CH10: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

maslows hierarchy of needs stage

2 theoretical approaches to motivation

1. evolutionary perspective

2. humanistic perspective

4 observations that drive the theory of evolution

1. organisms vary in endless ways: size, speed, strength, visual/hearing abilities, digestive processes, wisdom

2. some of these characteristics are heritable—can be passed down from one generation to the next

3. availability of resources can never catch up with the rate of reproduction— competition for resources occur within and across species

4. a heritable trait will become prevalent if this trait enhances the survival of an organism and its offspring

natural selection

natural selection posits that heritable characteristics (e.g., the long neck of a giraffe) that provide a survival or reproductive advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics (e.g., short neck) to be passed on to subsequent generations

giraffe example fo rnat selecftion

“long neck” is selected whereas “short neck” is eliminated over time

fitness

fitness refers to the reproductive success (number of descendants) of an individual organism relative to the average reproductive success in the population

adaptation

adaptation is an inherited characteristic that increased in a population (through natural selection) because it helped solve a problem of survival or reproduction during the time it emerged

directional selection

• for one extreme trait

• against other extreme

stabilizing selection

• for moderate trait

• against both extremes

disruptive selection

for both extremes

against moderate traits

batemans principle

• Reproductive variance (number of sex partners) differs between genders for a number of reasons.

  • Females: Lower variance (one mating fertilizes eggs).

  • Males: Higher variance (reproductive success tied to number of mates)

t/f few males have very high reproductive output, many males have little or no reproductive output

true

which gender is choosier when picking mate partner

females

what are females that carefully select their mates at lower risk ffor

losing their reproductive investment

cross sectionally, men prefer what age group women

Cross culturally, men prefer women younger than themselves because younger women tend to produce more healthy children, and women the opposite because of ability to sustain the family

harem

one dominant male mates with multiple females, while other males have little or no access to reproduction. This leads to high reproductive variance in males (a few males father many offspring, while many males father none) and low variance in females (most reproduce at a similar rate).

harem meaning in animal kingdom

an animal group consisting of a dominant male, a number of females, and their offspring

what does harem imply of reproductive success

• males maximize reproductive success by seeking a large number of sexual partners

• females maximize reproductive success by seeking a partner with high status and resource

what do females vs males expect from partner

• males expect chastity from partners

• females expect security from a partner

traits can evolve as an

• adaptation or byproduct of behaviour

goal of life in evolution

to reproduce

answers to these from a humanistic approach:

What is your (ultimate) goal of life?

What motivate you to set this goal?

How do you accomplish this goal?

• To self-actualize (to live to full potential, to achieve personal dreams & aspirations)

• Need for achievement

• Set a SMART goal • Self-discipline • Have grit • Have resilience

SMART goal

• specific

• measurable

• achievable

• realistic

• time bound

hot cognition

• Thoughts, behaviors, and decisions are affected by emotions or immediate physiological needs.

• Act on impulse

• E.g., “I will eat fast food now because I am hungry.”

cold cognition

• Think critically and make decisions based on logic and evidence.

• Delay gratification

• Give yourself a reason why you shouldn’t do something.

• E.g., “Fast food is unhealthy. I will go home to make a low-carb dinner.”

grit

courage

people with grit have

• passion for their goals

• willingness to work

• perseverance

what is grit a good predictor of

Grit is a better predictor than intelligence for achieving long-term academic goals and grades in college

people with less grit tend to

• people with less grit tend to:

• Get discouraged more easily

• Get sidetracked from their goals by new interests

how can emotions be categorized

by valence (negative to positive) and level of arousal (low to high)

relationship between fear and anger

biochemically identical, but differ in behavioural responses

difference between fear and anger

3 components of anger

• physiological arousal

• cognitive appraisal

• behavioural reactinons

evolutionary approach to emotion by darwin

• Emotional expressions are universal.

• Emotional responses have adaptive functions.

• Emotions are inherited, specialized mental states designed to deal with a certain class of recurring situations (e.g., attacked by predators, falling in love, etc) in the world

t/f book by darwin- expression of emotins in man and animal

true

7 primary emotions

fear

disgust

happy

surprise

anger

sad

contempt

r/f primary emotions are a combination of other emotions

false

part of body key to processing emotions

limbic system

• thalamus

• amygdala

how does amygdala hijacking occur

• stimuli reaches thalamus to amygdala

• reaches neocortex to process

james lange theory

• physiological arousal or action is the cause of emotional feeling

• • Examples:

  • • - In a dangerous situation, our body trembles, then we feel afraid (the body is the first to respond to the situation).

  • • - When we are offended, we raise our voice, then we feel angry (we act before we feel).

common sense belief of emotions

Emotional feeling is the cause of physiological arousal (or action).

•Examples: •- We are afraid, then we tremble.

•- We are angry, then we raise our voice

problems with james lange theory

• physiological arousal like heartbeat is an act performed by ans

• ans responses are 2 slow to be source of split second elicted emotions

Cannon-Bard Theory of Central Neural Processes

Subcortical brain activity in the thalamus is the cause for both physiological arousal and emotional feeling

what do emotion theories not address

These theories describe the sequence of biological and psychological responses to a stimulus (what happens first, what happens next); they do not explain why a particular emotion is formed (e.g., how do you know that you are angry, excited, or anxious when your heart is pounding?

schachters 2 factor theiry is part of

cognitive appraisal theory

schachters 2 factor theory

he experience of emotion is the joint effect of autonomic arousal and cognitive appraisal, with both parts necessary for an emotion to occur

• context matters

  

schachter singer experiment

Schachter and Singer injected participants with epinephrine (which causes arousal) and placed them in different social environments (with either a happy or angry person). Participants labeled their emotion based on the context, proving that cognition plays a key role in how we experience emotions