Final Post

Final Post

During the duration of the class we discussed the force behind our actions and behaviors – motivation. Every little thing we do has a reason behind it. Whether it is a push, a pull, or an incentive. Prior to taking this class, I would have never even thought further into the source of our motivation. We discussed the history of motivation including many but not limited to the concepts of hedonism, evolution, unconscious, and external sources of motivation. We also discussed both biological and psychological aspects of motivation, which allowed us to understand it in all aspects.

My favorite part of the course was the section on addiction. One thing I could never understand was drug addiction. How can someone know something can ruin his or her life and still choose to do it? What is the motivation behind that? I know in life there are things that we may do knowing they are bad for us. For example, dating that guy your mom warned you about, tanning, smoking cigarettes…etc. However, on another totally amplified level, how can someone see people around them, friends even, die from overdosing on drugs and still continue to use themselves?

This class gave me some insight into why someone would do exactly that and what gives way for a possible relapse. Taking into consideration the many different theories, drug incentive effects, reinforcements, cravings, and priming may all play a role. I believe this is very relatable to the outside world in that being such an epidemic nowadays it is wise for us to know what has made it become that way – to attempt to understand it, just like we would any other disease or illness.