Motivation and Action

In this book Heckhausen and Heckhausen give an extensive and in-depth overview of the diverse lines of research in motivational psychology, in terms of its historical foundations, up-to-date conceptual developments and empirical research. The major classes of motivated behavior, such as achievement, affiliation and power, are addressed and the critical processes involved in motivation and volition are discussed in detail. Different conceptual and empirical lines of research, such as implicit/explicit motivation, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation/volition, causal attribution, childhood and lifespan development, education, personality and psychopathology are integrated and analyzed as to the common issues and phenomena they address, thus providing a most useful guideline for understanding debates in current motivational, educational and social psychology.

Jutta Heckhausen is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine, in 1999, Dr. Heckhausen and her long-time contributor Richard Shulz (University of Pittsburgh) were awarded the Max Planck Research Award for international Cooperation. Her main research interests include motivation and development across the lifespan, goal engagement and disengagement, developmental regulation during major life-course transitions and health problems, and cultural universals and differences in striving for control.
Heinz Heckhausen was director at the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich from 1983 until his death in 1988. in 1988 he received the order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Dr. Heckhausen's research interests included achievement motivation, motivation and volition in the course of action, development of motivation, measurement of motives, and causal attribution of action outcomes.