motivation

motivation, theories, homeostasis, and emotion

psychodynamic perspective of motivation

This perspective sees motivation as biologically driven by internal drives that create tension until satisfied, identifying two basic drives: sexual and aggressive.

Behaviourist perspective of motivation

This perspective is based on operant conditioning, where humans and animals are motivated to perform rewarded behaviours and avoid punished ones.

Cognitive perspective of motivation

The cognitive perspective views motivation as a function of:

• Expectancy: Belief in the likelihood of achieving a goal

• Value: Importance placed on the goal

Humanistic perspective of motivation

The humanistic perspective emphasizes personal growth, dignity, individual choice, and self-worth.
According to Maslow, people are motivated by the desire for personal fulfilment and strive to reach their full potential through a hierarchy of needs.

Evolutionary perspective of motivation

evolution selects animals that maximise their inclusive fitness (their own reproductive success plus their influence on the reproductive success of genetically related individuals).

What role do internal drives play in behaviourist theory?

Unmet biological needs (e.g., hunger, thirst) create drives — aroused states that motivate behaviour.
When a behaviour reduces the drive, it is reinforced.
This supports drive-reduction theory, rooted in the concept of homeostasis.

What is the main idea of expectancy–value theory?

People are motivated to pursue goals they value and believe they can achieve. Motivation is strongest when both value and expectancy of success are high.

What is intrinsic motivation?

The desire to engage in an activity for its own sake, driven by interest, enjoyment, or internal satisfaction, rather than by external rewards.

How can rewards affect intrinsic motivation?

External rewards can sometimes reduce intrinsic motivation, especially if they are perceived as controlling or undermining autonomy.

What are the three basic psychological needs in self-determination theory?

Competence (feeling capable), Autonomy (feeling in control of one’s actions), and Relatedness (feeling connected to others).

What does goal-setting theory propose about motivation?

Conscious goals regulate behaviour. Motivation increases when people set specific, meaningful goals and believe they can achieve them.

What are implicit motives?

Implicit motives are unconscious goals or desires that can be activated automatically and guide behaviour without the individual’s conscious awareness.

How do implicit motives become associated with certain situations?

Through repeated goal-setting in the same context (e.g., wanting to look smart in class), the goal becomes linked to the situation. The goal is then automatically activated when that context arises.

self determination theory

people have innate needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness, and intrinsic motivation flourishes when these needs are fulfilled.

What does the humanistic perspective, particularly Maslow's theory, say about motivation?

The humanistic perspective (Maslow) emphasises personal growth, self-worth, and individual choice as central to motivation.

• People are driven to fulfil their potential.

• Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs, where basic needs must be met before pursuing self-actualisation (personal fulfilment).

metabolism and the fasting phases

Metabolism, the processes by which the body transforms food into energy, has two phases: the absorptive phase, in which the person is ingesting food, and the fasting phase, during which the body converts its short- and long-term stores into energy.

Homeostasis

Homoeostasis refers to the body's tendency to maintain a relatively constant state that permits cells to live and function.

what are the common features involved in eating (homeostasis)

These include a set point, or optimal level the system strives to maintain; feedback mechanisms that provide the system with information regarding the state of the system with respect to the set point; and corrective mechanisms that restore the system to its set point when needed. Satiety mechanisms turn off ingestive behaviour.

what causes hunger and what happens internally

Feelings of hunger derive from dropping levels of glucose and lipids in the bloodstream, which are detected by receptors in the liver and brainstem. This information is transmitted to regions of the hypothalamus involved in both hunger and satiety.

other causes for hunger

Eating is also influenced by external cues, such as palatability, time of day and presence of other people.

Satiety how does it occur and what happens if its not regulated

Satiety occurs through a number of mechanisms, including tastes and smells but primarily through detection of nutrients in the stomach and intestines. If hunger and eating behaviours are not regulated, this can lead to obesity (excessive eating) or at the other extreme, eating disorders.

What factors drive sexual motivation?

Sexual motivation is influenced by fantasies, hormones, and culture.
Hormones affect sexual behaviour through:

• Organisational effects (shaping neural circuitry structure)

• Activational effects (triggering physiological responses based on that circuitry).

What are psychosocial needs?

Psychosocial needs are personal and interpersonal motives like mastery, achievement, power, self-esteem, affiliation, and intimacy.

What are the two major clusters of psychosocial motives across cultures?

1. Agency: Self-oriented goals such as mastery or power.

2. Relatedness: Interpersonal motives focused on connection and communion with others.

What does the need for achievement involve?

The need for achievement is the motive to succeed and avoid failure, influenced by cultural and economic conditions. It includes:

• Performance goals: Achieving socially visible standards

• Mastery goals: Mastering skills

How do innate factors and culture interact in motivation?

Motives are influenced by both innate biological factors (nature) and learning/cultural factors (nurture). Motivation requires:

• Cognition: Direction of motivation (representations)

• Emotional energy: Strength or fuel for motivation

What is emotion?

Emotion is an evaluative response involving:

• Subjective experience (positive or negative feeling)

• Physiological arousal

• Behavioural expression

What does the James–Lange theory of emotion propose?

Emotion results from bodily responses to stimuli.
Example: We feel afraid because we run and our heart pounds (not the other way around).Emotion results from bodily responses to stimuli.

How does the Cannon–Bard theory differ from James–Lange?

Emotional experience and bodily responses occur simultaneously, not sequentially.

What are emotional expressions and display rules?

• Emotional expression: Facial, body language, tone of voice indicating emotion, mostly innate and universal.

• Display rules: Culturally variable norms for regulating emotional expression.

Which emotions are universally considered basic?

Anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and disgust.
Also, a fundamental distinction exists between positive affect and negative affect.

What brain structures are involved in emotion?

• Hypothalamus: Activates sympathetic and endocrine responses

• Amygdala and limbic system: Emotional circuits

• Cortex: Appraisal and higher-order processing of emotion

How does the behaviourist perspectives view emotion?

• Behaviourist: Approach (positive affect) and avoidance (negative affect) systems.

What is the cognitive perspective on emotion

• Emotion depends on attributions—how people interpret bodily arousal

Schachter–Singer theory of emotion

• Schachter–Singer theory: Emotion arises from physiological arousal + cognitive interpretation.

psychodynamic theory of emotion

• Psychodynamic: Unconscious emotional reactions influence thought, behaviour, and health.

What does the evolutionary perspective say about emotion?

Emotions serve adaptive, communicative, and motivational functions to help survival, based on Darwin’s ideas.