Psychology Today
April 8, 2012
This post is a response to _What Is Motivation?_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/who-we-are/201203/what-is-motivation) by
Steven Reiss, Ph.D
Universal Motives and Intrinsic (Core) Values
We are a species motivated to assert our values.
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/pornography)
In 17 peer reviewed publications and two books, we have put forth a
powerful new theory of human _motivation_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/motivation) . We reject the idea that
motivation is psychic energy or drive.
We deny that motivation is about maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.
Instead, we offer a third, original view of motivation as the assertion of
intrinsically held values.
We are a species motivated to assert our values. If you want to understand
why somebody behaves as they do, ask yourself, "What is the value the
individual's behavior is expressing?" You think Susan talks too much? Odds are
she intrinsically values _cognitive_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/cognition) stimulation much more highly
than does the average person. Her
chatter is an expression of her intellectual values. You think John works
too much? Good chance he places an extremely high intrinsic value on
achievement. His work is an expression of his achievement values. Jean resists
change? I bet she places a high intrinsic valuation on order.
To understand how values and motives are related, you need to begin with
our core assumption, namely, that human beings are constituted to seek and
strive for certain goals. In other words, we assume the existence of
universal goals that move everyone and are deeply rooted in human nature.
Universal
goals include survival needs, such as eating and exercise, and
psychological needs, such as socializing and achievement.
Once you recognize the validity of the construct of a universal goal, you
will want to know what those goals are. My colleagues and I have asked
diverse groups of people what their goals are, empirically derived a list of
16
universal goals, and then scientifically validate the list.
The 16 universal goals are 16 intrinsic motives. They are the 16 dimensions
of meaningful experience. Virtually everything human beings do: _religion_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/religion) , culture, _personality_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/personality) ...can be viewed as
pursuing the 16 universal goals.
To understand where a person's values are found, you need to realize that
the pursuit of a universal goal isn't infinite, like the pursuit of pleasure
arguably is. People want to eat only so much, after which the behavior
(eating) that was pleasurable, is now unpleasant. People want to _socialize_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/social-life) only so much, after
which socializing is burdensome.
This means that an intrinsic motive can be broken down into what people
want and how much they want. In the intrinsic motive of eating, what people
want is sustenance and how much is about 2,500 calories a day. In the
intrinsic motive of socializing what people want is belonging and how much is
maybe eight hours a day.
Thus far, we have made very few assumptions. We have assumed the existence
of universal motives. We have assumed that no universal motive is infinite.
We need just one more assumption to see that motives and values are closely
related to each other. We need to assume individual differences in "how
much" people want of each universal goal. In other words, we need to assume
that some people typically want to eat more than others. We need to assume
that some individuals typically want to socialize more than others.
The universal in human nature is what we want, and this is always a
universal goal or some combination of such goals. The particular is how much.
Values refer to how much a person wants to experience a specific universal
goal. People who want to eat much more than average value food,
sustenance, etc. People who want to socialize much more than average value
fun,
belonging,. groups, etc.
We want what we value, and we value what we want.
Here is another way of arriving at the same conclusions. Universal values
cannot be permanently satiated. Like _hunger_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/appetite) , they motivate us anew after
some time passes from when
they were last satiated.
Values can be defined as a desired rate of experience with a universal
goal. People who desire above-average rates of food consumption, for example,
value eating, food, sustenance, etc. People who desire above-average rates
of peer interactions value belonging, socializing, and fellowship. Those who
desire below-average rates value solitude and privacy.
Motives and values are so closely connected we can consider motives as the
assertion of a value. I published detailed charts in my book, Normal
Personality, showing numerous connections of motives and values. Previous
blogs
show implications for _advertising_
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/consumer-behavior) , schools,
relationships, and other practical endeavors.
--
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