Motivation is the currency of action. (I like this – is it original with you or does it warrant a citation?) We presume that whenever something is performed or accomplished, there was a sense of agency applied to the objective. The motivation behaved as a force, with a mass and an acceleration, continually stimulating the individual into a given course of action. We spend hours poring over schoolbooks in order to get an “A” on our next exam. We join the Peace Corp for years at a wide opportunity cost because it feels like the “right thing to do.” However irrational, these behaviors are widely accepted, not because the feeling of motivation is unnatural, but because we all know it so well. Especially in the meritocratic culture of the United States, motivation is one of the most respected traits an individual can have. Really strong opening, Marco.
Despite this, there is an astonishing gap in our capacity to describe motivation and have an honest conversation about what it is and where it comes from. True Part of this deficiency comes from a framing problem. While we are familiar with this sensation, it seems elusive and intangible to actually describe it. We respect it when we see it yet struggle to find pursuits which create the same feelings within ourselves. Perhaps this is because it is difficult to frame motivation within a specific discipline of study. Experts can endlessly debate the origins of Bill Gates’s early motivation to become a Master of Computer programming. This raises the question, who could do the best job: Carl Jung and the unconscious mind; Daniel Kahneman’s systems of fast and slow thinking; or Steven Robbins and his theories of empowerment? The answer is increasingly unclear. Motivation is a deeply complex and often misunderstood phenomena, and while various disciplines may contribute useful insight, it seems unlikely that Psychology, Behavioral Economics, or Organizational Behavior will get very far on its own.
I have found that the most useful and interesting way to frame the topic is to examine the very organ where motivation arises: the human brain. If motivation is a force, which is a sensation, then neurobiology can help us understand what exactly this sensation is, where it arises, why it is useful, and how we regulate it. This collection of neuropathology, dopaminergic feedback loops, hormones, and neuroplasticity ultimately provide a very compelling and surprising explanation of what gives rise to goal-directed behavior and the feeling of motivation we all know so very well. This is not the complete picture; however, it builds a foundation that can transition to the more accessible disciplines of organizational behavior, psychology, or economics.
The biological story begins with our central protagonist: the pre-frontal cortex. Of the three “layers” of the brain, the PFC is the one most associated with our most human traits such as abstract thinking and imagination. Opposed to following the physiological signals of the medulla and brainstem, or the raw emotion of the mammalian amygdala, the PFC gives us the unique capacity to think about the consequences of our actions and to calm and regulate the more ancient, subconscious regions of our brain.
Without the Pre-Frontal Cortex, motivation would be impossible. Almost by definition, this region is crucial to any type of goal-directed behavior. The PFC can identify degrees of importance associated with a given task, and its capacity for analysis extends far past other brain regions. More consideration means longer term thinking which means wiser and ultimately more rewarding decisions which mirror wiser and more rewarding goals. Motivation arises out of this feedback loop. Fundamentally, this entails doing the “harder thing when it’s the right thing” and delaying gratification in order to pursue goals that are ultimately more meaningful. If I’m gunning for an “A” on my next Organic Chemistry test, there are a million impulses coming from different stimuli. I could have a snack, or binge watch my favorite T.V show, all of which would appease much of my brain. Rather, my PFC has exerted relative control and I know that these actions are not in accordance with pursuing my goal.
It should be noted that other animals feel motivation as well, however, these are more reflexive of purely physiological needs. You will find a chimp motivated to find food and a partner in a similar way as we do, however, it is unlikely that he will be eager to fund a pension for his children’s college at such an expense. And yet, we do such things all the time. Yes, we are spoiled with relative comfort (as seen on Maslow’s hierarchy), however, this capacity to imagine a better future and then identify the actions required to get there are indeed almost exclusively human. The biology that gets us there is crucial to what makes this process unique.
If the currency of action is motivation, then the currency of motivation is dopamine. Specifically, this invokes the mesolimbic-mesocortical dopamine system. This is the pathway which underlies the chemical mechanics of goal-directed behavior. It is also context independent. This is to say that an understanding of this pathway enlightens the very foundation of how motivation operates, irrespective of whether it takes place in a casino or in the library. This is because dopamine is fundamentally about reward. Motivation is the desire to achieve the reward and the insight into how dopamine release influences patterns behavior. The mesolimbic system produces a simple cause and effect relationship: do the action – get the dopamine. Motivation is merely the treadmill that takes us there. Well, kind of It gets more interesting than that.
