Canadian Medical Guide > Psychiatry and Psychology > Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms > Motivation Terms and Definitions

Motivation

	Achievement - Success in bringing an effort to the desired end; the degree or level of success attained in some specified area (esp. scholastic) or in general.
	Aspirations (Psychology) - Strong desires to accomplish something. This usually pertains to greater values or high ideals.
	Conflict (Psychology) - The internal individual struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, or external and internal demands. In group interactions, competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)
	Drive - A state of internal activity of an organism that is a necessary condition before a given stimulus will elicit a class of responses; e.g., a certain level of hunger (drive) must be present before food will elicit an eating response.
	Food Deprivation - The withholding of food in a structured experimental situation.
	Goals - The end-result or objective, which may be specified or required in advance.
	Handling (Psychology) - Physical manipulation of animals and humans to induce a behavioral or other psychological reaction. In experimental psychology, the animal is handled to induce a stress situation or to study the effects of "gentling" or "mothering".
	Instinct - Stereotyped patterns of response, characteristic of a given species, that have been phylogenetically adapted to a specific type of situation.
	Intention - What a person has in mind to do or bring about.
	Power (Psychology) - The exertion of a strong influence or control over others in a variety of settings--administrative, social, academic, etc.
	Water Deprivation - The withholding of water in a structured experimental situation.

Motivation Medical Definitions and Terms