Historical Perspectives (Motivation)

We shall commence with an examination of the historical perspectives on motivation. Whilst certain variables incorporated within these historical theories may lack pertinence to contemporary conceptualisations, their influence in establishing the groundwork for current cognitive theories remains undeniable; moreover, several historical notions retain contemporary relevance.

Certain early viewpoints mirrored the proposition that motivation stems principally from innate instincts. Ethologists, for instance, predicated their ideas upon Darwin's theory, which posits that instincts possess survival value for organisms. Energy accumulates within organisms, discharging itself through behaviours conducive to the species' perpetuation. Others have accentuated the individual's exigency for homeostasis, or the maintenance of optimal physiological states. A third perspective encompasses hedonism, embodying the tenet that humans endeavour to seek pleasure whilst concurrently avoiding pain. Although each of these perspectives may elucidate certain instances of human motivation, they prove inadequate in comprehensively accounting for the extensive spectrum of motivated activities, particularly those manifested during the learning process. Readers seeking a more exhaustive exploration of these viewpoints are directed to supplementary sources (Petri, 1986; Schunk et al., 2008; Weiner, 1992).

Four historical perspectives on motivation, each bearing relevance to the domain of learning, comprise drive theory, conditioning theory, cognitive consistency theory, and humanistic theory.

Drive theory, initially conceived as a physiological proposition, was subsequently expanded to encompass psychological exigencies. Woodworth (1918) delineated drives as intrinsic forces endeavouring to maintain a state of homeostatic equilibrium within the corporeal system. When an individual, whether human or animal, is bereft of an essential element (e.g., sustenance, air, potable water), this engenders a drive, thereby precipitating a response in the aforementioned individual.

A considerable portion of the investigations undertaken to assay the predictions posited by drive theory were executed employing laboratory animals (Richter, 1927; Woodworth & Schlosberg, 1954). In these experimental paradigms, animals were frequently subjected to periods of deprivation from sustenance or potable water, whereupon their behaviours directed at procuring said necessities were meticulously assessed. By way of illustration, murine subjects might be denied alimentary provisions for variable durations and subsequently positioned within a maze. The temporal duration requisite for their transit to the terminus, where sustenance was proffered, was then quantified. Unsurprisingly, the magnitude of the response (locomotory velocity) typically exhibited a direct correlation with the quantum of prior reinforcements and the protractedness of the deprivation, up to a period spanning two to three diurnal cycles, after which a diminution was observed consequent to the progressive debilitation of the animal.

Hull (1943) broadened the conceptual scope of the drive construct by postulating that physiological deficits represented primary needs, which, in turn, instigated drives aimed at mitigating these deficits. Drive (D) constituted the motivational impetus that galvanised and propelled individuals, both human and animal, into action. Behaviour that yielded reinforcement contingent upon the satisfication of a need resulted in a diminution of the drive state. This progression may be represented as follows:

• Need → Drive → Behaviour

Hull (1943) defined motivation as the “initiation of learned, or habitual, patterns of movement or behaviour” (p. 226). He maintained that innate behaviours typically satiated primary needs and that learning transpired solely when such behaviours proved ineffectual. Learning, in this context, represented an individual's adaptation to the environment, thereby ensuring survival.

Furthermore, Hull posited the existence of secondary reinforcers, given that a substantial proportion of behaviour was not primarily oriented towards the satisfication of primary needs. Stimulus situations (e.g., engaging in labour to accrue pecuniary remuneration) acquired secondary reinforcing efficacy by virtue of their association with primary reinforcement (e.g., pecuniary remuneration facilitating the acquisition of sustenance).

Drive theory engendered a voluminous corpus of research stemming from Hull’s scholarly contributions (Weiner, 1992). As an explanatory framework for motivated behaviour, drive theory appears most pertinently applicable to immediate physiological exigencies; for instance, an individual lost within a desert environment is predominantly preoccupied with securing sustenance, potable water, and shelter. Nonetheless, drive theory proves suboptimal as an explanation for a substantial proportion of human motivation. Needs do not invariably instigate drives oriented towards the reduction thereof. Students precipitously concluding an overdue term paper may manifest pronounced symptoms of hunger, yet may elect not to cease their labours for alimentary replenishment, as their desire to consummate an exigent task supersedes a physiological need. Conversely, drives may subsist in the absence of demonstrable biological needs. A sexual drive may engender promiscuous behaviour, notwithstanding the fact that sexual activity is not immediately indispensable for survival.

