Title: What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior
Headings: What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior
What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior
Instinct Theory of Motivation
Drive Theory
Arousal Theory
Humanistic Theory
Incentive Theory
Expectancy Theory
A Word From Verywell

Content: This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which describes various levels of needs and motivations. Maslow's hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. For example, people are first motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, then to progress through higher needs like safety, love, and esteem. Once these needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual potential. Maslow was interested in learning about what makes people happy and the things that they do to achieve that aim, rather than focusing on problematic behaviors. Incentive Theory
The incentive theory suggests that people are motivated to do things because of external rewards. For example, you might be motivated to go to work each day for the monetary reward of being paid. Behavioral learning concepts such as association and reinforcement play an important role in this theory of motivation. This theory shares some similarities with the behaviorist concept of operant conditioning. In operant conditioning, behaviors are learned by forming associations with outcomes.