psyo 1011 tricky topic unit 3

Introduction to Motivation

• Motivation is the exploration of what individuals want and how it influences behavior.

• Decisions driven by motivation can be both significant (career choices) and spontaneous (food selection).

Definitions of Motivation

• Motivation: The wants or needs that direct behavior towards a goal.

• Need: A biological state of deficiency prompting drives.

• Drive: A perceived state of tension due to a deficiency; it is needs-specific.

• Incentive: External objects/events that motivate behavior, often increasing the likelihood of action without biological necessity.

  • Drives push behavior, while incentives pull behavior.

Examples of Needs and Behaviors

• Basic Needs: Universal needs like food and water that drive behavior (e.g., hunger drives eating).

• Complex Needs: Curiosity (knowledge acquisition) does not meet survival criteria but remains a strong motivator.

Theories of Motivation

1. Instinct Theory (William James)

• Proposes behaviors driven by instincts necessary for survival.

• Instincts: Unlearned behaviors shared across species (e.g., seeking food, maternal protection).

• Critiques: Disagreement on which behaviors qualify as instincts and the influence of learning on motivation.

2. Evolutionary Perspective

• Based on Darwin's theory of natural selection: behaviors enhance survival and reproduction.

• Emphasizes basic needs and drives that promote fitness in organisms.

3. Drive Reduction Model

• Motivation arises from the need to maintain homeostasis; behaviors arise to restore balance.

• Example: Temperature regulation through sweating or shivering.

• Critiques: Difficulty in defining set points for complex needs like hunger; not all drives are tied to physiological balance (e.g., sexual drive).

4. Optimal Arousal Model

• Motivates individuals to seek a balance of stimulation (Goldilocks principle).

• Evidence: Participants in sensory deprivation showed adverse effects, indicating a need for stimulation.

  • The Yerkes-Dodson Law: Optimal performance occurs at moderate arousal; low or high arousal results in poor performance.

  • Task difficulty affects optimal arousal levels; novices show more anxiety detrimental to performance.

5. Maslow's Hierarchical Model

• Organizes needs in a priority pyramid:

  1. Physiological Needs: Basic survival needs (food, water, temperature).

  2. Security Needs: Physical security, stability, and safety.

  3. Social Needs: Belongingness, family, and friendships.

  4. Esteem Needs: Self-worth, appreciation, respect.

  5. Self-Actualization: Realizing one's potential.

• Critiques: Lacks scientific support; social needs may intersect with physiological needs.

Conclusion

• The study of motivation is complex and multifaceted, reflecting both biological requirements and personal aspirations.

The Complexity of Hunger and Food Choices

• Hunger is a fundamental drive essential for survival.

• The relationship with hunger and food is complex, not merely based on biological needs.

• Personal preferences greatly influence food choices; for example, one might dislike olives but love pizza.

• Severe hunger might override preferences, leading to the choice of less desirable foods.

Biological Influences on Hunger

Hunger Control Centers

• The stomach is often associated with hunger signals (e.g., growling) but is not the sole controller of hunger.

• Research shows that even when stomach nerves are cut or after gastric bypass, individuals still experience hunger.

• Bloodborne substances, particularly glucose, play a key role in hunger signals.

Role of the Brain

• The hypothalamus is critical in regulating hunger:

  • Ventromedial hypothalamus: Promotes feelings of satiety; if damaged, it can lead to overeating.

  • Lateral hypothalamus: Stimulates feeding behavior; activation leads to eating regardless of previous consumption.

Chemical Messengers

• Various hormones and neurotransmitters regulate hunger:

  • Neuropeptide Y: A potent appetite stimulant that drives immediate food intake.

  • Ghrelin, melanin, endocannabinoids: Appetite stimulators that promote feeding.

  • Insulin, leptin: Appetite suppressants that reduce food intake after eating.

  • Peptide YY, CCK: Released from the gut, signaling satiety.

Psychological Influences on Feeding

Food Aesthetics and Preferences

• Visual presentation influences food choices; fresh-looking food is preferred over spoiled or unattractive options.

• Prior exposure to foods, cultural background, and familial influences play major roles in food preferences.

Conditioning and Cues

• External cues, such as timing and sensory stimuli, can trigger hunger:

  • Pavlov’s experiments show how conditioned signals (like mealtime cues) can provoke hunger.

• Reliance on external cues often leads to neglecting bodily signals of hunger and satiety.

Impacts of External Cues

• Behaviors shaped by external cues can misalign with internal hunger and satiety signals, potentially leading to overeating:

  • Research by Brian Wansink demonstrated how visual perception can distort our actual food intake (e.g., refilling soup bowl experiment).

Conclusion

• Hunger is influenced by a mix of biological signals and psychological factors.

• The interplay of these influences is crucial for energy maintenance and weight regulation.

• Awareness of how external cues affect eating behavior is essential for making healthier food choices.

Introduction to Emotions

• Emotions are powerful experiences, and their origins have been a subject of debate.

• Four prominent theories attempt to explain how subjective feelings are produced.

1. James-Lange Somatic Theory

• Overview: Named after William James and Carl Lange; emphasizes the body's role in feeling emotions.

• Key Idea: Emotions arise from physiological changes in the body.

• Example: When encountering something frightening, like zombies:

  • Body reacts with increased heart rate and respiration.

  • The brain detects these changes and constructs the subjective experience of fear.

• Counter-intuitive Aspect: Places feelings as a response after physiological changes.

• Supporting Evidence: People report feeling happier when holding a pen in their teeth (activating smiling) versus a pin in their lips (activating frowning).

2. Cannon-Bard Theory

• Overview: Developed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard.

• Key Idea: Emotions occur independently of physical expression; emotional responses happen simultaneously but separately.

• Supporting Evidence: Research shows multiple parallel brain pathways respond to emotional triggers:

  • Pathway through the thalamus leads to physical and physiological changes.

  • Pathway through the cortex is critical for the subjective emotional experience.

3. Two-Factor Theory (Schachter and Singer)

• Overview: This theory posits that conscious emotional experience is based on bodily awareness and cognitive appraisal.

• Key Idea: We identify emotions by interpreting bodily reactions within context.

• Example with Zombies:

  • Upon seeing zombies, you might feel your heart racing.

  • Appraisal of the situation leads to different emotional responses:

    • Real-life zombies might incite fear.

    • Zombies in a favorite series might lead to happiness instead, especially for fans.

4. Cognitive-Mediational Theory (Lazarus)

• Overview: Proposed by Lazarus, this theory prioritizes cognitive appraisal in the emotion process.

• Key Idea: Initial appraisal of a situation determines emotional responses and coping ability.

• Supporting Evidence: Different people have varied reactions to the same stimuli:

  • Appraisal influences whether a stimulus (like zombies) triggers an emotion and its intensity.

Conclusion

• Each theory contributes to the understanding of emotions, capturing different aspects and complexities of subjective feelings.

• Modern perspectives on emotion incorporate insights and evidence from all four theories.

ntroduction to Emotions

• Researchers debated on defining emotions, focusing on three primary responses: facial expressions, feelings, and physical changes in the body.

• Recent consensus views emotions as a holistic process, considering multiple responses.

The Emotion Process

Antecedent Events

• Emotions typically begin with a triggering event, known as an antecedent.

  • Examples of antecedent events include:

    • Seeing a puppy triggers happiness.

    • An upcoming exam can cause panic or anxiety.

    • Encountering a spider may invoke fear.

• These stimuli lead to emotional responses based on personal appraisals of the situations.

Appraisal Phase

• Following the antecedent event, an appraisal occurs where individuals interpret or make sense of the situation.

• The emotional outcomes depend on the appraisal results, leading to varied emotional responses.

Components of Emotional Responses

Physiological Changes

• Physiological changes involve bodily alterations triggered by emotions, regulated by the autonomic nervous system.

  • Divided into two branches:

    • Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight or Flight): Activated during intense emotions (e.g., terror, excitement).

      • Common responses: increased heart rate, rapid breathing.

    • Parasympathetic Nervous System (Rest and Digest): Active during calm, relaxed states; less observable changes.

  • These changes are involuntary and outside of conscious control.

Behavioral Expressive Changes

• Observable behaviors linked to emotions, primarily through facial expressions.

