Title: Evolutionary Theory of Motivation | Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner
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Evolutionary Theory of Motivation
According to evolutionary psychology, individuals are motivated to engage in behaviors that maximize their genetic fitness.
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Evolutionary Psychology
Genetic Fitness
Evolutionary Perspective on Motivation
Optimization Theory

Content: natural selection A process by which heritable traits conferring survival and reproductive advantage to individuals, or related individuals, tend to be passed on to succeeding generations and become more frequent in a population, whereas other less favorable traits tend to become eliminated. FULL TEXT
The basic idea of evolutionary psychology is that genetic mutations are capable of altering an organism’s behavioral traits as well as its physical traits. Like physical traits, these mutations in behavioral traits may help the organism reproduce; this in turn allows the mutations to be passed on to the next generation. In this way, individuals are motivated to engage in behaviors that maximize their genetic fitness. Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary psychology suggests that individuals are motivated to engage in behaviors that maximize their genetic fitness. Genetic Fitness
All animals, including humans, need to act in ways that will improve their reproductive success. This results in social processes that maximize individuals’ genetic fitness, or ability to pass their genes to the next generation. According to evolutionary theory, those who are the most fit are the most likely to survive, and eventually the population evolves in such a way that their traits manifest themselves across the population. Consider the following example: