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Motivation
the drives (needs and wants) that propel us in specific directions
underlying causes are deeply biological
state we cannot consciously control
Linking Motivation to Emotions
emotions describe specific biological states of feeling that govern our motives
motivation is more theoretical and used to explain why people are doing what they are doing
Simple Motives
instincts
innate (unlearned) patterns of behavior that are common to members of a species
shaped by natural selection
Birds - Simple Motives
intrinsically born to build nests and migrate south in the winter
Drive Theory of Motivation
drives cause individuals to behave a certain way in order to satisfy needs
we are attempting to maintain a level of psychological homeostasis
Hunger and Eating
the brain regulates hunger and energy metabolism
physical: belly growling, hunger pains
mental: hangry, only thing you can think about is food
hormones play a strong role
Ghrelin
hormone released by the digestive tract
tells the hypothalamus to increase hunger
Leptin
hormone released by adipose tissue (fat tissue)
tells the hypothalamus to reduce hunger
Obesity
issue with leptin production or processing can lead to obesity
always hungry
Sexual Motivation
sexual desire (libido) largely influenced by sex hormones
neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine appear to play a role
males desire sex more frequently
females experience more variability in their sex drive
Why do males have a larger sex drive
sperm producers can mate more in a shorter period of time
sperm is easier and faster to produce than eggs
Incentives
refers to the value of a goal or reward
greater incentive = greater motivation
Arousal Theory of Motivation
physiological arousal drives an organism’s motivation
Arousal
activation of the sympathetic nervous system
results in physiological responses such as increased heart and respiration rates and psychological responses such as degree of alertness and awareness
The Yerkes-Dodson Law
too much or too little arousal (nerves) is bad
have to be in the middle
being a little nervous directs our attention and makes us more focused
Evidence for Arousal Theory
the need for stimulation
humans and other animals clearly have a need to be continuously stimulated
need could be explained by arousal theory
when animals aren’t at an optimal level of arousal they look for ways to reach that level of arousal
Hedonic Motivation
notion that we are psychologically driven to seek pleasurable sensations and avoid negative ones
Eudaimonic Motivation
states that we are psychologically driven to fulfil purpose and meaning
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
suggests that needs function within a hierarchy
one can only advance to the next level after lower basic needs are met
5 stages of Maslow’s hierarchy
physiological needs
safety and security
love and belonging
self-esteem
self-actualization
Physiological Needs
breathing
food
water
shelter
clothing
sleep
Safety and Security
health
employment
property
family
social ability
Love and Belonging
friendship
family
intimacy
sense of connection
Self-Esteem
confidence
achievement
respect of others
the need to be a unique individual
Self-Actualization
morality
creativity
spontaneity
acceptance
experience purpose
meaning
inner potential
Appraisal of Maslow’s Hierarchy
addressed an important question regarding how humans go about fulfilling complex psychological needs, despite little scientific evidence
evolutionary perspective
makes a lot of sense that humans would be hardwired to strive for purpose and meaning rather than only seeking short-term pleasure
adequate job of describing more complex needs (human motivation)
The happy life
despite the criticisms of Maslow, many of the scientifically identified reasons for happiness correlates with Maslow’s ideas of happiness
Affective Forecasting
ability to predict our own and others’ happiness
Durability Bias
belief that both our good and our bad moods will last longer than they do
Hedonic Treadmill
tendency for our moods to adapt to external circumstances
happiness varies over a lifetime
always returns to baseline
How can we be more happy
focus on building quality social relationships
focus on working towards things you care about
reduce social media use
at least make mindful effort to identify how it might be affecting your mental health
Emotion
mental states or feelings associated with our evaluation of our experiences
several theories on what causes our emotions
lots of data explains how we experience them
Characterizing Emotions
the circumplex model
valence
ranging from unpleasant to pleasant
describes if the emotion is promoting aversion or attracting
arousal
ranging from low activation to high activation
refers to physiological arousal of the nervous system
Emotions as adaptations
six basic emotions (with evolutionary reasons)
discrete emotions (not necessarily true)
expression and characterization is universal across cultures
6 Basic Emotions
Surprise
Happiness
Fear
Anger
Sadness
Disgust
Surprise
directs our attention towards important stimuli
loud
unexpected
scary
interesting
once our attention is directed, emotions specific to that stimulus usually follows
Happiness
move us toward beneficial things
short term
drive us towards things we like
long term
satisfaction of completing difficult goals that often involve sacrifice
Fear
avoiding harm (activates flight response)
short term
drive us away from things we don’t like (can cause us harm)
long term (anxiety)
uncertainty about safety
uncertainty about how to achieve goals
Anger
preparing to fight (activates fight response)
Sadness
energy conservation
recalibrate goals
like physical pain, emotional pain can help us learn to avoid doing the “wrong” things and assist in goal pursuit
we feel sad when…
we are sick
we are hungry
our goals are not working out
*evolutionary reason is not as intuitive
Disgust
avoiding sickness and disease
*evolutionary reason is not as intuitive
Cognitive Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Cannon-Bard Theory
James-Lange Theory
emotions result from our interpretations of our bodily reactions to stimuli
Cannon-Bard Theory
an emotion-provoking event leads simultaneously to an emotional and bodily reaction
Goals
driven by “instinctual” desires for resources, status, mates, etc.
the way we achieve them varies dramatically
neocortex can produce solutions to achieving these goals in unique and abstract ways
why what activates emotion is best understood at the level of the individual
we appraise (think), then feel, then think again
Thinking Brain
neocortex
Emotional Brain
limbic system
Survival Brain
basic/reptillian brain
Facial Expression
communicates social information to others
eckman and collegues spent an impressive career characterizing emotions based on facial expressions, and analyzing the cross-cultural nature of these emotions, their reactions, and the ability to recognize them
Smiling
we can tell if a smile is forced or genuine based on activation of facial muscles
Observable emotional responses
facial expression
posture
vocalizations
behavioral patterns
Posture
particularly important in communicating social status
wolves submission to alpha wolf
Vocalizations
humans are capable of accurately identifying 24 kinds of emotion based on basic vocalizations, and this is mostly cross-cultural
sigh
gasp
cry
Behavioral Patterns
laughing
crying
Laughing
high arousal response characterized by facial changes, contraction of rib muscles, short vocalizations
occurs in all cultures and emerges in early infancy
thought to occur in primates and some other mammals
mostly social (95% of laughing is with others)
way to find mutual interest
bonding
biological and adaptive (born with it)
Physiology of laughter
cortisol levels go down
epinephrine levels go down
immune factors levels go up
Crying
high arousal response characterized by vocalizations and tears
production of tears as an emotional response is unique to humans
other animals display similar patterns that serve a similar purpose (no tears)
present at birth and most common in infants
persists across all stages of life
associated with severe emotional distress and grief in adults
function of crying as infants is clear (communicating something they want/need, essential for survival)
do we only have it as a response as adults because it’s leftover
Why do addictive drugs exist at all
the chemicals of naturally occurring psychoactive chemicals evolved to deter herbivores by acting as neurotoxins
in nature these are usually produced in quantities large enough to paralyze or kill small animals
quantities are small enough to have a minimal effect on larger vertebrates
concentrations continued to increase as insects adapted to survive the chemicals
Monarch Butterflies
store the toxic alkaloids produced by milkweed and use it to poison their own predators
evolved complete immunity to the toxins of the plant they specialize in
Evolution of THC in cannabis
before 1990
less than 2%
during 1990s
grew to 4%
between 1995 and 2015
increased by 212%
Synthetics and Designer Drugs - Examples
spice
synthetic cannabinoid
fentanyl
synthetic opioid
most vapes
synthetic nicotine
MDMA
synthetic amphetamine
Why do we like using some drugs
consists of the interacting mesolimbic and mesocortical systems
most important signaling molecule is dopamine
Evolution of the reward system
reward system mediates “natural rewards”
positive feeling that helps animals learn and promotes behavior that leads to that reward again
this can have a function in a variety of contexts, such as parental care, foraging behavior and collective social behavior
What initiates the reward system
the reward center was first characterized in the 1950s
found by stimulating the VTA using implanted electrodes in rats’ brains
stimulation engaged the mesolimbic system circuitry
rats would repeatedly press a lever to engage electrical stimulation of the reward system, even to the point of starvation
Endogenous Opioids
neuropeptides released from the pituitary gland (produced inside the body)
Endogenous Opioids - Endorphins
regulate emotion and the reward system by reducing pain and stress
released during activities such as eating, exercise, and sex
Exogenous Opioids
originally derived from the opium poppy (produced outside the body)
bind to the mu-opioid receptor, having similar effects as endogenous opioids
Exogenous Opioids - Examples
morphine (most common)
used to treat pain
heroin
oxycodone
hydrocodone
fentanyl
codeine
General model for becoming addicted is
phase 1 - intoxication
phase 2 -craving
phase 3 - compulsive seeking
Phase 1 - Intoxication
VTA → NAc pathway
increased dopamine signaling
Phase 2 - Craving
baseline of dopamine lowered
amygdala and PFC activation lead to craving of substance that raised it in the first place
Phase 3 - Compulsive Seeking
if “needs” are not met, the global recruitment of brain structures, such as PFC and the hippocampus lead to this
