Canadian Medical Guide > Psychiatry and Psychology > Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms > Motivation Terms and Definitions
Motivation
Medical Definition: | Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli. |
Guide Notes: | human & animal |
Also Called: | Disincentives,Incentives |
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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. |
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Aspirations (Psychology) - Strong desires to accomplish something. This usually pertains to greater values or high ideals. |
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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) |
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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. |
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Food Deprivation - The withholding of food in a structured experimental situation. |
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Goals - The end-result or objective, which may be specified or required in advance. |
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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". |
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Instinct - Stereotyped patterns of response, characteristic of a given species, that have been phylogenetically adapted to a specific type of situation. |
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Intention - What a person has in mind to do or bring about. |
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Power (Psychology) - The exertion of a strong influence or control over others in a variety of settings--administrative, social, academic, etc. |
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Water Deprivation - The withholding of water in a structured experimental situation. |
Motivation Medical Definitions and Terms
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