This is a classic edition of Hugh Wagner’s influential overview of the biopsychological underpinnings of human motivation. It includes a new foreword written by Michael Richter who reflects on Wagner’s 20 years of teaching, writing and research in the field of biopsychology and promises an engaging, succinct and accessible introductory text that remains relevant and useful to students today. The Psychobiology of Human Motivation explores what directs our behaviour, from basic physiological needs like hunger and thirst to more complex aspects of social behaviour like altruism. Wagner explores the limits of biological explanations and shows how humans can influence ‘basic’ physiological drives in order to adapt to a complex social environment. An accessible, engaging resource strengthened by many applied examples, Wagner’s text continues to be integral reading for undergraduate students seeking a solid introduction to the psychology of human motivation across the social and behavioural sciences.

"US psychologist Abraham Maslow's A Theory of Human Motivation is a classic of psychological research that helped change the field for good. Like many field-changing thinkers, Maslow was not just a talented researcher, he was also a creative thinker - able to see things from a new perspective and show them in a different light. At a time when psychology was dominated by two major schools of thought, Maslow was able to forge a new, third paradigm, that remains influential today. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis had developed the idea of understanding the mind through dialogue between patient and analyst. The behaviorism of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson had focused on comprehending the mind through behaviors that could be measured, trained, and changed. Maslow, however, generated new ideas, forging what he called "positive" or "humanistic psychology". His argument was that humans are psychologically motivated by a series of hierarchical needs, starting with the most essential first. Maslow thought it important for the advancement of psychology to identify, group and rank these needs in terms of priority. HIs belief in the value of this third way was important in leading those who studied psychology to redefine the discipline, and so see it in new ways."--Provided by publisher.

Human Motivation, originally published in 1987, offers a broad overview of theory and research from the perspective of a distinguished psychologist whose creative empirical studies of human motives span forty years. David McClelland describes methods for measuring motives, the development of motives out of natural incentives and the relationship of motives to emotions, to values and to performance under a variety of conditions. He examines four major motive systems - achievement, power, affiliation and avoidance - reviewing and evaluating research on how these motive systems affect behaviour. Scientific understanding of motives and their interaction, he argues, contributes to understanding of such diverse and important phenomena as the rise and fall of civilisations, the underlying causes of war, the rate of economic development, the nature of leadership, the reasons for authoritarian or democratic governing styles, the determinants of success in management and the factors responsible for health and illness. Students and instructors alike will find this book an exciting and readable presentation of the psychology of human motivation.

Geen departs from the conventional approach to human motivation--going beyond the traditional survey of biological, behavioral, and scial bases of motivation--to capture the student's attention and focus on the problems of motivations with which we live every day. Starting from the premise that most human behavior is social behavior, Geen establishes a fundamental model of the motivational process by integrating the concepts of motive, situation, and incentive within a framework of how people set goals for themselves.

This book represents a major revision of my earlier work, Theories of Motivation: From Mechanism to Cognition. A number of shortcomings in the p,revious book became increasingly evident to me. First of all, there were serious omissions. Second, there has been much new knowl edge since the inception of the prior book, so that it was becoming out dated. And finally, I was dissatisfied with some of the writing, feeling that parts of the book were needlessly complex and that certain topics did not deserve the space that they were allotted. A revision, therefore, was initiated. I attempted to fill some of the gaps by including chapters on psychoanalytic, social learning, and humanistic theory. Furthermore, other topics that could have been dis cussed within the outline of Theories of Motivation but were neglected are incorporated into the present volume. These topics include, for ex ample, social facilitation, arousal, emotions, personal responsibility, and the irrationality of attributions. In addition to this new material, I up dated the ideas examined in Theories of Motivation. Little could be altered in-the sections on H ullian and Lewinian theory, for these con ceptions are no longer undergoing modification. The discussion of these theories was merely shortened and simplified, bringing them more in line with their current influence in psychology. But achievement and attribution theories have changed in the past years - or at least our understanding in these areas has changed - and discussion of these topics was greatly altered.

Understanding Human Motivation is a lively presentation of how factors such as biological nature, instinct, past experience, and society determine what we do. Draws on many different domains of human behavior and links together many motivational factors such as fear, sex, consciousness, and rage. Illustrates the theoretical bases of motivation through real-life examples and case studies. Written in accessible manner for use in courses.

This volume covers the current status of research in the neurobiology of motivated behaviors in humans and other animals in healthy condition. This includes consideration of the psychological processes that drive motivated behavior and the anatomical, electrophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms which drive these processes and regulate behavioural output. The volume also includes chapters on pathological disturbances in motivation including apathy, or motivational deficit as well as addictions, the pathological misdirection of motivated behavior. As with the chapters on healthy motivational processes, the chapters on disease provide a comprehensive up to date review of the neurobiological abnormalities that underlie motivation, as determined by studies of patient populations as well as animal models of disease. The book closes with a section on recent developments in treatments for motivational disorders.