Goals, Motives and Needs

• Goals are desired outcomes.
• Motives are the driving forces behind pursuing goals.
• Needs are essential for survival and thriving.
• Needs and motives are often used interchangeably; a need creates the motive to fulfill it.

Personal Goals

• Positively worded goals focus on achieving success (approach motivation).
• Examples of positively worded goals include wanting to do well in classes or meeting someone.
• Negatively worded goals focus on avoiding failure (avoidance motivation).
• Examples of negatively worded goals include not wanting to get C's or avoiding being lonely.

Approach vs. Avoidance Motivation

• Approach-motivated individuals tend to perform better overall.
• Avoidance-motivated individuals tend to be less satisfied and have lower self-esteem.
• Avoidance motivation can be beneficial in jobs requiring error detection, like those of air traffic controllers or accountants.
• Generally, focusing on achieving success is more effective than focusing solely on preventing failure.

Situational Effects

• Individuals in areas close to attacks exhibit high avoidance motivation.
• Individuals located farther away from attacks exhibit lower avoidance motivation.
• There is no difference in approach motivation based on proximity to attacks.
• Situations can significantly impact approach versus avoidance motivation, influencing a mindset of surviving rather than thriving.

Color and Motivation

• Red is associated with "stop" and avoidance motivation.
• Green is associated with "go" and approach motivation.
• Red test covers can lead to worse performance compared to green covers.
• Teams wearing red win more often, possibly due to the opposing team's perception of the color.

Humanistic Psychology

• Focuses on the whole person.
• This is concerned with meaning and purpose in life.
• Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs.
• Needs at the bottom are the most crucial, and focus shifts to the next level upon satisfaction.

Self-Actualization

• Involves spiritual growth and recognizing one's potential.
• Includes spiritual fulfillment and contributing to the good of humanity.
• Inner-directedness involves being guided by one's own principles.
• Time competence involves being present-oriented.
• Focus on intrinsic needs (close relationships, competence) instead of extrinsic needs (money, status).

Achieving Self-Actualization

• Carl Rogers believed people move closer to self-actualization through unconditional positive regard.

Unconditional Positive Regard

• Therapists should express this to clients.
• Parents should express this sentiment to children.
• Acceptance and love of one's whole self without conditions.
• Examples: "I love you no matter what, but I don't like it when you hit your sister," instead of "You're a bad boy" or "You're a good girl for getting such good grades."

Self-Determination Theory

• Outlines three primary needs.
• Autonomy: having control over your actions and life.
• Competence: using skills effectively and learning new ones.
• Relatedness: feeling connected to others.

Self-Determination Theory

• Universal human needs across time and cultures.
• Differing needs can drive the same goal (e.g., making good grades):
  • Autonomy: leading to a better job and career control.
  • Competence: demonstrating the learning of new skills.
  • Relatedness: can make family proud and build friendships.

Extrinsic Goals

• These include money or financial success, fame or popularity, and image or physical appearance.

Intrinsic Goals

• These include affiliation (family and friends), community feeling (helping others), and personal growth and self-acceptance.

The Effects of Money

• Handling Monopoly money or thinking about growing up rich leads to:
  • Decreased likelihood of helping others.
  • Increased desire to work alone.

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

• Kids who enjoyed drawing were given a "good player" award.
• Those who received the award were later less likely to draw on their own.
• Extrinsic motivation decreased their intrinsic motivation.

Measuring Implicit Motives

• Implicit motives might be unrecognized by the respondent.
• They do not correlate with explicit (questionnaire) measures of motives.
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)/Picture Story Exercise (PSE) assesses unconscious motives.
• Projective tests project motives onto stories.
• Scoring: Coded for motives, requiring agreement among coders (intercoder reliability).

Three Implicit Motives

• Henry Murray described 20 motives; the three most talked about include:
  • Achievement Motive (nAch): The need to accomplish something difficult, attain a high standard, or surpass others.
  • Power Motive (nPow): The need to control, influence, or direct other people.
  • Affiliation Motives (nAff): The need to win affection, be near, and enjoyably interact with others.

Achievement Motive (nAch)

• Driven to accomplish things independently and tackle moderately challenging tasks.
• Leads to better performance but not necessarily leadership.
• Often stems from parents who promoted independence.
• Individuals are often interested in starting their own businesses.
• Related to the need for competence in Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

Power Motive (nPow)

• The need to have an impact on others and resist being influenced.
• Stemming from parents who allowed more aggressive or sexual behaviors.
• Individuals are often interested in politics and leadership positions.
• Men high in nPow prefer mates and friends of lower status.
• Related to the need for autonomy in Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

Affiliation Motives (nAff)

• Need for close, warm relationships with others.
• Good at compromising.
• Distinct from extraversion.
• Helps individuals cope well with stress and promotes life satisfaction.
• Similar to the need for relatedness in Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

Presidential Motives

• Highest Achievement Motives scores: Trump, Carter, Clinton
  • Idealistic, with flurry of activity but little lasting effect
• Highest affiliation Motive Scores: Bush (the first), Kennedy, Nixon
  • More scandals and staff resignations
• Highest Power Motive Scores: Trump, Truman and Kennedy (tie), Bush (the Second), Obama
  • More wars; more likely to be ranked “great” by historians

Meditation

• Involves focusing on breath and clearing the mind.
• Meditation can improve mental health and promote calmness.
• Mindfulness: being aware of thoughts and perceptions without judgment.
• It encourages being present instead of dwelling on the future or distractions.

Flow

• Flow state: complete immersion in an activity where time passes smoothly.
• Balance between challenge and skill level.
• Common in video games, sports, writing, and hobbies.

Meaning and Purpose

• Pursuing goals greater than oneself and finding deeper meaning in life.
• Motivates toward positive goals and provides comfort during difficult times.
• Linked to overall happiness.
• Common Hollywood theme: rich men discovering the “meaning of life” during a crisis.