What is motivation and how does it determine your success?

Every person strives to achieve a certain goal. Inner desire plays a special role. Motivation is not just a nice word, but real work on yourself and your spirit. It is constant work, patience and perseverance that make it possible to turn the most unusual and daring dreams into reality. To understand where to start, a person must rethink his life, understand the true desires and motives of his actions. What is motivation?

The history of the word and its special approach

In ancient times, the word “motivation” was not used in Russian speech. Most often in communication, people tried to explain the incomprehensible state that prompted them to perform a particular task. This could be a desire to carry out an important and dangerous task that would benefit the family and people, or it could even incite them to criminal activity.

What is motivation, how does it affect a person’s life? The concept of “motivation” comes from the Latin word “movere”, which can literally be translated as movement, awakening. They began to actively use it to convey their own moods only at the beginning of the 18th century. Oddly enough, noble people used this concept exclusively in the stable phrase “to motivate oneself,” that is, to encourage oneself to act. It is worth noting that motivation is a function of management, which is quite popular in the West. It is used for networking and management.

Motivation - what is it? In the modern world, people quite often pronounce the concept of “motivation”, without fully realizing the true interpretation of the word. What is the concept of motive and motivation? There are currently several definitions:

  • motivation is a person’s conscious attraction to fulfill a certain goal, which can be compensated by both material and spiritual values;
  • motivation is a manifestation of human desire to achieve a given task, manifested in changes in internal and external states;
  • motivation is a definition that affects the spiritual aspects of a person’s state, his ability to set high goals for himself;
  • achievement motivation - the desire to achieve the best result, the desire to look for new goals and objectives;
  • motivation - the ability and desire to satisfy material, biological and spiritual needs;
  • motivation is the desire to achieve a result, a psychophysiological process that controls human behavior, emotions, and actions.

It becomes clear that motivation is a complex and highly individual concept. The desire to achieve success appears in a person in different situations, and, accordingly, the ways to achieve the result will differ. Basic elements of motivation: goals, objectives, policies, methods, tools, programs.

The best minds around the world have been studying motivation in detail. We can highlight the works of V.G. Podmarkova, I.F. Belyaeva, D.S. McClelland, J. Atkinson. Most psychologists and philosophers reflected the collected information in theories and ideas that even now help a person rethink life. The functions of motivation, as a rule, are aimed at achieving the assigned tasks. They give the entire system integrity and stability.

I'll start on Monday...

There are women who have been losing weight for years, going on diets, but the scale needle stubbornly stays in one place and doesn’t move anywhere. And sometimes they find themselves unexpectedly near the refrigerator and already with a full stomach. And it seemed like there was a goal, but there was a “failure” and that’s it. The extra pounds have been gained again.

This applies to almost all new cases. We start “for health”, and end... we all know how! We quit and everyone who started something goes through this, and no words of motivation helped.

There are always two options for your “start”:

  • Started and abandoned, postponed...
  • I’ll start with “Monday”, with “the first day”, with “new year”... and we never start

Why is this happening?

The goal has been set, don’t put it off until Monday

Classification and motivation possibilities

Why is motivation needed, how does it affect a person? Based on common characteristics, motivation can be divided into 4 large groups, which play a key role during the entire process.

The first is basic groups. The classification of motivation in this case will be as follows:

  • material (desire for wealth, luxury, security);
  • labor (the desire to earn a promotion at work, to receive positive sanctions in the form of a bonus or award);
  • status (motivation to change position, change career, changes in personal life);
  • spiritual (thoughts about achieving internal constancy, studying an important detail that has not yet been described).

They are responsible for the initial emergence of the desire to achieve the desired result. They are retained throughout the entire process, but can be changed or replaced. In some cases, they may serve as a reason to stop motivating. For example, when there is an easier and more affordable alternative that forces you to abandon a previously thought-up plan.

The second group is ways to achieve the goal:

  • normative (suggestion, persuasion, information);
  • coercive (insults, threats, intimidation, pressure);
  • stimulating (providing real benefits and conditions, concluding written and oral agreements).

Influence the choice of means to be used during inducement. In frequent cases, they are combined and used in certain situations. For effective action, material goods are also used. The ability to persuade/pressure an interlocutor in many cases allows you to achieve a positive result, but any success must be consolidated.

The third group is the causes of occurrence. Classification:

  • internal (appears during a mental or physical process, when a person solves a problem, forms motives);
  • external (sources of influence from outside, such as wages or orders).

Strong motivation is only possible if there are internal and external sources. At the moment when you want to quit following the steps to achieve a goal, a person subconsciously begins to remember other reasons that in the future encourage him to work even harder.

The fourth group is focus on achieving results:

  • positive (incentives, rewards, praise);
  • negative (penalties, fines, public reprimand).

In reality, there are cases when a person strives to achieve one result, but in the end he gets something completely different. The mistake lies in choosing the direction of motivation. The general characteristics of motivation will tell you how to proceed.

Factors that determine the level of motivation

The power of motivation consists of the factors that make it up:

  1. internal motive - the need for action, development, change forms the reason for movement. The goal or desired object (result of action) - must be so significant as to influence the picture of the world, capture consciousness and attention.
  2. The possibilities of satisfying a need are sometimes much smaller than the circumstances that have to be overcome. Therefore, a sober assessment of strengths and weaknesses is important.
  3. Ability to plan – a plan does not have to be on paper, but only in your head. To perform an action, you need to have knowledge and instructions for completing it. Lack of knowledge may be the reason for low levels of motivation.
  4. Self-control and implementation of the plan depends on what you have to sacrifice to achieve the goal. Insufficient reward can disappoint - that’s why motivation always consists of internal and external factors.

The vector of effort, the direction - it is important that a person is attracted to the external aspects of the process or result. It is the internal motive - the need for action, development, change that forms the reason for movement.

