Handbook of Motivation Science

by James Y. Shah (Editor), Wendi L. Gardner (Editor)

Overview

Integrating significant advances in motivation science that have occurred over the last two decades, this volume thoroughly examines the ways in which motivation interacts with social, developmental, and emotional processes, as well as personality more generally. The Handbook comprises 39 clearly written chapters from leaders in the field. Cutting-edge theory and research is presented on core psychological motives, such as the need for esteem, security, consistency, and achievement; motivational systems that arise to address these fundamental needs; the process and consequences of goal pursuit, including the role of individual differences and contextual moderators; and implications for personal well-being and interpersonal and intergroup relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462515110
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	12/09/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	638
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

James Y. Shah, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Duke University. He received his PhD from Columbia University. Dr. Shah’s current research focuses on how goals affect people’s perceptions, behavior, and subjective experiences, with a particular interest in exploring the different regulatory functions of goals, how personal goals are cognitively structured, and how the regulatory and structural nature of goals affects how one feels and how one acts.

Wendi L. Gardner, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University. She received her PhD from Ohio State University. Dr. Gardner’s research involves two broad areas: the social aspects of the self and the unconscious, and rudimentary levels of evaluation and emotion.

Table of Contents

I. A Historical Perspective

1. Core Social Motivations: Views from the Couch, Consciousness, Classroom, Computers, and Collectives, Susan T. Fiske

II. Forms and Systems of Motivation

Different Forms of Motivation

2. Belongingness Motivation: The Mainspring of Social Action, Mark R. Leary and Cody B. Cox

3. The Many Sides of Control Motivation: Motives for High, Low, and Illusory Control, Suzanne C. Thompson and Michèle M. Schlehofer

4. Self-Enhancement and Self-Affirmation: The Consequences of Positive Self-Thoughts for Motivation and Health, Shelley E. Taylor and David K. Sherman

5. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: An Update with a Focus on the Action-Based Model, Eddie Harmon-Jones and Cindy Harmon-Jones

6. Motivated Closed-Mindedness and Its Social Consequences, Arie W. Kruglanski and Woo Young Chun

7. Historical Perspectives and New Directions in Achievement Goal Theory: Understanding the Effects of Mastery and Performance–Approach Goals, Corwin Senko, Amanda M. Durik, and Judith M. Harackiewicz

8. A Basic but Uniquely Human Motivation: Terror Management, Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Jamie Arndt

9. Prosocial Motivation, C. Daniel Batson, Nadia Ahmad, Adam A. Powell, and E. L. Stocks

10. Implicit Motivation: Past, Present, and Future, Melissa J. Ferguson, Ran Hassin, and John A. Bargh

Motivational Systems

11. Motivations for Promotion and Prevention, Daniel C. Molden, Angela Y. Lee, and E. Tory Higgins

12. The Neuroevolution of Motivation, Gary G. Berntson and John T. Cacioppo

13. Contributions of Attachment Theory and Research to Motivation Science, Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver

14. Structural Dynamics: The Challenge of Change in Goal Systems, James Y. Shah and Arie W. Kruglanski

III. Motivational Processes and Differences

Motivational Processes and Goal Pursuits

15. The Goal Construct in Psychology, Andrew J. Elliot and James W. Fryer

16. The Impact of Social Comparisons on Motivation, Penelope Lockwood and Rebecca T. Pinkus

17. Goal Contagion: Inferring Goals from Others’ Actions—and What It Leads to, Henk Aarts, Ap Dijksterhuis, and Giel Dik

18. Implicit and Explicit Counteractive Self-Control, Ayelet Fishbach and Yaacov Trope

19. Dealing with Unwanted Feelings: The Role of Affect Regulation in Volitional Action Control, Sander L. Koole and Julius Kuhl

20. Feedback Processes in the Simultaneous Regulation of Action and Affect, Charles S. Carver and Michael F. Scheier

21. Flexible Tenacity in Goal Pursuit, Peter M. Gollwitzer, Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm, Alexander Jaudas, and Paschal Sheeran

22. The Antecedents and Consequences of Nonconscious Goal Pursuit, Tanya L. Chartrand, Amy N. Dalton, and Clara Michelle Cheng

23. Regulatory Fit, E. Tory Higgins

24. Can Satisfaction Reinforce Wanting?: A New Theory about Long-Term Changes in Strength of Motivation, Kathleen D. Vohs and Roy F. Baumeister

Motivational Differences

25. The Role of Goal Investment in Self-Regulation: Benefits and Costs, Eva M. Pomerantz and Serena Shim

26. Self-Theories, Goals, and Meaning, Carol S. Dweck and Heidi Grant

27. Culture and Motivation, Beth Morling and Shinobu Kitayama

28. Of Men, Women, and Motivation: A Role Congruity Account, Amanda B. Diekman and Alice H. Eagly

29. Developmental Perspectives on Achievement Motivation: Personal and Contextual Influences, Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia and Jennifer A. Fredricks

