Discuss The Various Motives That Influence The Behaviors Of People (Term Paper Sample)

Social Motives
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Introduction
Most people engage in social activities because they feel that they should be responsible to their communities (Corbin, Fromme, & Lwamoto, 2011). The dominant social motives that influence people’s behaviors include the control motive, belonging motive, understanding motive, self-enhancing motive and trusting motive (Munoz, 2012). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the significant reasons that influence people’s behaviors. It will also examine the control motive in a broad sense.
Motive to Belong
Studies reveal that people associate themselves with social groups so that they can be assisted with the problems that they encounter in their daily endeavors. In this case, they prefer to be associated with social groups both in psychological and physical terms (Corbin, Fromme, & Lwamoto, 2011). The need to belong to a group is aroused when people feel fear, become helpless and when they are happy (Beersma & Dreu, 2007).
Motive to Control
Many people are motivated to have power since it can allow them to control other people in their community. In this case, a person with this kind of motive can control events and other people’s behaviors. Studies reveal that people who claim for power do so to satisfy their different purposes. These motives include aggression and greed (Schei, Shapiro, & Rognes, 2011).
Understanding Motive
Today, the world is full of uncertainties. As a result, most people are driven by the urge to understand how their environment operates. In this case, people prefer to have the ability to predict events that would occur in future so that they can be prepared to cope with the challenges that emerge. If people develop the ability to predict events that are likely to happen in future, they would be able to accept the outcome of the facts. They would be able to handle the widespread problems (Krishna, 2012).
Self-Enhancing Motive
People are motivated to engage in activities that maintain their self-esteem. People also look for opportunities to improve their performance while undertaking their daily activities. The need for this motive arises when people wish to be equal with other successful people in their community (Krishna, 2012).
Motive to Trust
There are those people who engage in activities aimed at making the world a helpful place. Moral deterioration causes many people to be regarded as untrustworthy. However, there are those people who engage in honest activities to make the world a compassionate place (Munoz, 2012).
In-depth Examination of the Motive to Control
The control motive is attributed to Susan Fiske. She stipulates that people’s desires for power revolve around controlling events and other people’s behavior. People struggle for more power daily. This desire has led to the emergence of wars and destruction of cities (Corbin, Fromme, & Lwamoto, 2011). Research shows that people struggle to have a combination of powers so that they can be able to influence the a...