Search results for "Motivational system"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
The Mechanisms of Control, Affiliation and Self-expression
2016
The main theme in this chapter centres on the conceptual difference between psychological processes and the underlying mechanisms that propel these processes. The chapter starts with a brief historical overview and recognises the existence of the one single mechanism that throughout the past has repeatedly tended to rise to the surface, admittedly in different forms. This mechanism is called balanced dual tension. The chapter further includes a discussion on the possibility that there are distinct kinds of balanced dual tension that are characteristic for each of the three previously mentioned motivational systems. It ends with a summary of the arguments and suggests that further analyses o…
The Self-expression Motivational System
2016
The main aim of this chapter is to introduce and promote the concept of self-expression as a basic motivation. Considering that the amount of literature on self-expression, matched with the concepts of control and affiliation, is practically non-existent, the chapter starts by attempting to provide a viable definition of self-expression motivation. Furthermore, the concept of art as a domain in which the underlying tendency for self-expression is clearly manifested is also considered. The chapter also includes a literature review to show whether or not self-expression motivation is able to fulfil the criteria suggested by Baumeister and Leary (Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529, 1995). Th…
Control Motivational System
2016
In this chapter, the concept of control is presented using historical and contemporary literature. This overview presents compelling evidence that shows the importance of control in motivational science. The basic need for control is further analysed in the three all-embracing life domains: mastering environmental cues where the need for achievement is prominent, balancing interpersonal relations leading to the emergence of the need for power and managing the intra-personal processes resulting in employment of the various self-strategies. The chapter closes with the argumentation that all the presented evidence in the different life domains strongly suggests the existence of one unifying mo…
Affiliation Motivational System
2016
In this chapter, the concept of affiliation is presented as a general human disposition and basic motivation. The wide range of affiliative motives is analysed in the realms of interpersonal and group dynamics. Needs on the interpersonal level include attachment, intimacy and love, while the group dynamic is analysed in terms of in-group and inter-group relations. It is argued that all needs in the realm of interpersonal and group relations are interrelated and imply the existence of the larger underlying belonging motivation. Furthermore, the chapter also postulates that the conceptualisation of the human need for belonging should also include the need for distance and, in this way, should…
Critical Theoretical Concerns
2016
This chapter analyses centres on the number of critical theoretical questions that are left open without being properly clarified, nuanced and addressed in the previous chapters. The important point in this chapter is to clearly communicate to the reader the existence of potential limitations in the present analysis. Moreover, the chapter further clarifies the basic assumptions and premises on which the book’s arguments are built.