Incentives in Psychology
In addition to the basic physiological drives it is useful to consider psychologica.l incentives.
Need for Achievement
The setting of individual goals relates to achievement incentive and to standards for detennining success. Some people strive for achievement and others do not. How well we rate our achievement relates to relative standards of comparison as well as to some absolute standard. Thus, some people who'rate well by external standards may feel themselves failures by their own internal standards. From studies of a wide variety of college students one important conclusion has come which says in effect: "When the individual does not know his own capabilities, he looks to some external peer group for a standard, but when the individual has experience in some effort, he tends to judge his own perfonnance by his own capacity." Some people like to set their own standards, for example, artists. Scientists, on the other hand, although they have clear internal standards of excellence, must also be judged by the scientific community. We know also that some well-adjusted people have a high drive to get ahead; other equally well-adjusted people may not have a high need for achievement. Thus again we need to emphasize individuality in personality and in the development of life-styles.
Need for Affiliation
Some people have a high need for affiliation with people and others do not. We know several facts from studies of the affiliation incentive. First, we tend to be attracted to others who we perceive to be similar to
ourselves. Second, people tend to affiliate when it will enhance their own prestige. Third, to expressing love for another person will inspire others to love. Fourth, sympathy and empathy are characteristic of people who are able to induce affiliation in others. Fifth, individuals seek their own popularity level when choosing friends in groups. Sixth, the presence of a friend reduces stress more effectively than the presence of a stranger. Seventh, fear of being alone or being rejected may relate to our desire to be with other people.
Incentive to Aggress
Most of us are aggressive in one way or another. We tend to fight back when attacked beyond some point of endurance. Those of us who "carry a chip on our shoulder" often let out with a verbal attack with slight provocation centering on our pet peeve. Sometimes our aggression is socially accepted, even applauded in certain circles. Usually, however, we are rejected in our show of aggression. When we cannot direct our aggression against another person, group, object, or against the establishment, we may turn our resentment inward. This may have its merits at times, but to become a habit tends to bring on feelings of self-depreciation.
Some theory holds that outward aggression has a "liberating effect" by reducing the stimulation for further aggression or to prevent "bottling" too many things inside of us. But how far can one go in being aggressive? Studies with children show that when they are allowed to be aggressive in certain situations, it is likely that there will be further aggression in another setting. Much childhc8d aggression, and the style it takes, comes through imitation of parents or other adults. The more verbal the aggressive responses made by parents, the more likely it is that the child will aggress verbally. Physical aggression is most likely to occur in children whose parents are physically aggressive.
Studies among adolescents and adults show that extreme aggression may relate to two personality types. At least this has been presented as a theory backed by some studies. First, we have the "overcontrolled" type of person who may present the image of a mild-mannered, long-suffering individual who buries his resentment under rigid but easily shattered controls. Such a person, under certain circumstances, may lash out and release all his aggression in one explosive act. Later he may revert back to his usual overcontrolled defenses. At the other extreme, we have the "undercontrolled" person who tends to let his aggressive responses out in small doses at different times and different circumstances, hence lessening the influence of tension buildup. Perhaps we should add that most of us most of the time work out our own individual pattern of self·control.
At the practical level we can say that certain circumstances have a ay of unleashing some biologically sensitive aggressive incentive ili the resulting behaviors becoming part of one's value system. We learn to note the people and things that aggravate us and we have the ssibility of learning to distinguish between short-run adjustment actions and long-run adaptive consequences. Some aggressive bevior that is not extreme, and is not adjusted to by mild reactions, ay take the form of vandalism. "Even here aggression takes on different forms ranging from stuffing gum into turnstiles and breakg street lights to more vicious destruction of property. Vandalism is etimes vindictive where one tries to get even by destroying property of the establishment. Vandalism thrives in part because it is anonymous way to release aggression.
Power lncentive
Some of us want power, some of us do not. The quest for power may be Ir or against the common good. People who seek out power, whether it be for control over people or property, do so in part for the tisfaction derived from the act of exerting that control. The power centive can be thought of as an extension of the achievement otive that helps determine individual goals.
Incentive for Independence
None of us, of course, ever becomes completely self-reliant and probably many of us do not want to be. Thi is particularly true of those people high in the need for affiliation. Obtaining a workable balance between dependence and independence is difficult and important in our search for identity. Most us us learn the balancing ;:rocess gradually through the rewards that come with independent :Jehavior and the withholding of rewards that relates to too much :epending. Studies show that'in our North Amrrican culture, high 3chool students play masquerading roles at times leading to an image off exaggerated needs for independence. Gradually, degrees of inependence become important, manifested by what we do or don't do . making decisions or exerting extra effort. The dependent person is :elatively satisfied with the status quo, is not looking for challenge, and has a low curiosity drive. Independence, of course, is the direct opposite of this. The independent person is motivated to work on something without help, often resisting assistance or suggestions. Studies show that independent people refuse to react to pressures of :onformity.
In work situations it has been found that subjects with high ndependence scores are likely to be those most affected by how much participation they are permitted in making decisions at work. Those who participated with others in decision making were more satisfied with their work than those who had little participation. This did not hold for those with a low incentive for independence.
Independence often comes at the price of being rejected, but the independent person realizes this. He or she seeks out opportunity to respond to choice situations even though these situations may engender resistance.
