Cognitive Motivation
From Curiosity to Identity, Purpose and Meaning

A new general theory of cognitive motivation, combining affective and cognitive principles, is applied to a range of purposive behaviour.

David Beswick (Author)

9781316630693, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 September 2019

395 pages
15 x 23 x 2.5 cm, 0.59 kg

'David Beswick shows how the concept of an incomplete gestalt is relevant to different forms of cognitive motivation and how it relates to basic processes of memory, consciousness and emotion, as well as to goals, identity, meaning and purpose. This is a major work, scholarly and well-argued, providing a background to the many fascinating ideas that are presented. Highly recommended.' Norman Feather, Flinders University, Adelaide

Motivation and cognition were treated as separate concepts throughout most of twentieth-century psychology. However, in recent years researchers have begun viewing the two as inextricably intertwined: not only does what we want affect how we think, but how we think affects what we want. In this innovative study, Beswick presents a new general theory of cognitive motivation, synthesizing decades of existing research in social, cognitive and personality psychology. New basic concepts are applied to a wide range of purposive behaviour. Part I of the volume reviews different forms of cognitive motivation, such as curiosity, cognitive dissonance, achievement motivation, and the search for purpose and meaning, while Part II examines the basic processes that underlie it, such as working memory, attention and emotion. The central concept is the incomplete gestalt, in which motivation is generated by a universal striving to integrate information and make sense at all levels of cognitive organization.

Introduction: the incomplete gestalt
Part I. Forms of Cognitive Motivation: 1. Towards a general theory of cognitive motivation
2. Curiosity
3. Intrinsic motivation
4. Cognitive dissonance
5. Achievement motivation
6. Agency, efficacy and attribution
Part II. Basic Processes and Applications: 7. Working memory, consciousness, and attention
8. The function of emotion in cognitive motivation
9. Goals
10. Intentions
11. Identity
12. Purpose and meaning.

Subject Areas: The self, ego, identity, personality [JMS], Perception [JMRP], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology [JM]