chptr 9 Motivation & Emotion – Comprehensive Study Notes

Chris Klein: A Living Example of Motivation and Emotion

Chris Klein’s life story opens the chapter and provides a running illustration of how motivation and emotion interact.

  • Suffered severe cerebral palsy due to 40 min of neonatal oxygen deprivation; cannot speak or control most muscles but retains full cognition and control of his left foot.

  • Operates a motorized wheelchair and a toe-controlled speech device; graduated Hope College (spontaneous standing ovation) and is now a motivational speaker (book-in-progress: Lessons from the Big Toe).

  • Demonstrates how biological limits still allow powerful psychological “pushes” (drives) and “pulls” (incentives) toward learning, belonging, achievement, and love.

LOQ 9-1 — Motivation

Motivation = internal need or desire that energizes & directs behaviour.
Three meta-perspectives:

  1. Drive-Reduction (Need → Drive → Drive-reducing behaviour).
    • Goal: Homeostasis\text{Homeostasis}—steady internal balance.
    • Incentives can amplify or inhibit drives by raising dopamine.

  2. Arousal Theory – we seek an optimum arousal level (Yerkes-Dodson law).
    • Moderate arousal→Optimal performance\text{Moderate arousal} \to \text{Optimal performance}; harder tasks require lower arousal.
    • Explains exploratory & curiosity motives (infants, monkeys, George Mallory).

  3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
    • Physiological → Safety → Belonging & Love → Esteem → Self-actualization → Self-transcendence.
    • 91%91\% of people worldwide affirm that life has purpose/meaning.
    • Hierarchy is flexible (e.g., hunger strikes) but roughly predicts priority shifts under deprivation.

Hunger (Basic-Level Motive)

Physiology (LOQ 9-2)

  • Cannon & Washburn balloon study: stomach contractions correlate with hunger.

  • Hunger persists without stomach (rat & human gastrectomy studies) → brain & hormones key.

  • Hypothalamus arcuate nucleus: appetite-stimulating vs appetite-suppressing centers.

  • Key hormones (Fig 9.5):
    • Ghrelin ↑ hunger (empty stomach).
    • Orexin ↑ hunger (hypothalamus).
    • Insulin, Leptin, PYY ↓ hunger.

  • Body weight regulated around a set point / settling point.
    • Falling below set point → ↑ hunger + ↓ basal metabolic rate (BMR).
    • BMR drops ≈29%\approx29\% under semi-starvation (Keys, 1950).

Psychology (LOQ 9-3)

  • Memory of last meal & time cues trigger hunger (amnesic double-lunch study).

  • Taste preferences:
    • Universal: sweet & salty (genetic).
    • Carbs enhance serotonin (comfort food under stress).
    • Cultural learning: durian vs cheese, toasted ants vs peanuts.
    • Adaptive aversions (hot-climate spices; pregnancy nausea peak at week 10).

  • Situational influences:
    • Social facilitation—eat more with friends.
    • Portion size effect (pretzels, Tootsie Rolls, M&M’s).
    • Variety / buffet effect; easier reach increases intake.
    • Nudging (serve carrots first quadruples intake).

Obesity & Weight Control (LOQ 9-4)

  • Health risks: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, arthritis; ↑ depression; bullying.

  • Global obesity nearly tripled since 1975; US adult rate >2×; youth 4×.

  • Multifactorial:
    • Genes: identical > fraternal twins; >100 genes implicated; heritability ~23\frac{2}{3} of variance.
    • Set-point metabolism: fat tissue needs fewer calories to maintain; dieting slows metabolism; Biggest Loser follow-up (70 % regain).
    • Environment: high-calorie availability, sedentary lifestyle (31 % adults <$20 min moderate activity/day).
    • Sleep loss predicts weight gain; social contagion (friend obese triples risk).

  • Weight-loss advice (TABLE 9.2): motivation, exercise + sleep, limit cues/variety, portion control, breakfast, avoid binge triggers, social support, progress tracking.

Need to Belong (LOQ 9-5)

  • Evolutionary survival: protection, cooperative hunting/gathering, kinship (“wretched” = without kin).

  • Self-determination theory: competence, autonomy, relatedness ⟶ well-being.

  • Separation/divorce halves “very happy” responses; predicts earlier mortality (meta-analysis N>600\text{ M}).

Pain of Ostracism

  • Social exclusion (timeout, solitary) threatens belonging; activates physical pain brain areas; acetaminophen or cannabis dull both pains.

  • Experimental rejection → self-defeating & aggressive behaviour; links to school shootings.

Connecting & Social Networking (LOQ 9-6)

  • Mobile coverage 95%95\% world; average U.S. daily texts ≈94.

  • Pros: info access, match-making, support networks, longer life with moderate use.

  • Cons: social comparison envy, ↑ loneliness/depression post-2010 (screen-time >10 h/wk).

  • Narcissism correlation: more self-promoting posts, selfies; experimental profile editing ↑ narcissism scores.

