psych unit 8

Motivation

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
Involves nature and nurture
Body pushes us do perform maintenance activities
Nurture pulls us based on personal experience, thoughts, cultural
4 Theories of Motivation
Instinct Theory
Drive-Reduction Theory
Arousal/Sensation-Seeking Theory
Self-Determination Theory
Example: motivation to finish your homework

Instinct

A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned thought a species and is unlearned
-humans do not have reflexes
Example: ducks would follow whoever they see first after being birthed as their parent

Drive-Reduction Theory

physiological needs create an aroused state that motivates an organism to satisfy a need
Physiological Needs: Food and water
Drive: An aroused state
Hunger and thirst are drives that make us seek food and water
Our bodies always want to be in homeostasis
Maintain a balanced or constant internal states
Regulation of body chemistry around a particular level
Example: you are hot so you are aroused, because you want to be homeostasis you take off your coat

Drive

An aroused state
Example: hungry

Homeostatis

Maintain a balanced or constant internal states
Regulation of body chemistry around a particular level
Example: Putting on a coat because you are cold/ want to stay in homeostasis

incentive

Positive or negative environmental stimuli that motivate behavior
Example: the smell of pizza

Arousal/Sensation-Seeking Theory

With all of our physiological needs met, humans actively seek more arousal without having a specific need
You are bored so you find something to do
Curiosity: Monkeys left alone will attempt to open a window just to see outside, no food reward
We all have an optimum level of arousal we like to keep
Example: When left alone in a room with nothing to do except self-administer mild electric shocks, people will shock themselves

Thrill and Adventure Seeking

Desire to engage risky, unusual, speedy, dangerous physical activities
Example: going skydiving

experience seeking

Desire for experiences through the mind and senses, travel, variety and novel experiences
Example: trying crickets

disinbitation

Desire for impulsiveness, extraversion, social and sexual disinhibition, partying
Example: going to crowed parties

boredom susception

Degree of aversion to repetition, routine, restlessness, unchanging conditions
Example: you are bored of watching your computer

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance increases with arousal up to a point, beyond which performance decreases
Moderate arousal leads to optimal performance
Mr. Fickes is not good at basketball so attempting to shoot a 3-pointer in a sold-out arena would be a disaster
Example: Lebron James is good at basketball and performs better when the arena is sold-out

Grit

Passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals
Studied by Angela Duckworth (2016)
Need: self-control, discipline
Example: Getting an A for your final grade

Approach- Approach Conflict

2 equally attractive options, but you must choose one of them
Example: you can either go to the movies or you can go to the amusement park with your friends but you can only chose one

Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict

2 equally UNATTRACTIVE options, but you must choose one of them
1 option that has both attractive and unattractive elements
Example: you can either go take your push up test or you can go take the pacer test, but you have to chose one.

Glucoses

Form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides energy for body tissues
We feel hunger when blood glucose is low

Insulin

convert blood glucose into stored fat and lower blood glucose
Changes in glucose are picked up by hypothalamus, triggering us to eat

Lateral Hypothalamus

When stimulated, we feel hunger
If destroyed: would never feel hungry

Ventromedial hypothalamus

When stimulated, makes you feel full

Ghrelin

Hunger arousing hormones secreted in response to an empty stomach
*INTERNAL HUNGER CUE

Orexin

Secreted by hypothalamus, this triggers hunger and is an appetite decreasing hormone
*INTERNAL HUNGER CUE

Leptin

Secreted by fat cell and causes brain to increase metabolism to decrease hunger
*INTERNAL HUNGER CUE

Pyy

Digestive tract hormone this tells the brain"I am not hungry" *INTERNAL HUNGER CUE

Set Point

This is your "weight Thermostat" which is the point at which your body weight varies around
-When your body falls below this weight, hunger increases and metabolic rate decreases to restore lost weight this is the same but reversed for being above weight.
-Heredity influences the set point

Basal Metabolic Rate

This is the body's resting state of energy output
-Food intake and energy output are constantly attempting to balance
-Slow sustained changes in the body weight can alter one's set point

External Hunger Cues

Situational and environmental factor that affect hunger
-Availability of food, types of food, presence of food, presence of others eating
-high arousal triggers eating
Example: When you watch a action movie, you tend to be more aroused so people would buy more popcorn

Emotion- Affect

A response of the whole organism involving
-physiological arousal like your heart pounding, expressive behaviors like you war walking faster/speed walking, and conscious experience like you are panicking

James-Lange Theory

Our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus
Stimulus -> Arousal -> Emotion
Example: you see a bear, your heart starts pounding, then you interpret it as you are scared.

