Woodworth and the origins of the current psychology of motivation

Current psychology of motives and emotions is the result of its emergence conditions and the consolidation of the scientific analysis of such processes in the first third of the 20th century, both with regard to the progress made and the problems posed to its development. This paper analyses contributions by the American psychologist R. S. Woodworth (1869-1962), who played a crucial role in the above process, parallel to the decline of the great instinct-based theories.