Motives vs. Motivation

Both motive and motivation basically mean incentive or drive.

However, in English, most commonly people say "What are his MOTIVES." When "motives" is used rather than "motivation" it implies "ulterior motives", such as those for suspicious actions.

For example, in a murder trial, the lawyer will discuss the suspect's possible motives for committing the crime. In general "motives" has a negative connotation, whereas "motivation" has a positive one.

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Generally (but not all the time - wonderful language English hey!) I would perceive motivation to be more positive, with motives being used where you are trying to analyse someone's angle... sorry i've not expressed very clearly what I mean...DOH!

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Motive = "motive for doing" (specific)
Motivation = "motivation in doing" (general)

IMHO, Limey put it nicely! Merge is speaking more about the connotations of the words, insightful stuff but not related to the quesition I think.

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Providing someone with a motive for some action is motivation. Motive is the cause, motivation is being caused, or causing.

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The only context in which I can see both terms arising near eachother would be in storytelling.
If an actor, with only a page of a script, must perform an act that fits into the story. The director must provide him with motivation for the action, must supply a motive, a reason for the act.

Without such direction the actor might be at a loss or forced to rely on personal experience to place the action into a context that allows its performance.
If the internal motivation for the action is wrong, the director might ask "Why did you do this this way? What was your motive?" and then supply a more appropriate context within the production, the motivation needed to provide the act validity in the continuum of the envisioned piece.
I do not believe either word really has a connotation that is positive or negative in general use, each refers to an aspect of an action. This suggests they are neutral descriptives.

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'"motives" has a negative connotation, whereas "motivation" has a positive one.'

Correct.

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Motivation is the desire of the person to do something, while motives are the reasons for performing a an action.

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Motivation can also mean "the act of motivating", where "motive" cannot. Compare, "oxygen, oxygenate, oxygenation" (or many other similar examples) with "motive, motivate, motivation". With this in mind, I would suggest that motive and motivation might not really be synonyms. Say, I get an apartment. My motive may be to be comfortable and protected from the elements. My motivation may be my parent's throwing me out of the house!

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To put it another way, from the American Heritage dictionary:

Motivation:
1 - The act or process of motivating.
2 - The state of being motivated.
3 - Something that motivates; an inducement or incentive.

Motive:
1 - An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action.

(From dictionary.com) a motive is something that causes someone to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.

Motivation definition 3 is symonymous with motive; a motive is something that motivates, but motivation is a broader word since not everything that motivates is a motive.

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A motive is defined as a relatively stable disposition to strive for rather general kinds of goal objects.
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In contrast to the construct of motive, motivation refers to a temporarily aroused stated, produced when the cues of a situation elicit an expectancy of goal attainment which engages the motive. Motivation is thus a tendency to perform an act and is a joint function of the motive of the individual and the expectancy or cognition that appropriate instrumenatl behavior will provide satisfying consequences.

Ref.
H.Helson & W.Bevan (Eds.),Contemporary
Approaches to psychology.Princeton NJ:Van Nostrand.1967.261.

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Jack ...you are precise...to the point!

As Heinz Heckhausen and Kuhl would say...
in their pedagogical theory on the model of rubicon

Motive is a stable disposition that effects a process of action, structured and ordered.

Motivation is a process that establishes itself in a particular interaction of a person with the person's ambience or context or situation or need.

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Motive are expectation that leads an organism to stick to a gaol.

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