The question of motivation in psychology is the fundamental problem of why organisms behave. In this book, originally published in 1975, various theoretical approaches - based on biological needs or on the way we perceive ourselves and our environment - are described and discussed, together with their supporting evidence, and the underlying relations between them are made clear.

Editor's Introduction. 1. A Background to the Study of Motivation 2. Instinct 3. Physiological Aspects of Motivation 4. Drive Theory 5. Cognitive Approaches to Motivation 6. Psychoanalysis and the Therapeutic Tradition 7. Codetta. References and Name Index. Subject Index.