The article by Heckhausen (2000), titled “Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Motivation,” primarily delves into the history of psychology, especially the links between motivational, comparative, as well as learning psychology. The article reviews the extent of influence of these perspectives in the present state and the history of motivation psychology. Similarly, the author delves into the discussion of how emotional and motivational processes can provide the missing link to the environment-need fit in the deactivation and activation of cognitive and behavioral modules. The main argument of the article is that behavioral regulation via motivation may be part of a multilevel architecture of the mind. He initially refutes the fixed stimulus-response patterns that are preadapted via programs of behaviors that are transferred genetically. The other alternative would be one that guides the living organism’s behavior depending on the needs of maximizing inclusive fitness. However, the main reason he goes against this model, which he alludes to as fixed or “closed behavior programs,” is because they are very inflexible especially considering the intricacy and complexity of the social and material environment in which they exist in. Therefore, models that integrate the open behavioral programs associated with emotional and motivational states are feasible and more viable. The author is able to conceptualize the major concepts in the paper by undertaking a chronological analysis of some of the prevalent motivational models and theories. By doing so, he takes a comparative yet analytic approach to the major motivation systems and utilizes the most rudimentary activities of animals and humans in order to elucidate the intricacies of motivation and emotion as primary players in evolution. The major reason he undertakes this is because of the limited aspect of contemporary social and behavioral sciences, especially in regards to the inclusion of comparative and evolutionary perspectives on emotion and motivation.
The study by Heckhausen was primarily qualitative and did not entail any direct studies that usually require experimentation and collection of data. The article was thus majorly a review and analysis of some of the major motivation and emotion theories, but also had some element of a systematic review. In their conclusion, however, the authors highlight the importance of the paradigm of evolutionary psychology in the elucidation of the phylogenetic sources of specific motivational processes in primates, mammals, and vertebrates. The study was qualitative in nature and thus did not entail the collection of data from experiments and studies. However, one of the major limitations of the study it fails to account for the role of intelligence in motivation and emotions, which is a major differentiating factor between humans and other primates and mammals. The findings of the research are dissimilar to some of the articles that I read in that the article by Heckhausen takes a conventional approach to the explanation of motivation and emotion in organisms. Most articles that involve the explanation of motivation and emotion in organisms usually do not include the evolutionary element and thus do not show the changes over time. Therefore, this particular article by Heckhausen offers a more holistic approach to the analysis of emotion and motivation. One of the theoretical frameworks that could be used by the author in this study is the role of genetic mutations and evolution in altering behavioral traits such as emotions and motivations. This is a crucial element of the study of how motivation and emotions changed over time for living organisms and thus taking a comprehensive view of evolutionary psychology. I do agree with the conclusions of the author as he sensitizes the importance of evolutionary psychology in the elucidation of some of the motivational processes in animals as well as humans. This is because some of the animal traits, particularly regarding emotion and motivation, cannot be explained without a comprehensive study of their evolutionary actions and behaviors and how that was passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, the evolutionary study of motivation can help explain the phylogeny of motivation on a more holistic level.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
References
Heckhausen, J. (2000). Evolutionary perspectives on human motivation. American Behavioral Scientist, 43(6), 1015-1029.
