s additional motives besides self-actualization. Maslow argues that we must seek to understand the ultimate goal of behaviour rather than the superficial or apparent goals, because the apparent goal for any observed behaviour may be quite different from the ultimate goal. This implies that motivation for much of our behaviour might occur at an unconscious level. Maslow saw the unconscious in a much more positive level than other theorists did. Like Rogers, Maslow also regarded the striving for perfection or self-actualization as the ultimate purpose of behaviour.Where both Rogers and Maslow and other humanistic approaches differ from other theories of motivation is in its belief that the purpose for the motivation is a strive for perfection and not homeostatic or a means of survival. The Ethological approach, for example, is firmly based on Darwin’s theory of evolution. Instinctive behaviours exist, they argue, because they have, or had, survival value for the species in question. Other theories like that of Hull and the Incentive theory differ from Rogers and Maslow in that Hull argues that motivation has a strong correlation to learning and is not innate, as Rogers would suggest. This is the idea that we may perform more strongly for incentives or rewards. Hull’s experiments led him to conclude that the characteristics of the goal object influence the organism’s motivation. For example, you had to learn from experience that you enjoyed chewing into a big juicy cheeseburger before your brain can stimulate the motivational circuits to purchase one the next time you are driving by McDonalds. ...