Types of motivations and their reflection in the psyche

It will be almost impossible to name a certain number of species. Anyone can find something new, something that will radically change their ideas and life. Types of motivation in psychology have always been actively discussed among specialists. Numerous theories of philosophers have been published in many textbooks. What are the motivations?

External motivation - does not depend on human desire, occurs with the participation of outsiders or phenomena, and is difficult to control.

Internal motivation is a spiritual desire to achieve a result with a clear understanding of what is needed for this and what means will be needed.

Sustainable motivation is directly related to the biological needs of a person, for example, the desire to find water or food, arrange housing, start a family.

Unstable motivation - requires constant control from another person. This may be an incentive to lead a healthy lifestyle, quit smoking and drinking.

Individual correct motivation affects a specific person, and can also influence the immediate environment. For example, thirst, maintaining a favorable body temperature.

Group strong motivation - unites people into a group that strives to achieve one goal: find a job, get married.

Cognitive achievement motivation - manifests itself in research activities, when a person, with the help of his own knowledge, seeks to study a new object.

There is also unconscious motivation; the types of motivation differ from the standard ones. Thus, a person has an inexplicable desire to achieve his goal, but he cannot name the reason that caused such an emotion.

The classification of motivation methods is individual for each theory. It is recommended to study this topic with the help of the works of American researchers in the field of psychosomatics.

The concept and types of motivation were derived based on human behavior, while taking into account his individual qualities.

What motivation methods have proven themselves best in the field of e-commerce?

In the field of online trading, the total amount of store income always depends on the activity and quality of work of employees. In practice, several types of incentives show better performance in achieving the desired sales indicators.

The top five included:

  1. "Floating" salary.
  2. Specialized training.
  3. Personnel rotation with transfer to a more prestigious position.
  4. Additional payments for processing.
  5. Equipment for a comfortable workplace.

Motives of human desire for change

How to motivate people and yourself? Some people want to climb the career ladder and achieve high results in their professional activities, while others want to find a soul mate and create a cozy nest. The classification of motivation methods by general theme, attribute and type made it possible to identify key points that influence the formation of goals. The main motives that motivate a person to perform certain actions:

  • self-affirmation;
  • identification;
  • power;
  • procedural and content motives;
  • self-development;
  • achievements;
  • affiliation.

Each motive plays an important role and influences the entire cognitive process. Sooner or later, a person receives a real picture, which until that time he could only store in his own imagination. But what are the theories and concepts of motivation? What do famous psychologists and philosophers think about this?

There are 3 main theories that determine what level a person is at. These are substantive, procedural, specific theories.

The content base is based on human needs. They allow you to assess the state of an individual, consider the principle of his work, and follow the train of thought. In such a theory, a special emphasis is placed directly on studying the structure of human desire, its possibilities and future prospects. The task is to understand what exactly caused motivation in a person and how this process functions. Excellent works on this topic have been published by the greatest minds of all centuries. This is the famous theory of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and McClelland's theory of acquired needs, Alderfer's reasoning and forms of motivation, Herzberg's thoughts on two factors.

Process theories are primarily concerned with the analysis of the efforts that were made by a person. The feelings that a person feels in a specific situation or when performing a task are considered. Today, there are more than 50 interesting theories, including the reasoning and conclusions of Vroom, Adams, Porter-Walter, Locke.

Specific concepts are associated with a person’s perception of the outside world, the ability to feel and sympathize. The basis is the model of an employee who has a unique set of motives, needs, and emotions.

Edwin Locke's Goal Setting Theory

The key question of the theory is: what are the goals of motivation, what motivates you to set them? The author of quite interesting works about human actions and the motives for these actions is the American psychologist and philosopher Edwin Locke. Hours of persistent research led the scientist to some very interesting thoughts. The psychologist carefully studied the forms and methods of motivation that had previously been written by his predecessors. Collected information about the effects of external conditions on the target.

What are the stages of motivation? How does a person set a goal? It was to these questions that the psychologist looked for intelligible answers, and ultimately created the theory of goal setting. The main idea is that a person’s behavior depends on the tasks that he has set for himself. It is common for an individual to experience emotional ups and downs. Any change in mood will certainly affect his goals.

Motivation and motives for actions taken depend on each other. The task plan chosen by a person should always lead him to a pleasant result. Using E. Locke's concept, a leader can raise the level of activity in the team. It is enough to know a few basic principles. The most important thing is to set a clear and achievable goal. You shouldn’t come up with something unimaginably complex and try to somehow bring it to life. At the same time, employees will have to work hard to achieve results. As a rule, in tasks of medium and high complexity, people strive to show all their abilities and perhaps reveal hidden potential. An additional advantage in this situation is the opportunity to bring people together in a team; a common goal allows you to forget differences and begin to act as a cohesive team.

Employees should be aware of all successes and progress in the common cause. Unreasonable secrecy and dissatisfaction with work can cause a huge collapse. At the same time, it is welcome if employees begin to actively share and implement their ideas. In most cases, it is precisely such thoughts that contribute to improving the quality of work, since favorable conditions appear. Who, if not the worker, knows what he needs for successful professional activity? Maybe you need to buy new equipment for the plant or make repairs in the office? In this case, an important role is played by the increase in motivation, which occurs due to the mutual understanding of colleagues.

If the goals of employees and management differ, then a common agreement should be reached. The main task of a leader is to hear people’s indignations and, if possible, resolve disputes and disagreements. At the same time, the boss should reward the employee for quality work. This can be either material means or ordinary praise. The main thing is to understand in what situation to use positive sanctions towards an employee.

Personnel motivation management: what motivation can do

In a global sense, competent management of staff motivation can increase the productivity of collective work.

