The Problem of Motivation – An Historical Perspective

The concept of motive is foundational to psychology. Generally, motive can be defined as the basis for one’s acts and as a fundamental force of actions. That is why the questions of motivation is a central attraction for psychological science. There are many different research projects which focus on motive and motivation. It can be argued that motive holds a firm place in general psychology and psychology directed at the study of personality. It is a cornerstone of many psychological theories and approaches and it is used widely in research and practice. That is why we cannot embrace all the problem fields in a single study. But the concept of motive is a problem by itself. There are several ambiguous interpretations of this concept, and there are even doubts about its psychological reality and its existence. One of the founders of cognitive psychology, G. Kelly, doubted the necessity to address the motive-need sphere, as well as the teleological determination of a person. According to Kelly, a person has the immanent feature of being the subject and source of his own activity, therefore we do not need to postulate some external causes for his actions. However, all knowledge already accumulated by psychology is stating that it is impossible to leave the problem of motive behind, to not take it into consideration.

Psychoanalysis was a revolutionary step in psychology. It convincingly showed that motive forces of human behaviour lie considerably in the field of the unconscious. S. Freud’s discoveries in psychology are comparable to Galileo’s, who was standing at the beginnings of a scientific method and science as a form of public consciousness. Science examines the phenomenon but keeps its essence distinct from the social world which gives it meaning. K. Marx once said that if phenomenon and essence coincided, we would not need any science. Galileo, by using physics, also tried to convince contemporaries not to trust life experience and common sense. In the same way Freud also argued for the inauthenticity of our consciousness as a form of data. He believed that we are convinced that we act reasonably and intentionally, but actually our behaviour is caused by impulses from the depths of the unconscious. Freud has shown that a person’s ordinary image of himself/herself does not pass scientific criticism. A person’s thoughts of self and his/her behaviour are based on the data of consciousness and self-consciousness – phenomena, not the essence of the psychic.