Motivation Science, Vol 12(1), Mar 2026, 20-21; doi:10.1037/mot0000424
Kuhl (1984, 2000) has reconceptualized motivation as a problem of how psychological systems are energized and coordinated over time to give rise to people’s actions. This commentary argues that Kuhl’s action-theoretical perspective falls squarely within motivation science, despite its departure from traditional expectancy–value models. Rather than explaining motivation in terms of beliefs and preferences that guide choice, Kuhl shifts attention to the functional architecture that enables people’s goals and intentions to be enacted. The interplay between cognitive systems is energized or inhibited by changes in positive and negative affect. Motivation, in this view, emerges not so much what people want or expect, but rather from the energy and flexibility of the systems that turn wanting into doing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)