the game we play

I had a motivation class the other day in which we discussed a large amount of theory. It is interesting to study the psychology of motivation. I find it very fascinating. We discussed Abraham Maslow's 'Hierachy of Needs' of which I have been familiar with but we also discussed two other theories, one of which was similar to Maslow's but was condenced in to 3 needs (Existance, Relatedness, Growth) as opposed to Maslow's five (Physiological, Saftey, Social, Esteem, Self-Actualization). There are parts of both theories that I believe and other parts from either one that don't really agree with each other. The intreguing thing that I picked up on in the class was the simple ability to get some one to do what you want them to do in the right environment with an understanding of the principles of motivation and human needs. You can realistically stay one step ahead of an individuals moves as you expose that person to different situations. You will see him react very specifically. The key word being react. It can be quite a scary thing as you think about it that someone can know how you will react to certain situations and then make the effort to place that infront of you and as a series of dikes and channels lead you exactly as they want you. Like a game.