Drug use and neurons
can cause long term and stable changes to the synapses of neurons in the reward system
drugs cause a production of endorphins so our body produces less of them naturally
explains why people feel so bad during withdrawl
Impacts of Drugs
repeated use of most drugs that impact the reward system have increasing consequences in terms of increased cravings, dependencies, and many other unwanted effects
effects are manifested as withdrawal
Withdrawal
baseline amount of the neurotransmitters involved becomes so low
many other systems start to become disrupted
Stimulants
rev up the CNS
increasing heart rate
increasing respiration
increasing blood pressure
Stimulants - Examples
nicotine
cocaine and amphetamines
Nicotine
stimulates VTA dopamine producing neurons
directly rewards us
Cocaine and Amphetamines
block reuptake of dopamine
dopamine persists
stronger effect of dopamine (more reward)
Depressants
lower CNS activity
decreasing heart rate
decreasing respiration
decreasing blood pressure
Depressants - Example
alcohol
Alcohol
complicated and global
facilitates GABA neurotransmission (inhibition)
brain slows down
promotes release of dopamine
low doses
stimulant effect
high doses
strong depressant (eventually pass out)
Narcotics
directly target reward system
reduce pain
induce sleep
Narcotics - Examples
Opioids
Opioids
bind to mu-opioid receptors to inhibit GABA producing neurons
dopamine release in dopaminergic cells is enhanced
Psychedelics
aka hallucinogenic
produce dramatic alterations in perception, mood and thought
do not directly involve dopamine and the reward system, but can lead to cravings
Substance use disorder
must have 2 or more criteria over a 12-month period
hazardous use
social/interpersonal problems related to use
neglect major roles to use
withdrawal
tolerance
used larger amounts/longer
repeated attempts to quit/control use
much time spent using
physical/psychological problems related to use
activities given up to use
craving
why do we remain vulnerable to substance use disorders
2 adaptive perspectives
2 non-adaptive perspectives
whether or not our preference to indulge in certain substances is adaptive or not, our capacity to learn by making stronger associations between stimuli and how they make us feel is at the root of addictions
2 Adaptive Perspectives
reproductive benefits
survival benefits
2 Non-Adaptive Perspectives
mismatch
life history
Reproductive Benefit Perspective
drug use may have enhanced the perception of status, control, and attractiveness of the user
increased confidence could have led to greater success in male-male competition and in attracting mates
reproductive benefit of pleasure from drugs
Survival Perspective
plants that produced toxic chemicals were able to deter herbivores
also have potential medicinal benefits for larger animals that consumed them in moderate quantities
many alkaloids, such as nicotine have antiparasitic effects
Life History Perspective
substance abuse is more likely in people that are prone to take risks
risk taking tends to vary in sex (higher in males) and age (higher in young adults)
young men are most at risk for substance abuse
Mismatch Perspective
many psychoactive plant chemicals just happen to resemble neurotransmitters that activate reward systems without any gain in fitness
this was harmless for our ancestors because the concentration was lower and the access was limited
magnification of chemicals through artificial processes posses a much greater danger and higher risk for addiction
Alcohol Preference and Abuse
clear universal preference for consumption of alcohol
likely part of our evolutionary past
like other drugs modern mismatches make the potential for abuse high
3 Hypotheses for alcohol abuse
social hypothesis
sanitation hypothesis
“drunken monkey” hypothesis
Social Hypothesis
alcohol use was an important way for our ancestors to facilitate social bonds
intoxicating effects of alcohol could have led to a higher probability of reproductive events occuring
Sanitation Hypothesis
weak beer and other fermented beverages may have been safer to drink than contaminated water
The “drunken monkey” hypothesis
preference for alcohol is the result of a preference for foraging ripe
often slightly fermenting fruit
this hypothesis is supported by the large number of both vertebrates and invertebrates that consume fermented foods
they display a higher preference to consume alcohol
What is consciousness
our subjective experience of the world, our bodies and our mental perspectives
sleep, drugs, and other experiences can produce altered states of consciousness