Motivation and Work – Comprehensive Study Notes

Motivation: Foundational Concepts

• Definition: Motivation = a need or desire that energizes and directs behaviour toward a goal.
• Core question: Does human motivation arise mainly from biological “push” (drives) or socio-cultural “pull” (incentives), or through hierarchies and arousal optimisation?
• Key domains examined in Ch. 11:
  • Hunger/Eating • Sex • Belonging • Work motivation/Organisational psychology

Perspectives on Motivation

• Instinct (Evolutionary) Theory
  • Instinct = fixed, unlearned, species-wide behavioural pattern.
  • Humans show fewer rigid instincts than other species, yet some evolutionary patterns (e.g., infant reflexes, “nesting”).
  • Modern view: evolutionary psychology explains broad behaviour trends via natural selection.
• Drive-Reduction Theory
  • Drive = aroused, tension state (e.g., hunger, thirst).
  • Motivation = reduce drives, restoring physiological homeostasis.
  • Emphasises internal "push".
• Incentive Theory
  • Incentives = external stimuli that appeal (positive) or repel (negative), thus “pulling” behaviour.
  • Raises, bonuses, praise, or threat of loss act as incentives.
• Arousal (Optimisation) Theory
  • Some behaviours seek optimal arousal, not homeostasis (e.g., curiosity, novelty seeking).
  • Both increase & decrease of arousal can be motivating, depending on baseline.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943)
  • Bottom → top: Physiological → Safety → Belonging & Love → Esteem → Self-actualisation → Self-transcendence.
  • Principle: lower needs largely satisfied before higher motives dominate.
  • Violations debated: hunger strikers, soldiers, mystics may pursue higher goals despite lower-level deprivation.

Hunger & Eating Motivation

Empirical Findings

• Semi-starvation study: men whose calories cut 50 % became food-obsessed; suggests physiological need dominates thought & future planning.

Physiology of Hunger

• Stomach: contractions correlate with hunger, but hunger persists with stomach removed/balloon-filled.
• Glucose monitoring: Digestive receptors send glucose-level data to hypothalamus.
• Hypothalamic control
  • Appetite-stimulating & appetite-suppressing centres/hormones.
  • Hormonal feedback from body → hypothalamus (e.g., ghrelin ↑ appetite; leptin, PYY ↓ appetite).

Weight Regulation

• Set-point / Settling-point
  • Body naturally defends a stable weight.
  • With age/economics/culture, the point drifts → termed "settling point".
• Biological response: weight loss → ↑ hunger & ↓ metabolic rate; weight gain → opposite adjustments.

Taste Preferences

• Universals: carbs raise serotonin → comfort food.
• Acquired tastes via exposure, conditioning, and cultural norms (e.g., reindeer fat, guinea pig).
• Biology & evolution:
  • One-trial food aversions after illness.
  • Warm-climate cuisines favour salt & spice (food preservation).
  • Neophobia protected ancestors from toxins.

Situational Influences on Intake

• Social facilitation: eat more with others.
• Unit bias: consume “one unit” regardless of unit size.
• Buffet effect: variety → increased consumption.

Influences Summary

• Biological: hypothalamus, hormones, pangs, set point, sweet–salty attraction, wariness of novel food.
• Psychological: sight/smell, variety, memory of last meal, stress & mood, portion size.
• Social-cultural: learned tastes, appearance ideals.

Obesity

• Health risks: diabetes, CVD, arthritis, some cancers; graph shows relative mortality risk rising sharply at \text{BMI} \ge 30.
• Physiology
  • Ancestor adaptation: crave energy-dense food; efficient fat storage; slowed metabolism in scarcity.
  • Fat tissue = lower metabolic rate; dieting slows further → weight regain.
• Genetics
  • Adopted kids resemble biological parents in BMI.
  • Identical twins' weights highly correlated even when reared apart.
• Lifestyle Factors
  • Fidgeting/non-exercise activity ↓ weight.
  • Sleep debt → hormonal changes promoting weight gain.
  • Social contagion: obese friends ↑ personal risk.
• Social Psychology
  • Weight bias > race/gender bias; impacts hiring, children’s attitudes; links to depression/isolation.

Losing Weight – Evidence-Based Plan

• Accept biological challenges; avoid shame.
• Gradual, consistent lifestyle change; ↑ exercise; healthy foods; social support.

Sexual Motivation

Evolutionary Function

• Drives gene propagation; involves physiology, psychology, development & culture.

The Sexual Response Cycle (Masters & Johnson)

1. Excitement 2. Plateau 3. Orgasm 4. Resolution (includes refractory period, esp. in males).

Disorders

• Premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, low desire, anorgasmia; treatable via behavioural therapy, psychotherapy, meds.

Hormonal Influences

• Humans less hormone-driven than animals.
• Ovulation: ↑ estrogen & testosterone → ↑ female desire & partner’s testosterone.
• Chronically low testosterone → ↓ motivation in all genders.