In more detail, its functions include:

  • stimulating staff to better perform their duties;
  • increasing the efficiency of each team member individually and the team as a whole;
  • formation of a positive corporate culture and favorable conditions for development in the company;
  • creating the basis for long-term employment of people, reducing staff turnover and time spent on training newcomers;
  • generation of qualified staff in which everyone values ​​and loves their work.

A system of motivation and incentives for personnel in skillful hands can create a powerful company with an effective corporate culture, at the center of which will be a cohesive team.

Maslow's Hierarchy Theory

How to find motivation? You need to have certain knowledge to answer this question. In order to bring together many ideas about innate needs, the American psychologist had to carry out a thorough analysis of a person’s character, its changes depending on a change in goal, and study the types of motivation. The main provisions of this concept are:

  • a person always has a need for something, it does not depend on gender and age;
  • strongly expressed needs that an individual experiences in certain situations can be combined into groups;
  • the arrangement of these groups is built on a hierarchical principle;
  • a person takes actions due to unmet needs;
  • after some time, the person becomes dissatisfied again, he wants to get more;
  • in a normal state, an individual feels several needs, they can be interconnected;
  • first, the desires at the base of Maslow’s pyramid are satisfied, then the upper needs begin to influence;
  • a person is able to find a greater number of ways to satisfy high needs than low ones.

Later, American psychologist Abraham Maslow added several more important components of the pyramid. In his work “Toward the Psychology of Being,” the author identified growth needs that turned out to be difficult to describe. This book includes such interesting qualities as perfection, the desire to be above others, justice, responsibility, beauty, friendliness, completeness. The author described in detail the forms of motivation.

Maslow believes that in many cases, growth needs are the most powerful motivator for achieving goals. Each person can check the authenticity of these words for himself. It is enough to write down the most significant needs, arrange them according to a hierarchical principle: at the bottom is what is satisfied first, at the top is what you have to work hard for.

According to Maslow, only 2% of the population reaches the stage of self-realization, while others are forced to constantly strive for perfection. For many people, motivation to act appears only in critical situations.

Alderfer's ERG theory

American psychologist Clayton Paul Alderfer studied motivation techniques for a long time, he came to the conclusion that all human needs and desires can be combined into 3 large groups. Needs depend on the following factors:

  • the desire to exist (due to physiological needs);
  • the presence of connections (the social sphere, a person’s place in society, his family, relatives and friends play an important role);
  • desire for growth (self-expression and desire to change both externally and internally, increased motivation is observed).

If the principle of hierarchy works in Maslow’s theory, then Alderfer is of the opinion that needs are directed in both directions. His definition of motivation is: a dynamic system that can move both up and down. For example, if a person manages to fulfill a higher desire, then the need to satisfy a lower level of tasks is activated and intensified, and vice versa.

For clarity, you can perform a small experiment. It is also worth filling out Maslow's pyramid and paying attention to the upper and lower levels. If there is a movement from bottom to top, then this will be a person’s self-satisfaction. If the path lies from top to bottom, then this is frustration (defeat). In order to return to the process of satisfaction, it will only be necessary to complete the key task from the drawn pyramid, starting from the end and going up.

Motivation is the key to success

Motivation - If everything could be bought, the world would be a simpler place: We would all speak multiple languages, have impeccable physiques, and our resumes would contain a string of endless successes. At least that is the message conveyed by various motivational speakers who, with their enthusiasm, knowledge and experience, fill our heads with a sense of empowerment and a desire to take action.

Is motivation really the key that opens all doors? Can we feel complete and happy without it? What exactly allows us to create in ourselves a state of readiness for action, direct our energy to the chosen goal and, not paying attention to temptations and distractions, continue this activity until a specific result is achieved?

McClelland's theory

The main mechanism of motivation is built on the basis of concepts connecting opportunities and ways to achieve goals. The famous American professor, creator of a unique assessment method for the apperception test, David McClelland, developed his theory of human needs.

How to motivate yourself? According to the outstanding psychologist, there are 3 main factors that influence the desire to achieve the goal:

  • power - determined by the desire for self-improvement, learning, a person tends to have control over others;
  • success is felt only when the work is completed successfully and positive feedback is received;
  • involvement is a manifestation of participatory characteristics that are clearly expressed in spiritual culture.

The psychology of motivation has been carefully analyzed by scientists. The theory created by McClelland caused Western experts to once again pay attention to the structure of entrepreneurship. It was concluded that the motivation to achieve a goal differs greatly in different situations.

Thus, a society in which people strive to actively interact with each other and show interest in a common cause is subject to positive changes.

Motivation mechanism: people with high needs for achievement are more confident in their own success than those who do not set any goals for themselves. People from the first category are more balanced, calm, active, they are able to complete a large number of difficult tasks.

As for the motivation of the entire country itself, the state should pursue the following policy:

  • strive to use labor resources wisely;
  • create conditions for personal growth;
  • set maximum performance standards.

These conditions will allow people to work efficiently and reach heights faster.

Motivation. The role of motives in human development

Matov A.D.

MAOU gymnasium No. 29, Tomsk

Motivation: the role of motives in human development

Considering a person’s life as moving forward along the path of development, we can say that this is a process of overcoming new milestones, achieving new results, self-development and personal growth. In this process, the question of the meaning of all actions and deeds plays an important role. Any action or inaction almost always has its own motive.

In psychology today there is a sufficient amount of research on the issue under consideration, both in foreign science and in domestic science. In some cases, “motivation” and “motive” are synonymous. Motivation is spoken of in terms of a complex of various motives. The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that, having gained an idea of ​​​​what motivation is, what our true motives are, what the actual mechanism of motivation is, it is possible to manage life more effectively, adequately perceive the entire situation of interaction, enjoy the present, listening to your needs and desires, make plans for the future based on your true motives.