  • Humans naturally respond to facial cues; even newborns mimic adult expressions.

  • Facial Action Coding System (FACS): Developed by Paul Ekman to measure and assess facial movements, linking them to emotional interpretations.

  • Research shows genuine (Duchenne) smiles involve eye muscle activation, differentiating them from fake smiles.

  • Facial expressions are critical for communicating emotions and are viewed universally across cultures.

Subjective Emotional Experiences

• Subjective changes refer to personal feelings that arise, unique to each emotion (e.g., anger vs. happiness).

  • Internal experiences help differentiate emotions; self-reports are required for measurement, making subjective experiences challenging to assess in non-verbal individuals.

Measuring Emotional Responses

Physiological Measurement Tools

• Measurements often involve assessing autonomic nervous system activity, focusing on heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration.

  • Polygraphs: Measure physiological responses under the assumption that lying induces anxiety, which is hard to hide physically.

Behavioral and Facial Expression Measurement

• Behavioral changes can be observed objectively in response to emotional triggers.

  • Facial expressions may exaggerate or suppress genuine emotions, possibly impacting accuracy in reflecting true feelings.

  • Monitoring facial expressions can provide insight into emotional states.

Subjective Feelings Assessment

• Subjective feelings require self-report for intensity measurement, often using rating scales.

  • Limitations exist with non-verbal individuals (e.g., babies, animals) since their feelings must be inferred through behavioral observations.

Conclusion

• Emotional responses are multifaceted and complex, evidencing diverse reactions to events.

• The understanding of emotional processes continues to evolve, integrating physiological, behavioral, and subjective data.

Understanding Personality

• Definition: Personality is a unique and enduring set of behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and motives that characterize an individual.

• Stability: It remains relatively stable over time and across different situations, allowing predictions about people's preferences and behaviors.

• Practical Application: Knowledge of personality helps in social situations such as choosing gifts, planning parties, and selecting romantic partners.

Freud's Contribution to Personality Theory

• Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud is best known for developing psychoanalysis, a therapeutic strategy that uses talk therapy to modify behavior.

• Influence in Psychology: Although many of his specific techniques aren't widely used today, Freud's work laid the groundwork for modern clinical psychology.

• Early Life Experiences: Freud posited that personality is shaped by early life experiences.

Freud's Background

• Career: Freud was an Austrian neurologist and a prominent figure in psychology.

• Charcot’s Influence: His work was heavily influenced by Jean Martin Charcot's study of hypnosis to treat hysteria, instigating Freud's interest in the unconscious mind.

• Techniques Developed: Freud developed methods like dream analysis and free association to explore unconscious motives.

Structure of the Mind

• Three Layers of Consciousness:

  • Conscious: Current thoughts and awareness.

  • Pre-conscious: Thoughts that can be easily brought into consciousness.

  • Unconscious: Thoughts outside of awareness that affect behavior.

• Largest Component: Freud believed the unconscious mind is the most significant part of our consciousness.

Components of Personality

• Id:

  • Developed first; source of impulses and desires.

  • Operates on the pleasure principle (seeking immediate gratification).

• Ego:

  • Develops after the id; makes realistic attempts to fulfill desires.

  • Operates on the reality principle, engaging with the external world.

• Superego:

  • Develops later; serves as moral guide evaluating actions as right or wrong.

  • Constantly in conflict with the id, attempting to control its urges.

• Healthy Personality: A balanced ego manages the conflicts between the id and superego; overly controlling or impulsive behaviors indicate imbalance.

Defense Mechanisms

• Purpose: Used to protect from anxiety-promoting thoughts and impulses from the id.

• Unconscious Operations: They function unconsciously, distorting or denying reality.

• Main Mechanisms:

  • Repression: Keeping unpleasant thoughts out of awareness.

  • Reaction Formation: Converting unpleasant impulses into their opposites.

  • Projection: Attributing one’s own undesirable feelings to others.

  • Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors.

  • Fixation: Obsessive focus on earlier developmental stages.

• Testing Limitations: Defense mechanisms are subjective and difficult to measure, leading to a lack of scientific substantiation.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Stages of Personality Development: Freud theorized personality develops through various stages linked to pleasure-seeking activities:

  • Oral Stage (Birth - 18 months): Fixation may lead to issues like smoking.

