Factors that activate, direct, and maintain behavior.
Usually directed toward some goal.
Emotion
Subjective feelings.
Arousal.
Cognitions.
Expressive behaviors.
Motivation energizes and directs behavior, while emotion is the feeling response.
Theories of Motivation
Biological Theories
Instinct Theory: Motivation results from innate, biological instincts.
These are unlearned responses found in almost all members of a species.
Examples: Birds building nests, salmon swimming upstream.
Instinctual behaviors may not be obvious in humans but exist (e.g., competition, aggression).
Drive Reduction Theory: Motivation begins with a biological need that elicits a drive toward behavior that will satisfy the need and restore homeostasis.
Hunger or thirst disrupts equilibrium, creating a drive to find food or water.
Once the need is satisfied, homeostasis is restored and motivation decreases.
Optimal Arousal Theory: Organisms are motivated to achieve and maintain an optimal level of arousal.
Behavior efficiency increases with alertness, but performance declines after passing the optimum level of arousal.
Yerkes-Dodson Law:
Complex, unfamiliar tasks are performed best when arousal level is moderately low.
Simple, well-learned tasks are performed best when arousal level is moderately high.
Sensation Seeking
Some individuals may be prewired to need a higher-than-usual level of stimulation.
Characterized by:
Seeking thrill and adventure.
Desire to experience new things.
Disinhibition (“letting loose”).
Susceptibility to boredom.
Psychological Theories
Incentive Theory: Motivation results from external stimuli that “pull” the organism in certain directions.
External stimuli pull behavior.
Cognitive Theory: Motivation is affected by expectations and attributions.
Cognitive expectancies influences motivation.
Expectancies:
Beliefs or assumptions about what will happen.
Example: Anticipating a promotion at work motivates working overtime.
Attributions
Ways we interpret our own and others’ actions.
Biopsychosocial Theories
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Lower-level needs (hunger, safety) must be satisfied before advancing to higher-level needs (belonging, self-actualization).
Motivation and Behavior
Hunger and Eating
The Stomach: Receptors detect levels of nutrients as well as emptiness/fullness.
Biochemistry: Various bodily chemicals affect hunger and satiety.
The Brain: The hypothalamus (both ventromedial and lateral) plays a vital role.
VMH (Ventromedial Hypothalamus): creates feelings of satiation, signaling a stop to eating
LH (Lateral Hypothalamus): Stimulates eating
Psychosocial Factors: Seeing a luscious dessert, noticing that it’s almost mealtime, etc.
Eating Problems and Disorders
Causes are both genetic/biological and psychosocial.
Examples:
Obesity
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Binge-eating disorder
Obesity
More than 1/3rd of adults in the U.S. are considered overweight.
Another 1/3rd are considered to be medically obese.
Officially classified as a disease in the DSM-5.
Generally defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.0 and above, where BMI is a calculation of height in relation to weight.
One of the nation’s greatest health threats, contributing to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers.
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms:
Weight is less than 85% of normal for age and height.
Intense fear of gaining weight, even when underweight.
Persistent behavior to avoid weight gain.
Distorted body image; denial of seriousness of weight loss.
Bulimia Nervosa
Symptoms:
Repeated episodes of binge eating, consuming unusually large amounts of food in a short period.
Feeling out of control over eating during the binge episode.
Purging behaviors after eating, including vomiting, use of laxatives or other medications, and/or excessive exercise.
Alternating between overeating and fasting.
Binge-Eating Disorder
Symptoms:
Repeated episodes of binge eating, consuming unusually large amounts of food in a short period.
Feeling out of control over eating during the binge episode.
Eating much more rapidly than normal, eating large amounts when not feeling physically hungry.
Feeling ashamed and guilty after bingeing.
No compensatory purging behaviors.
Social Media and Eating Disorders
Women who frequently use social media are at greater risk of showing disordered eating.
Browsing sites like Facebook is associated with more body dissatisfaction.
Women who compare their own photos with those of their friends, and women who overvalue receiving comments and “likes” on their status updates, are at particular risk of eating disorders.
Achievement Motivation
The desire to excel, especially in competition with others.
Also known as the ‘Need for achievement’ (nAch).
Characteristics:
Prefer moderately difficult tasks.
Competitive.
Prefer clear goals and feedback.
Regulate their efforts.
Persistent toward goals.
Accomplish more in school and work.
Longevity of High Achievers
Winners of head-of-state elections lived approximately 13.4 fewer years than the losers.
Losers of head-of-state elections lived approximately 17.8 more years.
Researchers believe that the stress experienced by heads of a country likely helps explain this difference.
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic Motivation: Based on external incentives (rewards, punishments).
“I did it for the money.”
Intrinsic Motivation: Based on internal incentives (enjoyment, personal satisfaction).
“I like it” or “It’s fun.”
Components and Theories of Emotion
Three Components of Emotion
Biological (Arousal):
Increase in heart rate.
Change in perspiration.
Altered pattern of breathing.
Controlled by the brain and the autonomic nervous system (ANS), particularly the limbic system and amygdala.
Involves the ‘flight or fight’ response and sometimes occurs without conscious awareness.
Cognitive (Thoughts, Values, Expectations):
Often measured by self-reporting techniques (surveys, interviews).
Difficult to measure scientifically.
Behavioral (Expressive Smiles/Frowns):
Actions, manifested by facial expressions, tone of voice, and other nonverbal communications.
Fast and Slow Pathways for Fear
Visual sensory input arrives at the thalamus.
The thalamus sends it along two routes:
A fast route, directly to the amygdala, allows quick response to a feared stimulus before conscious awareness.
A slower, more indirect route to the visual cortex allows conscious evaluation of the danger and appropriate response.
Nonverbal Communication
When verbal and nonverbal messages don’t match, we believe the nonverbal messages.
Duchenne Smile
People who show a Duchenne (real) smile elicit more positive responses from strangers, enjoy better interpersonal relationships and show higher personal adjustment than those who use a social smile.
Three Major Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory: The subjective experience of emotion results from physiological arousal.
Example: “I feel sad because I’m crying.”
Each emotion is physiologically distinct
Cannon-Bard Theory: Emotions and physiological changes occur simultaneously.
Example: “I’m crying and I’m feeling sad at the same time.”
All emotions are physiologically similar
Two-Factor Theory (Schachter and Singer):
Emotion depends upon two factors:
Physiological arousal (occurs first).
Subsequent cognitive labeling of that arousal.
We look to external cues from the environment and from others to find a label and explanation for the arousal.
Example: crying at a wedding --> we label this crying as joy.
Facial-Feedback Hypothesis
Movements of the facial muscles produce and/or intensify our subjective experience of emotion.
Experiencing Emotions
Culture and Evolution
Across cultures, the facial expressions of some emotions are easily recognized
The total number of human emotions are relatively small
Other aspects of emotions vary widely across cultures.
Display Rules: Informal cultural norms that control when, where, and how emotions should be expressed.
Assumes that, when people lie, they will feel guilty and anxious, which will yield one or more sympathetic responses.
Error rates vary between 25% and 75%.
The Psychology of Happiness
Adaptation-Level Phenomenon: Tendency to judge a new situation or stimuli relative to a neutral “normal” level based on previous experiences; we then adapt to this new level and it becomes the new “normal.”