Human needs are conditional, mobile, and virtual in nature. The virtuality of needs is that each of them contains its own other, a moment of self-negation. Due to the variety of conditions of implementation, age, environment, biological need becomes material, social or spiritual, i.e. transforms. The transition from need to activity is the process of changing the direction of need from within to the external environment. At the heart of any activity is a motive that encourages a person to do it, but not every activity can satisfy the motive. The mechanism of this transition includes:

  • selection and motivation of the subject of need (motivation - justification of the subject to satisfy the need);
  • in the transition from need to activity, the need is transformed into purpose and interest (conscious need).

Thus, need and motivation are closely related: need stimulates a person to activity, and a component of activity is always motive. Practicing psychologists are interested in achievement motivation as an effective driving force. In a critical life situation, a person can also be activated for purposeful activity by motivation to achieve success. This is applicable in any field: creativity, sports, work, science, education. [1]

Achievement motivation plays an important role in regulating human behavior. The study of its problems is a significant direction in psychology, which is determined by different trends in the development of modern society. Scientific and technological progress, increasing the prestige of education confront a person with the need to achieve a certain level of success in situations related to competition, objective assessment, and competitive selection. To achieve your goal you need to make an effort. Achievement motivation can allow this. That's why it's so important to develop it. And this is necessary for more than just one generation. If the foundations of achievement motivation are laid in the period from three to thirteen years, parents simply need to create optimal conditions for its development. Perhaps our theoretical research will help to understand the importance of achievement motivation in the life of every person.

Taking into account the above, the purpose of the work is to determine the role of achievement motivation in personality development.

Main part

Motive

- this is what motivates a person to activity, directing him to satisfy a certain need. For example, the motive can be either to work hard with inspiration and enthusiasm, or to avoid doing something as a sign of protest.[4]

Motives can be needs, thoughts, feelings and other mental formations. However, internal motivation is not enough to carry out activities. It is necessary to have an object of activity and correlate the motives with the goals that the individual wants to achieve as a result of the activity. In the motivational-target sphere, the social conditioning of activity appears with particular clarity. Motive is often confused with need or goal. This is fundamentally wrong. A need is a subconscious desire to eliminate discomfort, and a goal is the result of a conscious process of goal setting. Hunger is a need, the desire to eat is a motive, and food is a goal.

Motivation -

This is the process of influencing a person in order to motivate him to certain actions by activating certain motives. belief intention

There are two main types of motivation:

  • external influence on a person with the aim of inducing him to perform certain actions leading to a desired result. This type resembles a trade deal: “I give you what you want, and you satisfy my desire”;
  • formation of a person’s internal motivation Its implementation requires great effort, knowledge, and abilities, but the results exceed the results of the first type of motivation. This type is educational and educational in nature.

Basic human motives

Emerging needs force a person to actively look for ways to satisfy them and become internal stimulants of activity, or motives. Motives can be different: interest in the content and process of activity, duty to society, self-affirmation, etc. Thus, a scientist can be motivated to scientific activity by the following motives: self-realization, cognitive interest, self-affirmation, material incentives (monetary reward), social motives (responsibility, desire to benefit society). [4]

Motives are relatively stable manifestations and attributes of personality. For example, when we say that a certain person has a cognitive motive, we mean that in many situations he exhibits cognitive motivation. The motive cannot be explained on its own. It can be understood in the system of those factors - images, relationships, personal actions that make up the general structure of mental life. Its role is to give behavior impetus and direction towards a goal.

Incentive factors can be divided into two relatively independent classes:

  • needs and instincts as sources of activity;
  • motives as reasons that determine the direction of behavior or activity.

Some motives are main, leading, others are secondary, side, they do not have independent meaning and are always subordinate to the leading ones. For one student, the leading motive for learning may be the desire to gain authority in the class, for another it may be the desire to obtain a higher education, for a third it may be an interest in knowledge itself.[7]

To motivate a person means to touch on his important interests, to create conditions for him to realize himself in the process of life. To do this, a person must at least: be familiar with success (success is the realization of a goal); to have the opportunity to see yourself in the results of your work, to realize yourself in your work, to feel your importance.

But the meaning of human activity is not only to obtain results. The activity itself can be attractive. A person may enjoy the process of performing an activity, such as being physically and intellectually active. Like physical activity, mental activity in itself brings pleasure to a person and is a specific need. When a subject is motivated by the process of activity itself, and not by its result, this indicates the presence of a procedural component of motivation. In the learning process, the procedural component plays a very important role. The desire to overcome difficulties in educational activities, to test one’s strengths and abilities can become a personally significant motive for studying.

At the same time, an effective motivational attitude plays an organizing role in the determination of activity, especially if its procedural component (i.e., the process of activity) causes negative emotions. In this case, goals and intentions that mobilize a person’s energy come to the fore. Setting goals and intermediate tasks is a significant motivational factor that is worth using.

To understand the essence of the motivational sphere (its composition, structure, which has a multidimensional and multi-level nature, dynamics), it is necessary first of all to consider the connections and relationships of a person with other people, taking into account that this sphere is also formed under the influence of the life of society - its norms, rules, ideology, politicians, etc.

One of the most important factors determining the motivational sphere of an individual is a person’s belonging to any group. For example, teenagers who are interested in sports are different from their peers who are interested in music. Since any person belongs to a number of groups and in the process of his development the number of such groups grows, naturally his motivational sphere also changes. Therefore, the emergence of motives should be considered not as a process arising from the internal sphere of the individual, but as a phenomenon associated with the development of his relationships with other people. In other words, changes in motives are determined not by the laws of spontaneous development of the individual, but by the development of his relationships and connections with people, with society as a whole.

Personal motives -

this is the need (or system of needs) of the individual for the function of motivation. Internal mental motivations for activity and behavior are determined by the actualization of certain needs of the individual.