While drive theory may elucidate certain behaviours directed towards immediate objectives, numerous human behaviours reflect protracted aspirations, such as securing employment, attaining a collegiate degree, or circumnavigating the globe via maritime transport. Individuals do not perpetually subsist in an elevated drive state whilst pursuing these goals. They characteristically experience periods of elevated, average, and diminished motivation. A heightened drive state is not conducive to performance over extended durations, particularly with respect to intricate tasks (Broadhurst, 1957; Yerkes & Dodson, 1908). Ergo, drive theory does not furnish an adequate elucidation for academic motivation.

Conditioning theory doth explicate motivation in terms o' responses elicited by stimuli (classical conditioning) or emitted in the presence o' stimuli (operant conditioning). In the classical conditioning model, the motivational properties o' an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) are transferred to the conditioned stimulus (CS) through repeated pairings. Conditioning occurreth when the CS eliciteth a conditioned response (CR) in the absence o' the UCS. This be a passive view o' motivation, for it doth postulate that once conditioning occurreth, the CR is elicited when the CS is presented. As discussed in earlier lessons o' this course, conditioning is not an automatic process, but rather dependeth on information conveyed to the individual concerning the likelihood o' the UCS occurring when the CS is presented.

In operant conditioning, motivated behaviour manifesteth as an increased rate o' responding or a greater likelihood that a response will occur in the presence o' a stimulus. Skinner (1953) did contend that internal processes accompanying responding are not necessary to explain behaviour. An individual's immediate environment and their history must be examined for the causes o' behaviour. Labeling a student as “motivated” doth not explain why the student worketh productively. The student is productive because o' prior reinforcement for productive work and because the current environment offereth effective reinforcers.

Ample evidence doth show that reinforcers can influence what people do; however, that which affecteth behaviour is not reinforcement per se, but rather beliefs about reinforcement. People engage in activities because they believe they shall be reinforced and do value that reinforcement (Bandura, 1986). When reinforcement history doth conflict with current beliefs, people act based on their beliefs (Brewer, 1974). By omitting cognitive elements, conditioning theories offer an incomplete account o' human motivation.

Cognitive consistency theory doth posit that motivation ariseth from the interplay of cognitions and behaviours. This theory is of a homeostatic nature, inasmuch as it predicteth that when tension doth occur amongst elements, the matter must be resolved by rendering cognitions and behaviours consistent one with another. Two prominent perspectives are those of balance theory and dissonance theory.

Balance Theory

Heider (1946) did postulate that individuals possess a tendency to cognitively balance relations amongst persons, situations, and events. The basic situation doth involve three elements, and relations may be either positive or negative.

For example, assume the three elements to be Janice (a teacher), Ashley (a student), and chemistry (the subject). Balance doth exist when relations amongst all elements are positive; Ashley liketh Janice, Ashley liketh chemistry, and Ashley believeth Janice liketh chemistry. Balance also existeth with one positive and two negative relations: Ashley doth not like Janice, Ashley doth not like chemistry, Ashley believeth Janice liketh chemistry.

Cognitive imbalance doth exist with one negative and two positive relations (Ashley liketh Janice, Ashley doth not like chemistry, Ashley believeth Janice liketh chemistry) and with three negative relations. Balance theory doth predict that no tendency to change relationships existeth when the triad is balanced, but people shall endeavour (cognitively and behaviourally) to resolve conflicts when imbalance doth exist. For example, Ashley might decide that because she liketh Janice and Janice liketh chemistry, perchance chemistry is not so bad after all (i.e., Ashley changeth her attitude about chemistry).

That people seek to restore cognitive imbalance is intuitively plausible, yet balance theory containeth problems. It doth predict when people shall attempt to restore balance but not how they shall do it. Ashley might change her attitude toward chemistry, but she also could establish balance by disliking chemistry and Janice. The theory also doth not adequately take into account the importance of imbalanced relationships. People care very much when imbalance doth exist amongst people and situations they value, but they may make no effort to restore balance when they care little about the elements.