  • Anal Stage (18 months - 3 years): Fixation results in obsessive behaviors; leads to the term "anal retentive."

• Scientific Critique: The theory lacks empirical support; while it opened discussions on early experiences affecting adulthood, it is considered scientifically unsubstantiated.

Summary of Freud's Influence

• Role of Unconscious Thought: Evidence exists supporting the impact of unconscious cognitive processes; modern psychology terms it as implicit thinking.

• Importance of Early Life Experiences: Supported by behavioral neuroscience and epigenetics, showing long-term effects of early experiences on behavior.

• Freud's Legacy: He significantly shaped literature and psychology, recognizing the importance of early influences and the unconscious, although some ideas lack supporting evidence and have become controversial.

Introduction to The Big Five Model

• The Big Five model is a pivotal framework in modern personality research.

• Known as the Five Factor Model, it categorizes personality into five broad traits.

• Initial personality theories were vague and lacked measurable tools, hindering scientific research.

Historical Perspective on Personality Theories

Early Influential Theories

• Psychoanalytic, humanistic, and social cognitive theories emphasized personality causes.

• These theories struggled with vague measurement tools, complicating research.

Trait Theories

• Trait theories focus on measurable aspects of personality.

• Emphasize using the lexical hypothesis to explore language for psychological insights.

Development of the Lexical Approach

Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert's Contribution

• In the 1930s, Allport and Odbert analyzed a dictionary for personality descriptors.

• Initially identified almost 18,000 adjectives.

• Eliminated terms focused on transient moods, narrowing it down to over 4,000.

• Ultimately reduced to under ten traits, though lacking scientific grounding.

Engaging with the Lexical Approach

• Suggested activity: Write down adjectives describing personality in 30 seconds.

• Comparison of lists might reveal grouped categories, forming traits.

• Recognizes the challenge due to the vast number of potential descriptors.

Factor Analysis and The Big Five Traits

Emergence of the Five Factors

• Statisticians utilized factor analysis to distill personality descriptors into five clusters.

• These are commonly remembered by the mnemonic OCEAN:

  • Openness

  • Conscientiousness

  • Extroversion

  • Agreeableness

  • Neuroticism

Detailed Examination of The Big Five Traits

Openness

• Describes curiosity and willingness for new experiences and ideas.

Conscientiousness

• Refers to organization, responsibility, and dependability.

Extroversion

• Indicates sociability, assertiveness, and energetic interactions with others.

Agreeableness

• Represents being friendly, compassionate, and cooperative.

Neuroticism

• Involves emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness.

Measuring The Big Five Traits

Assessment Techniques

• Researchers utilize self-reported questionnaires for trait measurement.

• Extroversion dimension example:

  • Statements like "I see myself as talkative" and "I see myself as reserved" are used.

• Respondents rate agreement on a scale.

Statistical Distribution

• Most individuals rate somewhere in the middle for traits like extroversion and neuroticism.

• The Big Five traits exhibit a normal distribution rather than a binary categorization.

Critiques of The Big Five Model

• While the model serves as a reliable taxonomy, it mainly describes rather than explains personality.

• It lays groundwork for testing theories that may explain underlying mechanisms of personality traits.

Practical Applications and Research Support

Correlation with Behavior

• Studies, such as one with over 66,000 Facebook users, confirm the Big Five traits correspond with actual behaviors.

• The revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) was used to analyze status updates.

Word Cloud Analysis

• High extroversion scores linked to different vocabulary and language use compared to low extroversion.

• Introverts utilized negative action words more often, reflecting their need for less stimulation.

Conclusion

• The Big Five model offers a standardized method for measuring personality traits, contrasting with more interpretive Freudian methods.

• Continues to be a fundamental tool in personality research.

Attribution of Behavior

• Attributions: Explanations made for the causes of behavior, also known as causal inferences.

• Types of Attributions:

  • Internal/Dispositional: Explanations based on personal characteristics, such as personality.

  • External/Situational: Explanations based on outside factors, such as circumstances or environmental influences.

Example of Attribution

• Scenario: Almost getting hit by a reckless driver while biking.

