The Science of Motivation: Understanding Human Motivation Through Psychology and Neuroscience
Redefining Motivation
What if your lack of motivation isn’t a flaw but a mismatch between your internal needs and your external reality?
In both popular psychology and self-help culture, motivation is often framed as a personal failing: not trying hard enough, not “wanting it” enough, or lacking discipline. But scientific research paints a very different picture. Motivation is not just about drive or grit, it’s about neurobiology, emotional needs, and how humans interpret value and reward.
This article is a deep dive into how motivation actually works, why it breaks down, and how therapy can help rewire it based exclusively on findings from leading peer-reviewed studies in neuroscience and psychology.
Motivation Is Not a Feeling - It’s a Decision Engine
Let’s start with a clear, research-based definition.
According to Simpson and Balsam in their review titled “The Behavioral Neuroscience of Motivation” (2016), motivation is not a static emotion or personality trait. It is best described as:
“The energizing of behaviour in pursuit of a goal.”
In other words, motivation is the engine behind goal-directed behaviour, powered by both internal states (like hunger, stress, or emotional need) and external cues (like rewards, consequences, or learned associations). This drive is constantly being recalculated through what researchers call a cost–benefit analysis.
Simpson and Balsam describe motivation as having two core dimensions:
Intensity — how much energy we put into a behaviour
Direction — what specific outcome or goal we’re aiming for
If motivation were a vector, they write, its length would represent how driven you are, and its angle would represent what you’re focused on. So someone who’s apathetic might have a short vector in all directions whereas someone struggling with addiction might have a very long vector, but pointing in only one rigid direction.
This framework matters because it helps explain why motivational problems can look different across different people and mental health conditions. Some people can’t get started at all. Others get stuck chasing the wrong thing.
The Brain Doesn’t Just “Want”- It Calculates
It’s tempting to think of motivation as something we either have or don’t. But the research shows that motivation is an outcome of ongoing computation — not a single choice, but a moment-by-moment evaluation of effort, cost, and reward.
“The costs associated with behavioral action may include physical effort, mental effort, time, loss of potential opportunities, discomfort, and danger,” write Simpson and Balsam. “The benefits… might include fulfilling physiological and psychological needs, obtaining reinforcement… or escaping from harm.”
(Simpson & Balsam, 2016, p. 3)
This computation isn’t rational in the traditional sense it’s influenced by memory, emotional state, context, and learned expectations.
If the brain calculates that the effort outweighs the perceived reward, motivation drops. This is a common pattern in depression, where the individual still desires positive outcomes but can’t access the internal fuel to act toward them. It’s also seen in burnout, where chronic overexertion distorts the cost–benefit system.
What’s important is that this process is not purely cognitive. It includes:
Emotional memory
Social reward structures
Hormonal states
Environmental cues
Time-based patterns (like circadian rhythms)
All of these influence whether you act or retreat, engage or avoid. It’s complex, but not random and that’s where therapy can help re-tune the system.
Why You Might Be “Unmotivated” But Still Want Change
One of the biggest takeaways from both studies is this: Motivational breakdown doesn’t mean you don’t care. It usually means something deeper is off — like a mismatch between effort and reward, or a core unmet need in one of the four life domains.
In therapy, these breakdowns often sound like:
“I know what I should do, I just can’t get myself to do it.”
“I feel overwhelmed before I even start.”
“I’ve lost my sense of purpose or direction.”
“I work hard but nothing feels satisfying anymore.”
From a neuropsychological lens, this could reflect impaired cost-benefit signaling. Either way, it’s not laziness. It’s misfiring circuitry or misaligned values both of which can be addressed with the right therapeutic approach.
Every action starts with a question. Motivation builds when the answers feel possible.
When Motivation Breaks Down…
We’ve established that motivation is not a personality trait, but a system of needs, reward processing, and cost–benefit signaling. When that system gets disrupted either by chronic stress, trauma, or misaligned values, people don’t just feel “lazy.” They feel stuck, confused, or emotionally paralyzed.
