How Does Motivation Activate, Direct, and Sustain Behavior?
1. Needs, drives, and arousal motivate behavior: Satisfying a need (a state of deficiency) motivates, with survival needs being the most motivating. According to the humanist perspective, we are compelled upwards in our needs hierarchy to achieve self-actualization. Drives are activated to satisfy needs and maintain homeostasis. Arousal affects performance, depending on the nature of the task and level of arousal. 2. Pleasure can motivate adaptive behaviors: The pleasure principle is central to motivation and pleasurable behaviors will be selected over satisfying biological needs. Satisfying pleasure needs may facilitate survival and reproduction. Dopamine activation may guide survival behaviors. 3. Some behaviors are motivated for their own sake: Extrinsically motivated behaviors emphasize external goals; intrinsically motivated behaviors are performed for their own sake, not biological needs. Curiosity, play, creativity, and problem solving are intrinsically motivated and are reduced
