Unit 4: Motivation

motivation

a need/desire that serves to energize or direct behavior

evolutionary theory

states that animals are motivated to act by basic needs critical to their survival

primary drives

hunger, thirst, sleep, and reproduction

secondary drive

the desire to obtain learned reinforcers, such as money or social acceptance

arousal theory

states that the main reason people are motivated to perform any action is to maintain an ideal level of physiological arousal

Yerkes-Dodson law

states that tasks of moderate difficulty elicit the highest level of performance; high levels of arousal for easy tasks and low levels of arousal for difficult tasks

opponent process theory

posits that we are motivated to seek stimuli that make us feel emotion, after which an opposing motivational force brings us back in the direction of a baseline

drive-reduction theory

posits that psychological needs put stress on the body and that we are motivated to reduce this negative experience

homeostasis

a state of regulatory equilibrium

set point

a target “temperature”, or point at which our bodies are balanced

self-determination theory

speaks to intrinsic motivators, or the need to feel competent and in control, conflicting with the pressure brought to bear by extrinsic motivators

instinct

genetically programmed patterns of behavior

instinct theory

posits that the learning of species-specific behavior motivates organisms to do what is necessary to ensure their survival