Activity motives

can be very different:

  • organic - aimed at satisfying the natural needs of the body and are associated with the growth, self-preservation and development of the body;
  • functional - satisfied through various cultural forms of activity, for example playing sports;
  • material - encourage a person to engage in activities aimed at creating household items, various things and tools;
  • social - give rise to various types of activities aimed at taking a certain place in society, gaining recognition and respect;
  • spiritual - they form the basis of those activities that are associated with human self-improvement. [9]

Organic and functional motives together constitute the motivation for the behavior and activity of an individual in certain circumstances and can not only influence, but change each other.

There are other approaches to classifying motives. For example, according to the degree of social significance, motives of a broad social plan (ideological, ethnic, professional, religious, etc.), group plan and individual-personal nature are distinguished. There are also motives for achieving goals, avoiding failures, motives for approval, and affiliative ones (cooperation, partnership, love).

Motives not only encourage a person to act, but also give his actions and actions a personal, subjective meaning. In practice, it is important to take into account that people, performing actions that are identical in form and objective results, are often guided by different, sometimes opposing motives, and attach different personal meaning to their behavior and actions. In accordance with this, the assessment of actions should be different: both moral and legal.

Types of personality motives

Towards consciously justified motives

should include values, beliefs, intentions.

Value

is a concept used in philosophy to indicate the personal, socio-cultural significance of certain objects and phenomena. A person’s values ​​form a system of his value orientations, elements of the personality’s internal structure that are especially significant for him.

Beliefs -

These are the motives of practical and theoretical activity, justified by theoretical knowledge and the entire worldview of a person. For example, a person becomes a teacher not only because he is interested in passing on knowledge to children, not only because he loves working with children, but also because he knows well how much in creating a society depends on cultivating consciousness. This means that he chose his profession not only out of interest and inclination towards it, but also according to his convictions.

Intention

- a conscious decision to achieve a specific goal with a clear understanding of the means and methods of action. This is where motivation and planning come together. Intention organizes human behavior.

The types of motives considered cover only the main manifestations of the motivational sphere. In reality, there are as many different motives as there are possible person-environment relationships. [8]

Motivation of a person and personality

Motivation -

it is a set of internal and external driving forces that encourage a person to act in a purposeful manner; the process of motivating oneself and others to act to achieve organizational or personal goals. Motivation is a person’s ability to satisfy his needs through activity. Motive, in contrast to motivation, is something that belongs to the subject of behavior, is his stable personal property, which internally encourages him to perform certain actions. The concept of “motivation” has a double meaning: firstly, it is a system of factors influencing human behavior (needs, motives, goals, intentions, etc.); secondly, the characteristics of the process that stimulates and maintains behavioral activity at a certain level.

In the motivational sphere, the following are distinguished:

  • personality motivational system

    - the general (holistic) organization of all the motivating forces of activity underlying human behavior, which includes such components as needs, actual motives, interests, drives, beliefs, goals, attitudes, stereotypes, norms, values, etc.;

  • achievement motivation

    - the need to achieve high behavioral results and satisfy all other needs;

  • self-actualization motivation

    - the highest level in the hierarchy of personal motives, consisting in the individual’s need for the fullest realization of his potential, in the need for self-realization.

Worthy goals, long-term plans, good organization will be ineffective if the interest of the performers in their implementation is not ensured, i.e. motivation. The higher the level of motivation and activity, the more factors (i.e. motives) prompt a person to activity, the more effort he is inclined to put in.

Features and structure of achievement motivation

The study of such broad forms of motivation, which, manifesting themselves in various fields of activity (professional, scientific, educational), determines a creative, proactive attitude to work and influences both the nature and quality of work, becomes of great importance. One of the main types of such motivation is achievement motivation.

Research on this type of motivation began in the middle of the 20th century. A theory of achievement motivation has emerged, which determines what degrees of task difficulty motivate a person. For the first time, the achievement motive as a stable personality characteristic was identified in the classification of G. Murray in 1938. According to him, achievement motivation is associated with performing difficult tasks of management, manipulation and organization. Following G. Murray, the problem of the achievement motive was given attention by the American scientist D.S. McClelland. He believed that achievement motivation “is an unconscious urge to perform a much more perfect action, to achieve a standard of perfection” [10]. Speaking about the motive for achievement, one cannot fail to mention the research of the German scientist H. Heckhausen. In his understanding, achievement motivation is an attempt to increase or maintain the highest human abilities for all types of activities to which success criteria can be applied and where the performance of such activities can, therefore, lead to either success or failure [12]. J. Atkinson’s model of risky choice is also quite informative. Among domestic psychologists, M.Sh. was one of the first to address the issue of achievement motivation. Magomed-Eminov, making an attempt to study the structure and mechanisms of functioning of this phenomenon. The scientist proposed a dynamic model of motivation, consisting of four structural components: initiation or motivation of activity; goal setting; implementation of intention and post-implementation. One of the main mechanisms for updating achievement motivation, according to M.Sh. Magomed-Eminov, advocates a motivational-emotional assessment of the situation, consisting of an assessment of the motivational significance of the situation and an assessment of general competence in a situation of achievement [10]. In all the studies mentioned, achievement motivation has two outlets: achieving success or experiencing failure. Thus, achievement-oriented behavior presupposes that each person has motives to achieve success and avoid failure. In other words, all people have the ability to be motivated to succeed and anxious about failure. In principle, the achievement motive is associated with productive performance of activities, and the failure avoidance motive is associated with anxiety and defensive behavior.

Achievement motivation undoubtedly influences personal development. However, psychological differences in the behavior of people motivated for success and failure should also be taken into account.

Subjects motivated to achieve success set real positive goals, the achievement of which will be clearly regarded as success. Such people are prone to reasonable risks: they choose tasks of average difficulty, where success and failure become equally probable and the outcome depends as much as possible on the person’s own efforts. Easy tasks are not chosen as a matter of principle, since they do not bring a sense of satisfaction and real success, and if too difficult ones are chosen, the probability of failure is high [6].

