A Humanistic Viewpoint on Use-Inspired Motivation Research

摘要

In his path-breaking book, Stokes (1997)rejected the classic distinction betweenresearch that is "basic" and "applied" andinstead suggested that research can beundertaken both for basic understandingand for use in practice. Kanfer (2009) usesthis approach to identify future directions foruse-inspired research on work motivation. Indoing so, she focuses almost exclusively onresearch that is useful for managers and thathas performance as its criterion. In the pres-ent commentary, I highlight that motivationresearch can also be useful for workers andhave well-being as its criterion. Specifically,I pose and address two questions regardinguse-inspired research on work motivation:"Useful for whom?" and "Motivation forwhat?" Next, I highlight a direct implicationof these questions for the field of work moti-vation and in particular for the advancementof use-inspired motivation research. In con-clusion, I advocate a humanistic viewpointon use-i nspi red research that operates as partof a scientist–practitioner–humanist model ofindustrial–organizational (1-0) psychology(Lefkowitz, 2008).