Page "Industrial and organizational psychology" Paragraph 52

There is general consensus that motivation involves three psychological processes: arousal, direction, and intensity.

Arousal is what initiates action.

It is fueled by a person's need or desire for something that is missing from their lives at a given moment, either totally or partially.

Direction refers to the path employees take in accomplishing the goals they set for themselves.

Finally, intensity is the vigor and amount of energy employees put into this goal-directed work performance.

The level of intensity is based on the importance and difficulty of the goal.

These psychological processes result in four outcomes.

First, motivation serves to direct attention, focusing on particular issues, people, tasks, etc.

It also serves to stimulate an employee to put forth effort.

Next, motivation results in persistence, preventing one from deviating from the goal-seeking behavior.

Finally, motivation results in task strategies, which as defined by Mitchell & Daniels, are " patterns of behavior produced to reach a particular goal.