Subjects motivated to avoid failures set themselves unreasonably high goals or, on the contrary, very easy ones that do not require special labor costs; prone to extreme choices of tasks: unrealistically underestimated or unrealistically overestimated. [eleven]

Differences in the behavior of people with different dominant motives can also be traced in their preferred methods of self-control. Those motivated to succeed use rational strategies aimed at increasing the significance of practical activity, and self-instructions obliging them to maintain the focus of cognitive and emotional processes on the current situation. Those motivated to fail choose self-instructions that oblige them not to be distracted by irrelevant aspects of the situation and rational strategies that devalue the significance of the overall goal. Moreover, their emotional control is aimed at relaxation (calmness and self-confidence), while in people with the motivation to achieve success, emotional control ensures activation through feelings like anger and dissatisfaction with oneself [6].

Summarizing all of the above, we can characterize people motivated for success as active, proactive, responsible and conscientious. People motivated to fail can be characterized as having little initiative.

Motivating students is an important step in developing students' motives that can give meaning to learning, and the learning activity itself will become an important goal. To ensure fruitful learning activities over a long period of time, it is necessary to use different methods of developing motivation, including achievement motivation.

Techniques for developing motivation for educational activities:

  • creating entertaining situations - the process of introducing interesting experiences, life examples, facts, analogies into training sessions to attract attention and increase interest in the subject;
  • creating a situation of cognitive dispute - attracting attention to the issue and the emergence of a desire to understand it;
  • creating a situation of success in learning is based on the fact that joyful experiences contribute to overcoming difficulties.

To increase motivation in learning, you can use different techniques and methods. In any case, it is necessary to focus on each individual, his characteristics, as well as the psychological characteristics of the team as a whole. In this case, motivation for achievements in learning will contribute to obtaining positive results.

Conclusion

As a result of the work, we can say that we have identified the features of achievement motivation and revealed its structure through consideration of two trends: motivation to achieve success and motivation to avoid failure; We also traced the manifestation of achievement motivation in people’s behavior and its role in personality development.

The study found that motivation to achieve success is understood as a force that causes an individual to take actions that he expects will lead to success. This tendency is manifested in the direction, intensity and persistence of activity. Motivation to avoid failures is defined as a mechanism developed in the psyche to avoid mistakes and failures; For a person motivated to fail, the main thing is to avoid making a mistake, sometimes even at the cost of transforming the original significant goal, its complete or partial failure to achieve. Motivation to achieve success contributes to the development in a person of the desire to overcome obstacles and resist difficulties. This is exactly what makes an individual a person. Thus, the motivation to achieve success is always positive and is more conducive to personal development, in contrast to the motive to avoid failure.

Bibliography

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  2. Vasiliev I.A. Motivation and control over action [Electronic resource]. - Electron. text data / I.A. Vasiliev, M.Sh. Magomed-Eminov. – M.: Publishing house. Moscow State University, 1991.
  3. Vilyunas V.K. Psychological mechanisms of human motivation / V.K. Vilyunas. – M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1990.
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  5. Ilyin E.P. Motivation and motives [Electronic resource]. - Electron. text data/ E.P. Ilyin. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2003.
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  10. Psychology. Complete encyclopedic reference book / Comp. and general ed. B. Meshcheryakova, V. Zinchenko. – SPb.: Prime-EVROZNAK, 2007.
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McGregor's Basic XY Theory

The author of this scientific book and detailed reflections is the famous American psychologist Douglas McGregor. The scientist worked on his work for several years. He studied people's behavior in detail and tried to find the connection between desire and opportunity. McGregor's theory contains two key aspects:

  • authoritarian benefit to employees X;
  • democratic employee benefits Y.

These theories are completely different; each has certain patterns of behavior and motives. Thus, reflections on the X theory suggest that initially the entire population of the country is lazy and weak-willed. They try to avoid mental and physical labor, so they must be under the careful guidance of more active and skillful workers. In this case, we can conclude that a person can be motivated to take action only with the help of incentives and rewards. For example, a person working at a factory is not at all interested in further advancement in the career ladder and improving the quality of work; he likes to be led. Managers need to create conditions that would allow employees to show all their talents and take care of a favorable place to work.

Theory Y motivation principles consist of the idea that all people are initially active and ambitious. They have developed abilities, they are ready to fight difficulties and go to the end. Such employees can take the initiative into their own hands; they understand what responsibility and self-control are. They are not afraid to entrust any task, since they are completely satisfied with their responsibilities and enjoy it. From this we can conclude that the average employee, given favorable conditions, is able to motivate himself to achieve his goal. It is much easier for managers to stimulate the work of employees than in the first case, because employees themselves are ready to show interest in the work being performed.

We should not forget that the main condition for human motivation is free space, the opportunity to be alone with oneself in order to better understand oneself, analyze mistakes and make fateful decisions. The XY theory can be applied by any person; it will motivate you to achieve results, suggest the right path and display possible outcomes.

The main tasks and principles of the online store’s motivational system

In the global understanding, motivation is a psychological process that pushes one to a certain action. In the case of personnel, this is the formation of incentives, a suitable microclimate, and special working conditions that encourage the employee to achieve established goals and perform duties efficiently and promptly.

The profitability of an online store directly depends on a well-built system of motivation for employees in the sales, purchasing, marketing, and logistics departments. The fact is confirmed by research. On average, sales of companies using incentive schemes are 30% higher than those of companies that ignore such a management tool.

A comprehensive motivating system helps solve many problems:

  1. Improve productivity manifold.
  2. Attract valuable, high-quality personnel working for competitors.
  3. Retain talented specialists - marketers, advertising managers, programmers.
  4. Minimize personnel leakage.
  5. Create a positive attitude within the team.
  6. Increase staff loyalty to the company.
  7. Establish a high level of performance discipline.

