Situational Determinants of Behavior

Abstract

The preceding explanations of behavior “at first glance” were person-centered and largely focused on individual differences. The trait-theoretical perspective’s primary task is the classification of motivational dispositions, which become the basic variables for predicting an individual’s behavior. It really does not matter whether one calls them instincts, predispositions, needs, drives, or motives. All of these terms are dispositional concepts that can easily become overtaxed in the face of changing situations and different points in time. They must serve to explain the initiating force for behavior and its direction. Situational determinants have a limited arousal function, the direction of the behavior is determined by an individual’s disposition. In terms of our earlier distinction between motive and motivation, this approach represents the study of motivation based solely on motives and not on motivation. At best it deals with motive-dependent, motivational differences in an identical situation.