• Internal Attribution: Thinking "That guy's a total jerk!"

• External Attribution: Considering possible emergencies that might have caused the driver's behavior.

Importance of Attributions

• The way we make attributions affects our judgments about others.

• Dispositions and Situational Attributions Impact:

  • Positive Behavior:

    • Internal Attribution: Likely to like and admire the person (e.g., viewed as kind or generous).

    • External Attribution: Less admiration, may assume selfishness (e.g., thinking the kind act was for personal gain).

  • Negative Behavior:

    • Internal Attribution: Unlikely to like the person (e.g., viewed as bad character).

    • External Attribution: Less harsh judgment, understanding that circumstances played a role.

Self-Serving Bias

• People tend to explain their own behaviors to maintain a positive self-image:

  • Positive Behavior: Attributed internally (e.g., "I donated because I'm a nice person").

  • Negative Behavior: Attributed externally (e.g., "I cut off the cyclist because of unusual circumstances").

Fundamental Attribution Error

• When evaluating others, we often favor dispositional explanations over situational ones.

• Tendency: Known as the fundamental attribution error, this bias can lead to misunderstandings and mistakes in judgment.

• Takeaway: Recognize biases in evaluating others' behavior to give more balanced credit or blame.

Cognitive Dissonance

• Definition: Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon where an individual experiences tension when holding two or more contradictory beliefs or when their behavior contradicts their beliefs.

• Origin: Proposed by psychologist Leon Festinger in the late 1950s.

• Internal Consistency: Humans have a strong need for internal order and consistency; experiencing contradictory evidence creates discomfort, motivating changes in attitudes or behaviors.

Festinger and Smith's Experiment (1950s)

• Purpose: To observe what happens when people are tricked into behaving in a way that contradicts their self-concept.

• Participants: 60 subjects were involved in a tedious task involving placing 12 wooden spools on a tray repeatedly.

Experiment Design

• Tasks: Participants completed boring tasks then were randomly assigned to three groups:

  • Control Group: Did not lie about the task.

  • One Dollar Group: Encouraged to tell a new participant the task was fun for just $1.

  • Twenty Dollar Group: Encouraged to do the same for $20.

• Behavior: After lying, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of the task on a scale from -5 (dull) to +5 (enjoyable).

Results

• Control Group: Rated the task negatively (baseline rating).

• One Dollar Group: Rated the task positively, enjoyed it more than expected due to needing to justify their lie without sufficient compensation.

• Twenty Dollar Group: Rated enjoyment close to zero, as their substantial payment justified the dishonesty, alleviating cognitive dissonance.

• Conclusion: Those with less justification for their lie (the one dollar group) experienced more cognitive dissonance, leading to a change in attitude to rationalize their behavior.

Implications of Cognitive Dissonance

• Strategies for Resolution:

  • Change Behavior: Stop the contradictory behavior (e.g., quitting smoking).

  • Change Thoughts: Justify the behavior to align with beliefs (e.g., downplaying smoking's risks).

  • Add New Cognitions: Introduce rationalizations that make the behavior seem acceptable (e.g., smoking helps reduce stress).

Smoking Example

• Awareness: Smokers know smoking is harmful due to graphic warnings but continue the behavior.

• Behavioral Change: Some attempt to quit but find it difficult.

• Cognitive Changes:

  • Cherry-picking personal anecdotes of healthy smokers.

  • Rationalizing: "Smoking helps manage stress, which is worse for health."

Conclusion

• Reflection: When attitudes and behaviors misalign, people often adjust their attitudes to reduce discomfort of cognitive dissonance.

• Critical Thinking: It's beneficial to assess whether personal justification for actions is warranted or if it's merely a way to avoid discomfort.

Conformity and Its Influence

• Conformity is the act of adjusting one's behavior to align with the actions or norms of others.

• Examples of conformity:

  • Emergency situation: When an alarm goes off in a classroom, individuals may follow the crowd out of uncertainty (informational influence).

  • Social settings: In a concert, despite not enjoying the performance, individuals may join in a standing ovation to avoid standing out (normative influence).

Types of Social Influence

• Informational Social Influence:

  • Occurs when individuals look to others for guidance in ambiguous situations, believing others are right.

