Abstract
Richard M. Ryan (Ed.),
The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation
, Oxford University Press: New York, 2012; 579 pp.: 9780195399820 (hbk), 9780199366231 (pbk), £48.99 (pbk), £97.00 (hbk)
Reviewed by: Bere Mahoney, Institute of Health & Society, University of Worcester, UK
The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation (2012) most certainly lives up to a number of claims made in its opening contextual statement about its purpose: it is comprehensive and overall an exemplary corpus of contemporary research on human motivation. The content also reviews and evaluates old and new research on human motivation using a synthetic approach. However, although the context claims the book is accessible, readers should be warned that this accessibility is primarily functional. The handbook is available in electronic as well as paper and hardback versions, and indeed carries a detailed index. Nevertheless, such comprehensiveness comes at a price: the content is probably best suited to academics, researchers and postgraduate students who possess both prior knowledge of many of the issues it covers, and the resources to purchase this rather expensive text. It might well be best suited to those with a good knowledge of the fundamentals surrounding the psychology of motivation, as there are few gradual introductions to the weighty topics, and this text reads as a compendium of cutting edge reviews of the research which is, depending upon the reader, desirable.
Despite these caveats, the handbook is a welcome incisive addition to the Oxford Handbook series. Across seven sections, the reader is primed for the, at times, intellectually challenging content that follows courtesy of Richard Ryan’s compelling Introduction (Part one). This chapter is probably one of the most intellectually accessible and thought-provoking in the book. His “Three reasons for the reemergence of a field” provide an invaluable heuristic for those struggling to capture what the handbook refers to unapologetically as the ‘problem’ of motivation research: that is, its centrality across psychology and other disciplines. Notably, his emphatic claim that motivation is a translational science that can and should be applied to real world issues and contexts resonates with the contemporary drive (and pressure) to conduct research with impact. Ironically, consideration of the sociocultural, political and economic constraints upon such endeavours is less evident.
Nevertheless, the reader is then taken through general theories (Part two) and processes (Part four) of motivation across 10 chapters but with, as promised, a synthetic approach that contextualises and refreshes classic and not so classic theories and concepts. Notable chapters here are Kesebir and Pyszczynski’s coverage of terror management theory, Scholer and Higgins’ discussion of the dark side of being intensely motivated, and Susan Jackson’s chapter “Flow.” Part four treads more familiar ground in its five chapters on motivational goals. Erika Patall’s chapter on the impact of choice complexity on motivational processes stands out as a good example of the potential translational nature of motivation research. The translation theme continues in five chapters that consider motivation in relationships (Part five): it covers a range of issues not routinely considered within motivation texts. This includes Roberts and Waters’ theoretically eclectic chapter on the salience of appearance concerns for women, and Pomerantz, Cheung, and Qin’s thematic discussion of children’s relationships with their parents. Both these chapters confront the reader with issues of context and culture that do not feature heavily in routine motivation texts. Indeed, Part seven continues the theme of motivation as a translational science and also provides some innovative chapters on the role of motivation in psychotherapy (Chapter 25) and young people’s engagement with sport (Chapter 29), in addition to chapters on more familiar applications in education and work contexts. Strangely, Part six (Evolutionary and biological perspectives) is placed rather awkwardly between these more clearly applied sections. Nevertheless, the treatment of evolutionary science and neuroscience within motivation here provides the reader with a balanced and integrated perspective on the pros and cons of such approaches.
The final summary in Chapter 30 from Ryan and Legate provides an invaluable overview from the contributing authors. The use of two to four headline bullet points capturing each chapter’s core messages is a useful strategy for extracting the key issues from the many content-heavy contributions.
Overall, the handbook is an important and substantial book on human motivation. It provides a welcome combination of cutting edge content presented with traditional authority in both writing style and visual presentation.