MINITHEORIES

Unlike the grand theories to explain the full range of the

motivation, the mini theories limit their attention to motivational phenomena
specific. These theories SEEK to understand or investigate:
Motivational phenomena (e.g., the experience of flow).
Particular circumstances that affect motivation (e.g., feedback
of failure).
Groups of people (e.g., extroverts, children, workers).
Theoretical questions (e.g., What is the relationship between cognition and emotion?).

A mini-theory explains part, but not all, of motivated behavior.

Thus, the achievement motivation theory (a mini-theory) emerged to explain the way
in how people respond to standards of excellence and, therefore, the
reason why some people exhibit enthusiasm and approach, while
who exhibit anxiety and avoidance when faced with a standard of
excellence. The Achievement Motivation Theory does not explain a large amount of
motivated actions but explains quite well an interesting part of the action
motivated. The following list identifies some of these mini-theories (with their
original reference) that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s:
Achievement Motivation Theory (Atkinson, 1964)
Achievement Motivation Attribution Theory (Weiner 1972)
Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957)
Motivation of Efficiency (Harter, 1978a, White, 1959)
Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy Theory (Vroom, 1964)
Flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975)
Intrinsic motivation (Deci 1975)
Goal Setting Theory (Locke, 1968)
Theory of helplessness (Seligman, 1975)
Theory of Reactance (Brehm, 1966)
Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977)
Auto-schemas (Markus, 1977)

These historical trends explain why the study of motivation was left behind.
its tradition of great theories to adopt the mini-theories of motivation
(as discussed among the following three sections). Furthermore, the first
a publication dedicated exclusively to the topic of motivation emerged in 1977,
Motivation and Emotion. This publication has focused almost entirely on its
attention to the empirical exploration of the mini-theories of motivation.
 Active nature of the person.
The purpose of the drive theory was to explain how an animal
transition from inactivity to activity (Weiner 1990). In the mid-20th century,
the assumption was that animals (including humans) were inactive due to
nature and that the role of motivation was to alert the passive to convert it into
active. In fact, the word motive comes from the Latin verb movere, which means
mover. Thus, the drive, like all motivational constructs
early on, it explained the driving force behind behavior. As an illustration,
a common definition of motivation in the mid-century was 'the process of
wake up the action, keep the activity in progress and regulate the pattern of
activity" (Young, 1961, p. 24). Motivation was the study of what energized
the passive.
Psychologists of the second half of the last century saw things as
different way. They emphasized that people were always being
involving with things and doing something. People were inherently
active, always motivated. This knowledge was akin to discernment in
the physics of Albert Einstein during the 20th century regarding the natural state of
the planets were the movement (because gravitational forces always
were found present). Just like stars and planets, humans
they also experienced pressures and attractions that were always present. A psychologist
mid-century motivational I express it as follows: 'a theory
solid motivation should... assume that motivation is constant,
endless, fluctuating, and complex and that is an almost universal characteristic of
practically every state of organic things
Perhaps there are no other situations in which this is more evident than in the case
of small children: "they lift things, shake them, smell them, taste them, the
they throw it to the other side of the room and are constantly asking: What is it?
this? They are incessantly curious (Deci and Ryan, 1985b, p. 11)
In her review of motivation theories in the mid-1960s,
Charles Cofer and Mortimer Appley (1964) divided motivational theories into
time in which they assumed the existence of a passive organism that
it conserved energy and those that assumed the existence of an active organism
that sought to develop. The representations oriented towards passivity
active orientation representations surpassed by 10 to 1. But the theories
the assumption of the existence of an active organism was beginning to emerge.
The factual ideas of motivation and emotion accept the premise of an organism.
active and deal little with decrease motivations and much with motivations to
development. Furthermore, contemporary studies on motivation address the
study of purpose and volition in inherently active individuals.
 Cognitive Revolution
The first motivational concepts: drive, homeostasis, activation, were
based on biology and physiology. The contemporary study of motivation
it continues to uphold this alliance with biology, physiology, and sociobiology, but
this trend changed in the early 1970s when the zeitgeist of the
psychology (that is, the 'intellectual climate' of the time) took a decisive turn
cognitive. This historical trend came to be known as the cognitive revolution.
There was a time when researchers focused on the power of the
thoughts, beliefs, and judgments as primary causes of behavior.
The cognitive revolution affected motivation in the same way it affected.
virtually all areas of psychology. Motivational concepts
they took a secondary position as cognitive interpretation. It was a
time when researchers focused on the power of thoughts,
beliefs and judgments as primary causes of behavior. The revolution
cognitive affects motivation in the same way it affects motivation of the
the same way it virtually affected all areas of psychology. The
motivational concepts took a back seat as the
cognitive interpretation of events took on a leading role in the
psychology. Motivation researchers began to highlight the
importance of internal mental processes. Some of the constructs
motivational mentalists that emerged included the plans, the goals, the
expectations, beliefs, attributions, and self-concept.
Socially relevant applied research
A third significant change helped to introduce the theory of minitheories: the
researchers focused their attention on relevant questions to solve the
motivational problems that people faced within their
lives, at work, at school, for stress management, to solve
health problems, to reverse depression and so on. As it progresses,
Researchers studied animals less and humans more.
they discovered an abundance of natural instances of motivation outside of
laboratory. Thus, researchers on motivation began to focus each
More often in socially relevant questions and problems, psychologists
motivational speakers began to establish more frequent contacts with psychologists in
other areas, such as social psychology, industrial psychology or organizational psychology,
clinical psychology and orientation and others. In general, the field became interested
less in studying, for example, hunger as a source of drive and more in
study the underlying motivations for food intake, diets, the
obesity and bulimia.
Highlighting socially relevant applied research placed on the study
contemporary of motivation in a kind of role of Juanito apple in
that individual motivational researchers were abandoning their
laboratories to take your questions ("What causes behavior?") to the areas of
specialization of psychology. The weak boundaries between motivation and the
related fields generally suggest a crisis of identity within the
study of motivation but, in practice, the absence of clear limits facilitated
an exchange of ideas and promoting exposure to different perspectives and
methodologies, including those outside of psychology. Because of this the
The contemporary study of motivation has gained richness, interest, and vitality.
special. A large part of what happens in contemporary research about
The motivation reflects the search for both a more scientific research
deep about motivational processes, such as practical applications and
tools of motivational principles that can be used to improve life
people. In fact, on occasions it is somewhat unusual to encounter a
contemporary scientific research about motivation that somehow
way does not relate to any practically relevant social application.
CONTEMPORARY ERA
Thomas Kuhn (1962, 1970) described the history of most sciences,
highlighting that a discipline makes both continuous and discontinuous progress.
In the case of continuous progress, participants make slow progress.
growing and cumulative as new data is added and
they replace the old ones and new ideas are added and supplanted to the
worn out. However, in the case of continuous progress, ideas emerge
radicals that challenge the old. If radical ideas gain acceptance, the
the ways of thinking of researchers change drastically as
that the old models are dismantled to open spaces so that the models
new ones take your place.

