11 results
7 - Social Bonding: Affiliation Motivation and Intimacy Motivation
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- By K. Sokolowski, Studied Psychology, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 184-201
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Summary
The Development of Social Bonds
People spend much of their lives in the company of others, interacting with their fellow humans. Interpersonal contact can mean mere coexistence at bus stops or in elevators, organized competition in sports contests, or overtly aggressive behavior. Alternatively, it can be helpful, friendly, or purely sociable in nature. In all these situations, emotions play an important role in regulating interactions. Generally, emotions serve two communicative functions (Sokolowski, 2002):
First, expressions of emotion inform members of the same species about the emotional state of the individual (e.g., expressions of anger: “Watch it! Don't come any closer!”).
Second, emotions signal to the individual him- or herself the underlying motivational state (e.g., the feeling of fear when there still is something threatening in the actual situation).
Like other mammals who live in groups, humans are born with the ability to communicate with members of their species. This innate ability is reflected in a baby's contrasting emotional responses to being separated from the mother and to being reunited with her. In adult life, too, most of our emotions are triggered by our dealings with others, and these emotions serve to regulate human interaction in a multitude of respects. Expressions of emotion signal liking/antipathy, dominance/submission, indifference/interest, dependence/autonomy, the need for help, and so on, to those present. However, our subjective emotional experience reflects our overall motivational state with respect to an aspired goal.
Observable behaviors also reflect differences in social relations.
5 - Motivation as a Function of Expectancy and Incentive
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- By J. Beckmann, Professor of Sport Psychology, Faculty of Sport Science, Technical University of Munich, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research Munich, Germany
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 99-136
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The Emergence of Incentives as Explanatory Concepts
Like Chapter 4, this chapter deals with the situational determinants of behavior. All of the theories to be discussed assume that the organism is able to anticipate events and that behavior is guided by anticipatory goal states. The underlying assumption is that goal states are involved in the “reinforcement” of behavior. When our actions meet with success, the respective goal states are associated with positive affect. When we fail, or in the case of negative reinforcement, they are associated with negative affect. The anticipation of the affect associated with goal states activates a behavioral tendency to either approach or avoid specific goal states. Situational stimuli that alert the organism to affectively charged goal states are known as incentives. Hence, the present chapter deals with incentive theories of motivation.
The striving for affectively charged goal states is a core component of motivation. There are evidently two preconditions for this striving. First, it must be possible to anticipate the occurrence of the goal state; there must be an expectation. Second, the goal state must have some subjective significance or value for the organism.
Incentive theories of motivation assume that behavior is goal directed. Its regulation is forward looking, as though the organism were constantly asking itself what leads to what. Behavior is proactive, and is attracted to future goal states by the incentive-like promises and threats of the present situation.
The explanatory models covered in Chapter 4, such as Hull's (1943) reinforcement theory, are rather reactive by comparison. Here, the general energizing of behavior is attributed to a nonspecific drive, and behavior is assumed to be guided by previously established stimulus-response bonds (habits).
8 - Power Motivation
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- By H.-D. Schmalt, Studied Psychology, University of Münster, University of Hamburg, and Ruhr University of Bochum, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 202-226
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Power: Concepts and Constructs
Before we examine what exactly power motivation might be and how it is commonly conceptualized, we need to have a clear understanding of the phenomena thought to be constitutive of power and the contexts in which they come to bear. Social sciences such as sociology and political science are primarily concerned with the static state of existing power relationships and the role that these relationships play in maintaining and consolidating specific hierarchies. Behavioral sciences such as psychology tend to be more interested in the dynamic process of the exercise of power, its individual determinants and concomitant conditions. Sociobiology focuses on the relationship between power, status, and resources and the ultimate biological goal of maximizing reproductive fitness, the theory being that organisms with access to power, status, and influence have (or had) an adaptive advantage over organisms without the benefit of these resources.