In this section, we’ll break down what the science tells us about motivation breakdowns, how they show up in common mental health conditions like depression and burnout, and why they’re often rooted in unmet psychological needs and not character flaws.
Depression: Wanting to Care but Feeling Nothing
One of the hallmark signs of depression is anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure or reward. But what often gets overlooked is how this impacts motivation at a biological level.
Simpson and Balsam (2016) explain that in depressive states, people may still desire better outcomes (e.g., wanting to go for a walk, socialize, or complete tasks), but the brain miscalculates the effort as too high or the reward as not worth it.
“It is possible that motivation can be present without overt behavior when factors such as motor impairments, learned helplessness, or risk of punishment inhibit action.”
(Simpson & Balsam, 2016, p. 6)
In therapy, this looks like clients saying:
“I want to change, but I just can’t move.”
“I make plans and then cancel because it all feels too heavy.”
“Even the things that used to excite me feel like chores now.”
In these moments, motivation isn’t absent. It’s blocked. What’s needed is not more pressure or motivational quotes but a gentle reboot of the system that restores reward sensitivity, lowers perceived effort, and rebuilds momentum slowly.
Burnout: When Success Stops Feeling Like Progress
Burnout is another common state of motivational collapse especially among high-functioning adults who appear “on top of things” from the outside.
Pincus’s 2023 motivation matrix offers a clear framework for understanding this. Many clients in burnout are over-activated in the Material–To Have quadrant (Success, Achievement, Control) but chronically undernourished in the Social or Spiritual domains (Caring, Recognition, Purpose).
This leads to a hollow form of goal pursuit, constant doing, no real fulfillment.
“Motives may conflict or even directly oppose one another, which may create internal tensions, and eventually, suffering.”
In therapy, burnout clients often report:
“I keep pushing, but nothing feels satisfying.”
“I’m achieving more than ever, but I feel numb.”
“I don’t know what I’m working toward anymore.”
This is where therapy becomes about realigning motivation and not eliminating ambition, but reconnecting it to motives like purpose, ethics, or emotional authenticity. Without this deeper recalibration, burnout tends to repeat itself, even after time off.
Anxiety and Motivation: The Freeze Response
Anxiety disorders are often associated with hyper-motivation, the racing mind, the perfectionism, the need to control everything. But many clients also report being paralyzed, unable to take even small steps forward. What gives?
Simpson and Balsam offer one explanation rooted in risk-reward processing. When perceived cost (e.g., failure, judgment, uncertainty) is high, the brain suppresses action altogether:
“An animal may remain motionless when the risks of behavior outweigh the possible rewards. This is especially true in the presence of fear-related stimuli.”
(Simpson & Balsam, 2016, p. 4)
That “animal” might just be your executive self in therapy, frozen not because you don’t care, but because the cost of doing anything feels too threatening. Social anxiety, perfectionism, trauma responses - all of these can distort motivational decision-making until action itself becomes a threat.
Clients navigating this often say:
“I want to start, but what if I mess it up?”
“I overthink every decision until I talk myself out of it.”
“I know what I need to do, I just feel paralyzed.”
The therapeutic goal here isn’t to push through the fear, but to lower the cost perception and expand tolerance for small, low-risk movements forward. Over time, this reconditions the brain’s effort-reward balance and unfreezes stalled motivation.
The Problem with Willpower Culture
Both studies directly or indirectly challenge the modern obsession with willpower and “grit.” When motivational breakdowns are treated as moral failures “just try harder,” “no excuses,” “do it scared” clients internalize shame and disconnect further from their inner world.
What the science actually shows is that:
Motivation is always for something, a need, a goal, a state
When that goal doesn’t feel safe, attainable, or meaningful, drive collapses
Therapy works by helping you name, locate, and realign those drives
The 12-motive framework from Pincus gives language to needs that clients often feel but don’t know how to articulate like the need for authenticity, inclusion, or spiritual purpose. And the neuroscience from Simpson and Balsam explains why someone who wants to change still might not act: because their internal system is perceiving cost as too high or reward as inaccessible.