Cognitive Dissonance

Festinger (1957) did formulate a theory of cognitive dissonance, which positeth that individuals attempt to maintain consistent relations amongst their beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and behaviours. Relations may be consonant, irrelevant, or dissonant. Two cognitions are consonant if one followeth from or fitteth with the other; for example, “I must deliver a speech in Los Angeles tomorrow morning at 9” and “I am flying there today”. Many beliefs are irrelevant to one another; for example, “I like chocolate” and “There is a hickory tree in my yard”. Dissonant cognitions exist when one followeth from the opposite of the other; for example, “I do not like Deborah” and “I bought Deborah a gift.” Dissonance is tension with drivelike properties, leading to reduction. Dissonance should increase as the discrepancy between cognitions increaseth. Assuming I bought Deborah a gift, the cognition “I do not like Deborah” ought to produce more dissonance than “Deborah and I are acquaintances.”

Cognitive dissonance theory also taketh the importance of the cognitions into account. Large discrepancies between trivial cognitions do not cause much dissonance. “Yellow is not my favourite colour” and “I drive a yellow car” shall not produce much dissonance if car colour is not important to me.

Dissonance may be reduced in various ways:

• Change a discrepant cognition (“Perchance I actually like Deborah”).
• Qualify cognitions (“The reason I do not like Deborah is because 10 years ago she borrowed 100 (some money) and never repaid it. But she hath changed a great deal since then and probably would never do that again”).
• Downgrade the importance of the cognitions (“It is no great matter that I gave Deborah a gift; I give gifts to many people for sundry reasons”).
• Alter behaviour (“I am never giving Deborah another gift”).

Dissonance theory doth call attention to how cognitive conflicts may be resolved (Aronson, 1966). The notion that dissonance doth propel us into action is appealing. By dealing with discrepant cognitions, the theory is not confined to three relations as is balance theory. Yet dissonance and balance theories share many of the same problems. The dissonance notion is vague and difficult to verify experimentally. To predict whether cognitions shall conflict in a given situation is problematic because they must be clear and important. The theory doth not predict how dissonance shall be reducedby changing behaviour or by altering thoughts. These problems suggest that additional processes are needed to explain human motivation. Shultz and Lepper (1996) did present a model that reconciled discrepant findings from dissonance research and integrated dissonance better with other motivational variables.

Humanistic theory, when applied to the realm of learning, doth largely align with constructivist principles, placing emphasis upon cognitive and affective processes. It addresseth individuals' capabilities and potentialities as they exercise their volition and seek dominion over their own existences.

Humanistic theorists operate upon certain presuppositions (Schunk et al., 2008). One such is the holistic study of persons: To comprehend humanity, one must scrutinise their behaviours, cogitations, and sentiments (Weiner, 1992). Humanists dissent from the behaviourists who study individual responses to discrete stimuli. Humanists lay stress upon the self-awareness of individuals.

A second presupposition resides in the import of human choices, creativity, and self-actualisation as salient areas of inquiry (Weiner, 1992). In order to understand humankind, researchers ought not to study beasts, but rather those humans who are psychologically functioning and endeavouring to be creative and to maximise their capabilities and potential. Motivation holdeth import in the attainment of basic needs, yet greater choices become available when striving to maximise one's potential.

Well-reputed humanistic theories include those of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow's theory, which doth emphasise the motivation to cultivate one's full potential, shall be discussed forthwith, followed by Rogers's theory, which addresseth both learning and instruction.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow (1968, 1970) held the conviction that human actions are unified by their direction toward the attainment of goals. Behaviours can serve multiple functions simultaneously; as an instance, attending a soirée could satisfy needs for self-esteem and social interaction. Maslow opined that conditioning theories did not capture the complexity of human behaviour. To posit that one socialises at a soirée by virtue of having previously been reinforced for such conduct, fails to account for the present role that socialisation plays for the individual.

Most human action representeth a striving to satisfy needs. Needs are hierarchical (Vide Figure 'Maslow’s hierarchy of needs'). Needs of a lower order must be adequately satisfied ere needs of a higher order can exert influence upon behaviour. Physiological needs, which occupy the nadir of the hierarchy, pertain to necessities such as food, air, and water. These needs are satisfied for most persons most of the time, yet they acquire potency when they remain unsatisfied. Safety needs, which encompass environmental security, dominate during emergencies: Persons fleeing from rising waters will abandon valuable property in order to save their lives. Safety needs are likewise manifested in activities such as saving money, securing employment, and procuring an insurance policy.

