PSY-100- Motivation and Emotion

Motivaton

the process that drives us to feel, think, and behave the way we do

instrinsic motivation

motivation coming from within

you like to do it

3 main things: autonomy, mastery, purpose

extrinsic motivation

motivation from outside sources

doing it for a reason

3 things: compensation, punishment, reward

Premack’s Principle

Intrinsically rewarding behaviors are used as rewards for less intrinsically rewarding behaviors

• ex. finishing a paper before going out

Overjustification effect

INtrisic motivation is depleted because of EXtrinsic motivation recieved

• ex. disliking something becasue you’re doing it for money

Instinct Theory

species specific behavior that isn’t learned

how to correct biological imbalances

biologically and behaviorally

• biologocally: feeling cold > shivering

• behaviorally: feeling cold > wearing a jacket

habit

pattern of behavior regulary engaged in

arousal theroy

aims to find optimal arousal levels

• underarousal: become bored and seek arousal

• overaroused: do things to reduce arousal

Yorkes-Dodson Law

easy task: high arousal

hard task: low arousal

basketball: need both levels of arousal

what electronic devices measure sexual arousal

penile plethysmograph: senses blood flow through wire wrapped around erection at tip

vaginal photoplethysmograph: measures arousal through amount of light reflected through the vaginal canal; more arousal = less light

two physiological  sexual arousal responses

vasocongestion: increased blood flow making someone red

myotonia: muscle tension in pelvic floor, toes, fingers

sexual response cycle

4 phases of sexual response

1. excitement: blood flow to genitals

2. plateau: increased HR, arousal, and breathing; precum

3. orgasm: rhythmic contractions, ejaculaiton, intense pleasure

4. resolution: body coming down after orgasm

   1. refractory period (men): men cannot ejaculate multiple times in a row

brain area responsible for sexual motivation

limbic system

medial preoptic area

part of limbic system

responsible for sexual motivation

neurotransmitters involved in sexual arousal

1. Dopamine facilitates sexual arousal

2. Serotonin inhibits sexual arousal

3 sex hormones

testosterone

progesterone

estrogen

how does the hypothalamus play a role in sexual motivation

it sends signals to the pituitary gland to release sex hormones

how do sex hormones influence sex drive

testosterone: increases sex drive

estrogen: unknown effect

progesterone: reduces the sex drive

where do women get most of their testosterone

adrenal glands

Why are we so interested in sex?

Evolutionary psych says it is because we are continuous breeders (breed during any time of the menstural cycle)

concealed ovulators

no obvious cues of ovulation

how to chimps mate

when the female is ovulating her anus swells up and the males will all line up to mate with her

emotion

feelings and what we think about a situation

body will exhbit symptoms

expression

facial expressions

body movements/ non verbal behavior

vocal behaviors (tone of voice )

traditional understanding of emotion

event occurs > emotion is felt > physiological response

ex.

James -Lange’s theory of emotion

event occurs > physiological response > emotion is felt

canon-bard theory of emotion

event lead to a physiological response and emotion response at once

ex. see a bear > feel fear and body response simultaneously

schachter & singer two factor theroy

emotions comes from 2 factors

1. physiological arousal

2. cognitive label on arousal (attracted v. afraid)

1962 Schachter & Singer experiment

everyone got adrenaline shots

• group 1: told the truth about shot

• group 2: lied to and told it wa a vitamin

all sunjects were put in situations that would scare or excite them

asked to report the intensity of emotion

Results: group 1 felt no arousal, group 2 felt it all

WHY?: people experiencing physiological arousal search for its source and turn to environment for a reason

Lazarus Cogntiive Mediational Theory

thinking occurs before emotion and the appraisal comes before the cognitive label

ANS

autonomic nervous system

splits into two nervous systems: sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest)

misatrribution of arousal

failing to interpret signs of bodily arousal correctly

leads to emotions that would not typically be felt in a situation

ex. running up the steps for a blind date and thinking the date is very attractive

polygraph machine

lie detector machine

not very reliable

monitors changes in heart rate, breathing, and skin responses

how to fake a lie detector

tensing certain muscles to mess up the baseline

parts of limbic system responsible for emotions

hypothalamus

thalamus: relay center of brain that sends info out to brain

hippocampus

cingulate cortex: subjective experience interpretation

amygdala: produces a behavioral and physiological response

• basolateral nucleus: important for classical conditioning

• central nucleus: endocrine activity

orbitofrontal cortex: provides info to amygdala about what is emotionally important or not (determines safety of situation)

what is the panic button of the brain

amygdala

Paul Ekman

psychologist that observed facial experessions around the globe

found that all populations produce and understand specific emotions:

1. happiness

2. disgust

3. fear

4. anger

5. surprise

6. sadness

universal role of facial expression

not dependent on cultural language

seen in newborns

children often imitate adult emotions

blind and deaf children can also make these expression

what sex is better at detecting and producing emotions

women because of cultural influences or maternal instinct

cultural rules on displaying emotion

variations in expression based on culture

based on social rules (tells us when and how to express emotions)

learned early in life

primary emotions are often hidden

facial feedback hypothesis

making a certain facial expression can influence emotions

how do face masks influence emotional expression

they make it harder to communicate how we feel from being unable to see the full face

Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs

Maslow believed lower needs addressed prior to higher needs:

1. self-actualization: talents, morality, creativity, living to fullest potential (highest need)

2. esteem: self esteem, confidence, achievement

3. love/belonging: friends, family, sex

4. safety: bodily security, resources, health

5. physiological: water, air, food, sleep, homeostasis (lowest need)

If need is ignored, you “drop down” until you address that need

Criticized becasue order isn’t fixed and few have reached the highest need

Why do we eat? (hunger motivation) 

1. source of energy

2. rebuilding cells and making body chemicals

3. remove toxins

4. environmental cues

5. smell, sight, taste of food

6. time of day, social cues

7. memory (remembering the last time you ate)

   1. study done with people with amnesia; gave them a plate of food multiple times and they ate it all because they had no memory of eating prior

distinction between hunger and eatung

eating is a sensory experience, habitual, social, or done out. boredom of

hunger is the physiological need for energy

how is hunger regulated?

• homeostasis

• gastric activity and gastric contractions

• short-term regulation: how many cals are needed to function; controls when we eat and how much

  • energy intake

  • blood glucose levels

  • glucoreceptors: specialized cells that motivate us to eat based on glucose in our body

• long-term regulation

  • energy reserves (fat)

    • from ancestral hunter gatherer past where a diet of feast and famine was prominent

insulin

A hormone that stimulates the storage of food molecules to make fat, it reduces the level of sugar molecules in blood which increases hunger

ghrelin

“Hunger hormone” secreted by stomach, rises between meals and stimulates hunger, suppressed when food eaten

leptin

“Satiety hormone” released by fat cells that helps to regulate energy balance by inhibiting hunger

fat people don’t respond to this well

What parts of the brain regulate hunger?

1. Lateral hypothalamus: “hunger center”, causes eating behavior when stimulated

   1. if destroyed, animal can starve to death

2. Ventromedial hypothalamus: “satiety center”, reduced hunger and restricts eating when stimulated

   1. if destroyed animal eats too much and becomes obese

set point theory

Asserts that each individual has an ideal body weight, or set point, which is resistant to change

Issues with theory:

• Metabolic rate of those who lost a lot of weight

• Fails to account for influence of social and environmental factors

what contributes to weight

what is eaten and genes

metabolic rate

how much energy that you actually expend in a period of time

variable from person to person

• present day: fast metabolism preferred because food is readily available 

• ancestral past: slow metabolism preferred because next meal was unknown

how much energy is expended during exercise?

very little

BMI

“Body Mass Index”

accounting for weight based on height

what are the health cons of obesity?

linked to health problems, health care costs are expensive, societal prejudice

what are some causes of obesity

• genes

• socioeconomic status nd physical environment

• learned response

• insulin/brain malfunction

• motivating hunger cues

normal weight individuals pay attention to ____1_____ cues while overweight people pay attention to _____2______ cues.

1. internal

2. external

Study: “Air France Study”; participants looked at flight attendants and pilots and divided them into internal group v extenal group; did international flights with constantly shifting time zones; measured how well eating patterns were adjusted based on changing time zones

• results: external groups were able to adjust better than internal groups because internals rely on hunger cues while externals don’t need that to eat

anorexia nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by the maintenance of a body weight well below average through starvation and/or excessive exercise.

• desire for extreme thinness and a distorted eating attitude

• usually for a need to control something in their lives

• body dysmorphia

Negative health outcomes: amenorrhea (loss of menstruation from low body fat), bone loss, heart and kidney failure, high risk for substance abuse and mood/anxiety disorders

bullimia nervosa

Eating disorder where one engages in binge eating behavior that is followed by an attempt to compensate for the large amount of food consumed (purposely throwing up or using a laxative)

• binge eating disorder: non-purging eating disorder where people can eat up to 20,000 cals in a day

• purging is dangerous becasue it ruins too enamel and can irritate esophageal and stomach lining

• negative health outcomes: kidney and heart failure, tooth decay, anxiety/depression, increased risk of substance abuse

what is the net result of anorexia and bullimia

normal weight

what group is the most susceptible to getting anorexia and bullimia?

White women in Western societies between 15-19 years old

T/F: obese people have more fat cells than normal weight people

true

a child’s weight correlates more with the __________ weight

mother’s

study of human sexuality as a science is called what?

sexology

only been around since the 1940s

what factors influence sexual motivation and sexuality

1. psychological factors: emotions, attitudes, motivations

2. social conditioning factors: process where we lean our social norms

3. biological factors: hormones, nervous system, genetics

Alfred Kinsey

an entomologist turned sexologist that interviewed and surveyed 17K+ people documenting sexual behavior

created the “Kinsey Reports” >

released results on male sexual behavior in 1948 and female sexual behavior in 1953

• Results: discovered sexual behaviors thought to be rare/abnormal were actually  common

no further studies conducted making studies limited and the Kinsey Reports the most cited

Masters and Johnson

bough sex study to the lab

studied functional anatomy and physiological responses