Motivation and Emotion Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major theories and concepts of motivation and emotion based on the lecture transcript.

Motivation

A process that is reflected in the initiation, direction, magnitude, and continuation of goal-directed behaviour.

Motives

The "why" behind our behaviour, which can be needs, wants, interests, and desires that are biological, social, or a combination.

Inclusive fitness

An evolutionary perspective concept suggesting motives are selected based on their ability to maximise reproductive success.

Drive reduction theory (Hull)

A behaviourist perspective suggesting motivation arises from biological needs that create drives aimed at restoring homeostasis.

Homeostasis

The state of internal biological equilibrium that drive-reducing behaviours seek to restore.

Primary drives

Innate, biological drives such as hunger and thirst.

Secondary drives

Drives learned through conditioning or learning, such as the motivation for money.

Self-actualisation

A humanist concept, primarily advocated by Maslow, referring to the need to fulfill one's potential.

Deficiency needs

Needs that arise due to deprivation, including physiological, safety, belongingness, and esteem needs.

Growth needs

Humanist needs that stem from a desire to grow as a person rather than from a lack of something.

Implicit motive theory (McClelland)

Suggests that unconscious, affective needs - such as achievement, power, and affiliation - drive human behaviour.

Need for achievement (nAch)

The implicit motive for mastering challenging tasks, efficiency, and improving performance.

Need for power (nPow)

The implicit motive for influencing, impacting, or controlling others.

Need for affiliation (nAff)

The implicit motive for establishing, maintaining, or restoring positive relationships.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

An indirect measurement tool used in implicit motive theory involving coding participant responses to ambiguous stimuli.

Achievement goal theory

A theory based on the assumption that individuals in achievement settings desire to demonstrate competence and avoid demonstrating incompetence.

Mastery-goals

Goals focused on effort and personal improvement; individuals using these are more likely to persist in the face of failure.

Performance-goals

Goals focused on normative comparison; individuals using these are more inclined to avoid difficult tasks and withdraw participation.

Expectancy-value model

A foundational paradigm of achievement motivation defined by the formula: $\text{motivation} = \text{expectancy} \times \text{value}$.

Mastery climate

A motivational climate where emphasis is placed on effort, personal improvement, and skill development.

Performance climate

A motivational climate where emphasis is placed on normative comparison (winning) and public evaluation.

Self-determination theory (SDT)

An overarching meta-theory focusing on the quality of motivation and distinguishing between intrinsic and extrinsic types.

Intrinsic motivation

Engagement in behaviour for enjoyment or pleasure with no discernible reinforcements or reward.

External regulation

A category of extrinsic motivation where behaviour is controlled by external means, such as pressure from others.

Introjected regulation

Engagement in behaviour to avoid external sources of disapproval or for externally referenced approval, such as feeling shame.

Identified regulation

Engagement in behaviour for personally held values or benefits derived from the activity.

Integrated regulation

Engagement in behaviour to help reaffirm it as an integral part of one's self-identity.

Autonomy

The basic psychological need regarding the degree to which an individual feels volitional and responsible for their own behaviour.

Competence

The basic psychological need regarding the degree to which individuals experience opportunities to express their capabilities.

Relatedness

The basic psychological need regarding the extent to which individuals feel a sense of connectedness to others.

Undermining effect

The finding that providing external rewards for an intrinsically interesting task can reduce intrinsic motivation.

Emotion

An evaluative response typically including physiological arousal, subjective experience, and behavioural expression.

Moods

Durable feeling states that may not be paired with specific physiological patterns or facial expressions.

Affect

A pattern of observable behaviours that expresses an individual's emotions.

Basic emotions (Ekman)

Six emotions recognised across all cultures: Happy, Sad, Fear, Anger, Surprise, and Disgust.

Display rules

Cultural or subcultural norms that govern which emotional expressions are considered appropriate.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Proposes that emotional expressions can cause or alter our emotional state through muscle activation feedback to the brain.

Duchenne smile

A type of smile that has been shown to reduce heart rate and reported pain during stress-induced physiological responses.

Affective valence

The dimension of emotion based on whether it is liked (positive) or disliked (negative).

Motivational direction

The dimension of emotion based on whether it leads to approach or avoidance behaviours.

PERMA Model

A model from positive psychology suggesting happiness comes from Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

Emotional regulation

Process by which individuals monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional reactions to meet goals or social expectations.

Cognitive reappraisal

An antecedent-focused emotion regulation strategy involving reinterpreting a situation to change its meaning.

Response modulation

A response-focused emotion regulation strategy involving the suppression or amplification of emotional expressions.