When thinking through your own motivating strategy, it is important to take into account various nuances that exclude a negative demotivational effect and manifestations of instability in the team. Ideally, the system should be:

  • objective – based on a real assessment of labor results;
  • adequate – commensurate with the employee’s experience, qualifications, and labor contribution to the development of the company;
  • predictable - act according to a transparent scheme that is understandable to every team member;
  • fair - applies equally to the staff, does not violate the rights of individual employees, and eliminates conflict situations;
  • timely - follow immediately the achievement of the intended result;
  • valuable—meaningful to employees.

When creating a system, it is necessary to formulate leading criteria for operational efficiency and personnel needs. Then, focusing on them, you should choose the most suitable methods of motivation.

Modern Z Ouchi Theory

The concept of motivation differs in many cultures. Japanese experiments in the field of psychology and medicine prompted the brilliant American psychologist William Ouchi to create his own model Z. It is based on the principle of collectivism, when a person is presented not as a separate element, but as an important part of the entire mechanism. And if he refuses his work, then the whole device will immediately collapse.

To use Theory Z, you need to understand that most employees like to work in a team rather than handle a difficult task alone. In addition, employees are firmly confident that the employer will take care of them, and they, in turn, will do a high-quality job. Model Z will actively develop if the company meets the wishes of employees. The manager must give employees the opportunity to improve their skills and get promoted up the career ladder.

Mutual understanding and mutual commitment are the main principles of motivation, the key to a successful business and an excellent tool for stimulating employees. Employees interested in increased pay, receiving awards and badges, bonuses and changing positions will strengthen the company’s position and promote it to a leading position.

Applicable in this case are motivation methods that affect staff, students and the person himself. In all cases, it is necessary to focus on material incentives and compliance with moral standards. For example, students receive a scholarship for successful studies, and staff receive a scholarship for quality work completed on time. However, with self-motivation the situation is a little more complicated. It is always difficult to start, namely to find a reason for which all efforts will be made. Nevertheless, it is one’s own desire that can radically change not only life, but also the person himself.

Professional motivation

Various motivation methods are actively used for effective personnel management. According to groups of needs, several classes of motivation are distinguished:

  • Material;
  • Labor;
  • Status.

Moreover, an employee can be motivated by any class. If the material component is important to him, then the best way to achieve his loyalty is to offer a good monetary reward. For some, status is more important: recognition of his merits by the work collective. Understanding the motivation of employees, it is easy to build a working system of rewards and punishments.

The Problem of Incentive Reduction

Lack of motivation is familiar to many people. Experts name 3 main reasons that are associated with the loss of desire to achieve goals. By carefully analyzing them, a person can rethink his own behavior and find new ways to solve pressing problems. How to get your motivation back:

  1. “Workout and proper nutrition from Monday.” Does a person believe himself when he says that he is going to go on a diet on Monday? Of course, it is much easier to postpone a difficult task until a later date than to start right now. In most cases, such ideas are not brought to life, and then disappear altogether. This is especially true for representatives of the fair sex. An excellent motivation for girls in such a situation: “I’ll start right now and finish the job much earlier.”
  2. “I want to be unique now and forever.” A person strives to get everything at once, dreams of possessing luxurious treasures, having a magnificent figure and a loving family. But is it really possible to achieve all this right away? In reality, you have to choose what is more important and useful at this stage. But this does not mean that there is no opportunity to achieve other goals.
  3. “I can’t do this because...” No matter what the answer is, people have heard this phrase millions of times. Instead of actually doing something significant, a person seeks to find a reason not to do it. And, as a rule, these very reasons are absurd and illogical.

How to develop motivation and fight your own laziness? Success doesn't just happen, it needs to be planned. Loss of motivation is a sign that an individual must reconsider his needs. A person must present a real picture of what he wants, set specific deadlines, see the goal and independently pave the way to it.

How to motivate yourself to succeed?

There are several ways to increase your own motivation:

  1. Monitor your dopamine levels. To do this, balance your diet - your diet should include vegetables and fruits, and quality fish. It is also important to follow a daily routine and get proper rest;
  2. Use staff motivation techniques: reward yourself for achievements. For example, do something nice if you have completed your own plan. Did you study English every day? Great, treat yourself to some delicious food!
  3. Determine your leading motive. Think about what is your main motive? Maybe recognition is important to you? Or are you seeking power? Do you dream of “wiping the nose” of someone? Use this to achieve success. Remember, there are no good and bad motivations, there are those that work and those that don’t!

Using these simple tips, you will forget about laziness and discover a source of energy within yourself. Want to learn even more techniques to improve your personal effectiveness? Read the “Coaching” section.

Finding goals and self-motivation

What motivates people? Everyone knows that in order to stimulate and motivate, a specific goal must be set. It should be clear and precise, without the slightest pitfalls. But often finding this very goal is not so easy, and even more difficult to describe and characterize it. How to create motivation? What should you do for this?

In order to try to find that very task, you will need to perform several sets of exercises every day aimed at developing the individual’s inner world and revealing his creative potential.

Psychologists recommend conducting monthly training sessions for company employees, trying to attract them to a specific goal. This could be improving the quality of work, increasing the number of goods produced, or improving the skills of workers. Motivation tools: bonuses, praise, vacation, awards.

Schools and kindergartens often conduct interactive classes aimed at encouraging children to successfully complete their homework and strive to receive praise and good grades.

How to stay motivated? In everyday life, a person himself can perform a set of motivating exercises; he just needs to find free time and a cozy place for reflection. This could be a beautiful park with luxurious spruce and pine trees, or maybe some quiet and peaceful place in the apartment itself.

