2. A short tour of motivation theories

For over half a century, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, neurologists, cogniticians and psychoanalysts have been trying to produce theories of motivation. Classically, these theories are grouped into two categories: "content" and "process".

• Content theories attempt to answer the question: what motivates people to work? They are concerned with motives for action, and include a number of psychological theories (such as Abraham Maslow's old needs theory).

• Process theories seek to answer the question: how do people motivate themselves to work? They are concerned with the mechanisms that drive action. These theories tend to be of a sociological or cognitive nature.

Today, this traditional typology seems less and less relevant, as it does not integrate new approaches. For this reason, we have chosen another...