Motivation: Theories and Principles (5th Edition) (Hardcover)

by Robert C. Beck (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This experimentally-oriented book provides a critical examination of research and theory with a topical approach. It covers a broad range of motivational concepts from both human and animal theory and research, with an emphasis on the biological bases of motivation. Chapter topics include the nature of motivation theory; species-specific behaviors; eating and taste; thirst, temperature regulation, addiction, and reproduction; drive and activation; rewards as both reinforcers and incentives; escape, fear, avoidance, and punishment; frustration, anxiety, stress, and coping; aggression and altruism; personality and individual differences; attitudes and cognitive consistency; interpersonal attraction; and applications of motivation theory. For individuals interested in the motivation of humans and animals.

From the Publisher
An overview of the theories and principles of animal and human motivation -- with an emphasis on empirical research. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (June 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013111445X
• ISBN-13: 978-0131114456
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #782,708 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A lesson in dis-motivation, March 13, 2008

By	Eric Ford "EF" (TN) - See all my reviews

If you're looking for a good example of how to take what ought to be a very interesting subject and suck all of the life and interest out of it, then buy this book. Beck first and foremost seems enamored with using jargon, obfuscating syntax and making his points so obliquely that one has to read a section two and three times just to understand what he is trying to say.

Example: "Odor-Taste Conditioning in Early Experience: When newborn rats are stimulated around the mouth they grasp the mother's nipple and suck, which is rewarded by getting milk. The sucking response can be classically conditioned to other stimuli, such as odors. Cheslock, Varlinskaya, Petrov and Spear (2000) studied infant rats that had never had actual contact with the mother's nipple. The rats were first presented with a lemon odor, followed by direct infusion of milk into the mouth. Then, the lemon odor was presented to them and they were allowed contact with an artificial nipple that provided no fluid. Compared with appropriate control conditions, the pups that had previous odor-milk pairings grasped the nipple more consistently and for longer periods of time. This same procedure was also effective using suchrose as the UCS (not just milk), supporting the hypothesis that the common element was engagement of the endorphin system."

Huh? Did Dr. Beck fail English 101? If the point he was trying to make was that you could get a rat to suck on a dry teat by exposing it to the lemon odor, why doesn't he come out and say so? Why all of the jargon about "appropriate control conditions" and "grasping the nipple?" And what is this nonsense about "engagement of the endorphin system?" Where was that seemingly central point previewed earlier in the paragraph? Throughout the book, he commits the all-too-common error of many a textbook writer of writing to his colleagues and not his students. This kind of academic double-speak and his heavy reliance on formalized terms and jargon make it difficult to pierce the writing to get at the meaning, which is contrary to principles of good communication. Plainly state the meaning, then you can elaborate with the double speak and jargon. The goal of a textbook is not to make the reader work for and grasp at your meaning, but to elucidate and instruct in a forthright manner. As it is, however, Beck's book is cumbersome and tiresome to read, to the point where you just want to put the thing down and go to Wikipedia for your answers.

Finally, Beck seems to have a talent for taking what is inherently interesting and fascinating -- understanding human motivation -- and reducing it to the interest level of watching a show on basket weaving. Wait, that's too generous. Suffice to say that the subject of human motivation becomes for Beck an endless string of examples of "appropriate control conditions" and "incentive valences." Those are appropriate to discuss in a textbook, granted, but when that is all that is discussed, the subject matter becomes as dry as King Tut's arse. My guess is that Beck just wasn't motivated to write a good textbook, but just one that would be forced upon students so he could make a buck.

If you're an instructor reading this review and you care about your students, don't use this textbook!

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, August 13, 2006

By	WingsandRings - See all my reviews

Ok, I'm going to admit from the beginning that I can't write an unbiased review of this book, because the writer was also my professor, and therefore our classes every day followed closely to the book and made perfect sense with the book. However, since I read the assigned chapters before having the topic in class, I can say that I found the book easy to understand and follow, and not as bone crushingly boring as so many text books can be.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Moderately Satisfied , January 9, 2008

By	Teryn P. Bruni - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book was useable, however it looked pretty rough. The binding was ripped and it had a lot of highlighted pages. It was supposed to be like new but I didn't feel this was the case.