forth near the kitchen door。 It may try to get your attention by sinking its claws deep into your leg or
by licking your face。 If you still refuse to feed it； your cat may rummage for food on its own；
knocking jars over； opening cabinets； and eating through wrappers。
Vigor
The intensity of the response may be associated with motivation level； but it may also be a learned
factor。 For example； if a rat learned that it had to really bang on a lever to get the food pellet to fall
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because the lever had a stiff spring； the rat will bang the stuffing out of any other response level that
you put in its path。 If you are a casual observer； you might assume the rat is highly motivated due to
the vigor with which it bangs the lever when； in fact； that is the only way he knows how to press a
lever。 It is what it has learned to do。
As with most issues in psychology； there are various approaches to studying motivation； three of
which are the biological； the drive or learning； and the cognitive。 Let us look at each of them。
The Biological Approach
The biological approach espouses naturally occurring behavior and evolution。 Part of this
perspective is instinct theory。 Instinct theory； as an explanation for motivated behavior； reached its
peak in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s。 As the popularity of this theory grew； it
tried to “explain” all behaviors as “instinctive”； which led to the nominal fallacy。
For example； if you saw me playing with a three…year…old； you might explain my playfulness； my
behavior； in terms of a “paternal instinct。” However； by labeling my behavior as “paternal”； you
have done nothing but name it。 You have explained nothing。 Simply naming something as an
instinct does not explain it。 In order to explain behavior； you cannot just label it； you must
understand the conditions that led to the behavior and the consequences that result from it。
Explanation presumes a cause…and…effect relationship and labeling a behavior provides no causal
explanation。
Early instinct approaches emphasized the continuity of human and animal behavior and were
important because they provided a foundation on which later ethological theories； motivated
behavior theories； could build。 Ethological theories were based on Darwin’s theory of evolution and
were concerned with the evolution； development； and function of behavior。
Drive Theories
The concept of drive assumed that the motivation of behavior depends on a physiological need；
such as hunger； thirst； or sex。 This perspective posits that the organism bees motivated to
reduce the need or drive in any way that it can。 As a motivational construct； drive is usually
associated with maintenance of homeostasis； a process in which bodily mechanisms attempt to
keep the body’s systems functioning at their optimal levels。
One significant theory in this grouping was proposed by Clark Hull （1943）。 Hull’s theory was
motivated by both learning theory and motivational thought； and his model for behavior was one of
survival。 Hull assumed that motivation developed to meet the organic needs of the organism；
because such a system gives the animal an advantage in the struggle to survive。 This is based on
the various theories of evolution。 Hull proposed that behavior resulted from three factors：
。 What has been learned
。 The current level of drive
。 The characteristics of the goal
Cognitive Theories
This group of theories involves an expectancy…value construct。 Edward Tolman （1934） proposed
that theories of behavior should be studied as a whole； proposing that behavior is molar； rather
than studying it as a function of its ponent parts （as in a reductionist model）。 Tolman posited
three defining properties for molar behavior。
1。 Behavior is always directed toward or away from some specific goal； behavior that is
directed toward a goal is persistent。
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2。 Behaviors leading toward a goal form a consistent pattern of responses。 Behavior is not
random； but represents the way in which the organism attempts to reach the goal。
3。 There is selectivity to molar behavior。 The shortest or easiest path to the goal will be taken。
These three characteristics imply that the organism has some understanding of the goal toward
which its behavior is leading。 In a word； Tolman saw behavior as being “purposive。” Further； he
posited cognitive expectancy； suggesting that organisms learn that particular behaviors lead to
particular goals。 Organisms develop an expectancy that a specific set of behaviors will lead to a
specific goal。
Achievement and Motivation
What is achievement？ A passable working definition is the development of motives； capabilities；
interests； and behaviors that have to do with performance in evaluative situations。 How does that
pertain to the average child or adolescent in a realistic format？ Achievement is an important
concept for all of us relative to issues such as：
。 Grades during our school years
