8. Motivation and Emotion

Sunita, a girl from a little known town, puts in 10-12 hours of hard work everyday in order to get through the various engineering entrance examinations. Hemant, a physically challenged boy, wants to take part in an expedition and trains himself extensively in a mountaineering institute. Aman saves money from his scholarship so that he can buy a gift for his mother. These are just a few examples, which indicate the role motivation plays in human behaviour. Each of these behaviours are caused by an underlying motive. Behaviour is goal-driven. Goal-seeking behaviour tends to persist until the goal is achieved. For achieving their goals people plan and undertake different activities. How is Sunita going to feel if after all the hard work she has put in, she does not succeed or Aman’s scholarship money gets stolen? Sunita, perhaps, will be sad and Aman angry. This chapter will help you to understand the basic concepts of motivation and emotion, and related developments in these two areas. The basic emotions, their biological bases, overt expressions, cultural influences, their relationship with motivation, and some techniques to help you manage your emotions better will also be dealt with.

This introduction illustrates how motivation drives human behavior and emphasizes that motivation stems from underlying motives. Each example showcases goal-driven behavior: Sunita studies hard for exams, Hemant trains for an expedition, and Aman saves money for his mother. These behaviors show that motivation persists until goals are met and that achieving these goals involves planning and action. The emotional responses of Sunita and Aman highlight how motivation is intertwined with the emotions we feel when achieving or failing to achieve our goals.

Consider a student studying for a big exam. The motivation to pass the exam can lead the student to dedicate long hours of study each day. If they do well, they might feel joyful, while poor results could lead to feelings of disappointment. This mirrors Sunita’s efforts and emotions reflected in this introduction, showing how motivation impacts our daily experiences.

The concept of motivation focuses on explaining what 'moves' behaviour. In fact, the term motivation is derived from the Latin word ‘movere’, referring to movement of activity. Most of our everyday explanation of behaviour is given in terms of motives. Why do you come to the school or college? There may be any number of reasons for this behaviour, such as you want to learn or to make friends, you need a diploma or degree to get a good job, you want to make your parents happy, and so on. Some combination of these reasons and/or others would explain why you choose to go in for higher education. Motives also help in making predictions about behaviour. A person will work hard in school, in sports, in business, in music, and in many other situations, if s/he has a very strong need for achievement. Hence, motives are the general states that enable us to make predictions about behaviour in many different situations. In other words, motivation is one of the determinants of behaviour. Instincts, drives, needs, goals, and incentives come under the broad cluster of motivation.

This section explains the foundational idea of motivation—that it explains the reasons behind actions and behaviors. The Latin origin of the term connects it to movement, highlighting that motivation drives us to act. Various motives (like the desire to learn, make friends, or achieve a degree) help to predict behaviors. An example given in this section indicates that if a person has a strong need for achievement, they are likely to work hard across various activities. Ultimately, this alludes to a broader concept in psychology where motivation is one of several determinants affecting behavior.

Imagine a runner training for a marathon. Their motivation stems from various factors: the desire to win, personal health goals, or the wish to impress family. Each of these motives can predict their training habits and efforts, similar to how students are motivated by different reasons when pursuing education.

Psychologists now use the concept of need to describe the motivational properties of behaviour. A need is lack or deficit of some necessity. The condition of need leads to drive. A drive is a state of tension or arousal produced by a need. It energises random activity. When one of the random activities leads to a goal, it reduces the drive, and the organism stops being active. The organism returns to a balanced state. Thus, the cycle of motivational events can be presented.

This chunk introduces the motivational cycle, illustrating how needs trigger drives that motivate behavior. A need represents a deficiency (like hunger or thirst), which leads to a drive—this feeling of tension that propels someone into action. For instance, when a student feels hungry, that need becomes a drive that motivates them to get food. Once the need is satisfied (when they eat), the drive diminishes, and they return to a state of balance, completing the cycle.

Consider the cycle of hunger. When someone is hungry (need), they feel a drive to seek food, prompting them to consider their options for a meal. Once they eat (goal), their hunger subsides (reducing the drive), and they feel balanced again. This example mirrors the motivational cycle described here.

Basically, there are two types of motives: biological and psychosocial. Biological motives are also known as physiological motives as they are guided mostly by the physiological mechanisms of the body. Psychosocial motives, on the other hand, are primarily learned from the individual’s interactions with the various environmental factors. However, both types of motives are interdependent on each other.

Here, the text distinguishes between two broad categories of motives. Biological (or physiological) motives relate to innate bodily needs, such as hunger and thirst, which arise from our physiology. Psychosocial motives, however, are shaped through interactions with our social environment and learned experiences, like the need for achievement or affiliation. While these motives can differ, the text notes they are interdependent—biological needs can influence psychosocial motives and vice versa.

A classic example is how our biological needs for food or safety can influence social behaviors. For instance, a hungry student (a biological motive) may become more competitive in a group project due to frustration stemming from their physical discomfort (psychosocial motive). This illustrates how interconnected both types of motives can be.

--