Motivation is short-term focused energy. The oldest theories of motivation explain motivated activity as effort to overcome primary deficiencies, such as hunger or boredom. Such theories are difficult to apply because individuals learn idiosyncratic secondary motives as alternative ways of responding to these needs. Three prominent needs theories are discussed: Herzberg's theory of hygiene and motivational factors; McClelland's needs for achievement, power, and affiliation; and Maslow's hierarchy and theory of self-actualization. A second approach to motivation holds that individuals may be thought of as engaging in rational processes to maximize their self-interests. The presented examples of this approach include Vroom's expectancy theory, Adam's theory of inequality, and the Porter-Lawler model that addresses the question of whether satisfaction leads to high performance or vice versa. Finally, several theories of motivation as life orientation are developed.
动机是短期聚焦的能量。最古老的动机理论将有动机的活动解释为克服诸如饥饿或无聊等主要不足的努力。这类理论难以应用，因为个体学习特殊的次要动机作为应对这些需求的替代方式。本文讨论了三种著名的需求理论：赫茨伯格的保健因素和激励因素理论；麦克利兰的成就、权力和归属需求理论；以及马斯洛的层次理论和自我实现理论。动机的第二种方法认为，个体可以被视为参与理性过程以最大化自身利益。这种方法的示例包括弗鲁姆的期望理论、亚当斯的公平理论，以及解决满意度是否导致高绩效或反之亦然问题的波特 - 劳勒模型。最后，还阐述了几种将动机视为生活取向的理论。