  • Example: Students evacuating when the alarm sounds based on the group's reaction.

• Normative Social Influence:

  • Influences based on the desire to be accepted or liked by others.

  • Example: Clapping at a concert despite personal disinterest to fit in with the audience.

Solomon Asch's Experiment (1950s)

• Investigated the power of group pressure on conformity through line-length judgment tasks.

• Experiment Design:

  • Participants judged the length of lines, where most were confederates instructed to respond either correctly or incorrectly.

  • The actual participant answered last, exposed to group pressure.

  • Critical trials involved confederates consistently giving the wrong answer.

Results of Asch's Experiment

• Alone, only 5% of participants made mistakes in their judgments.

• In groups, 76% conformed at least once.

• Error rates compared:

  • Alone: 0.7% mistakes per trial.

  • Group: 37% mistakes per trial, indicating significant social pressure.

Assessing Influences on Conformity

• A follow-up condition involved participants reporting responses in writing, isolating the influence from peers.

• Results:

  • Wrong answers decreased to 64% in the written condition compared to 76% in the out loud condition.

  • Error rates dropped to 12% in the written condition against 37% in groups.

Conclusions from Asch's Findings

• Findings indicate that group pressure significantly impacts individual judgment.

• Both normative and informational influences were present, with normative pressures likely being more influential in social scenarios like the concert ovation.

• Participant feedback revealed a strong desire to conform, suggesting that fitting in (normative influence) often overrides personal belief.

• Statements like "Mob psychology builds up on you" illustrate the compelling nature of social conformity.

Altruism Overview

• Definition: Altruism refers to a selfless form of helping behavior where actions are taken without expectation of benefit to oneself. It may also involve risks to the helper's wellbeing.

• Debate: It is a subject of lively debate in the fields of psychology and evolutionary biology.

Evolutionary Perspective

• Natural Selection: From an evolutionary standpoint, altruism challenges Darwin's theory that natural selection favors traits that enhance survival.

• Puzzle for Evolution: Helping behaviors that may compromise an individual's survival are difficult to reconcile with evolutionary advantages. Examples exist in both humans and other animal species, creating an intriguing puzzle.

Types of Altruism

Kin Selection

• Definition: Kin selection focuses on helping relatives to enhance the survival of shared genes.

• Examples:

  • Parents willingly risk their safety to protect their children.

  • In bees, guard bees regulate hive access to closely related individuals.

• Motivation: While altruistic acts towards family appear driven by love, they align with genetic motivations for survival and passing on genes.

Reciprocal Altruism

• Definition: This form of altruism involves helping others with the expectation of being helped in return (tit for tat).

• Social Species Examples: Monkeys exhibit reciprocal grooming, which reinforces social bonds and increases chances of receiving help in the future.

• Real-World Application: Instances of reciprocal altruism occur in everyday scenarios (e.g., receiving a sample in exchange for a purchase).

True Altruism Debate

• Social Exchange Theory: Suggests helping behavior is driven by a cost-benefit analysis.

• Empathy's Role: Empathy may influence altruistic behavior, posing the question of whether true altruism exists if it's influenced by emotional rewards.

The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

• Definition: Proposes that genuine altruism occurs when individuals feel empathy for others.

• Research Study:

  • Investigated participants' brain responses to pain experienced by themselves versus loved ones.

  • Focused on two brain regions: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and somatosensory cortex (S1).

  • Findings:

    • ACC activated during both self-experienced pain and observed pain in loved ones.

    • S1 active only during direct pain experiences.

  • Conclusion: Observing loved ones in pain activates emotional pain circuits, linking emotional distress to empathetic responses.

Motivations for Empathy

Egoistic Motivation

• Definition: Helping reduces one's own distress from witnessing another's pain, focusing on self-benefit.

Empathic Motivation

• Definition: Helping is motivated by a desire to alleviate another’s distress, seen as its own reward.

• Contention: Some researchers argue that true altruism doesn't exist because helping often relieves personal distress or guilt.

Conclusion

• Nature of Altruism: The discussion on whether altruism can be entirely selfless continues, with perspectives ranging from emotional motivations to social exchange theories. The complexity of human emotional experiences reconciles ingrained self-interest with pro-social behaviors.