Power – and the inequality of its distribution among individuals, social groups, animal societies, and nations – is a multifarious social phenomenon that, like few others, has been the object of explanations, justifications, and objections since time immemorial. In almost all cultures of the world, it is common to describe members of one's group in terms of “dominance”/“submission” and, in so doing, to implicitly acknowledge that group relations are determined by an underlying dimension of power and dominance (Kenrick, Li, & Butner, 2003).
14 - Causal Attribution of Behavior and Achievement
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- By J. Stiensmeier-Pelster, Studied Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Germany, H. Heckhausen, Studied Psychology, University of Münster, Germany
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 349-383
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1 - Motivation and Action: Introduction and Overview
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- By J. Heckhausen, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research Munich, Germany
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 1-9
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Human life is composed of a continuous flow of activity. Besides the infinite variety of overt actions and expressions that impact the social and physical environment, it also has a more covert side in the mental activities of experiencing, perceiving, thinking, feeling, and imagining. These mental activities are part of the flow, although they cannot be observed directly by others and have no direct impact on the environment. The scope of human activity thus ranges from dreaming (Klinger, 1971) to preplanned, intentional acts. The psychology of motivation is specifically concerned with activities that reflect the pursuit of a particular goal and, in this function, form a meaningful unit of behavior. Motivational research seeks to explain these units of behavior in terms of their whys and hows.
Questions pertaining to the whys of human activity address its purposes from a variety of perspectives; for example:
Can different units of behavior be assigned to one and the same class of goals and differentiated from other classes of goals?
How do these classes of goals evolve in the course of an individual's development, and which individual differences exist in this regard?
Why is it that specific situational conditions prompt people to choose certain goal-oriented activities over others, and to pursue them with a certain amount of time and energy?
6 - Achievement Motivation
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- By J. C. Brunstein, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Giessen, H. Heckhausen, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 137-183
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Achievement is undoubtedly the most thoroughly studied motive. It was first identified in Henry A. Murray's list of “psychogenic” needs as “n(eed) Achievement,” and described in the following terms:
To accomplish something difficult. To master, manipulate or organize physical objects, human beings, or ideas. To do this as rapidly and as independently as possible. To overcome obstacles and attain a high standard. To excel one's self. To rival and surpass others. To increase self-regard by the successful exercise of talent (Murray, 1938, p. 164).
Murray can also be considered a pioneer of achievement-motivation research in another respect, namely, as the author of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, and Lowell (1953) later developed this instrument into one of the best known and most frequently used procedures for measuring people's underlying motives. In their ground-breaking monograph The Achievement Motive, McClelland and associates (1953) defined achievement motivation as follows:
DEFINITION
A behavior can be considered achievement motivated when it involves “competition with a standard of excellence.”
This definition allows a myriad of activities to be considered achievement motivated, the crucial point being a concern with doing those activities well, better than others, or best of all. The striving for excellence implies quality standards against which performance can be evaluated: people may compare their current performance with their own previous performance (“to excel oneself”), for instance, or with that of others (“to rival or surpass others”), as Murray had already specified (see above).
4 - Situational Determinants of Behavior
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- By J. Beckmann, Professor of Sport Psychology, Faculty of Sport Science, Technical University of Munich, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research Munich, Germany
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 69-98
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In Chapter 3, we considered explanations of behavior that draw solely on personality characteristics. Motives are relatively stable personality dispositions. Because the strength of the various motives differs interindividually, they can be invoked to explain differences in behavior. Indeed, motives can be seen as variables underlying predictable differences in individual behavior. In person-centered approaches, motive dispositions are also expected to explain the forces initiating and directing behavior. Seen from this perspective, situational factors serve only to arouse a particular motive. If, for example, someone with a strong achievement motive is invited to play a game of ludo (or Parcheesi), the achievement motive will take effect immediately, and determine that player's behavior from that moment on. Any differences between the players in this situation would have to be explained by motive-dependent motivational differences. As shown in Chapter 3, however, the explanatory value of models that rely solely on personality variables is limited. An alternative approach is one that focuses on situational variables, on the situational stimuli that trigger and direct behavior. In this chapter, we look at the major theoretical developments that have emerged from situation-centered explanations of behavior.
