Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-hvd4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-03T01:06:12.682Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Needed: Clear definition and hierarchical integration of motivation constructs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2025

Andrew J. Elliot Open the ORCID record for Andrew J. Elliot [Opens in a new window]  and
Nicolas Sommet
Andrew J. Elliot*
Affiliation:
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA [email protected] https://www.sas.rochester.edu/psy/research/apav/index.html
Nicolas Sommet
Affiliation:
Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland [email protected] https://www.nicolassommet.com/
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Murayama and Jach offer a thoughtful and timely critique of motivation constructs. We largely concur with their basic premises, but offer additional input and clarification regarding the importance of carefully considering the energization and direction components of motivation, and fully attending to the hierarchical aspect of motivation rather than prioritizing particular levels of analysis.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e33
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berridge, K. C. (2004). Motivation concepts in behavioral neuroscience. Physiology & Behavior, 81, 179–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bindra, D. (1959). Motivation. The Ronald Press Co.Google Scholar
Boden, M. A. (1972). Purposive explanation in psychology. Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolles, R. C. (1978). Whatever happened to motivation? Educational Psychologist, 13, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. S. (1961). The motivation of behavior. McGraw-Hill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1994). Relationship between attitudes and evaluative space: A critical review, with emphasis on the separability of positive and negative substrates. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 401–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2001). On the self-regulation of behavior. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cofer, C. N. (1972). Motivation and emotion. Scott, Foresman, & Co.Google Scholar
Elliot, A. J. (2006). The hierarchical model of approach-avoidance motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 30, 111–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, A. J. (2023). Energization and direction are both essential parts of motivation. In Bong, M., Reeve, J. M., & Kim, S. I. (Eds.), Motivation science: Controversies and insights (pp. 10–14). Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, A. J., & Sommet, N. (2023). Integration in the achievement motivation literature and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 35, 77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2001). Achievement goals and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 139–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallistel, C. R. (1982). The organization of action: A new synthesis. Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Kantor, J. R. (1942). Toward a scientific analysis of motivation. The Psychological Record, 5, 225–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleinginna, P. R. Jr, & Kleinginna, A. M. (1981). A categorized list of motivation definitions, with a suggestion for a consensual definition. Motivation and Emotion, 5, 263–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liem, G.A.D., & Senko, C. (2023). Goal complexes: A new approach to studying the coordination, consequences, and social contexts of pursuing multiple goals. Educational Psychology Review, 34, 2167–2195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldon, K. M. (2004). Optimal human being: An integrated multi-level perspective. Psychology Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommet, N., & Elliot, A. J. (2017). Achievement goals, reasons for goal pursuit, and achievement goal complexes as predictors of beneficial outcomes: Is the influence of goals reducible to reasons? Journal of Educational Psychology, 109, 1141–1162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommet, N., Elliot, A. J., & Sheldon, K. M. (2021). The “what” and “why” of achievement motivation: Conceptualization, operationalization, and consequences of self-determination derived achievement goal complexes. In Robbins, R. & John, O. (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology: Theory and research (4th ed., pp. 104–121). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Tolman, E. C. (1932). Purposive behavior in animals and men. University of California Press.Google Scholar