Heidi grant psychology of motivation. Heidi Higgins - The psychology of motivation. This book is well complemented

Motivation experts Heidi Grant Halvorson and Tori Higgins have written their findings in The Psychology of Motivation. How deep attitudes affect our desires and actions. This book is not so much about how to find the strength to act in yourself, but rather about how to understand yourself and other people.

Of course, any adequate person wants to be happy. Thus, all his actions should be aimed at achieving success, improving the situation. But these actions are different. The researchers were able to identify two groups of people who have different approaches to the implementation of their plans. The first group includes people who are focused on success, we can say that their motto is “Win”. The second group includes people who concentrate on avoiding failure, that is, their motto is "Do not lose." It may seem that this is the same thing: if you won, it means that you did not lose. This is not entirely true. The difference is not so much in the result, but in the very perception and approach.

People from the first group tend to offer ideas, make spontaneous decisions, and take advantage of emerging opportunities. For them, there is nothing worse than missing their chance. People in the second group will procrastinate, think things through, and in the end, most likely, they will say no. The first are stimulated by success, praise, prize; the second - fines, difficulties. So, for example, a leader must understand who is in front of him in order to know how to influence a person. Each type of person has its own advantages. The former are better at introducing new things, the latter are carefully considering the details. The former lose interest in failures, the latter, on the contrary, strive to do everything perfectly by eliminating mistakes. Behavior may change, but the basic attitude remains.

The book will help you understand some of the nuances of your motivation, pay attention to the behavior of other people. The knowledge gained will help not only leaders, but also managers, people of other professions, and will be useful in everyday life, personal relationships and raising children.

The work belongs to the genre Psychology. It was published in 2013 by Mann, Ivanov & Ferber. The book is part of the "[Good translation!]" series. On our website you can download the book "The Psychology of Motivation. How Deep Attitudes Influence Our Desires and Actions" in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format or read online. The rating of the book is 3.48 out of 5. Here, before reading, you can also refer to the reviews of readers who are already familiar with the book and find out their opinion. In the online store of our partner you can buy and read the book in paper form.

Every day, most of your time is spent making decisions, except for breathing, of course.

Every person wants to be happy. He enjoys shopping and anything that lifts his spirits and boosts his self-esteem. But the example of our MSC colleagues John and Ray shows that people's motivation tends to take two completely opposite forms - it can be based on what they already have or on having more. Striving for success makes you strive to win and seize opportunities.

If, like the optimistic Ray, who is accustomed to think in large categories, we are determined only for success, then we decisively move forward, not retreating in our desire to realize a dream or earn approval. The desire to avoid failure forces a person to try to minimize losses, to make sure that the “cogs of being” spin smoothly. In an effort, like the cautious and corrosive John, to avoid failure, we try to protect our well-being, not make mistakes, do our duty. We want to be reliable.

Drop dead book about two types of dominant human motivation: striving for success and avoiding failure. I can’t specifically recommend it to designers and all related professions due to the large amount of information for personal perception of what is written. Probably, if you make a serious blog post out of the book, highlighting only what was useful for professional purposes, you could get by with 5-6 screens of text with talking examples. The rest can be used only for personal purposes to understand your own actions and motivate people around you.

Despite the rather light style, my book came with a creak. Too much is chewed up and repeated. It seemed that I had already read it, well, why should I tell about it again? Being in such a stupor, I usually begin to approach the book formally. Or I close it and do not open it again, switching to the next one in the list. Or I give her half an hour in the morning, afternoon and evening. Thus, one and a half hours of reading a day for an “uncomfortable” book is enough to read it quickly and without much effort, half an hour is quite a bit.

Somewhere after 30%, the same fate befell the Psychology of Motivation. I couldn't put it down, it's a good book. What is most useful, in my opinion, is not bare theories and yet another evidence of British scientists, but rigorous factual studies and their developments, coupled with a large number of proven examples. This book perfectly complements the model and recently mentioned by me.

P.S. Well, if one of my colleagues on e96.ru reads me (for those who are in the subject), then the Psychology of Motivation gives an exhaustive answer to why negative reviews are needed on the site;)

People almost never make decisions based on rational considerations - we know this for sure. But our preferences and choices are not random—they are driven by systematic and predictable biases.

