Toward a Sociological Theory of Motivation

Bringing motivational dynamics back into the mainstream of sociological theory and research requires an examination of how the early theoretical legacy was incorporated in five of the most eclectic approaches in contemporary theorizing on social interaction. The paper analyzes (1) the incorporation of utilitarian and behaviorist theories into exchange theory, (2) the transformation of Mead's social behaviorism into interactionist theory, (3) the evolution of Schutz's phenomenology into ethnomethodological theory, (4) the blending of Freud's psychoanalytic approach with elements of interactionist and phenomenological theory in structuration theory, and (5) the combining of Durkheim's structuralism with ethnomethodology and interactionism in interaction-ritual theory. For each of these five theories, the underlying and largely implicit theory of motivation is schematically modeled. Then, a composite of all the models is constructed in an effort to present a provisional theory of interpersonal motivation.