The very word “motivation” is scientific in context and a scientific discipline, but an inexact one for that matter. All sciences have common characteristic; causes and effects or results, particular patterns of data collected during experiments and finally, the nature to vary or remain fixed.
For instance, when studying Chemistry, the number of atoms in water remains the same no matter what while the quantity of goods bought by consumers in a given economy or from a particular company changes from time to time. Both Chemistry and Economics are sciences, but one’s exact (can be quantified and determined) and the other, inexact.
Motivation is also a scientific study and a living pattern, but inexact. While one can argue that a teacher offering rewards for lazy students in his/her class before they perform better proves the scientific nature of motivation (that is, the rewards offered “caused” the student’s “results” to improve), we can also argue that there’s no way to determine the degree of influence the teacher’s promise had on those lazy students—some of them may just have decided that it was time to start learning and it coincided with the teacher offering rewards for those who would perform well . The individual student’s performances will also vary from one student to another.
In most cases, motivation results from our thought processes and the psychological make up of every individual determines how motivated they become and act to achieve certain objectives or results.
The science of motivation thus refers to a general recognition of this fact: to ensure that human resources put out their maximum best or use their inherent talents and skills to the fullest, one must put in place measures or conditions that’ll encourage individuals involved in achieving results to always be motivated and work in all seriousness to achieve those stated objectives and goals.
Motivation as a science can also be understood on the individual level. What keeps you going? What makes you go to bed each night with the feeling that you've done all you could in a day then looked forward to the sun rising again—is it the desire to make more money, have a more fulfilling life or just enjoy every blessed day?
Whatever induces you to look forward to another day is a causative factor. And in science, causative factors are things or happenings that birth certain actions or what we may call in simpler terms, results. When you feel motivated, you work hard to achieve certain objectives and results, right? That’s the science of motivation.