External & Imagined Stimuli

• Genital sensation not required (spinal-injury evidence).
• Dreams/fantasies enhance desire; accompany intercourse.
• Pornography effects (stronger in men): momentary arousal ↑; risks = distorted expectations, decreased real-life response.

Adolescent Sexual Activity

• Varies across cultures/time; strongly shaped by social context.
• Risks: School-age pregnancy, STIs.

Teen Pregnancy (U.S.)

• Higher vs. Europe; contributing factors: poor birth-control communication, guilt, alcohol, media depictions.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

• Condoms insufficient for some (e.g., herpes).
• "Bad math" example: One person with 9 partners each having 9, each of those 9 → total exposed = 9\times9\times9 + 1 = 511.

Correlates of Sexual Restraint

• Abstinence education, high IQ/future orientation, strong religious involvement, father presence, prosocial service activities.

Sexual Orientation

• Preference for same/opposite/both sexes; identity usually emerges at puberty.
• Surveys: ≈3\% of men, 1{-}2\% women exclusively homosexual (behaviour-based estimate).
• Mental health: societal stigma → ↑ anxiety/mood disorders.

Origins & Biological Correlates

• Parenting/abuse theories unsupported.
• Evidence begins prenatally:
  • Fraternal birth-order effect: later-born sons ↑ likelihood of being gay.
  • Hypothalamic cluster size: smaller in women & gay men vs. straight men.
  • Larger anterior commissure in gay men.
  • Scent processing: gay men respond like straight women.
  • Twin & family studies: higher concordance in MZ twins; possible X-linked pattern (mother’s lineage).
  • Prenatal hormone exposure (testosterone variance) affects later orientation & gendered traits.
• Associated trait patterns: handedness, spatial ability, auditory ratios, finger lengths, body size etc. tend to sit between heterosexual male & female norms.

Acceptance & Ethics

• Even if orientation is biologically embedded, social acceptance is possible & increasing (e.g., marriage equality).
• Value-free research vs. reminders of consequences; sex within love relationships linked to higher satisfaction.

Belonging Motivation

• Historical thinkers: Aristotle (friends), Adler (community). Modern view: fundamental need.
• Evolutionary advantages: mutual protection, cooperative hunting, division of labour, caregiver bonding, emotional crisis support.
• Tension: need for belonging vs. autonomy/competence; fulfilling both builds self-esteem.
• Outcomes:
  • Positive: loyalty, resilience.
  • Negative: conformity of appearance, staying in abuse, joining gangs/extremism.
• Disruption: relocation/ostracism → grief, even physical pain; social reconnection can heal.
• Social Networking: offers connection & self-presentation close to actual self yet may displace in-person depth; risk of compulsive use.

Work Motivation

Why Work?

• Money fulfils basic drives; achievement motivation drives others; some experience work as a calling (meaningful, socially useful).
• Flow (Csikszentmihalyi): state of deep engagement, optimal challenge → peak experience.

Industrial-Organisational (I/O) Psychology

1. Personnel Psychology – hiring & evaluating.
2. Organisational Psychology – management, leadership, teamwork.
3. Human Factors Psychology – person-machine-environment fit.

Personnel Psychology

• Selecting/Placement
  • Job analysis → tools (aptitude tests, job-knowledge tests, work samples, past performance).
  • Interviewer illusion errors: over-valuing intentions, ignoring past bad reads, mis-predicting job behaviour, bias.
• Structured Interview
  • Standardised, job-specific questions, note-taking → ↑ reliability & validity.
• Training & Development: identify needed skills; design & evaluate programmes.
• Performance Appraisal
  • Tools: checklists, graphic scales, behaviourally anchored scales.
  • 360° feedback combines self, peer, supervisor, subordinate, customer ratings.
  • Errors: Halo, leniency/severity, recency.

Organisational Psychology

• Goals: maximise motivation, satisfaction, productivity; study structure; facilitate change; enhance teamwork & leadership.
• Grit: perseverance + passion for long-term goals; predicts success better than IQ; "ten-year rule" for expertise.
• Satisfaction & Engagement
  • Satisfied → retention; engaged → higher productivity.
  • Workers engage when expectations clear, resources adequate, growth & significance felt.
• Managing Employees
  • Strengths-based placement & development.
  • Reinforce desired behaviours; set SMART-like goals (specific, challenging, short-term, action-oriented).
• Leadership Styles
  • Task leadership: organise, set standards, goal focus.
  • Social leadership: build teams, mediate, unify.
  • Transformational leadership: inspire vision beyond self-interest.

Human Factors

• Designs accounting for human body & mind (ergonomics).
• Product example: measuring cup readable from above (handle grip viewpoint).
• Process example: aircraft instrument landing vs. unreliable altitude perception.

Summary of Chapter

• Human motivation spans eating, sex, belonging, & work.
• Each domain shows interplay of internal drives & external incentives.
• Biological, psychological & socio-cultural factors integrate across motives.
• Understanding these mechanisms aids health (obesity, sexual health), relationships (belonging, orientation acceptance), and productivity (I/O psychology).