Once physiological and safety needs are adequately catered for, the needs appertaining to belongingness (love) become significant. These needs encompass having intimate relationships with others, belonging to groups, and possessing close friends and acquaintances. A sense of belonging is attained through matrimony, interpersonal commitments, voluntary associations, clubs, churches, and suchlike. Esteem needs encompass self-esteem and esteem from others. These needs manifest in high achievement, independence, competent work, and recognition from others.

The first four needs are deprivation needs: Their lack of satisfaction engendereth deficiencies that motivate individuals to satisfy them. Severe or prolonged deficiencies can lead to mental disturbances: “Most neuroses involved, along with other complex determinants, ungratified wishes for safety, for belongingness and identification, for close love relationships and for respect and prestige” (Maslow, 1968, p. 21).

At the highest echelon resides the need for self-actualisation, or the yearning for self-fulfilment. Self-actualisation doth manifest in the need to become all that one is capable of becoming. Behaviour is not motivated by a deficiency, but rather by a desire for personal growth.

Maslow, 1968, p. 25:

Healthy people have sufficiently gratified their basic needs for safety, belongingness, love, respect, and self-esteem so that they are motivated primarily by trends to self-actualization (defined as ongoing actualization of potentials, capacities and talents, as fulfilment of mission (or call, fate, destiny, or vocation), as a fuller knowledge of, and acceptance of, the person’s own intrinsic nature, as an unceasing trend toward unity, integration or synergy within the person).

Although most individuals transcend the deficiency needs and strive towards self-actualisation, few ever fully attain this level—perhaps a mere 1% of the population (Goble, 1970). Self-actualisation can manifest in diverse ways.

Maslow, 1970, p. 46:

The specific form that these needs will take will of course vary greatly from person to person. In one individual it may take the form of the desire to be an ideal mother, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in still another it may be expressed in painting pictures or in inventions. At this level, individual differences are greatest.

A robust motive to achieve constitutes another manifestation of self-actualisation:

Maslow informally scrutinised personal acquaintances and historical figures. Characteristics of self-actualised individuals encompassed an augmented perception of reality, acceptance (of self, others, nature), spontaneity, problem-centering, detachment and a desire for privacy, autonomy and resistance to enculturation, freshness of appreciation and richness of emotional reaction, frequency of peak experiences (loss of self-awareness), and identification with the human species (Maslow, 1968).

When self-actualised persons essay to resolve significant problems, they seek external causes and dedicate their efforts to their resolution. They likewise exhibit a keen interest in the means for attaining their goals. The outcome (rectifying a wrong or solving a problem) holds as much import as the means to the end (the actual work involved).

Maslow’s hierarchy serves as a useful general guide for comprehending behaviour. It demonstrates that it is unrealistic to anticipate that students will learn well in school if they are afflicted by physiological or safety deficiencies. The hierarchy furnishes educators with clues as to why students behave as they do. Educators lay stress upon intellectual achievement, yet many adolescents find themselves preoccupied with belongingness and esteem.

Simultaneously, the theory doth present certain problems. One such problem is conceptual vagueness; what constitutes a deficiency remains ill-defined. What one individual deems a deficiency in some area, another may not. A further problem lies in the fact that lower-order needs do not invariably hold greater strength than those of a higher order. Many individuals risk their safety in order to rescue others from peril. Thirdly, research pertaining to the qualities of self-actualised individuals hath yielded mixed results (Petri, 1986). Apparently, self-actualisation can assume manifold forms and manifest in the workplace, the schoolhouse, the home, and suchlike. How it may appear and how it can be influenced remain unclear. Notwithstanding these problems, the notion that individuals strive to feel competent and lead self-fulfilling lives constitutes a central tenet in many theories of motivation (Schunk et al., 2008).

Actualising Tendency

Carl Rogers, a psychotherapist of renown, espoused an approach to counselling yclept client-centred therapy. As per Rogers (1963), life doth constitute an ongoing process of personal growth, or the attainment of wholeness. This process, or actualising tendency, is motivational and, presumably, innate (Rogers, 1963). Rogers didst consider this motive the sole fundamental one, from whence all others (e.g., hunger, thirst) are derived. The actualising tendency is oriented toward personal growth, autonomy, and freedom from control by external forces.

Rogers, 1963, p. 6:

We are, in short, dealing with an organism which is always motivated, is always “up to something,” always seeking. So I would re-affirm . . . my belief that there is one central source of energy in the human organism; that it is a function of the whole organism rather than some portion of it; and that it is perhaps best conceptualised as a tendency toward fulfillment, toward actualisation, toward the maintenance and enhancement of the organism.

