From a biological perspective, an instinct is a species-specific, unlearned pattern of behavior. These are complex, innate behaviors often triggered by events like maturation or seasonal changes. Unlike simple reflexes, instincts typically involve the entire organism, such as in migration or mating, and are controlled by higher brain centers.

Instinct (Definition)

Homeostasis is the tendency of a biological system to maintain a stable and balanced internal environment, or an optimal level of functioning.

Homeostasis (Definition)

According to drive theory, behavior is motivated by the need to maintain homeostasis. When a biological system deviates from its optimal balance, a physiological need arises. This need creates a psychological drive state that compels an organism to act in a way that satisfies the need and restores homeostasis. Furthermore, the theory suggests that when a particular behavior successfully reduces a drive, it is more likely to be repeated in the future, thus forming a habit.

Drive Theory of Motivation

A person trains for months to climb a dangerous mountain, a goal that involves significant physical discomfort, risk, and does not satisfy an immediate biological need like hunger or thirst. How would the foundational drive theory of motivation, which is based on maintaining a stable internal state, account for this behavior?

Biologically-oriented theories of motivation propose that behavior is driven by innate biological mechanisms. Key examples include theories centered on instincts and the physiological need to maintain the body's internal balance, or homeostasis.

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Motivation

Motivational theories can be categorized based on their primary focus. These categories include biologically-oriented theories that address instincts and homeostasis, cognitive approaches such as Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, theories centered on social motives, and hierarchical models like Maslow's hierarchy of needs which organizes various motives.

Classification of Motivational Theories

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

- Research suggests that online participation including social interaction in collaborative online learning environments, is crucial in motivating students to learn and promote learning satisfaction. There needs to be a balance between group and individual participation for online learning environments to be effective. This study determined two visualization tools to motivate students to participate actively and examine its effects.

- The results show that the visualization tool on online participation can enhance their online participation however, the visualization of individual participation has a greater effect than the visualization of group participation, despite the collaborative learning community. 

Using Visualization to Motivate Student Participation in Collaborative Online Learning Environments 

"Awareness is defined as "understanding of the activities of others, which provides a context for your own activity" (Dourish & Bellotti)

- two types of awareness: group awareness and objective self-awareness.

Awareness Information

Whether or not students decide to engage in learning processes such as desirable difficulties greatly depends on how motivated they are to do so. This motivation can be influenced by a number of factors, including:
- memory of prior experiences
- task outcome expectancy/value
- achievement goal orientation
- affective state
- consequences on grades
- beliefs of competency 
- how the task is framed

Motivation and desirable difficulties: Variables effecting self-regulatory learning processes

Health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating, physical activity, practicing mindfulness) improve overall health (including physical health) and reduce the risk of chronic illnesses. However, in order for people to regularly engage in these behaviors, they need to have the motivation to do so.

Motivation | Connection to Health and Chronic Diseases

Looking at gender, age, SES, use of camera for lecturer and students, belief of neessity of distanced education, belief about effectiveness, and belief of negtive impact of pandemic on motivation, they looked at the cyclical effect of distanced learning motivation and it's impact on frequency of class attendence, mediated by anxiety, stress, depression and Intolerence of Uncertainty (IU).

- Women showed higher attendence than men
- men's motivation was higher than women's
- use of computers showed more attendence than use of smartphones
- use of computers showed higher motivation compared to use of smartphones
- urban students attended class more often
- urban students had lower levels of motivation
- depression negatively impacted attendence, though stress positively predicted attendence
- stress is not significantly associated with distance learning motivation 
- inhibitory IU was positively associated with depression, anxiety and stress, but negatively with motivation.
- IU predicts increase in relationship between anxiety and stress
- Women show higher rates of anxiety, stress, depression and IU during the pandemic
- gender is not related to student satisfaction with learning.

Psycho-demographic variables effects on higher education students during COVID-19 in Turkey

Pande, P., Thit, A., Sørensen, A. E., Mojsoska, B., Moeller, M. E., & Jepsen, P. M. (2021). Long-term effectiveness of immersive VR simulations in undergraduate science learning: Lessons from a media-comparison study. Research in Learning Technology, 29, 24. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezp1.villanova.edu/10.25304/rlt.v29.2482

Long-term effectiveness of immersive VR simulations in undergraduate science learning: Lessons from a media-comparison study

-  Positive reinforcement/ high expectations  
-  Base rewards on job performance 
-  Effective discipline and punishment  
-  Satisfy employees needs 
-  Set work related goals  
-  Restructure jobs
-  Treat people fairly  


Strategies to Improve Employee Motivation


-  Job enlargement
-  Job enrichment 
-  Job rotation

Techniques of Employee Motivation 

-  Human Capital Management 
-  Meet Personal Goals and Help an Employee Stay Motivated 
-  Greater Employee Satisfaction
-  Raising Employee Efficiency
-  A Higher Chance of Meeting the Company’s Goals
-  Better Team Harmony 
-  Workforce Stability




Benefits that Employee Motivation Brings to a Company 


-  Carry out responsibilities to the best of their ability 
-  Persistent
-  Creative
-  Productive
-  Produce high quality work that they willingly pursue. 



Characteristics of Motivated Employees

-  Likely to spend little or no effort on assigned tasks,
-  Avoid the workplace as much as they can,
-  Leave the organization if given the opportunity 
-  Produce poor quality work.


Characteristics of Unmotivated Employees


When the means of participation is to achieve some other goal (status, money, etc.). For example, if I play a sport because I think it will impress someone. Extrinsic motivation involves doing something to receive something form others.

Extrinsic Motivation

Key theories and methods related to motivation include:
- Instinct Theory
- Drive Reduction Theory
- Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
- Self-Efficacy
- Social Motives
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
- Expectancy-Valence Theories
- Incentive Theory
- Yerkes-Dodson Law
- Temporal Motivation Theory
- Remembered Success Effect
- Procrastination
- Gamification
- Game Based Learning

Theories and Methods of Motivation

Similar to eating, sexual activity is a fundamental motivated behavior essential to many people's lives. While its primary evolutionary purpose is the perpetuation of the species, human sexual behavior is complex and extends far beyond simple reproduction. The psychological study of this domain provides an overview of research on human sexual behavior and motivation, including key topics like sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sexual Behavior, Sexuality, and Gender Identity

Motivational theory in psychology comprises a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as a hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Influential figures in researching motivation include:

- William James

Influential Figures in Research on Motivation

When the performance (engagement) of some activity is the end in its own right. For example, I play a sport because I enjoy doing it and may have fond memories of doing it. Intrinsic motivation relates to the personal satisfaction one feels from doing the behavior.

Intrinsic Motivation

Biologically-Oriented Theories of Motivation

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological model that organizes human motives into a multi-level pyramid. This model illustrates the relationship among various motives, which span from fundamental physiological needs at the base to the highest level of self-actualization at the peak.

According to Albert Bandura's theory, self-efficacy is a crucial driver of motivation. This connection stems from an individual's expectations about the outcomes of their actions. A strong belief in one's own capabilities determines the goals they set and their commitment to achieving them. Consequently, individuals with high self-efficacy are more inclined to undertake difficult tasks and persist through setbacks, as they are confident in their ability to succeed.

Self-Efficacy and Motivation

Social motives are needs that individuals aim to satisfy through their interactions with others. Research by theorists like Murray, McClelland, and McAdams has identified several key social motives, including the needs for achievement, affiliation, and intimacy, which drive human behavior in social contexts.

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