Over time, the dopaminergic system becomes less about reward and more about anticipation of the reward. This was shown in a landmark study where monkeys pressed levers repeatedly and got rewards. Electrodes measured the time and intensity of the dopamine signaling at various points in the experiment: the stimulus (light flashes on), the work (run over and push lever) and the reward (receive sugary juice). Our common idea of cause and effect would predict a dopamine rush once the reward is received and after the work has been completed. However, the researchers saw a graph that looked very different:
This graph tells us two important things. The first is that rewards do produce a pleasurable dopamine sensation. As noted above, this does make intuitive sense. Once I get the big raise or promotion at work, I most certainly will feel good. The second is that the anticipation of the reward is far more pleasurable than actually receiving the reward itself. As the Stanford neurologist Brian Knutson notes “Dopamine is about mastery and confidence. It’s about knowing how things work and realizing the ensuing success.” (Sapolsky 84) We anticipate rewards and then work hard to achieve them. This process is fueled by the final ingredient to the dopamine system: pursuit.
Pursuit is the factor which creates the directionality of goal-directed behavior. As the endocrinologist Robert Sapolsky states “dopamine binds the value of the reward to the resulting work.” (Sapolsky 86) By receiving a reward, we become incentivized to work hard and receive the next reward. Though it might seem invisible, what we are really chasing is the constant positive feedback of dopamine release while the work is being performed. Crucially, this means that the work must be both meaningful and produce a viable likelihood that the reward will occur as a result. Furthermore, these effects occur irrespective of time. So long as these criteria are satisfied, there will be a steadily increasing trajectory of dopamine released during the course of action. This dopaminergic pattern reinforces the PFC notion of “doing the hard thing when it’s the right thing.” The PFC fosters a person with the capacity to visualize such a reward and plan accordingly, however, the day by day interaction with dopamine is what really motivates us to accomplish our goals. Such a graph can be seen as: (Fig.2)
This has important implications for Organizational Behavior, however, these principles extend to all life in general. Biology is context-independent; it obeys no theories of economics, political science or organizational behavior, but rather can help us understand these phenomena. This is the useful thing about viewing motivation from a biological perspective. We are all creatures made of the same stuff, and these patterns are relatively ubiquitous in all of us. It’s much easier to understand this framework and apply it in creative and useful ways to our lives or to an organization than it is to re-wire our collective neurochemistry.
Turning the focus inward, learning about how the brain works has affected my life significantly. Namely, it has enlightened the continuous path of opportunity costs taken over the years. An opportunity cost realizes the value of a choice by acknowledging the worth of the next-best option. This directly ties to motivation and goal-directed behavior, both for mundane choices, as well as major life decisions, given that motivation underlies any value of action. I aspire to become a doctor and pursue a career in medicine. This is a career choice which requires a massive degree of planning and postponement of gratification. Doctors often spend 10 or more years in school following undergrad, take up to five significant tests, and lose out on an enormous amount of potential income during all that time in school. Sure, being a doctor is a unique and prestigious honor, but this doesn’t sound like much fun to many people. So why would anyone I motivated to do it?
I now know that the most rewarding part of my medical journey will not come from the satisfaction I get from putting on the white coat for the first time, from receiving my paycheck, or treating my first patient. Biology states a different story of diminished dopamine returns and organizational Behavior calls these things extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards may increase intrinsic motivation; however, they do little when standing alone. (Cherry 1) Rather, the science of motivation asserts that my motivation will be intrinsic, it will come from within. In biology terms this a positive feedback of dopamine over time. Organizational behavior describes this factor as psychological empowerment, or “the process of personal fulfillment and intent when carrying out tasks, with the belief that their work contributes to some larger purpose.” (Robbins 151) These two paradigms intertwine in an elegant way and provide useful insights into how motivation arises.
In conclusion, I want to become a doctor because I have found compatibility with that profession and find value in it. Much like I have tried to do in this paper, being a doctor is a wonderful synthesis of how the interaction of chemicals and organisms translate to human interaction and the human condition. I’m motivated to become a doctor because I know that every second I spend studying, or volunteering, or synthesizing chemicals for research, that I am slowly inching towards my goal. These are not painful experiences, which will be offset by an external reward. They have become filled with purpose and meaning. I am motivated at every step of the way. And this understanding of what motivation is can influence people like myself in all aspects of their lives. Motivation allows humans to become the best versions of themselves. This is why we must continue to study it and have an honest discussion about how to harness its true power.