Motiuation:History of the Concept strategiesof goal setting,and goal implementation Ryan R M, SheldonK M, KasserT M. Deci E L 1996All goals thatare easy to perform. arenot createdequal: An organismicperspective on the nature of goals and their regulation.In: Gollwitzer P M, Bargh J A (eds.) 7"fte Psvchologv of Action; Linking Cognition and Seealso: Academic Achievement Motivation. Deve- Motiuation to Behauior.Guilford Press,New York, pp. 7-26 lopmentol Action Theory:Psychological; Activity Taylor S E, Pham L B, Rivkin I D, Armor D A 1998Harnessing Theory:Psychological; Attitudes and Behavior; Auto- the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and maticityof Action,Psychology of, ControlBehavior: coping. Ameritan Psy-chologi.rt53: 429-39 PsychologicalPerspectives; Group DecisionMaking, WernerB 1992Human Motiüation.Sage, Newbury Park, CA SocialPsychology ol IntrinsicMotivation, Psycho- Wright R 1996Brehrn's theory of motivation asa model of effort logyof; Self-regulationin Adulthood and cardiovascularresponse. In: Gollwitzer P M, Bargh J A (eds.) Tlre Psy-chologv ol Action: Linking Cognition and MotiDationto Bahauior.Guilford Press,New York,pp.424-53 P. M. Gollwitzerand G. Oettineen Bibliography Atkinson J W 1957 Motivational determinantsof risk-taking behavior.Psychologiml Reuiew 64: 359-'72 Bandura A 199'1SeU:elhcac),; The Exerci.teo/ Control. \N.H. Freeman,New York Bargh J A, Chartrand T L 1999The unbearableautomaticity of being. American Psvthologist 54: 462-79 Motivation: History of the Concept Brunstein J C. SchultheissO C, Grässmann R 1998 Personal goals and emotional well-being: The moderating role of Evolutionary theory, the study of learning, and the motive dispositions.Journal oJ Personalityand Social Psy- cholog1,75:49+508 psychoanalytic study of mental illness have been Cantor N, FleesonW 1994 Social intelligenceand intelligent committed to see motivation as a primary cause of goalpursuit: A cognitiveslice of motivation.In: SpauldingW behavior, and this is also true of behavioral biology (ed.) Nehraska Sympo.siumon MotiDation. University ol and physiological psychology, as they prefer to think NebraskaPress, Lincoln, NE, Vol. 4l,pp.125 79 in terms of homeostasis(Cofer and Appley 1964). Carver C S, ScheierM F 1998On the Selt'-regulationoJ Beha- When hunger occurs,for instance,behavior is insti- rioar. CambridgeUniversity Press,Carnbridge, UK gated (e.9., finding and eating food) that is instru- Dweck C S 1999 SeU-theories.Tlteir Role in Motiuation, Per- mental to rectifying the imbalance caused by tissue sonalitt', anct Derelopmenl.Psychology Press. Philadelphra, needsand deficits.The named theoretical perspectives PA have barricaded the simple insight that behavior can Emmons RA 1996 Striving and feeling: Personalgoals and (e.9., subjectivewell-being. In: Gollwitzer P M, Bargh J A (eds.) occur under externally applied forces as well a The Psychology ol Action: Linking Cognition and Motiaalion shove).Even more importantly, the physical structure to BehaL:ior.Guilford Press,New York, pp. 313-37 of the organism, its sensoryand perceptual capacities, GollwitzerP M 1990Action phasesand mind-sets.In: Higgins its cognitive and motor abilities, and so forth, qualify E T, Sorrentrno E M (eds.) Handbook of Motitation and as causal factors. Even habits, once formed, can be Cognilion; Foundationso/ Sotial BehaL:ior.Guilford Press, seenas such. New Yolk, Vol. 2, pp. 53-92 Research on motivation has recognized early on Gollwitzer P M 1999Implementation intentions: Strong effects that motivation can only be one of the many causesof o[ simple pldns.Ameritan Psvthologist54: 493-503 behavior, and this extends to the causation of affect Gollwitzer P M, Bargh J A 1996 The Psvthologl, o/ Action: and cognition as well. Accordingly, the leading ques- Linking Cognitionand Motiuation to A.tion. Guilford Press, New York tion became: What are the aspects of cognition, HeckhausenH l99l Motitotion and lrtron. Springer-Verlag, affect, and behavior that benefit most from a moti- Berhn vational analysis?Traditionally, the following issues Higgins ET 1997 Beyondpleasure and pain. AmericanPsy-- havebeen addressed: First, thereis the questionofthe chologist52: 1280 1300 lacilitation and energizationofcertain responses.This Klinger E 1975Consequences of commitmentto and disen- issue has been analyzed by the classic proponents of gagementfrom incentives.P,sychologital Retiew 82: | 25 learning theory (Hull 1943,Spence 1956)who sug- Kuhl J. BeckmannJ 1994Volition ancl Personality; Action tersu:; gestedthat motivational processesas such (assumedto State Orientotion.Hogrele & Huber, Seattle,WA be rooted in general drive or arousal states) do not McClelland D 1985 Human Motiualiox. Scott, Foresman, necessarilycontrol or guide