To be motivated means to be moved to do something. A person who feels
no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as unmotivated, whereas
someone who is energized or activated toward an end is considered motivated.
Most everyone who works or plays with others is, accordingly, concerned
with motivation, facing the question of how much motivation those
others, or oneself, has for a task, and practitioners of all types face the perennial
task of fostering more versus less motivation in those around them. Most
theories of motivation reflect these concerns by viewing motivation as a unitary
phenomenon, one that varies from very little motivation to act to a great
deal of it.