Motivation

Motivation, cause of an organism's behavior, or the reason that an organism carries out some activity. In a human being, motivation involves both conscious and unconscious drives. Psychological theories must account for a “primary” level of motivation to satisfy basic needs, such as those for food, oxygen, and water, and for a “secondary” level of motivation to fulfill social needs such as companionship and achievement. The primary needs must be satisfied before an organism can attend to secondary drives.

The American psychologist Abraham Maslow devised a six-level hierarchy of motives that, according to his theory, determine human behavior. Maslow ranks human needs as follows:
(1) Physiological
(2) Security and safety
(3) Love and feelings of belonging
(4) Competence, prestige, and esteem
(5) Self-fulfillment and
(6) Curiosity and the need to understand.

No single theory of motivation has been universally accepted, but a direction is evident. Formerly, many psychologists stressed the reduction of stimulation to its lowest possible level. An organism was thought to pursue that behavior most likely to bring about this desired state of no stimulation. Many human physiological systems do in fact operate in this manner. Recent cognitive theories of motivation, however, portray humans seeking to optimize rather than minimize stimulation and are thus better able to account for exploratory behavior, the need for variety, aesthetic reactions, and curiosity.