The early 20th century saw the emergence of a research tradition that took the equally radical approach of focusing on the situation as the sole determinant of behavior. Behaviorism turned its back on personality characteristics, and hence on motives, as explanatory variables. Indeed, behaviorists were less interested in individual differences than in the situational specificity of behavior. What initiates a behavioral sequence?
3 - Trait Theories of Motivation
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- By D. Scheffer, Studied Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Germany, H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 42-68
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From the Nomothetic to the Idiographic
Motivation emerges from the interaction of situational stimuli and dispositional characteristics. This chapter deals with the latter.
Dispositional factors of motivation are assumed to explain why some people show certain patterns of motivated behavior across situations, whereas others do not. Apart from specific situational stimuli, motivation is thus attributed to stable traits that are rooted in the individual personality, and that distinguish between people across situations and, to a certain extent, over time.
Individual dispositions to show certain patterns of motivation across situations have been given various labels in psychological research, reflecting very different notions of which and how many such dispositions there are, how they develop, and how they influence motivation. Accordingly, theories of motivation differ in terms of the relative importance they attribute to dispositional and environmental influences. Whereas the five-factor model focuses on endogenous dispositions and assumes the environment to play only a minor role, systems theory approaches emphasize the complex interactions between external stimuli and internal dispositions.
In this chapter we start with a simple model and gradually work our way toward a much more complex perspective on the role of dispositional factors in motivation. This does not mean to imply that one model is inherently preferable to another: all scientific theories of motivation aim to explain and predict in the most parsimonious and yet generally valid way possible why different people experience very different levels of tension and energy in similar situations, and why their behavior is directed toward such different goals.
15 - Motivation and Development
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- By J. Heckhausen, Studied Psychology, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, H. Heckhausen, Studied Psychology, University of Münster, Germany
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 384-444
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Development of Control Striving Across the Lifespan: A Fundamental Phenomenon of Motivational Development
This chapter explores the relationship between motivation and development from two perspectives: the development of motivation, on the one hand, and motivational influences on development, on the other. Whether it is a question of the development of motivation or the motivation of development, the regulation of human behavior shifts in accordance with lifespan developmental change in the individual's potential to control the environment. The lifespan theory of control (J. Heckhausen, 1999; J. Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Schulz & J. Heckhausen, 1996) identifies constructs and articulates hypotheses specifying how individuals respond to the waxing and waning of their potential for effective control at different stages of life and in different areas of functioning, and thus provides a useful conceptual framework for the investigation of development and motivation.
The starting point and conceptual core of the lifespan theory of control is the functional primacy of primary control (J. Heckhausen, 1999; J. Heckhausen & Schulz, 1999a). The striving to exert control on the environment (primary control striving) is hypothesized to be a universal and fundamental characteristic of human motivation that evolved over a long phylogeny of behavioral regulation. A preference for self-produced effects on the environment over effects produced by others has been found in various mammals (see overview in J. Heckhausen, 2000a; White, 1959), and may even determine the behavior of all those nonmammalian species with a locomotor system that enables them to influence their environment.
2 - Historical Trends in Motivation Research
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- By H. Heckhausen, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich
- Edited by Jutta Heckhausen, University of California, Irvine, Heinz Heckhausen, Max-Planck-Institut für Psychologische Forschung, Munich
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- Motivation and Action
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- 08 August 2009
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- 18 February 2008, pp 10-41
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Introduction
Attempts to explain human behavior date back to the dawn of time. Questions relating to motives, motivation, and volition, as discussed in Chapter 1, have been addressed from various perspectives under different labels, and have prompted a variety of explanatory models. What is common to all these attempts is that they seek to establish the reasons for actions, their individual differences, and for the activation, control, and persistence of goal-oriented behavior. It would go beyond the scope of this chapter to review the intricate and involved history of this endeavor (see Bolles, 1975, for such a review). What Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) supposedly said about psychology, namely that it has a long past but a short history, applies equally to the study of motivation.
