Interest-Excitement and Intrinsic Motivation

Abstract

Chapter 7 presented a discussion of the shift away from drive reduction theory to more comprehensive and complex conceptualizations of motivation. Much of the theorizing and empirical research involved in this movement aimed at explaining why people do things in the absence of any drive state and why they sometimes seek stimulation increase rather than stimulation decrease (drive reduction). James’s (1890) concept of selective attention, Freud’s (1938) term cathexis, and McDougall’s (1908) idea of an instinct of curiosity provided a conceptual background for a number of theoretical formulations.