ABSTRACT
Motivation refers to the immediate causes of behavior. All behavior is caused by the action of a combination of internal and external causal factors, some of which have very specific effects on behavior and others more general effects. Stimuli can release, direct, inhibit, and prime behavior. These effects all depend on the internal state of the animal, which is controlled by hormones and other substances and by the intrinsic activity of the nervous system. In general, causal factors for more than one behavior system are present at the same time. Sometimes the system with the strongest causal factors inhibits all the other systems, but most of the time animals engage in some type of ambivalent, redirected, or displacement behavior. Emotions are the subjective aspect of strongly activated behavior systems. They can be studied in animals using Tinbergen’s motivation analysis. Operant training techniques can be used to assess animal welfare.
