Set Your Motivation On Fire
	Telic And Paratelic Motivational Modes <  Previous Contents Next  >

Michael Apter categorized the telic and paratelic states. The telic state is described as the activity or behavior of an individual motivated by a goal. Paratelic state is described as the motivation derived from the activity or behavior itself also known as intrinsic motivation.

Punishment is defined as an unpleasant condition or consequence provided into the environment upon the manifestation of an undesirable activity or behavior. This is highly used in behavior modification in which the person will avoid engaging in a certain behavior or activity in order to prevent the unpleasant consequence.

The stimulus applied to the environment can be described as positive which is the application of the punishment or negative which is the removal of the reward. Examples of positive punishment are suspending an employee and spanking a child while examples of negative punishment are removal of salary bonuses and incentives.

Three Aspects of Punishment

The effect of the punishment is determined by the repetition of the undesirable behavior or activity. There should be a remarkable decrease or positive change in the person’s response in order to render the punishment effective. Thus three aspects should be present in punishment.

1. The undesirable behavior or action. This is defined as the violation of the standard or misperception of the stimulus provided by the environment leading to failure of the goal.

2. The punishment. Either positive or negative, an unpleasant condition will be provided to the individual with the objective to motivate him not to make the same mistake again.

3. The punishment outcome. The person will perform to the fullest of his abilities or not perform at all in order to escape punishment. The outcome can be disastrous or beneficial to the person.

Punishment and Escape

In every form of punishment, there should be a means to an escape. A person is more likely to become intensely goal-oriented, regardless of the intensity of the punishment as long as there is the presence of an escape. The escape presents the idea that the goal is attainable and only through the accomplishment of the goal will the person escape the punishment.

Punishment and Motivation

The disastrous outcome of punishment is that the person will develop the belief that he is not capable of accomplishing the goal. He will divert his efforts into another less-challenging activity as the result of a hurt ego. However, punishment can effectively be used to motivate a person to do better. The person will attempt to escape punishment by developing his abilities and skills in order to achieve the desired goal set by the environment.

In order to avoid the consequences of feeling fear, shame and guilt, the person works harder and fulfills the goal which will meet his needs of feeling useful, successful and competent.

Stress or pressure is defined as the drive to correct undesirable or conflicting thoughts and behavior through achievement. It is clearly presented in reverse psychology wherein the stress gives the person feelings of guilt, fear and uncertainty. The person then strives hard or is motivated to put in efforts and develop his abilities in order to overcome the negative feelings. Some may consider the motivation or behavior as subconscious.

Stress is present in the Cognitive Dissonance Theory wherein the person tries to balance two conflicting thoughts or behaviors by adjusting or changing his perspective or modifying his behavior. It is only when the thoughts or behavior do not collide that stress is relieved. Every day, all people undergo stress, which is relatively healthy for growth and development. However, if stress becomes too much for the person to bear, psychological, emotional and physical trauma may result.

The Two Types of Stress

1. Eustress. This type of stress is defined as constructive as it motivates the person to achieve more in order to relieve and overcome the negative feelings and conflicting thoughts.

2. Distress. This type of stress is defined as destructive as it promotes feelings of guilt, uncertainty and failure in the person. The person believes that the goal is impossible.

Sources of Stress

1. External stressors. The environment is filled with stressors that can give us negative feelings. Heavy traffic, bad weather, being burdened by work, arguments with friends and many others will decrease your performance and level of functioning. These external elements are sometimes beyond our control, which is why we feel bad or lose motivation when unexpected challenges occur.

2. Internal stressors. Internal stressors are subjective. The way we interpret the external stress will determine our behavior and actions. All people have different interpretations and experiences, which is why they also experience and try to overcome stress in various ways.

The Three Stress-Solvers

1. Develop self-determination. As an individual, you should view stress as a normal part of a healthy life. Without obstacles and challenges that seem insurmountable at times, you will not be motivated to grow. Use stress as a way for you to gauge your strengths and weaknesses, then set goals on how to overcome your weak areas.

2. Be involved with the environment. You are part of the environment that provides you with the stimulus to respond. Thus, you should also try to solve stress by finding helpful resources and guides such as other people, worthwhile activities and relaxing places.

3. Be optimistic. Always keep in mind that all types of stress can be solved and all goals are attainable. The goals you set upon yourself have to be specific and realistic so that you will be able to change your initial negative feelings into positive ones as you succeed.

Aggression is considered to be a basic human instinct which stems from the very origin and nature of man. The theory of evolution defines natural selection as the behavior of all living species to do everything within their capabilities to survive. Motivating factors are aggression, competitiveness and adaptation with the main goal being survival.

In the modern era, aggression is still very much present. Employees pour their efforts and update their knowledge regularly to earn a promotion, siblings argue to get a bigger share of the pie and people even engage in illegal activities in order to gain recognition and wealth. The workplace atmosphere is full of competition and mutual aggression is common among workers. All people are motivated to achieve goals and gain benefits by being aggressive.

Locations of the Aggression Need

Aggression falls in the dimension of competitive and combative.

1. Competitive. Every aggressive act or behavior has a goal and a target. In the competitive sense, the person aims to fulfill his need by improving his abilities and knowledge. The goal then is to satisfy the need by developing the target which is the self.

2. Combative. In the combative sense, the person still aims to fulfill his need but he does so by destroying the opponent to make himself the fittest. The goal is still to satisfy the need but by destroying the target, which is the opponent.

