Motivation Without Hierarchy: Symbolic–Functional Dynamics as a New Conceptual Architecture

This paper develops a non-hierarchical model of motivation as a dynamic evaluative process, challenging traditional hierarchical frameworks such as Maslow’s need theory. Instead of sequential need satisfaction, motivation is conceptualized as the outcome of continuous evaluation across competing alternatives. The model integrates two co-present dimensions: symbolic value (meaning, identity, recognition) and functional return (utility, feasibility), along with their associated constraints. Behavioral selection emerges from context-dependent weighting of these components, rather than from progression through predefined stages. Motivational stability and change are explained through differences in net evaluative value across alternatives. Stable behavior arises when one option achieves evaluative dominance, while instability and fluctuation occur when values converge or constraints compress differences. This framework accounts for phenomena poorly explained by hierarchical models, including persistence under constraint, commitment without direct functional return, and variation within the same need domain. As a conceptual contribution, it provides a foundation for formal modeling, behavioral economics applications, and integration with cognitive and neurocomputational theories of decision-making.