How you communicate with the world around you (what you pay attention to, how you perceive it, how much it affects you) is largely determined by your motivation at one time or another.

Why are there two types of motivation? There are two needs in human life, the satisfaction of each of which is necessary for the survival of our species. These are the needs for care and safety. In other words, we need to be cared for and protected. You are taken care of and you are happy, because it means that someone gives you everything (good) that you want: you are fed, watered, clothed, hugged and caressed; you are cared for and maybe supported financially. Through caring, you get an opportunity to achieve something. Security is also great, because ... it is clear that a serious danger can become fatal. The protector will protect you from that (bad) that can harm you: predators, poisons, sharp objects - these are just a few points. You are safe, and thanks to this you can avoid failure.

People tend to have different dominant motivations in different areas of life. A person may strive for success at work, but at home or in financial affairs try to avoid mistakes. But even if you are cautious by nature, and your wife is generally obsessed with ensuring that "something does not happen" to the children, it may turn out that you strive more and more for success over time, just to balance the wife's constant fears.

A success-minded person is ready to make a mistake as a result of exceeding his authority, but does not want to make a mistake due to an oversight. Nothing frightens him more than a miss (that is, not firing when the enemy is approaching), as this means that he has missed an opportunity to win.

People who are driven by the avoidance of failure are usually cautious and considerate, they will prefer to say “no” if they are not completely convinced.

The mood for success makes you energetically take the bull by the horns - you will start a new business with sincere enthusiasm. It is necessary when you start to make an effort to lose weight or quit smoking, it helps to remember the gain as a result of achieving the goal. But energy will not help you maintain the habit of a healthy lifestyle - in order not to go the distance, you will need caution and discretion. Thus, an attitude of avoiding failure is ideal for building on success.

Note that a success-minded person experiences a surge of energy, blood boils in his veins when he achieves what he aspired to. In other words, it is at this moment that he is most deeply involved in the situation. But the one who is aimed at avoiding failure is at the peak of emotions when things go wrong; that is when he is most involved in the situation.

Success-minded people strive forward if they feel that they are succeeding. Optimism and self-confidence spur their zeal, motivation and performance skyrocket.

Those who seek to avoid failure, on the contrary, receive a signal to act when something does not add up. The likelihood of failure spurs both their motivation and performance.

Oddly enough, the best couples (and by "best" we mean "the most adaptive and mutually satisfying") are the couples in which the partners have different dominant motivations.

Paired with mixed motivation, you won't have to turn into the person who does everything. Each of you takes on the tasks that he is best at and knows that the partner will do the rest. (He can suggest a plan for a great vacation, and she can make sure they take everything they need with them.) This is especially true for spouses who set goals related to both development and safety. They help each other fulfill their dreams as well as fulfill their obligations.

The family life of couples with mixed motivation is in greater balance - children know what optimism and realism are - as parents take into account the point of view of both striving for success and avoiding failure. And each of the spouses always has a person who will remind you that life is not only winning or foresight in everything.

Success-oriented people usually make decisions based on the answer to the following question: “Why is doing X a good idea, and what will I miss if I don’t agree to it?” (Why should you watch this movie, and how good would it be? Why does it make sense to go on this "blind" date? What are the benefits of the vaccine?)

Failure-avoidant people tend to make decisions based on the answer to another question: "Why shouldn't I do X, and what kind of trouble would I get if I do it?" (How much will it cost me to go to the movies? How uncomfortable will I feel on this date? Will the injection be very painful?) If the answer doesn't scare them too much, they act.

It turns out that emphasizing the big picture (why) or revealing the details (how) will not only make the product more attractive to people who strive to succeed or avoid failure, but also more effectively motivate them to do something, such as exercise. .
...
So, with the phrase “Exercise will help you maintain your desired weight,” you are more effective in motivating people who are set on success: you explain to them why it is worth exercising. But by saying "Exercise will burn 400 calories an hour," you're more likely to strike a chord in those who tend to avoid failure by letting them know how exercise works.

