Mood and Motivation – PT10603 Personality and Individual Differences

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, theories, researchers, and concepts from the lecture on mood and motivation in personality and individual differences.

Motivation

A dynamic internal state that propels and directs behaviour toward satisfying instinctual and cultural needs and goals.

Mood

Relatively short-lived emotional states (minutes to hours) that manifest physiologically and behaviourally.

Trait

A longitudinally stable characteristic or ability that shows little fluctuation across situations.

Reflex

A fixed, unlearned motivation system that produces automatic responses to specific stimuli.

Instinct

An innate psychophysiological entity that mobilises energy toward biologically predetermined goals.

Drive Theory

Approach emphasising internal drives as psychological forces that motivate behaviour, often triggered by absence of stimuli and aimed at restoring homeostasis.

Homeostasis

Process of restoring physiological balance when internal conditions deviate from set points.

Psychodynamic Approach

Freud’s view that deep psychological forces (sex and aggression) are primary motivators of behaviour.

Operant Conditioning

Skinner’s learning model in which behaviour is modified via consequences such as rewards and punishments.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour.

Avoidant Learning

Behaviour that prevents exposure to punishment by removing the aversive condition.

Extinction (Operant)

Decreasing a behaviour by removing previously delivered positive reinforcement.

Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)

Gray & Eysenck’s system linked to trait anxiety; oversensitivity leads to heightened neuroticism.

Arousal Theory

Explains performance differences through individual variations in physiological arousal levels.

Yerkes–Dodson Law

Curvilinear relation where intermediate arousal optimises performance; optimal arousal decreases with task difficulty.

Expectancy Theory

View that behaviour is chosen and maintained based on expected consequences and their value.

Goal-Setting Theory

Wood & Locke’s idea that specific, challenging, attainable goals enhance motivation and performance.

Intrinsic Motivation

Engaging in behaviour for its own sake rather than for external consequences.

Extrinsic Motivation

Performing behaviour to obtain external rewards or avoid punishments.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Five-level pyramid of human motives: physiological, security, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualisation.

Physiological Needs

Basic survival requirements such as food, water, shelter, clothing.

Security Needs

Desire for safety and protection against danger, hunger, and violence.

Love and Belonging Needs

Need for relationships, affection, friendship, and acceptance.

Esteem Need

Desire for self-respect, recognition, and appreciation from others.

Self-Actualisation

Highest Maslow level; pursuing meaning, purpose, and full realisation of one’s potentials.

ERG Theory

Alderfer’s condensation of Maslow into Existence, Relatedness, and Growth needs.

Existence Needs

Physiological and safety requirements in ERG theory.

Relatedness Needs

Social relationships and external esteem needs in ERG theory.

Growth Needs

Internal esteem and self-actualisation motives in ERG theory.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Distinguishes Motivators (satisfaction) from Hygiene Factors (dissatisfaction) in the workplace.

Motivators

Job factors such as pay, recognition, promotion that lead to satisfaction when present.

Hygiene Factors

Work conditions like workload, coworker relations; their absence causes dissatisfaction.

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory

Conceptualises motivation in terms of Need for Achievement, Affiliation, and Power.

Need for Achievement

Desire to master skills and achieve moderately challenging goals.

Need for Affiliation

Desire to form social relationships and be accepted by others.

Need for Power

Desire to influence, control, or be responsible for others.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Projective test McClelland used to assess individual motivational needs via story responses to pictures.

Equity Theory

Adams’ model asserting motivation is affected by perceived fairness of input-outcome ratios.

Positive Affect

Watson & Tellegen’s mood dimension reflecting energy, enthusiasm, and pleasurable engagement.

Negative Affect

Mood dimension reflecting distress, anger, fear, or nervousness, orthogonal to positive affect.

Energetic–Fatigue Dimension

Matthews et al.’s positive mood axis ranging from vitality to tiredness.

Tension–Relaxation Dimension

Matthews et al.’s negative mood axis spanning anxiety to calmness.

Velten Method

Mood-induction procedure where participants read statements to evoke targeted affective states.

Dispositional Influence

Stable personality traits that systematically bias individuals’ typical mood experiences.

Mediation Approach (Rusting)

Framework linking personality traits to states through cognitive-affective mediators.

Fixed-Action Pattern

Lorenz’s term for species-specific instinctive behavioural sequences.

Orthogonal Factors

Statistical term indicating positive and negative affect are uncorrelated dimensions of mood.

Curvilinear Relationship

Non-linear association in which performance rises then falls with increasing arousal (U-shaped curve).