In the Russian language there are a lot of words that have an ambiguous meaning, for example, the word "motive" is ambiguous. Most people know about a musical motive, but for some reason they lose sight of its other meanings. Depending on the context in which the term is used, the definition of the word “motive” is different. There are a lot of areas of use: psychology, music, literature, visual arts, molecular biology. And depending on the context, the values are dramatically different from each other. It is worth understanding what a motive is. More precisely, in what areas it is appropriate to apply this word and what is the difference between different "motives".
Types of Motives
Today, as mentioned above, several applications are known. Each area has its own meaning of the word “motive”. To understand more precisely what this term is, it is necessary to study in more detail both the context of the sentence in which this word is used and the definition as a whole. Most often, only specialists in a particular field are aware of what a word means specifically in this field. In fact, there are many meanings. In psychology, this is something that prompts action, and in biology, a sequence of nucleotides. It is worthwhile to dwell on each of them, at least elementary to expand their horizons. Perhaps sometime this will help you not to face the dirt. So let's get started.
Motive in Psychology
In psychology, a motive is an image, which is a combination of objects valuable to a person (both ideal and material), which determines the direction of a person’s activity, the achievement of which (that is, an image, a vision) acts as the meaning of the activity itself. For example, you have an idea of a perfect vacation at sea. From the moment you have a goal to go well to rest to the sea, everything you do is aimed at achieving this goal. Perfect relaxation acts as the motive for your activity. Or, in order to find a good job in your specialty, from the very first year you try to study, study at home, read supporting literature, and at the end of your training send out a resume in which you describe all the acquired skills and knowledge. That is, employment acts as a motive for your actions, everything, all your activity is aimed at achieving a specific ideal result - to get a good job directly in your specialty.
Motive in literature and art: definition
From the point of view of literature, a motive is a recurring from one literary work to another part of the plot, image, episode. An example is the red damsel in distress, dragon guards, distant lands, the handsome prince and the like. Usually certain motifs are characteristic of a particular genre. For example, in fairy tales you can often find the handsome prince on a white horse, but not a series of crimes that the main character must investigate. In modern fairy tales, one can meet this, but such a storyline format is not yet typical.
In fine art, a motive is a repeating drawing (template, idea, theme) in various objects of art, which at the same time demonstrates the artist's attitude to his work and forms the opinion of the contemplator. For example, repeating patterns on various canvases. Or a repeating storyline. Another example is the splendor of nature on canvases depicting a spring landscape. Or the gloom of autumn days.
Musical motive
In the generally accepted sense, a motive is a melody, a tune of a musical work. If you delve into the jungle of terminology, the motive is a musical fragment that stands out from the entire musical figure. Also, the motive is called the basis of the musical work. A musical motif is the most memorable part of a piece of music, whether it be a pop song or Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
Motive: molecular biology
This word is also known to biologists. A motive is a fairly short sequence of amino acids (in proteins) or nucleotides (in deoxyribo and ribonucleic acids) that is almost unchanged during evolution, and has a certain function (biological). It practically does not change during evolution.
Motive: generalization, conclusions
So, the word “motive” comes from the Latin moveo (move) ”, is ambiguous. Depending on the application, the value naturally changes. In psychology, a motive is understood as a set of human actions aimed at achieving one's goal - an ideal object or vision. In the literature, the heroes acting as the motive, passing from the work to the work, are the same storylines. From the point of view of molecular biology, a short sequence of amino acids or nucleotides can be called the motive. A musical motif is a distinguished fragment of a musical work, which is the most memorable. Discussing the motive in the fine arts, we can say that any image, drawing, theme, template that clearly expresses the artist’s attitude to his creation, as well as forming an opinion and impression among the average person.
Thus, we can conclude that, despite the differences in the areas of use, the meaning of the word "motive" in all areas of application have common features. A certain similarity of definitions is associated with the common origin of the word. Understanding the meaning of the word, you can competently use it in oral and written speech.