The development of today's system of education under the conditions of the transformation of society gives timely relevance to the problem of the motivating principles of the college instructor's activity. In this article, the author presents results of a research regarding this problem. The study of the dispositions that make up the motivating complexes of pedagogical activity was carried out on the basis of a method used in the work of C. Zamfir, a Romanian specialist in the sociology of labor. The author discusses conclusions that are suggested by the analysis of the motives for college instructor's efforts. (Contains 1 table.)