20 Feb Visual of Motivational Theories

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Overview
Developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943.

A motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as a pyramid.

Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to higher-level needs.

Levels of the Hierarchy
Physiological Needs

Basic survival requirements: food, water, warmth, rest.

Foundation of the hierarchy; without these, higher needs cannot be pursued.

Safety Needs

Security, stability, protection from harm.

Includes financial security, health, and safe living conditions.

Love and Belongingness Needs

Social needs: friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection.

Humans are inherently social; belonging is critical for psychological well-being.

Esteem Needs

Recognition, respect, self-esteem, status, achievement.

Divided into:

Lower esteem: respect from others (status, recognition).

Higher esteem: self-respect (confidence, independence).

Self-Actualization

Realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth.

“Becoming everything one is capable of becoming.”

Expanded Model
Later versions include Cognitive Needs (knowledge, understanding), Aesthetic Needs (beauty, balance), and Transcendence Needs (helping others achieve self-actualization).

Applications
Education: Teachers must ensure students’ basic needs are met before expecting academic success.

Workplace: Employers should provide fair wages, safe conditions, and opportunities for growth.

Healthcare: Patients’ physiological and safety needs must be prioritized before psychological healing.

Behavioral Learning Theory
Overview
Rooted in behaviorism (Skinner, Pavlov, Watson).

Focuses on observable behaviors rather than internal mental states.

Learning is seen as a change in behavior due to experience.

Key Concepts
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

Learning through association.

Example: Pavlov’s dogs salivated when hearing a bell associated with food.

Key terms:

Unconditioned stimulus (food)

Unconditioned response (salivation)

Conditioned stimulus (bell)

Conditioned response (salivation to bell)

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Learning through consequences.

Behaviors are strengthened if followed by reinforcement, weakened if followed by punishment.

Types of reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement (adding reward)

Negative reinforcement (removing unpleasant stimulus)

Punishment: decreases likelihood of behavior.

Observational Learning (Bandura)

Learning by watching others (modeling).

Example: Children imitating aggressive behavior in the Bobo doll experiment.

Applications
Education: Reinforcement strategies to encourage participation and discipline.

Healthcare: Behavior modification programs (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss).

Workplace: Reward systems to improve productivity.

Attribution Theory
Overview
Developed by Fritz Heider, expanded by Harold Kelley and Bernard Weiner.

Explains how individuals interpret events and how this relates to their thinking and behavior.

Focuses on how people attribute causes to actions and outcomes.

Key Dimensions
Locus of Control

Internal: cause attributed to personal factors (effort, ability).

External: cause attributed to situational factors (luck, task difficulty).

Stability

Stable: cause unlikely to change (ability).

Unstable: cause likely to change (effort, luck).

Controllability

Controllable: within person’s influence (effort).

Uncontrollable: outside person’s influence (illness, weather).

Weiner’s Attribution Model
Success and failure are explained by combinations of locus, stability, and controllability.

Example: A student failing an exam may attribute it to:

Lack of ability (internal, stable, uncontrollable).

Lack of effort (internal, unstable, controllable).

Bad luck (external, unstable, uncontrollable).

Applications
Education: Teachers can encourage students to attribute success to effort rather than luck.

Healthcare: Patients’ recovery outlook influenced by whether they see illness as controllable.

Workplace: Managers can shape motivation by framing outcomes as effort-driven.

Expectancy Theory
Overview
Proposed by Victor Vroom in 1964.

Explains motivation in terms of expected outcomes.

People are motivated when they believe their effort will lead to desired performance and rewards.

Core Components
Expectancy (Effort → Performance)

Belief that effort will lead to performance.

Influenced by self-confidence, training, resources.

Instrumentality (Performance → Outcome)

Belief that performance will lead to rewards.

Influenced by trust in management, transparency of reward systems.

Valence (Value of Outcome)

Importance placed on the reward.

Rewards must be meaningful to the individual (money, recognition, promotion).

Formula
Motivation = Expectancy × Instrumentality × Valence

If any component is zero, motivation is zero.

Applications
Workplace: Designing incentive systems that align effort, performance, and rewards.

Education: Students motivated when they believe studying leads to good grades and future opportunities.

Healthcare: Patients motivated to follow treatment if they believe it will lead to recovery and valued outcomes.

Comparative Insights
Theory Focus Key Idea Application
Maslow Human needs Needs must be met progressively Education, workplace, healthcare
Behavioral Learning Behavior change Learning via conditioning and reinforcement Training, therapy, discipline
Attribution Cause of outcomes How people explain success/failure Motivation, resilience
Expectancy Motivation Effort → Performance → Reward Incentive systems, goal-setting
15-Question Quiz
Multiple Choice (Choose the best answer)
According to Maslow, which need must be satisfied before esteem needs?
a) Self-actualization
b) Love and belonging
c) Safety
d) Cognitive

In classical conditioning, the conditioned response occurs when:
a) A neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus
b) Reinforcement follows behavior
c) Punishment is applied
d) Observation occurs

Operant conditioning emphasizes:
a) Association between stimuli
b) Consequences of behavior
c) Internal thought processes
d) Social belonging

Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment demonstrated:
a) Classical conditioning
b) Operant conditioning
c) Observational learning
d) Attribution bias

Attribution theory explains:
a) How rewards motivate behavior
b) How people assign causes to events
c) How needs are prioritized
d) How reinforcement shapes learning

Locus of control refers to:
a) Stability of outcomes
b) Internal vs external causes
c) Controllability of effort
d) Value of rewards

In Weiner’s model, attributing failure to lack of effort is considered:
a) Internal, stable, uncontrollable
b) Internal, unstable, controllable
c) External, stable, uncontrollable
d) External, unstable, controllable

Expectancy theory was proposed by:
a) Abraham Maslow
b) B.F. Skinner
c) Victor Vroom
d) Fritz Heider

In expectancy theory, instrumentality refers to:
a) Belief effort leads to performance
b) Belief performance leads to rewards
c) Value placed on rewards
d) Stability of outcomes

Motivation in expectancy theory is zero if:
a) Valence is high
b) Expectancy is low
c) Instrumentality is high
d) Rewards are meaningful

True/False
Maslow’s hierarchy suggests self-actualization can be pursued even if physiological needs are unmet.

Operant conditioning involves reinforcement and punishment.

Attribution theory suggests people always attribute success to external factors.

Expectancy theory emphasizes that rewards must be valued by the individual.

Observational learning requires direct reinforcement to occur.