PSYC 110 Exam 2 Review Summary

PSYC 110 Exam 2 Review Summary

Motivation and Motivational Drive

  • Motivation: Internal condition directing behavior towards a goal.

  • Motivational Drive: Psychological state driving the satisfaction of needs (e.g., hunger, thirst, sleep, knowledge).

Goal-Directed Behaviors

  1. Incentives: Internal and external drives motivating behavior.

  2. Reinforcers: Increase likelihood of behavior recurrence.

  3. Rewards: Pleasurable experiences linked to goal achievements.

Types of Drives

  • Regulatory Drives: Maintain homeostasis (e.g., temperature, food, water), detected by homeostatic mechanisms.

  • Non-Regulatory Drives: Include safety, reproductive, social, and educative needs.

Role of the Hypothalamus

  • Central to motivational drives; regulates hunger and satiety signals.

  • Arcuate Nucleus: Contains appetite-stimulating (NPY) and appetite-suppressing neurons.

Short-Term Energy Regulation

  • Hormones impacting hypothalamus:

    • Ghrelin: Triggers hunger.

    • Leptin: Regulates fat; lack leads to obesity.

Components of Reward

  1. Wanting: Desire to obtain a reward.

  2. Liking: Pleasure felt when a reward is received.

  3. Reinforcement: Influence of rewards on promoting behavior and learning.

Reward Pathways in the Brain**

  • Dopamine: Released in response to stimuli, associated with wanting (motivation), not liking (enjoyment).

  • Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc): Processes rewards, receives dopamine from VTA.

Practice Questions

  1. Components of a reward: Wanting, Liking, Reinforcement.

  2. Regulatory vs. Non-Regulatory Drives: Regulatory maintains homeostasis; non-regulatory does not have a set value.

  3. Goal-directed behaviors shaped by: Incentives, Reinforcers, Rewards.