Further Reading:
Why It’s So Hard to Stay Motivated?
Not everything about motivation has to come from textbooks or therapy rooms. Sometimes, a well-researched YouTube video gets it right and makes it digestible for anyone, no matter their background. One great example is this short video from AsapSCIENCE, created by Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, two science communicators who break down complex topics with clarity and humour. Their video, “Why It’s So Hard to Stay Motivated,” is a 4-minute crash course in what helps and hurts our ability to stay on track with our goals.
Some of the most compelling takeaways include:
The Distraction Effect: In one MIT experiment, participants offered large financial rewards actually performed worse on complex tasks. Why? Because the pressure of the reward hijacked their focus. When a task requires problem-solving, excessive reward becomes a mental distraction, not a motivator.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: fMRI scans showed that when people do a task for fun, their brain lights up in a way that sustains motivation. But when they do it for a reward, and the reward is later removed, that same brain activity drops especially in areas linked to self-driven behaviour.
Play Is Powerful: If your workout routine feels like punishment, you’re more likely to quit. But when the activity is enjoyable, you’ll stick with it. The strongest motivator for long-term change isn’t pressure, it’s pleasure.
Mental Contrasting > Wishful Thinking: Optimism alone can backfire. People who only imagine best-case scenarios are actually less likely to follow through. The more effective mindset? Visualize the outcome and anticipate the obstacles. This process, called mental contrasting, strengthens realistic motivation.
The “What the Hell” Effect: This all-or-nothing mindset (“I already messed up, so screw it”) derails a lot of progress. Recognizing that slip-ups are part of the process and not proof of failure which helps people recover and keep going.
🎥 Watch the full video: Why It’s So Hard to Stay Motivated – AsapSCIENCE
⚠️ Important Note: This video is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not replace clinical advice, therapy, or medical treatment. If you’re struggling with motivation related to mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, or burnout, consider working with a licensed psychotherapist who can help tailor a plan to your unique situation.
How Therapy Helps You Get Unstuck
So far, we’ve explored what motivation is, what happens when it breaks down, and why quick fixes like pressure or reward systems often fail in the long term. In this final section, we’re shifting from research to recovery and how therapy helps people get unstuck by working with, not against, their natural motivational wiring.
We’re not talking about pep talks or productivity hacks. We’re talking about rebuilding motivation from the inside out — in a way that actually lasts.
Step One: Naming the Motives That Actually Matter to You
One of the most powerful insights from Pincus (2023) is that motivation isn’t one-size-fits-all. His twelve-domain matrix includes motives like Autonomy, Authenticity, Caring, Recognition, Purpose, and Control — many of which go unspoken in typical “goal-setting” conversations.
Most clients who feel stuck don’t lack drive entirely. They’re just chasing goals tied to motives that no longer resonate, or that were never theirs to begin with.
“People vary significantly in which motives are most important to them and how much they rely on certain motives across different contexts.”
For example:
A client chasing “achievement” because it earned them love as a child may discover they’re actually driven by authenticity or contribution.
Another might realize their chronic anxiety comes from conflicting motives: the need for safety battling with the desire for self-expression.
Therapy creates space to slow down and ask:
What actually matters to me now?
Once those deeper motives are named, the brain has something to re-orient around, something worth working toward.
Step Two: Lowering the Internal Cost of Action
From a neuroscience lens, motivation isn’t just about desire, it’s about perceived effort vs. expected reward. As Simpson and Balsam (2016) describe, when cost (effort, uncertainty, emotional exposure) feels too high, action is suppressed even if the desire is there.
“Motivational processes… require a dynamic cost–benefit computation in order to select actions in real time.”
