Pysch Chapter 9: Motivation and Emotion

motivation

the process by which activities are started , directed, and continued so that physical or psychological needs or wants are met

extrinsic motivation

involves a person performing an action because it leads to an outcome that is separate from or external to the person

intrinsic motivation

involves a person performing an action because the action itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal manner

need

a requirement of some material, such as food or water, that is essential for survival of the organism

drive

a state of psychological tension and physical arousal that arises when there is a need

drive reduction theory

an approach to motivation that assumes behavior arises from internal drives to push the organism to satisfy psychological needs and reduce tension and arousal. essentially, the goal is to reach homeostasis.

homeostasis

the tendency of the body to maintain a steady state

primary drives

involve needs of the body, such as hunger and thirst

acquired (secondary) drives

learned through experience or conditioning, such as the need for money or social approval

mcclelland’s theory

his theory highlights the importance of affiliation, power, and achievements as psychological needs

need for affection (nAff)

the need for friendly social interaction and relationships with others

need for power (nPow)

the need to have control or influence over others

need for achievement (nAch)

a need that involves a strong desire to succeed in attaining goals, not only realistic ones but also challenging ones

Carol Dweek

argues that the need for achievement is closely linked to personality factors, including a person’s view of how self can affect the individual’s perception of the success or failure of their actions

stimulus motive

one that appears to be unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation

arousal theory

the theory of motivation in which people are said to have an optimal level of tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing stimulation. Individuals seek out experiences that are consistent with that optimal level.

sensation seeker

a person who needs more arousal is called an, these individuals seem to need more complex and varied sensory experiences than others

incentives

things that attract or lure people into action

incentive approaches

the theories of motivation in which behavior is explained as a response to the external stimulus and its rewarding properties

Abraham Maslow

proposed several levels of needs a person must strive to meet before achieving the highest level of fulfillment

self-actualization

the point at which people have sufficiently satisfied the lower needs and achieved their full human potential

peak experiences

times in which self-actualization is reached temporarily

self determination theory

a theory of human motivation in which the social context of an action affects the type of motivation existing for the action. In this theory, there are three inborn universal needs.

autonomy

the need to be in control of one’s own behavior and goals (ie: self determination)

competence

the need to be able to master the challenging tasks of one’s one life

relatedness

the need to feel a sense of belonging, intimacy, and security in relationships with others

emotion

the “feeling” aspect of consciousness, characterized by a certain behavior that reveals the emotion to the outside world, and an inner awareness of feelings. there are 3 elements of emotion.

the physiology of emotion

physically, when a person experiences an emotion arousal is created by the sympathetic nervous system. different emotions may be associated with different physiological reactions (ie changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and skin temp)

the behavior of emotion

there are facial expressions, body movements, and actions that indicate how a person feels , facial expressions can vary across different cultures, although some aspects seem to be universal: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, surprise, sadness, and contempt

the subjective experience of emotion

the third element of emotion is interpreting the subjective feeling by giving it a label. This is also called the “cognitive" element,” because the labeling process is a matter of retrieving memories of previous similar experiences, perceiving the context and coming up with a solution (label)

common sense theory of emotion

in the early days of psychology, it was assumed that feeling a particular emotion led first to a physical reaction and then to a behavioral one. A stimulus leads to an emotion, leading to bodilt arousal through the autonomic nervous system.

James-Lange theory of emotion

a stimulus of some sort produces a physiological reaction. This reaction, which is the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, produces bodily sensations that physical arousal leads to the labeling of the emotion.

cannon bard theory of emotion

assumes the physiological reaction and the emotion occur at the same time. Cannon did not feel that the physical change caused by various emotions were distinct enough to allow them to be perceived as different emotions

the facial feedback hypothesis

assumes that facial expressions provide feedback to the brain concerning the emotion being expressed, which in turn causes and intensifies the emotion. This is consistent with Darwin’s theory that facial expressions evolved as a way of communicating intentions.

cognitive arousal theory

both the physical arousal and labeling of that arousal based on cue from the environment must occur before the emotion is experienced. These 2 things happen at the same time, resulting in the labeling of the emotion

cognitive-meditational theory

the stimulus must be interpreted (appraised) by a person to result in a physical response and an emotional reaction. the most important aspect of any emotional experience is how the person interprets the stimulus that causes the emotional reaction. The cognitive appraisal mediates by coming between the stimulus and emotional response.