This is a translation of the second edition of a highly acclaimed German text. It provides a comprehensive overview of the many approaches to the study of motivation, including the latest theoretical, empirical and methodological issues.

Klappentext

The translation of this volume has been a long and sometime arduous journey giving nearly literal meaning to the Latin term translatus, meaning to carry across. In fact, it required many journeys both geographically, between Canada and Germany, and fig­ uratively, between German and English language, thought, and culture; between the mind of a German professor and that of his American colleague. Whether or not it was all worthwhile must be left to the reader's judgment, but let me outline the rationale for embarking on this venture. When the first German edition of this book appeared in 1980 it was acclaimed not only by German scholars but by those outside the German-speaking community as well. In fact, it received extremely favorable reviews, even in English-language journals, which is unusual for a foreign text. It was recognized that this was far more than just another text book on motivation. For one thing, it exposed and examined the multi­ faceted roots that have contributed to contemporary theory and research in motivation. The author skillfully examined the motivational concepts, theories, and research that have emanated from many areas of psychology such as learning theory, social psychol­ ogy, personality, psychoanalysis, and clinical psychology.

Inhalt

1 The Study of Motivation: Issues and Approaches.- Everyday Experiences and Three Issues.- Naive Explanations of Behavior.- An Explanation for Nonoccurring Behavior.- The Consistency Paradox.- Person-Specific Behavior.- Motive as an Explanatory Concept.- Motivation.- Intention Formation and Volition.- Action.- Postaction Phase.- The Chapter in Retrospect.- 2 Historical Trends in Motivation Research.- The Generation of Pioneers.- The Psychology of the Will.- The Instinct Theory Approach.- Personality Theories.- The Motivation Psychology Approach.- The Cognitive Psychology Approach.- The Personality Psychology Approach.- Associationist Theories.- The Learning Psychology Approach.- The Activation Psychology Approach.- Preview.- 3 Trait Theories of Motivation.- Trait Theories of Motivation: Motives.- Allport's Idiographic Approach.- Trait as a "Neuropsychic Entity".- Factoranalytic Trait Theory: R. B. Cattell.- Instinct-based Classification of Motives: W. McDougall.- Motive Classification based on Person-Environment Relationship: H. A. Murray.- A Hierarchical Model of Motive Classification: A. Maslow.- Basic Emotions as a Rudimentary Motivation System.- Taxonomic Problems of Motive Classification Systems.- Three Distinct Approaches.- Achievement-Oriented Behavior as a Distinct Motive Class.- 4 Situational Determinants of Behavior.- Stimulus-Response Association.- Need and Drive.- Drive Theory.- Antecedent Conditions of Drive.- Drive Stimuli.- Independence of Drive and Habit.- Energizing Effects of Drive.- Reinforcement Effects of Drive Reduction.- The General Nature of Drive.- Acquired Drives, Drive as a Strong Stimulus.- Frustration.- Fear as an Acquired Drive.- Conflict Theory.- Lewin's Conflict Theory.- Miller's Model of Conflict.- Applications of the Conflict Model.- Activation Theories.- The Construct of Arousal.- The Arousal Potential and its Effects.- Toward a Cognitive Appraisal of the Situation.- Emotion as an Outcome of a Cognitive Appraisal.- Emotion-Triggering Situations.- Emotion-Specificity of Neurovegetative Reactions.- Schachter's Two-Factor Theory of Emotions.- The Valins Effect.- Appraisal of Threatening Situations.- Cognitive Balance.- Cognitive Dissonance.- Postdecision Conflicts.- Forced Compliance.- Selection of Information.- Challenged Convictions of Social Groups.- Unexpected Outcomes of Actions and Their Consequences.- Developments in Cognitive Dissonance Research.