This is why therapists often focus not just on goal-setting, but on making the first step smaller, safer, or more rewarding:
For someone in depression: getting dressed and brushing their teeth might be the full “win” for a day.
For someone paralyzed by fear of failure: writing the worst first draft can be framed as a meaningful success.
For someone in burnout: rest, boundaries, and emotional expression might be the actual first milestones — not output.
Therapy helps reduce internal resistance by reshaping what counts as progress. When perceived cost goes down, behavior becomes easier.
Step Three: Rebuilding Reward Sensitivity
One of the under-acknowledged impacts of depression, chronic stress, and even long-term trauma is that the brain stops registering small wins as rewarding. Over time, clients report that nothing feels “worth it,” even when progress is happening.
This is where therapeutic strategies help reset the internal reward system:
Celebrating micro-wins, even if they feel silly
Using external feedback, like journaling or weekly reflections, to build evidence of change
Connecting actions to deeper motives, so that even boring tasks (like doing laundry) can feel aligned with something meaningful (like self-respect or future freedom)
This rewiring is slow, but incredibly powerful. Over time, the brain starts to notice success again and motivation comes back online.
Step Four: Repairing Shame-Based Beliefs About Motivation
Many clients internalize years of guilt or shame around their perceived “laziness,” especially in cultures obsessed with productivity. Therapy helps unpack and challenge these beliefs.
Here’s how this often sounds:
“I’m not lazy. I’m exhausted.”
“I’m not unmotivated. I’ve just never been supported in the way I need.”
“What if my resistance isn’t sabotage - but wisdom?”
Once shame is removed from the equation, clients begin to view motivation as a system to be rebalanced and not a character flaw to be punished. And that mindset shift alone is often what restarts forward movement.
Step Five: Practicing Mental Contrasting and Emotional Flexibility
Finally, therapy can integrate practical tools like mental contrasting, highlighted in the AsapSCIENCE video. This technique combines positive visualization (what you want) with realistic planning (what might get in your way).
Instead of “toxic positivity,” clients are encouraged to:
Imagine their goals coming true
Name the predictable bumps that might derail them
Plan for how they’ll respond when things don’t go perfectly
This builds resilience, the most overlooked ingredient in sustained motivation. Life doesn’t always cooperate. But with the right support, structure, and mindset, you can keep going anyway.
Q&A: Real Answers About Motivation and Mental Health
Q: I used to be motivated, what happened?
A: You didn’t “lose” your motivation. It likely got buried under stress, emotional fatigue, or internal pressure. According to neuroscience research, motivation isn’t a personality trait, it’s a system that breaks down when the cost of action feels too high. In other words, if getting started feels impossible, your brain might be protecting you, not betraying you.
Q: Why doesn’t pressure or “tough love” work on me?
A: Because it’s not designed to. Pressure might help for short-term deadlines, but when it comes to long-term change especially if depression or anxiety is in the mix, then pressure backfires. It can actually trigger avoidance, self-doubt, and burnout. Motivation built on fear rarely lasts.
Q: So how does therapy help?
A: Therapy helps you figure out what actually drives you. Not what Instagram says, not what your parents wanted. When therapy works, it aligns your goals with your core motives like autonomy, connection, or meaning and removes the mental friction that’s been getting in the way.
Q: Can therapy rebuild motivation even if I feel completely stuck?
A: Yes. Motivation isn’t something you’re born with or without. It’s something that gets repaired, like a system reboot. Therapy helps you rewire how your brain processes effort and reward, so that you can start feeling progress again even in small, honest ways.
Q: What if I’m not ready to go all-in?
A: You don’t have to. Therapy doesn’t require grand gestures. Just showing up is a sign of movement. Even one conversation with a therapist can help you feel less alone and more clear on what’s blocking you. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s momentum.
Want support that actually gets how stuck feels?
NuHu Therapy offers 100% virtual therapy across Ontario, with licensed professionals who specialize in helping people move through depression, anxiety, burnout, and motivational blocks without shame, pressure, or cliché advice.
