. The incentive being to get a better job, to buy the things that one wants and graduation, these create a greater willingness to score better on tests and study harder. Motivation is defined as the push and pull of behavior. To belong or the biological need to eat are subjective feeling that drive the motivation. Push motivation depends on the body and personal history. Motivation depends on biological and psychological values. Motivation is the drive that leads to the behavior; another way to look at motivation is that motivation is the cause and the behavior is the effect. If someone is motivated to do something they will display the behavior. If the incentive is large enough the motivation will be strongly forceful to receive the incentive, where if the incentive is smaller the behavior will be less forceful. An example of motivation exhibited in behavior is a person changing their behavior in public. If a person is with a group of friends, or for example, a man with a woman he is interested in, behavior will change. If a person is motivated by impressing a woman their behavior will change to impress the woman. The environment is an external source motivating a person to act differently. If a person is not motivated to work out by losing weight or getting healthy it is less likely that they will work out because there is no large incentive. In conclusion, motivation begins based on internal and external sources. Internal and external sources can either push or pull a person to react. Motivation is a cause and the behavior is the effect. Motivation depends on many different aspects but can change a course of behavior to achieve an incentive. Citations Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation: Biological, Psychological, Enviormental. Retrieved from The University of Pheonix eBook Collection database.