- Cognitive Appraisal Theories and Motivational Psychology.- Concluding Remarks.- 5 Motivation as a Function of Expectancy and Incentive.- Field Theory.- The Person Model.- Tension Systems in the Person Model.- Environment Model.- Environment Model: Postdictive not Predictive.- Relationship between the Two Models.- Experimental Contributions of Field Theory.- Aftereffects of Incompleted Tasks.- Complications of the Zeigarnik Effect.- Substitute Actions.- Psychological Distance and Strength of Valence.- Tolman's Analysis of Goal-Directed Behavior.- Expectancy and Goal-Orientation.- Incentive Effects.- Latent Learning: The Distinction between Learning and Motivation.- Expectancy-Value-Matrix.- Expectancy and Incentive Conceptualized in S-R Terms.- The Early Hull.- The Middle and Late Hull.- Spence's Extension of Hull's Model.- More Recent Developments.- Response Reinforcement: An Unnecessary Explanatory Construct.- Walker's Analysis of the Explanatory Concepts.- Bolles' Cognitive Model of Incentive Motivation.- Bindra's Quasi-Physiological Model of Incentive Motivation.- Expectancy-Value Theories.- Decision Theory.- Level of Aspiration and the Theory of Resultant Valence.- Success Expectancy and Valence.- Atkinson's Risk-Taking Model.- Rotter's Social Learning Theory.- Empirical Support.- Instrumentality Theory.- Vroom's Model of Valence, Action, and Performance.- Three-Component Model of Valence, Action, and Performance.- Performance Model.- Action Outcomes and Their Consequences.- Empirical Investigations.- Critical Concluding Remarks.- 6 Volition: Implementation of Intentions.- Ach's Psychology of the Will.- The Act of Will and the Determining Tendency.- Three Types of Volition Problems.- Persistence: Endurance of the Action Tendency until the Goal is Reached.- Initiation of Action.- Overcoming Obstacles to Action.- Kuhl's Theory of Action Control.- Mediating Processes of Action Control.- Two Modes of Control: Action Orientation and State Orientation.- Some Empirical Findings.- The Rubicon Model of Action Phases.- Motivational vs. Volitional States of Mind.- Empirical Evidence.- Four Action Phases.- Intention Formation in the Predecisional Motivation Phase.- Action Initiation: The Task of the Preactional Volitional Phase.- Actional Volition Phase.- Postactional Motivation Phase: Evaluation.- 7 Anxiety.- General Anxiety.- Situational Incentive Effects.- Anxiety as a Trait and as a State.- Test Anxiety.- Attention Hypothesis of Test Anxiety.- Interference Effects of Self-Esteem Threatening Thoughts.- Cognitive Interferences vs. Reaction to one's Incompetence.- Therapeutic Interventions.- 8 Achievement Motivation.- Evolutionary Psychological Perspectives.- Motive Measurement.- Thematic Apperception Test.- Measurement of Achievement Motivation.- Construction of a Thematic Coding System.- Measuring the Achievement Motive.- Measuring the Motive Tendencies "Hope for Success" and "Fear of Failure".- TAT Instruments for both Achievement Motives.- Test Quality and Construct Characteristics of the Variables.- The Consistency Issue from the Theoretical Perspective of Measurement and Construct Validity.- Other Techniques.- Behavioral Correlates of Motive Differences.- Socio-Cultural Motive Indices and Economic Growth.- Sex-Differences and "Fear of Success".- The Risk-Taking Model as the Dominant Research Orientation.- Motive-Dependent Valence Functions.- Choice: Maximal Product of Expectancy and Incentive.- Subjective Probability.- Level of Aspiration: Task Choice and Goal Setting.- Typical and Atypical Shifts in Level of Aspiration.- Maximizing Affect vs. Maximizing Information.- Persistence.- Feather's Analysis of Persistence Conditions.- "Inertial Tendency" of the Unfinished.- Performance Outcomes.- School Performance.- Motivational Level and Performance Outcome: Quantity vs. Quality.- Locke's Goal Theory: A Volitional Issue.- Efficiency of Task Performance.- Efficiency.- Empirical Evidence.- Other Approaches: Attention and Effort Control.- Cu…