Display Rules

Socially learned standard that regulates the expression of emotion
Individualistic cultures display more outward emotion than collectivist cultures
U.S. shows more negative emotions (anger, disgust, fear) in group settings than Japan
"Boys don't cry"
Cultures dictate the proper elicitors of emotion
Antecedent conditions for showing emotion

electors of emotion

Cultures dictate the proper elicitors of emotion
Antecedent conditions for showing emotion

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger or happiness
People with depression reported feeling better after Botox injections paralyzed frowning muscles
Slowed activity in emotion-related brain circuits

Behavior Feedback Effect

Tendency of behavior to influence our own and others' thoughts, feelings and actions
Mimicking others' behaviors can help us become more empathetic

Stress

The process by which we perceive and respond to events called stressors, that we appraise as threatening and challenging
Appraisal is everything
Events are stressors
Physical and emotional responses as stress reactions
Stress is this entire process
Short-term stress is good and possibly motivating (eustress)
Boosts immune system, motivates us to solve problems
Long-term stress can harm us and be debilitating (distress)
Trigger unhealthy behaviors, direct health effects
Everything psychological is biological

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Experiences that include physical/emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, household violence
The more ACEs a child experiences, the more likely they are to have diabetes, heart disease, anxiety, depression, poor academic achievement, drug use, be in prison
ACEs keep the body in fight-or-flight
ACEs are not diagnostic
Do not show resilience building experiences and loving caregivers a child had

Alarm

Sympathetic nervous system activated, feel shock, bodily resources mobilized

Resistance

Temperature, blood pressure, respiration remain high, adrenal glands active, fully engage.
The longer in resistance, the more resources are used

Exhaustion

Depleted bodily resources, most vulnerable to illness, collapse, death
Our bodies are well adapted to short-term stress, but cannot handle prolonged stress

Tend-and-Befriend Respond

Provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)
Men do this too, but women do it much more frequently
Men tend to withdraw socially and emotionally, becoming insensitive
Women do this too, but men do it much more frequently

Problem-Focused Coping

Seeing stress as a problem to be solved and working through solutions until a solution is found
Eliminating the stressor

Emotion-focused Coping

Involves managing emotional reactions to stress
Deep breathing, meditation, taking medication that reduces stressful emotional responses
Does not eliminate stressor, deals with the consequences

Health Psychology

studies how behavior and mental processes affect health and well-being

Type A Psychology

Competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, anger prone people
More Type A Personalities experienced heart attacks
Stress diverts blood from internal organs to skeletal muscles
Example:

Type B personality

Easygoing, relaxed

Catharsis

Releasing aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
Can be temporarily calming, but usually breeds anger
Provoke retaliation, escalation
Can magnify anger: behavior feedback effect
Bushman study: Provoke people, allowed them to punch a punching bag while thinking about the person who angered them, increased length and strength of revenge opportunity

Cannon-Bard Theory

An emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and subjective experience of emotion
-DISAGREED with James-Lange
-Fear/anger/love call can involved increased heart rate, perspiration and body temperatures
-sympathetic nervous system (arousal) and cerebral cortex(awareness) receive stimulus at the same time
Ex: The snarling dog is growling at me, my heartbeat starts increasing at the same time as I notice I am scared.

Schachter-Singer Two factor theory

To experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label (cognitive appraisal) the arousal that is experienced
We cannot have emotion without conscious interpretation
Arousal can spill over into different events
Secret to falling in love? Take the person on a date that involves high arousal- work out, amusement park, skiing, etc.
"Misattribution of Arousal" may occur- labeling physiological arousal to you instead of the experience

Cognitive labeling/appraisal

having a name for the emotion we are feeling

ex: i'm with my friends at two am watching a horror movie, something scary happens, my heart starts beating, then you think "omg i see a guy with a chainsaw but it's just a movie and i'm home with my friends" still feel scared but not like deathly scared

Broaden and build theory

Barbara Fredrickson
Positive emotions broaden our attention and cognitive resources
We become more aware of our surroundings
Try new things, play, explore, build relationships with others
No immediate survival value, but skills pay off later
Negative emotions narrow our attention to combat threat
Attack or avoid
Broaden and build is the opposite of fight or flight

Empathy

understanding and sharing the feelings of others
Example: Telling someone that you understand and you will try to make them feel like they are not alone.