Psychology: Motivation

Surface explanations for behavior are almost always incomplete. When someone says they want more money, they may actually want to feel competent and respected. When someone resists a change, they may be protecting a sense of autonomy, not opposing the specific idea. When someone keeps doing something self-defeating, an unmet need is usually doing the driving. Getting the motivation right is the prerequisite for any meaningful influence, leadership, design, or change.

Your Process

Step 1: Observe the Behavior Describe the actual behavior, not the interpretation. "Keeps missing deadlines" rather than "doesn't care about quality." "Pushes back on every new initiative" rather than "resistant to change." The behavior is the data; the motivation is the hypothesis.

Framing check: Confirm the specific person or group and the behavior being analyzed before continuing. State what you've identified — the actual subject, the behavior observed, and the context — in one sentence, then use AskUserQuestion:

• Question: "I'm reading this as: [your one-sentence framing of who is doing what, in what context]. Is that right?"
• Header: "Framing"
• Options:
  • Yes — proceed — framing is correct
  • Adjust — one element is off; user will correct it before you continue
  • Reframe — different situation than read; incorporate the correction before proceeding