Aggression and Frustration

The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis states that as individuals strive to satisfy their needs in different areas, they will experience obstacles and challenges which will make them feel frustrated about their abilities and disappointed about themselves. As a result, they will be motivated to put in more effort and work harder in order to satisfy the unfulfilled need. Aggression is basically driven by the very same needs specified by theorists.

Hunger can cause a person to ask, beg or steal and feelings of abandonment can cause a person to commit crime or suicide.

Aggression and Punishment

Punishment is not a helpful method in stopping aggression since punishment itself is an aggressive process. Aggression can be effective to the extent that it motivates an individual toward the goal of satisfying a need. Thus, you can safely say that there is a need for aggression as long as the person’s need is unsatisfied. However, if there is no basis for aggression, there is an alteration or imbalance in behavior which can be detrimental to the person’s welfare.

The person should be encouraged through positive reinforcement instead of punishment in order to correct his beliefs that all needs can be satisfied or all behavior can be modified only through acts of aggression.

The secondary goal state is defined as the indirect objective that tends to create more powerful motivation in the person compared to the direct objective. In motivation, the intrinsic type tends to produce more meaning and passion within the individual doing the activity or manifesting the behavior. However in secondary goals, the aim is to stimulate the individual externally first with the aim to produce internal motivation. Internalization is the main goal of secondary goals.

Here’s an ideal scenario. The boss wants his employees to improve their performance. He cannot do anything in terms of increasing their passion in their work – this is an example of primary goal or independent intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, he can provide incentives to the top three best performers in the office – this is an example of secondary goal or dependent extrinsic motivation. The boss uses external stimuli in order to achieve his goal of better performance in the office.

The employees then become extrinsically motivated by the secondary goal, incentives or advantages, and perform better to reach that goal. It is the employees' choice to develop a sense of satisfaction in their job even without the added bonuses and transform their motivation from extrinsic to intrinsic.

Direct and Indirect Motivations

1. Direct motivation. This is based on the biological needs of the person wherein he acts or behaves with the primary intent of satisfying his needs.

2. Indirect motivation. This is the transitional goal which leads to the satisfaction of a need.

Biological goals in some instances overpower secondary goals. Biological goals are the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, etc. which can prove to be more motivating compared to secondary goals such as job satisfaction, healthy relationships, belongingness, etc.

For example, if the boss wants to improve his employees’ job performance, he can provide biological goals of increased salary and incentives which in turn will provide for the employees’ needs to survive instead of providing a workable office environment. In this case, the employees are more likely to perform better since they are driven to satisfy their basic needs.

Aims of Secondary Goals

Secondary goals in relation with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are directed toward the needs in the self-esteem and self-actualization categories. The person is subject to external stimuli with the expected outcome of self-induced internal motivation. Through the external stimuli provided, direct or indirect motivation will take effect. The motivation will cause the person to act and behave primarily to satisfy his biological needs.

In the process, secondary goals provide meaning and pleasure so that the person will begin to see himself as a competent and able individual. Once he realizes that he can achieve more than satisfy his biological needs, he will begin to function and be motivated intrinsically thus producing changes in behavior and attitude.

Coercion is the influenced change in a person’s action or behavior due to the person’s fear of an unpleasant consequence. It is very much the same as punishment and can be induced independently by the person to himself. Slavery is the term for permanent coercion wherein the person is subjected to external standards set upon his actions and behavior. Coercion is a low-level motivational state that can satisfy high-level needs.

Types of Coercion

Coercion may have different aspects and is a way of producing behavioral changes that can be both positive and negative depending on how the individual perceives and responds to it. Coercion can motivate in the following areas:

1. Psychological coercion. A number of circumstances can lead to mental stress which motivates the person to act and behave according to the accepted norms. Blackmail or rejection can cause the person to change his attitude and beliefs in order to have logical consonance.

2. Physical coercion. This is very similar to physical punishment. The person is motivated to act even unwillingly with the fear of being physically harmed or mutilated.

3. Thought coercion. This is the most usual situation with regards to intrinsic motivation. When the person senses a conflict or experiences failure, he will be compelled to improve in order to relieve the stressful thoughts demanding the need to feel competent and successful.

4. Cultural coercion. Culture aims to satisfy the need of belongingness and identity. The person acts, behaves or even thinks the same way as the majority does since he needs to feel that he belongs. Peer pressure and family values are good examples.

The Human Responses to Coercion

The person will try to resolve the conflict caused by coercive thoughts and actions through the following techniques:

1. Stonewall response. The person will negate or refuse coercion altogether to maintain homeostasis and eliminate the stress caused by the coercive thoughts. Exaggeration of the response can cause rebellious or eccentric behavior.

2. Identity separation response. The person can discover his identity by separating himself from the behavior imposed by coercion. As a result, he will not oblige, feeling that he will lose his sense of identity if coercion takes place.

3. Justification response. The person will rationalize the source of coercion as well as its effects, both positive and negative. He will then find the reasons why he should not comply.

4. Negotiation. The person creates relative goals to the consequences of not complying. The motivation to gain advantages will then be more powerful than the fear of consequences.

Coercion can be an effective motivational state in order to satisfy emotional and personal needs. The person’s responses will determine how he will grow and develop from the stress induced by coercion. In the process, he may become an independently strong individual or lose his identity.