The majority opinion is much more inclined to avoid failure than we expected. Most are worried because, in fact, he has nowhere to go but down. And the status quo suits them just fine...so much so that they want to keep it. Therefore, members of the majority usually have a strong motivation to save what they have. And striving for success is the mood of a minority. Due to the fact that the power is not in their hands, they have nowhere to move but up. The status quo does not suit them, they want changes that will improve their position in society. The desire for power, for progress is the path to success and achievement, but when people get there, they have only one thing left to do - to defend their place, not letting others in.

People can be oriented towards success by asking them to make a list of positive things that can be revealed to them in an appropriate context. So, in order to set yourself up for success when planning a vacation, you should list all the pleasant things that you are going to do on vacation (for example, enjoy delicious food, sleep, read on the beach, etc.). If you list the negatives that you want to avoid on vacation (for example, a round bill from a hotel, poisoning, etc.), then you will be more motivated to avoid failures.

If the achievement of results is perceived as a win, people tune in to success. If the lack of intended results equates to failure, people try to avoid failure.

This book is well complemented by:

The Psychology of Achievement

Heidi Grant Halvorson

Flexible mind

Carol Dweck

Make yourself

Tina Seelig

Motivate yourself and influence others using two different worldviews.

Tori Higgins

Heidi Grant Halvorson

To our family members, deceased and living, who have shaped the way we see the world and how we relate to life, and our family at the Center for Motivational Sciences, for bringing us joy and honor to work with you.

Introduction

The weekly meetings at the Columbia University Motivational Science Center (MSC) are always fun and educational (and not just because our research topic is “ Why do people do what they do"– much more interesting than, for example, “ Advances in modern accounting”). Our underground conference room is lined with chairs, with a long table in the middle, often littered with papers next to glasses and plates of food. The boards are adorned with curved charts and graphs (which we've been discussing for months). Every week, some daredevil presents his work to the rest of the group - then he is forced to answer hard-hitting questions and listen to criticism, which often turns into flattering reviews or banter.

Although each of us at the Center has our own habits of speaking (often too loudly or verbosely) and dressing (not always stylishly or simply neatly), in the way each of us works, we quite clearly divide into two camps, in other words - into two class (in fact, it turns out that most people in any society, in any job or educational institution belong to one of these two classes). The difference between the designated classes is best illustrated by introducing John and Ray, two of our brightest (and strong-willed) colleagues, whose names we have changed to protect the innocent (ourselves).

John is one of those people who many would call "difficult", although he himself (and we) would prefer the word "skeptic". It's not easy to talk when John is around - in the middle of a sentence, he will interrupt you to state that everything said from the very beginning was complete nonsense. He is always immaculately dressed, carefully chooses his words, and never puts anything on the back burner. By nature, he is pessimistic (“protective type”, we will explain what this is later) - try to tell him that everything will be fine, and watch how he becomes uncomfortable for you because you look at things like that reckless and naive.

Now you probably think that working with John is a terrible bore, and, no doubt, it sometimes is. But knowing him closer, you will understand why it works exactly like this determined never be wrong. He dislikes even the thought of a mistake. (Did we say that he's a bit uptight most of the time? That's right.) As a result, his work is usually flawless—ideas articulated and painstakingly backed up by research, statistics so perfectly put together that even an accountant would smile with satisfaction. He criticizes our work with the sincere intention of helping to avoid mistakes. His words are not always pleasant to listen to, but believe me, it is worth doing.

Ray is the exact opposite of John. He is the real anti-John. Do not know, bothered Does Ray have anything and ever. He is just as smart and motivated, but he approaches work (and life) with an endless optimism that is impossible not to envy. He does not spray on trifles - he thinks in big categories, but sometimes this lightness does not justify itself. He was forced to mark all his belongings with the inscription: "If you find this, call Ray: 555-8797", because he always forgets where he left them. At a time when every sophomore prepares a PowerPoint presentation of their term paper with every bells and whistles imaginable, Ray's presentation was accompanied by two slides with headings and notes on a self-adhesive piece of paper, and, aside from style, it was the most impressive work in terms of the number of ideas in year.

Ray's work is creative and full of new ideas - he is not afraid to tread unworn paths and take intellectual risks, even though sometimes it is a waste of time, a dead end. As for appearance... One day at a lab meeting, John noticed that Ray's shirt was wrinkled, as if it had been in his trouser pocket all morning - neatness had never been Ray's forte.

