ABSTRACT
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ conclusion for a book like the current one that covers such a wide range of issues, because too many of the lines of inquiry addressed are ongoing and would therefore require their own individual summaries. While reviewing the recent developments in motivation research during the preparation of this book, I experienced again the same feeling of wonder about the vast intricacy of the field that initially drew me to this domain; I was genuinely impressed that after 35 years of active research on motivation I still came across completely new areas with exciting and unexpected potential. This, of course, merely confirms what we have long known, namely that a complex question such as why human beings behave and think as they do cannot have a simple answer. In fact, the real question is whether we should expect any straightforward answers at all. That is, with motivation involving so many dimensions and conditions, and with all of the components interacting with each other in both linear and nonlinear ways, is it indeed realistic to expect some generalisable regularities to emerge?