There is also such a thing as achievement motivation - this is a type of motivation associated with the desire to achieve success and overcome obstacles. This definition was first derived in the 1930s by the scientist G. Murray. Now achievement motivation is associated with receiving some positive emotions. This could be success at school or a promotion at work, a successful purchase or the arrival of relatives.

Developmental exercises for children and adults

Where to get motivation? These interesting complexes will help set a goal and motivate a person to complete the assigned tasks:

The first is identification with your favorite animal. By associating himself with a fictional character or a very real object, an individual can quickly achieve personal growth. The fact is that a person subconsciously takes on the positive qualities of his favorite hero, and at the same time new goals appear. Animals are strong and wise creatures that are a major part of the world around us. By identifying with them, the individual cultivates caution, perseverance, and determination.

So, to complete the exercise you need to do the following:

  • choose one favorite animal, describe its positive and negative qualities;
  • try to imagine yourself as an imaginary creature, try to go towards your goal;
  • feel like a formidable lion or a cute rabbit for 5 minutes, try to overcome all the difficulties that the animal encounters on its way.

After this, you should evaluate your feelings and experiences, analyze which tasks were achieved and which were too difficult.

Complex two is to point out the mistake and note the improvement. What to do if you lose motivation, how to get it back? It is worth giving an example from life. Often, kindergarten teachers and school teachers make comments to children about performing various tasks. They point out errors in completing the test, and then analyze complex tasks. Why is this being done? This is how the older generation motivates children to perform the same tasks, but with a higher quality.

The motivation exercise should be performed several times a week. To begin with, it’s worth imagining a situation where a person is one step away from his goal. He should describe the pros and cons of this provision. As a rule, there are always more disadvantages than positive features. But this is not a reason to be upset, because the next attempt will be better than the previous one:

  • there will be many mistakes, but they will not be so serious;
  • There will be many difficulties along the way, but what is important is what a person has already managed to achieve;
  • let not everything go smoothly and according to plan, but this is not a reason to give up, because the hardest part is already behind us.

Daily trainings for yourself and family

You can motivate yourself to complete tasks in a circle of close people, ask for advice and find out what other people think about you. Such methods of motivation help you look at yourself from the other side, see what is being done wrong, where a mistake is being made:

  1. Braggart. Where to find motivation, how to develop it? This complex will help you change your ideas about your own life. The exercise is aimed at developing the inner world and unlocking creative potential. A person needs to imagine himself as the head of a well-known company; the boss has professional employees at his disposal. For the first time, a manager must reproach his employees, show his advantage, and deprive employees of a well-deserved bonus. In the second case, the boss should treat his team favorably. Listen to their requests, ideas, reward the best employees of the company. Thus, a person clearly sees that much depends on himself. The result of actions directly depends on a person’s attitude towards the process itself. A clear understanding of goals and ways to achieve them is the key to success and self-realization.
  2. Analysis of justifications. How often does a person find a seemingly logical explanation for a situation, but at the same time say nothing about the mistakes made? The goal of this exercise is to understand that everything depends only on your own strengths, and not on imaginary problems. The exercise works as a motivation mechanism; it allows you to find the missing detail or missed action in time. Most of the reasons for failure are related to wrong thinking, choosing the wrong path. It is the person’s own fault that he failed to achieve what he wanted. But this is not a reason to give up all ideas and go into depression, this is just a starting point for new achievements. When an individual begins to look for external reasons for failure, then he blocks his true motives and desires. A search for other reasons may indicate that a person:
  • does not know how to organize and control himself;
  • does not know how to set priorities correctly;
  • does not know how to systematically perform work.

To complete the exercise, you should take a blank piece of paper and write a sentence, for example: “I did not complete this task because...”. It is necessary to analyze the justification and answer the questions:

  1. Why was this particular justification chosen, is there an alternative to this?
  2. Does it depend on external and internal factors?
  3. What is preventing this situation from being corrected?

At this stage, you should consider what measures can be taken to achieve the goal. The main motivation tools: money, health, connections.

Consolidating results and maintaining motivation

There are 6 main ways to achieve what you want. Each of them is unique in its own way and is used in connection with specific conditions. The most important principle of any motivation is to do what you like and benefit. Only such things allow you to gain satisfaction; they are supported by an internal desire, the desire to accomplish the task in any way. These are the recommendations:

  1. Focus on the end result. Any task requires a special approach and considerable effort. Instead of focusing on the difficulties, you should remember the reason for which you will go all the way.
  2. Think only about victory. You should start by doing easy tasks and then enjoy the results. This, firstly, will cheer you up and help you gain confidence, and secondly, it will fill a person with energy to perform further actions.
  3. Do any difficult task. After you have successfully completed several easy tasks, you should take yourself to a more difficult task. If you postpone a difficult mission until the end of the day, it will smoothly move on to the next day, week, month. Thus, a difficult task will become almost impossible.
  4. Take regular breaks. When a person has rested and feels a new surge of strength, it is much easier for him to start performing any task. Instead of spending hours doing tedious work, you should relax and get some rest. This will bring you organization and help you do what you love without being distracted by extraneous things.
  5. Don't burden yourself with unnecessary troubles. Many people are often overwhelmed with goals and tasks, they want to achieve a lot quickly, but in the end they get nothing. The desire to be the smartest, most beautiful, the strongest is, of course, good, but you shouldn’t set such global goals for yourself. You should concentrate on one specific task.
  6. Reward yourself for success. Often there is achievement motivation that needs to be stimulated independently. Small prizes for each correctly taken step encourage a person to continue to work efficiently.

How to increase motivation? Everything depends on the person and his desire, it must come directly from the soul. Human motivation is, first of all, perseverance, patience, the ability to work, the ability to understand one’s needs, and the ability to control the situation. Only those people who have good motivation are able to realize themselves in life.

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