Theories Of Psychology: The Instinct Theory Of Motivation

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Instinct Theory of Motivation There are many kinds of motivation that are either intrinsic, which coming from within the organism, or extrinsic, which arise from external elements in the environment. Some intrinsic forms of motivation fall under the umbrella of biological theories of motivation including: instinct, drive-reduction and arousal. Instinct theories of motivation follow the idea that motivation results from behaviors that are unlearned and uniform in expression and universal in a species. The instinct theory of motivation first appeared when psychologist William McDougall outlined the theory; he stated that, “Instinctive behavior was composed of three essential elements: perception, behavior, and emotion” (Cherry 2017). The instinct theory of motivation believes that, “All organisms are born with innate biological tendencies that help them survive” (Cherry 2017). The instinct theory of motivation also states that our behavior has direct causality when associated with motivation. Since members of a species tend to be programmed in a similar way, that species’ instinctual motivation is derived from the motivation to survive and when the species acts upon these motivations those are called instincts (Sincero 2017). “Instincts are goal-directed and innate patterns of behavior that are not the result of learning or experience” …show more content…

There are many times when this theory can be seen in nature especially in species such as birds when they migrate to a better climate. Although there is much evidence of motivation and behavior being influenced by instinct there are some people who argue the theory and find possible problems within the theory; but, at the end of the day, instincts are hard wired to each organism and are very hard to override these behaviors that help the organism

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