This volume provides a precise and comprehensive description of human motivation. Drawing on psychology, education and management, Ford integrates classic and contemporary motivation theory into a unified framework - Motivational Systems Theory - from which he derives 17 principles for motivating people.

The book provides concrete examples throughout and includes a chapter on practical applications such as: promoting social responsibility in young people, increasing motivation for learning and school achievement, increasing work productivity and job satisfaction, and helping people lead emotionally healthy lives.