How does motivation work? The classic answer is that people are motivated to approach pleasure and avoid pain, that they are motivated by "carrots and sticks." But to understand human motivation, it is necessary to go beyond pleasure and pain. What people want is to be effective in their life pursuits, and there are three distinct ways that people want to be effective. They want to be effective in having desired results (value), which includes having pleasure but is not limited to pleasure. They want to be effective in managing what happens (control) and in establishing what's real (truth), even if the process of managing what happens or establishing what's real is painful. These three distinct ways of wanting to be effective go beyond just wanting pleasure, but there is even more to the story of how motivation works. These ways of wanting to be effective do not function in isolation. Rather, they work together. Indeed, the ways that value, truth, and control work together is the central story of motivation. By understanding how motivation works as an organization of value, truth, and control motives, we can re-think basic motivational issues, such the nature of personality and culture, how the motives of others can be managed effectively, and what is "the good life."
E. Tory Higgins is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He has received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the William James Fellow Award for Distinguished Achievements in Psychological Science (from the American Psychological Society), and the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions. He is also a recipient of Columbia's Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching.
Part I: Introduction and Background ; Chapter 1: Motivation Beyond Pleasure and Pain ; Chapter 2: What is Motivation? ; Chapter 3: Value, Truth & Control: Ways of Being Effective ; Part II: Ways of Being Effective ; Chapter 4: Value: Having Desired Results ; Chapter 5: Truth: Establishing What's Real ; Chapter 6: Control: Managing What Happens ; Part III: Motivations Working Together ; Chapter 7: Value-Truth Relations: Creating Commitment ; Chapter 8: Value-Control Relations: It's the Fit that Counts ; Chapter 9: Truth-Control Relations: Going in the Right Direction ; Chapter 10: Value-Truth-Control Relations: Organization of Motives ; Part IV: Implications of Motivations Working Together ; Chapter 11: Personality & Culture: Ways of Seeing & Coping With the World ; Chapter 12: Managing Motives Effectively: Working Backwards from What You Want ; Chapter 13: What is the Good Life?: Well-Being from Being Effective
A magisterial work... Humans are quite a complex piece of work. And Higgins does a masterful job of both revealing and explaining that complexity.
E. Tory Higgins, and Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia University) Higgins, E. Tory (Stanley Schachter Professor of Psychology, Professor of Business, and Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia University, Stanley Schachter Professor of Psychology, Professor of Business, HIGGINS, Higgins
HAGGARD, Haggard, Patrick Haggard, Baruch Eitam, University College London) Haggard, Patrick (Professor in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology, Professor in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology, University of Haifa) Eitam, Baruch (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology
Ran R. Hassin, James S. Uleman, John A. Bargh, Israel) Hassin, Ran R. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, USA) Uleman, James S. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, New York University, USA) Bargh, John A. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Yale University
Ezequiel Morsella, John A. Bargh, Peter M. Gollwitzer, USA) Morsella, Ezequiel (Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Yale University, USA) Bargh, John A. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Yale University, USA) Gollwitzer, Peter M. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, New York University
Alexander Todorov, Susan Fiske, Deborah Prentice, NJ) Todorov, Alexander (Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Fiske, Susan (Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Prentice, Deborah (Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, Alexandre B. Todorov, Susan T. Fiske, Deborah A. Prentice
Ran Hassin, Kevin Ochsner, Yaacov Trope, The Hebrew University) Hassin, Ran (Associate Professor of Psychology, Associate Professor of Psychology, Columbia University) Ochsner, Kevin (Asociate Professor of Psychology, Asociate Professor of Psychology, New York University) Trope, Yaacov (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology
Michael I. Posner, USA) Posner, Michael I. (Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Weill Medical College in New York, Sackler Institute, Eugene, Oregon
Alexander Todorov, Susan T. Fiske, Deborah A. Prentice, Susan Fiske, Deborah Prentice, NJ) Todorov, Alexander (Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Fiske, Susan (Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Prentice, Deborah (Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton
Mahzarin R. Banaji, Susan A. Gelman, USA) Banaji, Mahzarin R. (Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, University of Michigan) Gelman, Susan A. (Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology
Michael I. Posner, USA) Posner, Michael I. (Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Weill Medical College in New York, Sackler Institute, Eugene, Oregon, POSNER, Posner
Ran Hassin, Kevin Ochsner, Yaacov Trope, The Hebrew University) Hassin, Ran (Associate Professor of Psychology, Associate Professor of Psychology, Columbia University) Ochsner, Kevin (Asociate Professor of Psychology, Asociate Professor of Psychology, New York University) Trope, Yaacov (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology
Alexander Todorov, Susan T. Fiske, Deborah A. Prentice, Susan Fiske, Deborah Prentice, NJ) Todorov, Alexander (Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Fiske, Susan (Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Prentice, Deborah (Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton
Michael I. Posner, USA) Posner, Michael I. (Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon and Adjunct Professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute), Weill Medical College in New York, Sackler Institute, Eugene, Oregon
Mahzarin R. Banaji, Susan A. Gelman, USA) Banaji, Mahzarin R. (Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, University of Michigan) Gelman, Susan A. (Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology
Ezequiel Morsella, John A. Bargh, Peter M. Gollwitzer, USA) Morsella, Ezequiel (Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Yale University, USA) Bargh, John A. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Yale University, USA) Gollwitzer, Peter M. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, New York University
HAGGARD, Haggard, Patrick Haggard, Baruch Eitam, University College London) Haggard, Patrick (Professor in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology, Professor in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology, University of Haifa) Eitam, Baruch (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology
Alexander Todorov, Susan Fiske, Deborah Prentice, NJ) Todorov, Alexander (Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Fiske, Susan (Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Chair Institutional Review Panel for Human Subjects, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ) Prentice, Deborah (Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology, Chair Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, Alexandre B. Todorov, Susan T. Fiske, Deborah A. Prentice
Ran R. Hassin, James S. Uleman, John A. Bargh, Israel) Hassin, Ran R. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, USA) Uleman, James S. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, New York University, USA) Bargh, John A. (Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Yale University
BANAJI, Banaji, Mahzarin R. Banaji, Susan A. Gelman, Harvard University) Banaji, Mahzarin R. (Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan) Gelman, Susan A. (Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Psychology