Once psychology became scientific, i.e., experimental, questions relating to motivation began to emerge in quite different contexts. Labels and definitions differed, reflecting the changing perspectives on the issues. The connotative content of concepts also changed with the biases and assumptions that dominated a particular era, however, increasing or decreasing their popularity. The nomenclature at the beginning of the last century is a case in point. At that time, the battle was between “motives” and “reasons” as directing the choice between alternative courses of behavior or as governing the emergence of a decision to do or not to do something. It was then that volition or “will” took effect to insure that an intention, once formed, would be followed up by the active pursuit of a goal.
Contributors
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- By Isabella Aboderin, W. Andrew Achenbaum, Katherine R. Allen, Toni C. Antonucci, Sara Arber, Claudine Attias‐Donfut, Paul B. Baltes, Sandhi Maria Barreto, Vern L. Bengtson, Simon Biggs, Joanna Bornat, Julie B. Boron, Mike Boulton, Clive E. Bowman, Marjolein Broese van Groenou, Edna Brown, Robert N. Butler, Bill Bytheway, Neena L. Chappell, Neil Charness, Kaare Christensen, Peter G. Coleman, Ingrid Arnet Connidis, Neal E. Cutler, Sara J. Czaja, Svein Olav Daatland, Lia Susana Daichman, Adam Davey, Bleddyn Davies, Freya Dittmann‐Kohli, Glen H. Elder, Carroll L. Estes, Mike Featherstone, Amy Fiske, Alexandra Freund, Daphna Gans, Linda K. George, Roseann Giarrusso, Chris Gilleard, Jay Ginn, Edlira Gjonça, Elena L. Grigorenko, Jaber F. Gubrium, Sarah Harper, Jutta Heckhausen, Akiko Hashimoto, Jon Hendricks, Mike Hepworth, Charlotte Ikels, James S. Jackson, Yuri Jang, Bernard Jeune, Malcolm L. Johnson, Randi S. Jones, Alexandre Kalache, Robert L. Kane, Rosalie A. Kane, Ingrid Keller, Rose Anne Kenny, Thomas B. L. Kirkwood, Kees Knipscheer, Martin Kohli, Gisela Labouvie‐Vief, Kristina Larsson, Shu‐Chen Li, Charles F. Longino, Ariela Lowenstein, Erick McCarthy, Gerald E. McClearn, Brendan McCormack, Elizabeth MacKinlay, Alfons Marcoen, Michael Marmot, Tom Margrain, Victor W. Marshall, Elizabeth A. Maylor, Ruud ter Meulen, Harry R. Moody, Robert A. Neimeyer, Demi Patsios, Margaret J. Penning, Stephen A. Petrill, Chris Phillipson, Leonard W. Poon, Norella M. Putney, Jill Quadagno, Pat Rabbitt, Jennifer Reid Keene, Sandra G. Reynolds, Steven R. Sabat, Clive Seale, Merril Silverstein, Hannes B. Staehelin, Ursula M. Staudinger, Robert J. Sternberg, Debra Street, Philip Taylor, Fleur Thomése, Mats Thorslund, Jinzhou Tian, Theo van Tilburg, Fernando M. Torres‐Gil, Josy Ubachs‐Moust, Christina Victor, K. Warner Shaie, Anthony M. Warnes, James L. Werth, Sherry L. Willis, François‐Charles Wolff, Bob Woods
- Edited by Malcolm L. Johnson, University of Bristol
- Edited in association with Vern L. Bengtson, University of Southern California, Peter G. Coleman, University of Southampton, Thomas B. L. Kirkwood, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing
- Published online:
- 05 June 2016
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- 01 December 2005, pp xii-xvi
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