specificforms of behavior Glenview,IL but may at times invigorate innate or learned as- McClelland D 1995 Achievement motivation in relation to achievement-relatedrecall. performance.and urine flow, a sociativetendencies. Second, thoughts, feelings,and marker associatedwith releaseofvasopressin. Motiuation and actions are often characterized as guided, directed, Emotion 19: 59-76 goal-oriented,persistent, or purposive.Such qualities Oettingen G 2000 Expectancyeffects on behavior depend on relate to making choices,but also to short-term or self-regufatorythought. Social Cognition l8: l0l-29 long-term efforts in implementing the choices made. 10109 Motiuation: History o.fthe Conc'ept Researcherslike Atkinson (1957) and McClelland Recentresearch on individual differencesin terms ol (1955) locused on this issue and suggesteda moti- motivational orientations has replaced the need (mo- vational analysis. tive) construct with constructs that describea general To demonstrate how the conceot of motivation has goal orientation, such as personal projects, personal changed in history, this article describeshow two strivings, life tasks, or identity goals. Such personal central issues(i.e., basic needs and action control) strivings (Emmons 1996) are more limited in scope have been addresseddifferently by the traditional and (e.g., be a honest person) and can be characterizedin the modern psychologyof motivation. terms of expectanciesol success,complexity, high vs. low level of abstraction, avoidance vs. approach orientation, degreeofconflict betweeneach other, and integration vs. fragmentation. parameters 1, Basic Human Needs The named of personal strivings have been observed to relate to Whereaslearning theorists,following the lead of Hull, measuresof psychological and physical well-being. conceived of need as a general, content-free drive, personalitypsychologists were eager to put content into the concept of need.Sigmund Freud was rather 2, Action Control parsimonious by only suggestingtwo basic needs, namely the life and the death instinct. McDougall Early theoriesportrayed the human as a machine-like (1932) listed l8 basic needswhich he referred to as reactiveorganism compelled to act by internal and/or instincts (e.g., curiosity, sell-assertion,submission). external forces beyond our control (e.g., instincts, Murray's (1938) Explorations in Personality contains a needs,drives, incentives,reinforcers, etc.). Prototypi- catalog of 20 psychogenic needs (e.g., need for nur- cal theories are the psychoanalytic theory of Freud, turance, need for succorance) and Maslow's (1954) Hull's learning theory (and the reformulations by his Motiuation and Personality proposed a hierarchy of students),or Lewin's field theoretical approach. These needs whereby the lower need categories related to theoriesimply that if onejust pushedthe right button, deficiency needs (e.g., hunger, safety) and the higher motivation would result. There is no room for con- ones to growth needs(e.9., need to achieve,need to scious reflections and attemDts towards self-resu- realizeone's potential). lation. Instead, motivational lorces transmit th-eir The named approachesexcelled in generatingsoph- energy outside of awareness,establishing a state of isticated definitions and descriptions,but did not balance or equilibrium (referred to as arousal re- provide reliable instruments lor needassessment. They duction, self-preservation,or need satisfaction). also failed to answer the question of which of the many More modern theories construe human beings as needsare activated in a given situation and how such all-just and all-knowing final judges of their actions. activation processesrun off. Moreover, they did not Expectancy-valuetheories (e.g., Atkinson 1957) as- explore the origins of individual differencesin the sumethat peoplechoose goals in a rational way, based strengthofthese needs. In lateryears, Atkinson (1957) on the comprehensiveknowledge of the probability of and McClelland (i985) addressedthese problems with goal attainment and the goal's expectedvalue. It is respect to the need for achievement and the power proposedthat the subjectiveprobability olsuccessand motive. the incentivevalue of having performed a task (i.e., Still, the question remains: Which of the many pride or shame) conjointly affect task choice, both conceivable human needs is the most basic? variablesbeing influenced by the perceiveddifficulty of Baumeisterand Leary (1995) have recently raised this the task. Elaborations of this model (Heckhausen issue by applying criteria such as universality, non- I 991) added further expectation-relatedconcepts (e.g., derivativeness,satiation, and substitution.According action-outcome expectancies),and differentiated vari- to their analysis, the need to