In its preparadigmatic stage, the primitive beginnings of a discipline start to

to take root as participants raise different questions, use
different methods, focus on various problems, support different solutions
and basically, they disagree and argue a lot. In their paradigmatic stage, the
participants in the discipline reach a consensus regarding what
constitutes their common theoretical and methodological framework. This shared framework (a
"paradigm" allows each collaborator to understand the methods and problems.
of the discipline in the same way. Then the participants can work on
collective and cooperative way to achieve an increasingly better understanding
detailed and integrated of its object of study. However, over time, the
limitations and deficiencies of the accepted paradigm become apparent when
an anomaly arises that cannot be explained by the paradigm
dominant. Soon, a general discomfort presents itself throughout the field. A
As a result of this, new discernments and discoveries emerge that you promote.
new ways of thinking (a 'paradigm shift'). Armed with their new
way of thinking, researchers eventually reestablish themselves within
a new and improved paradigm, a process that typically takes place
multiple generations of scientists. For example, two classic examples of
paradigm shifts occurred when Copernicus's revolution replaced the
ideas of astronomers regarding the centralism of the earth and when the theory
Einstein's general relativity destroyed Euclidean geometry. The
astronomy and physics were forever altered due to these changes
of paradigm.
As a discipline, the study of motivation has participated in the rise and fall of
three significant streams of thought: will, instinct, and drive. Each
one of these motivational concepts gained wide acceptance, but to
As new data emerged, each concept turned out to be too limited.
to support further progress. In the long run, each one found themselves
replaced by the following radical new and improved idea, currently, the
The study of motivation is situated in the midst of the era of minitheories.
The transition 'from crisis stage' of drive theory to the current era of the
brief theories have produced both good and bad consequences. On the side
negative, the motivation was overthrown as possibly the discipline too.
important within psychology to a kind of second field of study
category. The overthrow of motivation was so severe that, to a certain degree,
the field collapsed for a decade and a half. The motivational concepts
they were sidelined while discipline was dominated by behaviorists
who considered that motivation was something that happened outside of the person.
When the existence of forces within the person was recognized, or they were...
physiological or unconscious. Therefore, the study of conscious aspects
the motivation was somewhat reckless do-it-yourself (Locke and Latham, 2002).
The resurgence of the study of motivation in the 1990s.
When it began in 1952, the University of Nebraska invited the theorists of the
most prominent motivations of the time to join annually for a
symposium about motivation. This congress quickly became
a success and had a key role in defining the field. He continued in a manner
uninterrupted for 25 years, until there was a fundamental change in 1978.
In 1979, the symposium discontinued its motivational theme and instead, took on
count themes that changed from one year to the next, and that had nothing to do with
motivation. The 1979 meeting focused on attitudes and the congresses
subsequent ones focused on themes such as gender, active behaviors and
aging. Remember that these years corresponded to the
the overthrow of motivation as possibly the most important field of
psychology to a second field. Basically, the Nebraska symposium, so
like psychology in general, lost interest in the study of motivation (due to
the reasons that were already stated before).

