Temporal motivation theory
In psychology, temporal motivation theory is an integrative motivational theory developed by Piers Steel and Cornelius J. König. The theory emphasizes time as a critical and motivational factor. The argument for a broad, integrative theory stems from the absence of a single theory that can address motivation in its entirety. Thus, it incorporates primary aspects of multiple major theories, including expectancy theory, hyperbolic discounting, need theory and cumulative prospect theory.
According to Schmidt, Dolis, and Tolli, Temporal Motivation Theory "may help further the understanding of the impact of time, and particularly deadlines, on dynamic attention allocation." The Temporal Motivation Theory formula can be applied to human behaviour, procrastination and to goal setting. According to Lord, Diefendorff, Schmidt, and Hall, the theory "models the motivating power of approaching deadlines, arguing that the perceived utility of a given activity increases exponentially as the deadline nears. These and similar ideas have been applied to the pervasive phenomenon of procrastination".
Model
The theory states an individual's motivation for a task can be derived with the following formula :where, the desire for a particular outcome, or self-efficacy is the probability of success, is the reward associated with the outcome, is the individual’s sensitivity to delay and is the time to complete that task.
Since and are in the numerator of the formula, any increase in those two values would result in an increase of motivation and vice versa; whereas and are in the denominator of the formula hence any increase in those two values would result in a decrease of motivation and vice versa.