MOTIVATION Chapter 4

DEFINITIONMotivation: the study of why we do things; the causes of our behaviour.

SIGMUND FREUD (1865-1939)

• Austrian psychologist• Father of psychoanalysis• Saw physical symptoms as being caused

by things other than biological issues• Freud claimed that people of unaware of

many of their thoughts and motives because they come from the “unconscious mind”

HIS THEORY WAS THAT THE HUMAN MIND HAS THREE ASPECTS:

ID• Expresses sexual

and aggressive instincts; follows the pleasure principle

• Is entirely unconscious• Present at birth

EGO• Mediates between

the desires of the id and the demands of the superego; follows the reality principle

• Partly conscious, partly unconscious

• Emerged after birth, as child begins to learn through experience

SUPEREGO• Represents

conscience and the rules of society

• Partly conscious, mostly unconscious

• Last system to develop

PSYCHOANALYSIS• Type of therapy that focuses on tapping the

unconscious mind as a way of understanding people’s motives more clearly

• Early childhood experiences are an important source of emotional issues

• Freud believes that human beings have strong aggressive and sexual drives that come from the id, and when the ego suppresses these feelings emotional issues can develop

• In psychoanalysis, techniques such as hypnotism, free association, talk therapy, and dream analysis are all used

• VIDEO: Freud Documentary Pt 2

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS• Carl Jung (1875-1961): developed the ideas that human behaviour is

often motivated by opposite tendencies: good & evil; male & female, etc. Jung believed in a balance of the tendencies otherwise psychological issues could arise.

• Alfred Adler (1870-1937): believed that people’s lives are governed by the need to overcome feelings of inferiority that are usually perceived by the conscious mind. He thought that humans based all their emotions and behaviour on those around them.

• Karen Horney (1885-1952): felt that conflicts develop as a result of feeling unsafe, unloved, or undervalued. Those who did not experience love as a child would have created defense mechanisms to protect themselves.

ABRAHAM MASLOW (1908-1970)• Psychologist who believed that each human had

different needs that needed to be satisfied in order of importance

• Studied prominent people who lived fulfilling lives and who dedicated themselves, selflessly, through important causes

• Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs – a list of personal needs that humans must satisfy in order to progress to the next category of need

• He believed that people never stop trying to achieve a higher level of need

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs