Motivation: three definitions

Our word motivation comes from the Latin word movere, which means to move.

Since motivation is a complex phenomenon, we think all three of the definitions that follow are helpful.

• Motivation “refers to the energy a person is willing to devote to a task.” (Wagner & Hollenbeck, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed., 2005).

A very simple definition, yet it introduces the notion that if a person is willing, he or she will spend more energy on the task at hand. Presuming the person is competent, that is likely to result in doing a better job. The key word is willing.

• Motivation “is the willingness to do something ... to satisfy some need.” (Robbins, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed., 1997)

Still simple, yet this definition links a willingness to exert effort with an expectation of getting something in return. The key word is satisfy.

• Motivation “represents those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed.” (Kreitner & Kinicki, Organizational Behavior, 7th ed., 2007)

More complicated, this definition acknowledges that one’s willingness to seek satisfaction involves a host of factors in the subject’s psyche. The key notion is internal.

Inside each of us is a unique combination of perceptions regarding what we value, what we hope, what we lack and what we fear.

Copyright © 2007 by Owen Phelps, Ph.D., Midwest Leadership Institute. All rights reserved.

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