Motivation to work: need theories

Psychology A2 · Organisational Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Need theories say that people work in order to satisfy needs. Maslow placed five needs in a hierarchy. A lower need has to be reasonably satisfied before the next one becomes a strong motivator, so a worker who fears losing her job will not be moved by offers of personal growth. Saeednia (2011) developed a scale to measure how far children's basic needs are satisfied, as a way of testing Maslow's ideas with a younger group in Iran.

McClelland did not use a hierarchy. He said people have three learned needs, for achievement, affiliation and power, and each person has them in different strengths. A job motivates best when it fits the person's strongest need.

Rules to remember

Maslow, lowest to highest: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation.
At work: pay for food and housing (physiological), job security (safety), friendly colleagues (belonging), praise and status (esteem), reaching full potential (self-actualisation).
Need for achievement (nAch): prefers moderately difficult goals, personal responsibility and quick feedback.
Need for affiliation (nAff): wants warm relationships, cooperation and to be liked.
Need for power (nPow): wants to influence, lead and control others.
McClelland measured needs with the Thematic Apperception Test: people write stories about ambiguous pictures, and the themes are scored.
Criticism of Maslow: the order is not the same for every person or culture.

Common mistake

Students place esteem below love and belonging. Belonging is the third level and esteem is the fourth. Also, high achievers do not choose the hardest goals: they choose moderately difficult ones.

Worked example

A teacher has a secure contract and good friends on the staff, but feels that nobody notices her hard work. According to Maslow, which change would motivate her most?

Her secure contract meets her safety need, and her friendships meet love and belonging.
The next level up is esteem, which includes recognition and respect from others.
Feeling unnoticed shows that this need is unmet, so it is now her strongest motivator.

Answer: Recognition, such as praise or an award, because her esteem need is unmet.

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