Critical thinking on motivation project

The task of this paper on motivation is designed to describe the two scenarios provided from a motivation standpoint. The first chosen scenario is the one involving the person who bought a new Audi car who sees the word ‘ FUSE’ lit up on the dashboard, followed by an annoying beeping sound after which the car dies. Several trips to the dealership in an effort to get the car fixed inspires emotional annoyance and creates inconvenience. The second chosen scenario involves Jill who meets Jack on a roller coaster ride and falls madly in love with him. In the beginning of their acquaintance he showers her with romantic touches of flowers, gifts, and candy each time they meet. Gradually when the gifts stop coming Jack treats Jill in a gruffer manner, eventually they split up and she is badly affected feeling depressed and upset. Later Jill meets Bob and they marry, but conflict arises when Jill prefers to be a stay-at-home mom. Despite their arguing over the situation, after a few years at daycare their child seems to have adjusted to being comfortable and has a loving relationship with his parents.
The duty of this application shall apply five concepts to describe each scenario utilizing a different motivational theory concept, for each of the two cases thus presented. A total of ten different concepts filter throughout the paper accordingly synthesizing: (1) an identification of the concept, and (2) a correlation of the concepts to the example scenario given. The following roster of motivation theories or concepts are included in the discussion:

Drive Theory

Arousal Theory
Humanistic Physiological Theory
Humanistic Safety Theory
Self-Worth
Self-Actualization Humanist Theory
Equity Theory
Achievement Theory
Reinforcement Theory
Expectancy
Scenario One: The Car Situation
First, an understanding of each of the five theories so applied to this situation is important. Drive theory, according to an article by Kendra Cherry, is when people act “ to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet needs” (“ Theories of Motivation”). Arousal theory involves when people engage in actions striving to increase or decrease emotional arousal. For example, a person may go for a jog to raise their energy level to prepare for business presentation he or she must deliver before the management team. Others may apply the Arousal Theory by reading or having a cup of tea, in order to calm down after a busy day at work or an upsetting event. Humanistic Physiological Theory involves the goal-oriented behavior of the first-stage hierarchical needs of air, food, water, shelter, sleep, warmth, and sex. The fourth concept to be applied to the car fiasco scenario is the Humanistic Safety Theory, which pertains to securing oneself from the weather elements and involves security issues. Such security issues may regard the motivation to not get your home burglarized, or other matters pertaining to law. The Self-Worth Theory also goes by the concept of Self-Esteem and can be described as a proposal by Covington, according to EdPsych: Modules. In the book Bohlin et al. (2012) state that Self-Worth Theory maintains that “ an appraisal of one’s own value as a person” connects to a belief of their competency (p. 300). Next, the attempt to apply the five above concepts to the Audi car situation helps explain each theory in action.
When the individual received the car back from the dealership the first time, and the ‘ FUSE’ indicator still shown, the person chose to ignore it by thinking the mechanics were aware and that the car would no longer act up. The lit indicator was ignored at this point to lower the internal tension and disturbance of frustration. The Arousal Theory kicked in when the person’s car would not start in the first place since it was still new, and to increase the aroused level, the person became very angry and had to get a tow truck because the breakdown occurred prior to the process of going to work. The Humanistic Physiological Theory applied since the malfunction of the car threatened the individual’s ability to possibly get to work – or potentially damaged the ability to have a job at all – the means of having food and water for survival were at stake. The reason this concept particularly applies to the Audi car breakdown scenario is because the person only uses the car mostly for work, although sometimes the car allows for dinner shopping or recreational activities.
The Humanistic Safety Theory was definitely activated when the car breakdown threatened a loss of the job situation, as pertains to the support of a position of financially being able to afford shelter and safety. If the person lost their job due to constant car and transportation problems, the employer may become fed up and fire the individual. The reaction would move the Safety Theory to actual practice wherein the person would lose a place to be safe and secure, in a reasonably locked area of personal habitat. If the malfunctioning vehicle caused a lapse in the person’s employment, then the safety level could decrease in which the person would have had to find a cheaper place to live – thereby endangering the safety level. In terms of the Self-Worth Theory in application to the car scenario, since the person truly loved their Audi car signals a factor of belief in self-reward in terms of giving yourself a pat-on-the-back. As the person progressed through the job, finding it important enough to be upset if it were threatened, indicates the person had based a high value on the reward of self-gained competencies, thus rewarding a motivational behavior of maintenance of that value of self-worth.
The next scenario involves the case of Jill and Jack, then her interaction and relationship recovery by her marriage to Bob and family situation with their childcare desires.

