Cognitive and Achievement Approaches
Through the cognitive and achievement approaches to motivation, psychology explores how achievement goals and cognitive dissonance can affect motivation for human behavior. In accordance with this ideology, the desire for success drives peoples’ performances. In broader terms, you are driven by seeking positive outcomes and avoiding negative ones.
Social psychologist Leon Festinger developed the theory of cognitive dissonance, which is a contradiction between someone’s thoughts or beliefs and their actions. For example, someone’s actions may not align with what they believe to be the morally correct thing to do. Using the cognitive and achievement approaches, motivation is seen as the drive to eliminate or reduce cognitive dissonance.
People seek to bridge the gap of inconsistencies between their actions and beliefs. If someone’s attitudes do not line up with their behaviors, their motivation will be to take actions that help to line up the two elements. For example, if you perceive your job position to be a subordinate role, you may seek a promotion. Your motivation may be a desire to hold a position you perceive as an intellectual equal to your mental capacity, which would be a bridge between the gap of what you believe you are capable of versus what you are actually doing.
