Motivation and Emotions

Chapter 7: Motivations and Emotions

Motivation

• Definition: Broad term describing reasons for actions, or the "why" of behavior.

• Study of Motivation: Often differs from what people associate with motivational speakers.

  • Key areas of focus in Motivation Science (Psych 122):

    • Needs and Drives

    • Hunger and Thirst

    • Sex and Attraction

    • Addiction

    • Fear, Aggression, and Violence

    • Behavioral Genetics and Evolutionary Influences

    • Greed and Altruism

    • Persuasion and Cooperation

    • Advertising

    • Achievements

    • Education

    • Sports Psychology

Needs and Drives

• Primary Needs: Mechanisms that detect when the body is out of homeostasis (e.g., dehydration triggers a need for water).

• Secondary Needs: Psychological needs including curiosity, achievement, and acceptance.

• Drive: Pushes behavior into action and originates from primary and secondary needs.

Drives

• Curiosity Drive Theory: Suggests a theoretical drive to reduce uncertainty or ambiguity in experiences.

• Optimal Arousal Theory: People strive for an ideal arousal level; too much arousal causes anxiety and avoidance, while too little leads to exploratory behaviors.

• Boredom Drive: The need to maintain a preferred level of stimulation.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Concept: Proposed by Abraham Maslow, suggesting that physiological and safety needs must be met before higher-level needs can be addressed (such as self-esteem and self-actualization).

Maslow’s Criticism

• Challenges:

  • Difficult to test empirically.

  • Assumption that individuals in lower economic status cannot achieve self-esteem or love due to poverty leads to attending only to lower needs.

  • Perceived elitism in the pyramid of needs.

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

• Extrinsically Motivated: Behaviors driven by expected outcomes (e.g., money, prestige, awards, approval).

• Intrinsically Motivated: Behaviors based on internal reasons (e.g., pride, curiosity, challenge, joy in the activity itself).

• Impact of Extrinsic Rewards: Can hinder problem solving and creativity, illustrated by the candle problem which demonstrates functional fixedness.

The Candle Problem

• Example: Points out the impact of extrinsic rewards on creative problem-solving abilities.

• Quote: "I never let schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain.

Arousal and Performance

• Yerkes-Dodson Law: Illustrates an inverted U-shaped relationship between arousal and performance; optimal performance occurs at moderate arousal levels.

Curiosity, Arousal, and Development

• Curiosity drives are crucial for normal brain development.

• Rosenzweig et al. (1962) Study:

  • Groups of rats housed in different environments: isolated, small enclosure, enriched environment.

  • Findings: Rats in enriched environments exhibited higher curiosity, activity levels, and brain size compared to others.

  • Implications for children in deprived environments (e.g., war orphans) exhibiting developmental issues.

Hunger, Eating, and Food

Biological Factors

• Hypothalamus: Monitors blood nutrients (sugars, fats).

• Glucostatic Theory: Hunger is motivated by maintaining steady glucose levels.

• Lipostatic Theory: Body seeks to stabilize long-term fat levels/weight.

Psychological Factors

• Eating influenced by circadian rhythms, associative learning, and memory.

• Sensory-Specific Satiety: Lower motivation to eat when food flavor variability is low; hence higher calorie intake seen at buffets offering diverse flavors.

Addiction and Motivation

• Addiction: Compulsive behavior resulting in harm to the individual and others.

• Incentive Sensitization Theory: Addiction-related stimuli trigger cravings due to associations with drug use.

Emotions

• Definition: Subjective feelings tied to positive or negative events/thoughts.

• Moods: Prolonged emotional states.

• Affect: Psychologist's term for subjective experiences of emotions/moods, including affective disorders like depression and bipolar disorder.

Emotion Classification

• Paul Ekman’s Basic Emotions: Fear, anger, happiness, sadness, contempt, disgust, and surprise.

• Classical Theory: Specific emotions link to unique body language, facial expressions, and physiological responses.

• Universality of Emotions: Supported by Darwin and Ekman, proposing biological basis for emotions and their expressions.

Evolution Theory of Emotions

• Emotions serve survival functions. Examples include:

  • Attachment to food/mate

  • Fear of predators

  • Sadness leading to crying (can attract help)

  • External cues of emotions to reduce conflicts.

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions

• Diagram representing eight primary emotions and their subcategories, reflecting emotional intensity and potential blends to form new emotions.

Early Theories of Emotions

• Discuss relationship between physiological reactions and emotional feelings.

• James-Lange Theory: Emotions arise from brain interpreting physiological responses to stimuli.

• Cannon-Bard Theory: Emotional feelings occur separately from physiological responses.

• Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory: Emotional interpretation arises from both physiological response and context.

Happiness

• Impact of Wealth: Increased self-reported happiness with wealth, but only up to a certain point.

• Genetic Influence: Personality may determine individual happiness set points, leading to stability in happiness levels.

• Hedonic Adaptation: Concept of returning to a personal happiness baseline after fluctuations caused by positive or negative events.