The Motivation (2013)

The topic of animal motivation deals with how and why animals engage in particular activities: what mechanisms inside the animal generate behaviour, how stimuli from the external environment in­ fluence these mechanisms, and how this behaviour is beneficial to the animal. The topic is thus central both to academic studies in psychology and zoology and to applied matters in domestic species. Motivation has not been an area of great emphasis in the past 10-15 years but there is now a growing realization that it should receive greater attention.