But the story does not end with motivation in an irreparable crisis. In
recognition of the revival of motivation and its progress and achievements
during the era of minitheories, the organizers of the Nebraska symposium of
In 1990, they again invited prominent motivational researchers to
to meet at a symposium dedicated exclusively to the concept of motivation
(Tinstier, 1991). During this conference, the organizers asked the
participants: mortimr, Albert Bandura, Edward L. deci, among others, (again,
all of them famous in the study of motivation), if they thought that motivation
it was again a field powerful and mature enough to
to resist an exclusive return to motivational themes. Unanimously and
enthusiastic, the collaborators agreed that motivation was, once again,
a field of study of the wealth necessary to justify a meeting in
Nebraska. The organizers agreed and, in doing so, cast a vote.
trust and a sense of public identity to the study of motivation each
year since then, the symposium has continued to focus on motivation. In the early
from the 1970 design, the study of motivation was on the verge of the
extinction, "lying on the floor," as expressed by a couple of researchers
(Sorrentino and Hijjins, 1986, p.8). in the mere fact that the researchers of
symposium had to ask the participants if the motivation
was it or not a field that could stand on its own says something about
the identity of it. The study of motivation survived by allying with others
fields of study and the Nebraska symposium of 1990 was the symbolic proclamation
de su retorno como campo de estudio integrado y coherente. Al mismo tiempo, los
advances in neuroscience, developmental psychology and, even, scientific methodologies
I was demonstrating the limits of a purely cognitive behavioral analysis (rian,
Cognitions were important for the initiation and regulation of behavior,
but they were inherently rooted in the continuous flow of
emotions that guide, limit or even occasionally overwhelm the processes
cognitive.
A new paradigm
A field of study without a guiding paradigm will never find itself
front of science. The paradigm that has emerged during the 21st century for the
the study of motivation is populated by multiple perspectives (mini-theories of the
motivation) and a variety of voices. Each of which contributes with
a distinct piece of the puzzle in the study of motivation and emotion. The
the contemporary panorama is more like a democracy (of ideas and theories) than
like a kingdom (a great theory).
Questions and problems regarding human behavior are complex and
multifaceted. Therefore, the progress in the study of motivation depends on the
degree to which the field can draw on a diversity of perspectives. The object
The study of motivation is quite well defined: needs,
cognitions, emotions and external events, but the field is becoming increasingly
more informed and enriched by a multidisciplinary orientation that makes use
of ideas and methodologies from the very diverse fields that address the questions and
motivation problems (Pintrich, 2003). As these various ideas and
methodologies are applied to motivational questions, it has become more
evident by human motivation and emotions operate at various levels (driver-
linn, 2003). Each motivational agent, needs, cognitions, emotions and
external events interact with each other and influence one another. Each agent
influences and guides others while some motivational forces
complex and at different levels shape, guide and influence behavior in
place to cause it directly.
The new paradigm of motivation is one in which behavior is energized.
and directed not by a single great cause, but instead by a multitude of
influences of various interconnected levels. As expressed in the section
Therefore, the majority of motivational states can (and in fact, should) be
to understand at multiple levels at the neurological, cognitive, social, and others, already
the days passed when motivation researchers could focus on
a unique motivational agent and study it in relative isolation from the others
motivational agents, even if it was done once.