。 Scores on college entrance exams
。 Ability to pass a football or hit a softball
。 Engaging in appropriate social behavior （to be popular）
These are all examples of achievements； but where or how does achievement bee relevant to us？
First； it is important for all of us in terms of the need for achievement （n Ach）； the degree to which
the individual strives for success。 The Need for Achievement is based on expectancy theory。
McClelland explained achievement motivation as the need to perform the difficult as well and as
quickly as possible。 In 1983； Spence and Helmreich identified three factors as contributing to
achievement tendencies： work； mastery； and petition。 Spence and Helmreich found that females
scored higher on work and males scored higher on both mastery and petition。 Have your class
try to determine why。 One reason is that they were well socialized into traditional gender roles。
Do males and females have any tendency to adhere to specific patterns of motivation？ Research by
Dweck （1986） found the girls’ pattern of motivation differed from that of boys and that very bright
females showed greater debilitation after failure； that is； they displayed greater decrements in
motivation and performance than did other females or any males。 Conversely； the brightest males
showed facilitation following failure。 Dweck posits that lower math achievement for females may
be at least partially attributable to this difference in motivational patterns because sex/gender
differences in both math and motivation are greatest among the brightest students。 Dweck also
found that females show a lower preference for novel or challenging tasks than do males and that
females are more likely to attribute their failure to lack of ability than are males。
In addition to the determinants of achievement behavior already mentioned； let us look at the
cognitive determinants of this construct。 Two factors that strongly impact what an individual is
likely to achieve are the：
。 Value placed on achievement of the goal。 An individual’s willingness to set high standards
and work to attain them will fluctuate in accordance with how valuable the achievement is
to them personally。 Obviously； value then bees a significant predictor of achievement
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behavior。
· Expectation of achieving the goal。 When dealing with children and adolescents； those who
expect to succeed usually do and those who do not expect to succeed usually do not。
Attributional Theories of Achievement
Rotter’s （1954） locus…of…control model was expanded by Virginia Crandall （1967） as follows。
Individuals with an internal locus of control （internalizers） assume that they are personally
responsible for their success or failures。 Individuals with external locus of control （externalizers）
believe their success…to…failure rates depend on luck or fate； rather than on their own effort or ability。
Crandall feels that an internal locus of control is conducive to achievement。 Individuals must
believe that their efforts will lead to positive outes if they are to work for success and bee
high achievers。 Work by Findley and Cooper supported Crandall’s hypothesis； in finding that
internalizers do earn higher grades and typically outperform externalizers on standard tests of
academic performance。
Once we have taken a test or made a decision； to what do we attribute our success or failure？ What
sorts of causal attributions do we make？ Weiner （1974； 1986） added a dimension of stability to
Crandall’s theory。 This dimension states that if you find one specific type of problem to be
exceedingly difficult for you； there is good reason to expect problems of a similar nature also to be
difficult for you。 If they are； it is a stable cause。 bine this dimension with ability； effort； luck； and
task difficulty； and we get the following matrix：
Locus of Causality Internal Cause External Cause
Stable Cause Ability Task Difficulty
Unstable Cause Effort Luck
A final issue we need to address regarding motivation is learned helplessness。 Learned
helplessness deals with patterns of attributions displayed by the individual during explanations of
achievement outes； and the effects of these attributional styles on later achievement。 Dweck et
al。 found reliable individual differences in the way children react to achievement outes；
especially failure。
Some kids are mastery oriented。 They attribute failures to unstable causes； such as insufficient effort；
and will increase their effort on the next occasion。 Conversely； those children who perceive failure
as deriving from stable causes often show little expenditure of effort and subsequent deterioration
of performance on future tasks。 These children seem to give up when they fail and often will not
attempt a task that they mastered earlier。 Dweck felt this to be a variation of learned helplessness。 If
failure is attributed to a cause over which the child exercises little control； they see little reason to
keep trying。 They give up before they even begin。 So convi