Motivation
From CS260SP09
Readings
"Multifaceted Nature of Intrinsic Motivation: The Theory of 16 Basic Desires" Steven Reiss, Review of General Psychology, 8(3), 2004.
Supplementary Readings
Discussions
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Seth Horrigan 13:13, 13 April 2009 (PDT)
Reiss's studies reminded me of a quip from Coye Cheshire: it has been said that psychology is the study of undergraduate American college students. Reiss's initial study happily expanded on that by surveying individuals from 12 to 76. I wonder, though, how his hypothesized motives might have changed had he surveyed a different population in his later studies as well. Although Reiss provided a wide overview of competing theories and their shortcomings, I cannot say that the narrative he wove was wholly convincing. Yes, he does offer some empirical evidence confirming his theory, but it seems still rather sketchy as he presents it. I am glad that, in contrast to earlier works, his 16 desires are testable, but if they have truly been adequately tested, his presentation of the confirmation leaves something to be desired.
KetrinaYim 02:07, 19 April 2009 (PDT)
Reading about Reiss's 16 motives made me think about the motives behind the various things I do. For instance, I spent a significant portion of Cal Day at the VLSB. Why would I do that when I'm not a biology major? The motive was Curiosity, because the life sciences departments had various animal and plant exhibits and I find the world's biodiversity particularly fascinating. I did indeed acquire that feeling of wonder while I was there.
A more complicated example: on Wednesday nights, I meet my group for Advanced Digital Animation. Most leave at around 9:30p, but some, including me, stay until 11p or even to midnight? What motivates us to keep working so late even though our minds want nothing more than sleep? I can't say what drives the others, but for me it's a blend of Vengeance, Tranquility, and Acceptance. I feel the need to compete with the other animation group in the class to make the best animation. At the same time, I feel the need to avoid the anxiety that comes from being behind schedule and to be approved as a contributing member of the group. These drive me to put in as much effort as possible, even if it means sacrificing a several hours of rest.
David (Tavi) Nathanson 20:48, 19 April 2009 (PDT)
I found the discussion of pleasure near the end of the article (and earlier, in the "Intrinsic Pleasures" section) very interesting, and also relevant to last Wednesday's reading. As Reiss put it, "Logicians say that pleasure is usually a nonmotivational byproduct of satiating motives" and the "potential [an] activity holds for satiating motives" is pleasurable.
Last week, we read that "feeling good about oneself does not necessarily result in accomplishments." This week, the fact that pleasure is a byproduct of satiating motives means that feeling good about oneself results *from* accomplishments, as accomplishments are the same as satiating motives. These two views don't contradict each other, but they are certainly interesting to compare.
Kenrick Kin 23:30, 19 April 2009 (PDT)
In my archery class, we talked a little about sports psychology. In sports psychology motivation is broken down into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is similar to the end goal motivation and extrinsic motivation similar to the instrumental motivation described by Reiss. In sports, the best athletes tend to be intrinsically motivated, as they want to perform best for themselves. Extrinsic motivation such as money and ribbons and adulation of fans come and go, but your own personal motivation must remain for you to excel.
Anuj 02:09, 20 April 2009 (PDT)
The paper presents a very interesting and coherent set of ideas. Not only can we see them applicable in our context, but the findings can also be used to describe as to why people act the way they do. I think the reading had some interesting similarities with earlier readings (namely, activity theory, specially the concept of tools and goals). Moreover, something that occured to me while I was going through the paper was that the presence of a motive in a person's life is a result of his context or rather his "frame". Our desires, aspirations and motivations change depending on our environment, and that is something interesting to note. I wonder if this list of 16 motives would be any different if the people being surveyed/analyzed are changed?
Brian Tran 09:12, 20 April 2009 (PDT)
Something I found interesting from the readings is how motives and drives can conflict with one another. Ketrina touches a bit on this when she mentions how she works hard in the lab even though she wants to go home and sleep. I feel that this conflict of motives and desires makes it difficult for any model to predict one's actions. Furthermore, I'm curious as to how one could weigh one IM against another in terms of which one dominates when they conflict.
Priyanka Reddy 23:41, 21 April 2009 (PDT)
The example about Henry and Jake and the degree of social contact each wants made me think more about how a person's motives change over time in response to other factors, such as age, mood, etc. This particular example was saying that a person is motivated to socialize more if they haven't gotten the amount of socializing they desired, but from my own personal experience and that of others, it's clear that the amount of socializing that one desires varies greatly, depending on the situation, one's mood, etc. I wonder if this would be another variable in determining motives, or if instead it's just one motive replacing another (ie. "I don't feel like socializing because I have to study for a midterm" could just be replacing Social Contact with Status or Power as the motive)
Simon Tan 02:22, 22 April 2009 (PDT)
Different people will almost always have a different breakdown of motives that drive them to a particular behavior - I think the paper's big takeaway is that motivation is always going to be multifaceted and that it will be variable from person to person. I believe this is even more true on a cultural level - as I am certain that actions in some parts of the world may only exist there due to unique underlying motives. For example, in East Asian countries, the elderly are usually cared for in the homes of their children, whereas here in the United States they tend to live on their own or in communities for the elderly. The cultural paradigm of allowing one's parents to stay with you when they get older is really a consequence of what is called filial piety, which I am tempted to file under Honor but could also see as based in Family.
In any case, a behavior exhibited in one culture may only exist there due to the heavy weight placed on certain motives over others. As this is true in individuals when their motives clash, so I believe it affects whole societies.
