Motivation and Emotion Summary

Motivation and Emotion

Key Definitions

  • Motivation: A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
  • Instinct: A complex, unlearned behavior patterned throughout a species.
  • Physiological Need: A basic bodily requirement.
  • Drive: A physiological state that motivates an organism to satisfy a need.
  • Homeostasis: The maintenance of a balanced internal state.

Drive-Reduction Theory

  • Suggests physiological needs create drives that motivate behavior (e.g., hunger prompts eating).

Arousal and Incentives

  • Incentive: Environmental stimuli that motivate behavior (positive or negative).
  • Arousal Theory: The need to maintain an optimal arousal level causes behavior, even without physiological needs.
  • Yerkes-Dodson Law: Performance increases with arousal to an optimal point, beyond which performance decreases.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Physiological needs at the base, followed by safety, then psychological needs, guiding motivation and behavior.

Need to Belong

  • Affiliation Need: Desire to build relationships and be part of a group.
  • Self-Determination Theory: Motivation influenced by needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic is for personal satisfaction; extrinsic is for rewards or to avoid punishment.

Achievement Motivation

  • Achievement Motivation: Desire for significant accomplishment and skill mastery.
  • Grit: Passion and perseverance in pursuing long-term goals.

Physiology of Hunger

  • Glucose: Major energy source; low levels trigger hunger.
  • Set Point: Weight-regulating mechanisms maintain body weight.
  • Basal Metabolic Rate: Resting energy expenditure rate.
  • Obesity: Defined as a BMI of 30 or more.

Hypothalamus and Hunger Hormones

  • Lateral Hypothalamus: Triggers hunger; releases orexin.
  • Ventromedial Hypothalamus: Signals satiety.
  • Appetite Hormones:
  • Orexin: Triggers hunger (lateral hypothalamus).
  • Leptin: Signals satiety (ventromedial hypothalamus).
  • Ghrelin: Stimulates hunger (lateral hypothalamus).
  • Insulin & PYY: Regulate satiety.

Theories of Emotion

  • Emotion Components: Involve physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.
Major Theories
  • James-Lange Theory: Emotion arises from awareness of physiological responses.
  • Cannon-Bard Theory: Emotion-arousing stimuli trigger arousal and subjective experience simultaneously.
  • Two-Factor Theory: Emotion from physical arousal and cognitive label of the arousal.

Zajonc and LeDoux's Contributions

  • Emotional responses can occur immediately, bypassing conscious appraisal.
  • Lazarus Theory: Suggests cognitive appraisal often occurs without awareness, defining the emotion.

Impact of Facial Expressions

  • Facial Feedback Effect: Facial expressions can influence emotions.
  • Behavior Feedback Effect: Behavior affects thoughts and feelings.

Gender and Cultural Influences on Emotion

  • Women generally read emotional cues better and exhibit higher empathy.
  • Cultural differences exist in the expression and interpretation of emotions, with expressions of happiness and fear being common across cultures.