30. The Interface of Motivation Science and Personology: Self-Concordance, Quality Motivation, and Multilevel Personality Integration, Kennon M. Sheldon

IV. Applications of Motivational Research

Well-Being and Optimal Functioning

31. Challenge, Threat, and Health, Jim Blascovich

32. Understanding the Determinants of Health Behavior Change: Integrating Theory and Practice, Alexander J. Rothman, Andrew W. Hertel, Austin S. Baldwin, and Roger D. Bartels

33. Social Exclusion, Motivation, and Self-Defeating Behavior: Why Breakups Lead to Drunkenness and Ice Cream, Jean M. Twenge

34. Personal Goals and Life Dreams: Positive Psychology and Motivation in Daily Life, Laura A. King

Intergroup and Interpersonal Relations

35. When Self-Protection Hurts: Satisfying Connectedness Motivations in Close Relationships, Sandra L. Murray

36. Prorelationship Motivation: An Interdependence Theory Analysis of Situations with Conflicting Interests, Eli J. Finkel and Caryl E. Rusbult

37. Approaching Social Rewards and Avoiding Social Punishments: Appetitive and Aversive Social Motivation, Shelly L. Gable and Amy Strachman

38. Making Things Better and Worse: Multiple Motives in Stereotyping and Prejudice, Steven J. Stroessner and Abigail A. Scholer

39. System Justification as Conscious and Nonconscious Goal Pursuit, John T. Jost, Janina Pietrzak, Ido Liviatan, Anesu N. Mandisodza, and Jaime L. Napier

Interviews

Researchers and students in social and personality psychology; also of interest to developmental, health, and clinical psychologists. May serve as a text in graduate-level courses.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Christopher J Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)
Description: Motivation science is reemerging from its slumber since the times of Maslow, accompanied by a much broader context with new themes and models stemming from various levels of inquiry. This book explores the areas of motivational relativity, regulation, and reactivity.
Purpose: According to the editors, the purpose is to provide a systematic overview of the field and to introduce emerging trends and future directions as the field grows and establishes itself.
Audience: The editors do not target a specific audience, but the book would certainly be appropriate for psychologists, sociologists, and developmental researchers. There are a few chapters that may be of interest to other readers, such as therapists, attorneys, and marketing analysts. The editors and contributing authors have a record of scholarly work in this field.
Features: There is a lot of information in the 39 chapters of this book. The chapters are grouped into a few main sections that include a historical perspective, forms and systems of motivation, motivational processes and differences, and applications of motivational research. The historical perspective includes viewpoints of well-known figures such as Allport, Maslow, and James. While the chapters have clearly labeled subsections, periodic summaries, and conclusions, they have no introductions or abstracts. Thus, the reader is often unsure what to expect from the chapter. There are nice reviews of current theories and practical applications are sprinkled throughout (e.g., motivation and terror management in legal decision-making). While there are interesting ideas proposed about motivational systems in the second section, some chapters, such as the one on neural networks, are rather cursory. Other chapters seem fairly abstract or vague making it difficult to connect the ideas to real-world behavior. The last section better addresses this issue, but it would have been nice to see these connections as a theme throughout the book. One aspect that clearly stands out is the density of the text without summary tables, figures, or other types of illustrations. The references are plentiful and current.
Assessment: This book provides an interesting look at the reemergence of motivation science. The new themes, models, and theories are intriguing and the book is generally informative. Although the format can make for slow reading and some chapters are vague or cursory, the final section on applications of motivation science better integrates the earlier information. For readers interested in motivation science, this is an appealing review of the literature, but there is nothing that makes it a "must-have" book.

Doody's Review Service

"Questions of motivation—what people want, how they act to achieve it, and how they cope with difficulties along the way—are among the most fundamental in psychology. The present volume assembles an array of rich and exciting perspectives on these questions. It will be indispensable to anyone working on either basic or applied issues of motivation."—Nira Liberman, PhD, Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Israel

"An extremely valuable contribution to a developing field. This is a true handbook—a comprehensive presentation of research and theory across many areas where human motivation plays a critical role. This volume should prove stimulating and informative for all investigators and students of personality, motivation, social cognition, and developmental and biosocial psychology."—Richard M. Sorrentino, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada

"Possibly every 15 to 20 years a book comes along that is of importance to psychological scientists in all subdisciplines. The Handbook of Motivation Science is such a book. From leading authorities, this volume is an essential reference for understanding the drives, needs, incentives, goals, motives, and self-regulatory processes that dictate human behavior in all its forms, from altruism to prejudice. Motivation was a central concern of early psychologists, but had fallen into neglect until the last few decades. The importance of this handbook lies not only in its glorious comprehensiveness, but also in the amazing void it fills."—Gordon B. Moskowitz, PhD, Department of Psychology, Lehigh University

From the Publisher