Week 12

Introduction to Psychology - Motivation I

What is Motivation?

  • Definition: Motivation refers to the factors that influence the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior. This definition is sourced from Bernstein et al. (2012, p. 413).

  • Central Question: The study of motivation revolves around understanding why we engage in specific behaviors.

Sources of Motivation

  • Physiological Factors: Basic biological needs such as food, water, and sex that drive behavior.

  • Cognitive Factors: Influences from our perceptions of the world, including what we believe can or cannot be accomplished.

  • Social Factors: The impact of family, friends, and sociocultural forces on our motivations.

  • Emotional Factors: Feelings such as anxiety, rage, and sorrow that can significantly shape our behaviors.

Biological and Behavioral Theories

Instinct Theory

  • Instincts are characterized as:

    • Unlearned: Present from birth without the need for environmental input.

    • Uniform in Expression: Displayed similarly across individuals of the same species.

    • Universal in a Species: Commonly observed in every member of the species.

  • Inquiry: Questions whether humans have instincts and discusses issues related to the Instinct Theory itself.

Arousal and Performance
Yerkes-Dodson Law

  • The relationship between arousal and performance is illustrated:

    • Higher arousal relates to strong performance on simple tasks.

    • Arousal can impair performance on difficult tasks affecting attention and decision-making.

    • Graphical Representation:

    • X-axis: Arousal levels (from low to high).

    • Y-axis: Performance (from weak to strong).

    • Law states that optimal performance occurs at moderate arousal levels.

Drive Reduction Theory

  • Definition: The drive reduction theory posits that drives create tension that must be reduced to achieve a state of homeostasis (balance).

  • Drives stimulate behaviors that either increase or decrease arousal levels in response to deprivation-based needs.

  • Components of the Theory:

    • Need: A biological requirement (e.g., hunger, thirst).

    • Drive: The motivational state that results from the need (e.g., hunger drive).

    • Drive-Reducing Behavior: Activities undertaken to satisfy the need (e.g., eating).

Types of Drives

  • Primary Drives: Biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual drive that require fulfillment.

  • Secondary Drives: Learned drives that arise from biological needs, like the drive for monetary resources to purchase goods/services fulfilling other needs (e.g., going to work).

Incentive Theories

Understanding Motivational Behaviors

  • Examples of behaviors influenced by incentives include:

    • Continuing to drink alcohol despite health risks.

    • Quitting smoking as a personal choice.

    • Children's tantrums in response to parental refusals.

    • Specific behaviors in children with autism (e.g., rocking).

    • Routine behaviors, such as dental hygiene and language learning.

    • Volunteering behaviors aimed at helping children with disabilities.

Incentives and Rewards

  • Definition: Incentives are environmental stimuli that can be positive or negative, motivating behavior.

  • External sources activate drive states driven by rewards rather than deprivation.

Wanting vs. Liking

  • Wanting: The attraction or desire for an incentive.

  • Liking: How pleasurable an individual finds a stimulus.

  • Key Insight: "Wanting" can often overpower "liking"; thus, acquiring resources related to hobbies may overshadow the enjoyment of the hobby itself.

Attraction and Relationships

Instincts and Sexual Motivation - Parental Investment Theory (Trivers, 1972)

  • For Males:

    • In reproduction, males invest relatively low resources (time, energy) and maximize reproductive success through multiple partners, preferring youth and attractiveness.

  • For Females:

    • Females face higher investments in reproduction; therefore, they maximize success by seeking partners who can invest resources in their offspring, preferring fewer partners with higher potential (e.g., income, status).

Biological Contributions

  • Selfish Gene (Dawkins, 1989): The notion that genes drive behavior as a means of ensuring their survival across generations.

  • Facial Attractiveness (Jones et al., 2001): Symmetry serves as an indicator of health and potential genetics quality. Increased symmetry correlates with higher attractiveness ratings, with variations observed by gender.

Sexual Orientation Statistics

  • Homosexuality in Australia:

    • 1.6% of men and 0.8% of women self-identify as homosexual.

    • 8.6% of men and 15.1% of women report same-sex attraction or activity (Burton, Weston, & Kowalski, 2012).

  • Investigations into genetic heritability include twin studies and EEG studies analyzing cognitive tasks such as mental rotation (Wegesin, 1998).

Relatedness

  • Attachment Motivation: The fundamental need for emotional closeness with another individual.

  • Intimacy: Defined by disclosure and mutual caring, prevalent in adult relationships.

  • Differentiated from Affiliation, which encompasses wider social networking. Individual differences exist in preferences for each.

Hunger and Eating

Drive Reduction Theory & Eating Behavior

  • Focus on physiology and eating behaviors, exploring how physiological hunger prompts eating.

  • Key Influences:

    • Stomach: Cannon & Washburn (1912) identified stomach contractions as hunger signals.

    • Blood Glucose: Mayer (1955) provided insight into eating behaviors when blood glucose is low.

    • Hypothalamus: Critical in regulating hunger responses (Teitelbaum, 1964).

Physiological Signals from the Stomach

  • Stomach contractions send signals indicating hunger through mechanisms studied by Washburn, who measured contractions using a balloon and recorded hunger pangs in response over time.

Homeostasis and Set Points

  • The concept of a set point in homeostasis emphasizes feedback mechanisms essential for body regulation.

  • Satiety Mechanisms: These processes help in regulating food intake based on physiological needs.

Blood and the Brain

  • Blood Glucose Levels: Discussed by Mayer (1955), highlighting the connection between low glucose levels and the urge to eat.

  • Hypothalamic Regions: Focus on the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus connected to hunger regulation; however, limitations of this biological approach to hunger must be acknowledged, including behavioral issues (e.g., binge eating, eating disorders).

Limitations of the Biological Perspective and Hunger

  • Behavioral issues such as:

    • Binge eating affect the expected biological responses to hunger.

    • Eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, present contrasting factors.

    • Influence of external factors like social eating norms, learned behaviors, and food palatability must be considered in conjunction with the biological viewpoint.

Bibliography

  • Bernstein, D. A., Penner, L. A., Clarke-Stewart, A., & Roy, E. J. (2012). Psychology (9th ed.). Wadsworth.

  • Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2012). Psychology (3rd ed.). Wiley.

  • Cannon, W. B., & Washburn, A. L. (1912). An explanation of hunger. American Journal of Physiology, 29(5), 441-454. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1912.29.5.441

  • Dawkins, R. (1989). The selfish gene. Oxford University Press.

  • Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behavior: An introduction to behavior theory. Oxford University Press.

  • Jones, B. C., Little, A. C., Penton-Voak, I. S., Tiddeman, B. P., Burt, D. M., & Perrett, D. I. (2001). Facial symmetry and judgments of apparent health. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22(6), 417-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1090-5138(01)00083-6

  • Mayer, J. (1955). Regulation of energy intake and body weight: The glucostatic theory and lipostatic hypothesis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 63(1), 15-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1955.tb36543.x

  • Teitelbaum, T. (1964). Appetite. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 108(6), 464-472. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/985864.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A3ba76289004a0f884b5950977d8dcb11

  • Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. Aldine Publishing Company.

  • Wegesin, D. J. (1998). Event-related potentials in homosexual and heterosexual men and women: Sex-dimorphic patterns in verbal asymmetries and mental rotation. Brain and Cognition, 36(1), 73-92. https://doi.org/10.1006/brcg.1997.0964

  • Wegesin, D. J. (1998). A neuropsychologic profile of homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(1), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1018661925976

  • Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18(5), 459-482. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503