At first glance, John and Ray are two talented people who strive for the same goal: to become an outstanding scientist. When you want to influence another person (whether you are a psychologist, manager, marketer, teacher or parent), you usually first understand what this person wants and then use that knowledge to understand and predict its behavior. But if John and Ray want the same thing, then why are they Total so different?

We know that people want the good (they want good products, ideas and events) and tend to avoid the bad. How lucky psychologists (as well as managers, marketers, teachers, and parents) would be if there was nothing else to know about motivation—if motivation were such a simple thing. But she's not like that. In order to understand John, Ray, and other human beings, we'll start with an idea that occurred to one of the authors of this book (Higgins) over 20 years ago: there are two very different types of good (and bad).

Two types of good (and bad): the desire to succeed and the desire to avoid failure

People like Ray only see the "good". Goals for them are an opportunity to achieve success or move forward. In other words, they are tuned in to all the good that will happen to them, what they will achieve - for benefits and rewards. They are focused on winning. When people are attracted to this type of "good" we say they are attuned to striving for success. Research in our lab (and now many others) shows that people who strive for success respond best to optimism and praise, take risks and seize opportunities more often, and are more creative and innovative. Unfortunately, their willingness to take risks and positive thinking makes them more prone to making mistakes, they are less likely to think things through and usually don't have a "Plan B" in case they fail. For people who are determined to succeed really bad don't win - do not use your chance, do not win an award, miss the opportunity to move forward. They would rather say "yes" and pay for it than not answer the call of His Majesty the case.

This book is well complemented by:

The Psychology of Achievement

Heidi Grant Halvorson

Flexible mind

Carol Dweck

Make yourself

Tina Seelig

Heidi Grant Halvorson, E. Tory Higgins

Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Tori Higgins

Psychology of motivation

How deep attitudes affect our desires and actions

Information from the publisher

Published with permission from Hudson Street Press, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Andrew Nurnberg Literary Agency

Halvorson H. G.

Psychology of motivation. How deep attitudes affect our desires and actions / Heidi Grant Halvorson, Tori Higgins: trans. from English. M. Matskovskaya. - M. : Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2014.

ISBN 978-5-91657-974-1

According to research by Heidi Grant Halvorson and Tori Higgins, from the Center for the Study of Motivation at Columbia University Business School, the predominance of one of two motivational attitudes underlies everything we do, from work to parenting. Pleasure motivation drives us to push forward and seize opportunities, while if you are driven by the desire to avoid pain, you, on the contrary, prefer to leave everything as it is and minimize mistakes. The book is written in simple language, and after reading it, you will be able to understand the hidden reasons for your own and others' actions and improve communication. This knowledge will be useful in business, in the family and wherever you need to influence other people.

Motivate yourself and influence others using two different worldviews.

Tori Higgins

Heidi Grant Halvorson

Introduction

The weekly meetings at Columbia University's Motivational Science Center (MSC) are always fun and educational (and not just because our research topic is " Why do people do what they do"- much more interesting than, for example, " Advances in modern accounting”). Our underground conference room is lined with chairs, with a long table in the middle, often littered with papers next to glasses and plates of food. The boards are adorned with curved charts and graphs (which we've been discussing for months). Every week, some daredevil presents his work to the rest of the group - then he is forced to answer hard-hitting questions and listen to criticism, which often turns into flattering reviews or banter.

Although each of us at the Center has our own habits of speaking (often excessively loud or verbose) and dressing (not always stylish or just neat), in the way each of us works, we quite clearly divide into two camps, in other words - into two class (in fact, it turns out that most people in any society, in any job or educational institution belong to one of these two classes). The difference between the designated classes is best illustrated by introducing John and Ray, two of our brightest (and strong-willed) colleagues, whose names we have changed to protect the innocent (ourselves).

John is one of those people who many would call "difficult", although he himself (and we) would prefer the word "skeptic". Speaking when John is around is not easy - in the middle of a sentence, he will interrupt you to state that everything said from the very beginning was complete nonsense. He is always immaculately dressed, carefully chooses his words, and never puts anything on the back burner. By nature, he is pessimistic (“protective type”, we will explain what this is later) - try to tell him that everything will be fine, and watch how he becomes uncomfortable for you because you look at things like that reckless and naive.