  • Balance strategies: monitor time & feelings, hide frequent posters, silence alerts while studying, nature walks.

Achievement Motivation (LOQ 9-7)

  • Definition (Murray 1938): desire for significant accomplishment, mastery, control, high standard.

  • Terman’s “Termites”: high IQ children’s later success linked to ambition, energy, persistence > intelligence.

  • Self-discipline outpredicts IQ for grades, attendance; “grit” = passion & perseverance (Duckworth).

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

  • Intrinsic: doing for its own sake; extrinsic: for reward/avoid punishment.

  • Over-reward can undermine intrinsic interest (token reading study).

  • Effective goal-pursuit strategies: make resolution, announce publicly, action plan, short-term rewards, monitor progress, supportive environment, build habits (~2 months).

Emotion: Arousal, Behaviour, Cognition (LOQ 9-8)

Emotion = arousal,  expressive behaviour,  conscious experience{\text{arousal},\;\text{expressive behaviour},\;\text{conscious experience}}.

Theories & Two Big Questions

  1. Order problem (arousal vs feelings).

  2. Role of cognition.

Major Theories

  • James-Lange: arousal → emotion (we feel sorry because we cry).

  • Cannon-Bard: arousal + emotion simultaneously (parallel sympathetic & cortex).

  • Schachter-Singer Two-Factor: Arousal+Cognitive Label=Emotion\text{Arousal}+\text{Cognitive Label}=\text{Emotion}; spillover effect (epinephrine + joyful/irritated confederate).

  • Zajonc & LeDoux: some emotions low-road bypass cortex (speedy automatic).

  • Lazarus: appraisal (often unconscious) is necessary; “Is it dangerous?”

Embodied Emotion

Basic Emotions (LOQ 9-9)

Izard’s 10: joy, interest, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, guilt (+ pride, love by others).

Autonomic Nervous System (LOQ 9-10)

  • Sympathetic (arousing): pupils dilate, perspiration ↑, heart ↑, digestion ↓, adrenal hormones ↑.

  • Parasympathetic (calming): opposite changes.

Specific Patterns (LOQ 9-11)

  • Subtle physiological differences (finger temp, hormone) distinguish fear vs anger; facial muscle combos differ (brow tension vs cheek raise).

  • Brain: right frontal activation → negative; left frontal → positive; amygdala circuits vary.

Lie Detection (LOQ 9-12)

  • Polygraph measures ANS (breathing, heart, sweat).

  • Control-question test has ≈13\approx\frac{1}{3} error; false positives common.

  • Concealed Information Test more accurate but limited applicability; no spy ever caught solely by polygraph (NAS 2002).

Expressed & Experienced Emotion

Nonverbal Detection & Gender (LOQ 9-13)

  • Humans read eye contact, gestures, vocal tones.

  • Thin-slice studies: women outperform men at decoding; also more expressive and empathetic (self-report and physiology).

  • Anger perceived as masculine; smiling faces judged feminine.

Cultural Universals vs Display Rules (LOQ 9-14)

  • Gestures vary (OK sign, middle finger); facial expressions for joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust are universal (Darwin evolutionary view).

  • Context modifies interpretation; cultural norms regulate intensity (excited smiles in U.S., calm in East Asia).

Facial & Behaviour Feedback (LOQ 9-15)

  • Facial feedback effect: adopting an expression increases corresponding feeling (pen-in-teeth study, Botox frown reduction).

  • Behaviour feedback: posture/walk affects mood (shuffle vs stride).

  • Mimicry fosters empathy and emotional contagion (positive Facebook posts spread positivity).

Key Vocabulary

Drive-reduction theory; Homeostasis; Incentive; Yerkes-Dodson law; Hierarchy of needs; Glucose; Set point / Settling point; Basal metabolic rate; Obesity; Need to belong; Self-determination theory; Ostracism; Narcissism; Achievement motivation; Grit; Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivation; Emotion; James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Two-Factor theories; Polygraph; Facial feedback effect.

Practical Applications & Ethics

  • Medical: bariatric surgery lowers ghrelin; ethical concerns over solitary confinement’s mental harm.

  • Education & workforce: reward structures should foster intrinsic motivation; grit training; self-determination supports well-being.

  • Technology: policy on screen-time and social media to protect youth mental health.

  • Lie detection: courtroom admissibility debates; need for more valid methods.

Study & Exam Tips

  1. Map theories to questions: know unique predictions (order, cognition).

  2. Remember hormone–hunger pairs (ghrelin ↑, leptin ↓ etc.).

  3. Practice applying Yerkes-Dodson; moderate arousal & task difficulty.

  4. Use hierarchy examples: when hunger overrides safety, belonging etc.

  5. Sketch sympathetic vs parasympathetic table to retain details.

  6. Relate personal tech use to social networking research—possible essay.

  7. Recall facial feedback examples (pen, Botox) for application questions.