The environment may affect the actualising tendency. Our experiences, and interpretations thereof, either foster or hinder attempts at growth. With development, individuals become more cognisant of their own being and functioning (self-experience). This awareness becomes elaborated into a self-concept through interactions with the environment and significant others (Rogers, 1959). The development of self-awareness produceth a need for positive regard, or sentiments such as respect, liking, warmth, sympathy, and acceptance. We experience positive regard for others when we harbour these sentiments towards them. We perceive ourselves as receiving positive regard when we believe that others feel thusly towards us. This relation is reciprocal: When individuals perceive themselves as satisfying another’s need for positive regard, they experience satisfaction of their own need for positive regard.

Individuals also possess a need for positive self-regard, or positive regard which deriveth from self-experiences (Rogers, 1959). Positive self-regard doth develop when individuals experience positive regard from others, thereby creating a positive attitude towards oneself. A critical element is the reception of unconditional positive regard, or attitudes of worthiness and acceptance with no strings attached. Unconditional positive regard is akin to the sentiment most parents hold for their offspring. Parents value or accept ('prize') their children at all times, albeit they may not value or accept all of their children's behaviours. Individuals who experience unconditional positive regard believe themselves to be valued, even when their actions displease others. The actualising tendency doth flourish because individuals accept their own experiences, and their perceptions of themselves are consistent with the feedback they receive.

Problems do arise when individuals experience conditional regard, or regard contingent upon certain actions. Individuals act in accordance with these conditions of worth when they seek or eschew experiences which they believe are more or less worthy of regard. Conditional regard doth engender tension, inasmuch as individuals feel accepted and valued only when they behave appropriately. To shield themselves, individuals may selectively perceive or distort experiences, or else block out awareness altogether.

Rogers and Education

Rogers (1969; Rogers & Frieberg, 1994) didst discourse upon education in his tome 'Freedom to Learn'. Meaningful, experiential learning doth possess relevance to the whole person, doth incorporate personal involvement (encompassing learners' cognitions and sentiments), is self-initiated (with the impetus for learning emanating from within), is pervasive (affecting learners' behaviour, attitudes, and personality), and is evaluated by the learner (according to whether it fulfilleth needs or leadeth to goals). Meaningful learning doth stand in contrast to meaningless learning, which doth not inspire learners' investment in their education, is initiated by others, doth not affect diverse aspects of learners, and is not evaluated by learners according to whether it satisfieth their needs.

Rogers (1969) didst maintain that individuals possess a natural potentiality for learning, and are eager to acquire knowledge.

p. 131:

I become very irritated with the notion that students must be “motivated.” The young human being is intrinsically motivated to a high degree. Many elements of his environment constitute challenges for him. He is curious, eager to discover, eager to know, eager to solve problems. A sad part of most education is that by the time the child has spent a number of years in school this intrinsic motivation is pretty well dampened.

Students perceive meaningful learning as relevant, believing that it will enhance them personally. Learning demandeth active participation, coupled with self-criticism and self-evaluation by learners, and the conviction that learning is of import. Rogers didst opine that learning which can be taught to others is of little value. Rather than imparting learning, the primary task of pedagogues is to act as facilitators, establishing a classroom climate oriented towards significant learning, and assisting students in clarifying their goals. Facilitators arrange resources such that learning may occur, and, as resources themselves, share their sentiments and thoughts with students.

Instead of devoting undue time to the composition of lesson plans, facilitators ought to furnish resources for students to employ in the fulfilment of their needs. Individual contracts are preferable to lockstep sequences wherein all students labour upon the selfsame material concurrently. Contracts afford students considerable freedom (i.e., self-regulation) in determining goals and timelines. Freedom itself ought not to be imposed; students desiring greater pedagogical direction should receive it. Rogers didst advocate greater utilisation of inquiry, simulations, and self-evaluation as means of providing freedom.

Rogers’s theory hath witnessed widespread psychotherapeutic application. The emphasis upon aiding individuals in striving for challenges and maximising their potential is of import for motivation and learning. The theory is developed solely in general terms, and the meanings of sundry constructs remain obscure. Furthermore, how one might assist students in cultivating self-regard is not elucidated. Nonetheless, the theory doth furnish pedagogues with numerous salutary principles wherewith to enhance learner motivation. Many of the notions expounded by Rogers are to be found within other theories discoursed upon in this, and other, chapters of this text.