Scenario Two: Jack and Jill, and Jack and Bob

The case of Jack and Jill represents a common human scenario in which individuals become intimately involved, and in the beginning stages everything appears to be pleasing and happy. Perhaps an indicative of how the situation would turn out, is the fact that Jack and Jill met on a roller coaster in the first place. In terms of the Self-Actualization Humanist Theory, Jill grew as a person after the bad break-up, shallow, and mentally/emotionally abusive relationship with Jack. When Jill subsequently married Bob and had a child, she gained the confidence and ability to emerge from her state of feeling an unreasonable lack of fulfillment because of Jack’s mistreatment of her. Jill finally came to realize that the depression she experienced would not last forever, and did not do anything drastic to further self-destruct. By achieving self-actualization in terms of “ transcendence,” Jill came to “ find a meaning to life that is important to” her (“ Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”). This well-respected concept reflects a depth and maturity in motivation for personal growth and what some refer to as a ‘ peak’ experience.
Equity Theory has been successfully applied to business, but in terms of psychology and Jill’s situation for motivation the theory the following applies. Jill felt under-rewarded when Jack began the harshly aggressive treatment. According to experts explaining Equity Theory, Jill was motivated to get out of the bad situation because she viewed herself as “ under-rewarded” and so experienced “ distress” leading her to an effort “ to restore equity in the relationship” (“ Equity Theory”). Quite interestingly enough, in the case of Jill she applied Equity Theory with Jack by simply dissolving the relationship despite the fact of the breakup causing her great emotional pain. Jill and Bob’s marriage situation perfectly displays the Equity Theory in action because it showed that Jill valued fair treatment, and this motivated her to work things out and maintain a balanced fair sense of relational satisfaction. The daycare decision of different opinions also revolves around this theory, as you can clearly see.
Whether Jill sought pro-actively in her mind, in terms of internal or external motivational factors, she wanted a better life outcome. Achievement Theory was at work by motivating Jill to obtain her “ needs, desires, and ambitions in life” thereby gaining satisfaction because Jill overcame a challenge especially with the disagreement of the dilemma to be a stay-at-home mom which was “ engaged in task-involved activities” helping to moderate and monitor behaviors and attitudes (“ Effects of Achievement Motivation”). Of course B. F. Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory comes to mind when Jill kept going out with Jack even though he was a loser. Jack kept enticing Jill with chocolates and roses in order to keep her on a leash, returning to him over and over. This classic theory otherwise, and also, known as Operant Conditioning aptly applied since the reinforce mechanism uses anything “ that strengthens the desired response” thus finding a way to affect and establish behavior (“ Operant Conditioning – Skinner”). Expectancy Theory (Vroom) played a role in Jill’s life as a process theory model of “ behavioral choice” which explains how she made a firm decision to move forward and enjoy marital and family life with Bob, and their child (“ Motivation – Expectancy Theory”). This concept is more based upon decision-making and elemental goals of self-efficacy, goal difficulty, and control.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there are a myriad of motivational theories. Some concepts may overlap when applied to real-life scenarios. People are certainly more complex than narrowly defined dimensions of theory. Yet the insight and valuable perceptions that the theories and concepts provide help both individuals and organizations to better function, and understand the behaviors that drive performance.

References

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