Social Motivation

Social motivation is our internal drive to engage in social behaviors, like our needs/desires for connection, acceptance, cooperation/competition, or status. Social motivations theory explains why we’re motivated to interact, form relationships, seek social approval, and influence/be influenced by others, and compare ourselves to others. It reflects our need for achievement (drive to excel/succeed), power (desire to influence/control others), altruism (unselfish concern for others’ welfare, often to a cost to oneself), approval (desire to gain positive evaluations from others), and affiliation (desire to form/maintain close relationships). Also see Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (on importance of belonging and love) and Incentive Theory of Motivation. Key aspects of social motivation to achieve social change:

• Social orienting is the focusing on and being drawn to the social world.
• Social reward finds pleasure and satisfaction in social interactions.
• Social maintaining actively works to foster and maintain social bonds.