Social Foundations of Thought and Action - Term Paper Example

Critical Analysis “We pursue pleasure and avoid pain”. Critically evaluate this statement and examine how it relates to at least two different theories of motivation and personality. Abstract A critical examination of the statement “we pursue pleasure and avoid pain” is undertaken with reference to the Social Cognitive Theory and the Humanistic theory as they apply to various elements of motivation and individual personality. The distilled definitions of personality and motivation from various sources have been presented along with a discussion of how each theory would treat the statement given above. The central point of difference between the two theories with regard to the question comes across as the difference in the source of motivation. While the Social Cognitive Theory considers both internal and external factors as sources of motivation, the Humanist perspective takes the internal forces of motivation to be stronger than outside motivation. Introduction The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain can come across the central motivation of nearly everything human beings do in their lives. However, a critical examination of the statement in question shows that while the majority of cases will hold true under it, some situations will not (Higgins, 1997). This is because the definition of pain and pleasure may change from person to person depending on the nuances and influences of individual personality. Therefore, the statement is applicable in a general sense for the majority of individuals but for some the pursuit of pain may hold more pleasure than anything else. To better understand the statement and critically evaluate the same, two different theories of motivation and personality will be examined along with how they relate to the question. The theories selected for this paper are the social cognitive theory and the humanistic theory as they apply to motivation and personality. Of course a few definitions have to be laid out before the theories and their applications can be discussed. The two most important definitions for this purpose are personality and motivation. Personality itself can be defined as the collective emotional, thinking, and action patterns which are exhibited by an individual which are more or less consistent over a period of time (Miner & Dachler, 1973). Psychologists and those who study human personality have defined types of personalities and presented theories which help in placing individuals on certain scales of personality (Joy, 2004). Motivation can be defined as the internal desires, needs or wishes which are unique to all individuals in shaping their behavior to meet certain goals or objectives (Grotstein, 2001). Undoubtedly, both of these terms are related at a very basic level since certain personalities can be motivated only be certain means as defined by the theories of motivation. For both the social cognitive theory and the humanistic perspective on motivation an extensive body of literature exits which deals directly with the subject at hand. However, an exact critical analysis of the statement given in the question was not found during the research. For the Social Cognitive Theory, the work done by Bandura et. al. was quite useful since he is considered the founder of the theory while the explanations and expansion on Maslow’s theory served as the starting point for the research on the humanist perspective (Weiner, 1992). Social Cognitive Theory The central purpose of the Social Cognitive Theory is to try and understand the behaviors exhibited by people as individuals and as groups. It also seeks to point out the methods in which behavior can be altered by using intervention coming from outside sources (Huitt, 2001). Therefore the idea given by this theory is that people can be motivated to exhibit certain behaviors if they are given enough guidance and encouragement to seek out certain things. At the same time, they can be made to avoid certain actions if they are threatened with consequences. Motivation therefore can be an outside influence which makes people seek pleasure and avoid pain. The theory does take into account certain personality factors which guide behavior but the bulk of motivation comes from the social influences and the environment a person is placed in. In certain ways, the theory upholds the point presented by the behaviorist theorists that good or bad consequences will guide the actions taken by the people (Brown, 1999). At the same time, the cognition of future rewards or punishment is what keeps people behaving in a certain way. Cognition therefore can be seen as one of the internal motivators as opposed to the external motivation from societal forces. An individual’s personality will guide the creation of mental constructs, the reality around a person and the values and expectations of the individual (Huitt, 2001). External forces and social influences can change these ideas over time as a person develops in maturity but at any given time, a certain personality can be motivated to perform certain required actions if they are made aware of rewards in terms of pleasure or pain in terms of negative consequences (Bandura, 1986). Under this theory, individuals who are better able to create and understand abstract symbols for themselves will have better responses to both internal and external motivating factors (Brown, 1999). The symbol of money can be understood by any civilization which has a basic economy but the idea of pleasure and comfort may vary from individual to individual. The same is the case with the idea of pleasure; therefore, an individual may not seek out pleasure or avoid pain if they are not clear about the symbolic value of these concepts or if the symbolic relationships for the individual are completely different as compared to the ideas upheld by society (Weiner, 1992). The Humanistic Theory In that scenario, the humanistic theory can be better applied since it takes a baseline of needs which all human beings require. Maslow is considered to be the authority when it comes to applying the Humanistic perspective to motivation. The central contribution made by Maslow deals with the pyramid of needs which was described by him to show the hierarchy of motivational factors for human beings (Maslow, 1971). The first level of needs are physiological, i.e. Oxygen, nourishment, warmth and other comforts which are required for existence. The second level is safety and security, the third represents social needs of acceptance and belonging to a group. The fourth is the need to be appreciated and held in esteem by society. The basic needs architecture was expanded by the addition of several more motivating factors which include cognitive needs for exploration/knowledge, aesthetic needs for beauty, self actualization needs for the fulfillment of a person’s potential and finally the state of self transcendence which helps a person connect with others on a deeper level (Maslow, 1971). Needs on the lower levels must be satisfied before needs on higher levels are met for the person. Here, motivation comes from a person going from one level to the next and the individual desire to move up on the chain which links parts of human motivation (Maslow, 1971). At any time, if a deficiency is present at any point of the needs structure, the person would be motivated to remove that gap and get back to the state they were in previously (Huitt, 2001). This theory is certainly more applicable in the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain since Maslow’s source of motivation is clearly intrinsic. Even if a human being is placed in danger and has to satisfy needs of the second order, the motivation for moving out of danger will not come from the source of the danger but rather from the intrinsic needs pattern of the individual. Additionally, the statement in question is supported by the idea that Maslow's basic ideas about personality have to do with growth and the development of wisdom as a trait in humans. As a person realizes the nature of life and understands the society around him/her, s/he becomes ‘wiser’ and is therefore about to cope with a wider variety of situations. Conclusion Clearly, the internal motivation which is treated as the primary source of motivation in the Humanist perspective would support the statement while the Social Cognitive Theory would demand adjustments to be made to the wordings before it can be accepted. This means that it would be easier to present this statement as a truth if the presenter focused on the internal motivation factors given by Maslow rather than the Social cognition and symbolic interpretations of abstract concepts as it was presented by Bandura. Word Count: 1,562 Works Cited Bandura A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall. Brown, K. (1999). Social Cognitive Theory. Retrieved May 2, 2006, from University of South Florida Website: http://hsc.usf.edu/~kmbrown/Social_Cognitive_Theory_Overview.htm Grotstein, J. (2001). Some Reflections on the Psychoanalytic Theory of Motivation. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 21(5), 572-589. Higgins, E.T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52, 1280-1300. Huitt, W. (2001). Motivation to learn: An overview. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/motivation/motivate.html Joy, S. (2004). Innovation Motivation: The Need to Be Different. Creativity Research Journal, 16(2), 313-330. Maslow, A. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New York: The Viking Press. Miner, J. and Dachler, P. (1973). Personal attitudes and motivation. Annual Review of Psychology, 24, 379-393. Weiner, B. (1992). Human Motivation: Metaphors, Theories, and Research. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publishers. Read More