LINKAGES Conflicting Motives and Stress

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Relations and Conflicts Among Motives
5. Self-actualization, which means reaching one’s full potential. People motivated by
this need explore and enhance relationships with others; follow interests for
intrinsic pleasure rather than for money, status, or esteem; and are concerned
with issues affecting all people, not just themselves.
Maslow’s hierarchy has been very influential over the years, partly because the needs
associated with basic survival and security do generally take precedence over those
related to self-enhancement or personal growth (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Oishi et al.,
1999). But critics see the hierarchy as too simplistic (Hall, Lindzey, & Campbell, 1998;
Neher, 1991). It doesn’t predict or explain, for example, the motivation of people who
starve themselves to draw attention to political or moral causes. Further, people may
not have to satisfy one kind of need before addressing others; we can seek to satisfy
several needs at once. Finally, the ordering of needs within the survival/security and
enhancement/growth categories differs from culture to culture, suggesting that there
may not be a single, universal hierarchy of needs.
To address some of the problems in Maslow’s theory, Clayton Alderfer (1969) proposed existence, relatedness, growth (ERG) theory, which places human needs into just
three categories: existence needs (such as for food and water), relatedness needs (e.g., for
social interactions and attachments), and growth needs (such as for developing one’s
capabilities). Unlike Maslow, Alderfer doesn’t assume that these needs must be satisfied
in a particular order. Instead, he sees needs in each category as rising and falling from
time to time and from situation to situation. When a need in one area is fulfilled, or
even if it is frustrated, a person will be motivated to pursue some other needs. For
example, if a breakup frustrates relatedness needs, a person might focus on existence
or growth needs by eating more or volunteering to work late.
LINKAGES
Can motivational conflicts
cause stress? (a link to Health,
Stress, and Coping)
A
LINKAGES
s in the case of hunger strikes, in which
the desire to promote a cause is pitted
Conflicting Motives and Stress
against the desire to eat, human motives
can sometimes conflict. The usual result is some
degree of discomfort. For example, imagine that you are alone and bored on a Saturday
night and you think about going out for a snack. What are your motives? Hunger might
play a part, and so might the prospect of the increased arousal that a change of scene will
provide. Even sexual motivation might be involved, as you consider the chances of meeting someone exciting in the convenience store. But safety-related motives may also kick
in: Is your neighborhood safe enough for you to go out alone? Even an esteem motive
might come into play, making you hesitate to be seen on your own on a weekend night.
These are just a few of the motives that may shape a trivial decision. When the decision is more important, the number and strength of motivational pushes and pulls are
often greater, creating far more internal conflict and indecision. There are four basic
types of motivational conflicts (Miller, 1959):
1. Approach-approach conflicts. When we must choose only one of two desirable
activities—say, going to a movie or to a concert—an approach-approach conflict
exists.
2. Avoidance-avoidance conflicts. An avoidance-avoidance conflict arises when we
must select one of two undesirable alternatives. Someone forced either to sell the
family home or to declare bankruptcy faces an avoidance-avoidance conflict.
3. Approach-avoidance conflicts. If someone you couldn’t stand had tickets to your
favorite group’s sold-out concert and invited you to come along, what would you
do? When a particular event or activity has both attractive and unattractive features, an approach-avoidance conflict is created.
4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts. Suppose you must choose between two
jobs. One offers a high salary with a well-known company but requires long