Motivation & Emotion – Comprehensive Study Notes

Motivation – Core Definition & Dual Components

  • Motivation = driving force behind behaviour that leads us to pursue some things & avoid others.
    • Contains two separable components:
    • Direction/Goals (“What do I want?”)
    • Intensity (“How much do I want it?”)

Classes of Motives

  • Biological motives (primary/physiological)
    • Essential for survival (e.g.
    • Hunger
    • Thirst)
    • Universal across humans.
  • Social motives (secondary/learned)
    • Originate in social experience (e.g.
    • Need for achievement, dominance, affiliation).
    • Vary across individuals depending on past learning.

Major Theoretical Perspectives on Motivation

1. Psychodynamic Perspective

  • Rooted in biology; emphasises innate drives (Triebe).
    • Freud: \text{Sex (libido)} & \text{Aggression} are core drives.
    • Modern extensions add:
    • Need for relatedness (non-sexual connectedness)
    • Need for self-esteem (positive self-regard).
  • Motives can operate at three simultaneous levels:
    • Unconscious/implicit
    • Pre-conscious
    • Conscious/explicit.
  • Assessment: Projective tests
    • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – ambiguous pictures  participants create stories; coded for themes of achievement, power, affiliation.
    • TAT scores predict long-term behavioural patterns.

2. Behaviourist / Drive-Reduction Theory (Hull)

  • Deprivation of a biological need → drive state → behaviour to reduce drive → homeostasis.
    • Primary drives: eating, sleeping, thermoregulation.
    • Secondary (conditioned) drives: stimuli repeatedly paired with primary-drive reduction (e.g. \text{Money}).
  • Problems/limitations:
    • Many behaviours contradict drive reduction (e.g. binge-watching Netflix until 3 a.m. despite fatigue) → explains rise of incentive theories (external rewards).

3. Cognitive Perspectives

  • Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT)
    • \text{Motivation} = \text{Expectancy (*Can I succeed?*)} \times \text{Value (*Do I care?*)}.
    • We pursue goals that matter and we believe achievable.
  • Goal-Setting Theory
    • Conscious, self-selected goals regulate behaviour (e.g. aiming to beat previous exam score).
    • Goals more effective when:
    • Self-chosen
    • Valued
    • Specific & challenging yet attainable.
  • Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan)
    • Three innate psychological needs:
    • Competence (effectance)
    • Autonomy (self-choice)
    • Relatedness (connection)
    • Fulfilment → intrinsic motivation ↑, persistence ↑.
    • External rewards, threats, strict deadlines → undermine autonomy → intrinsic motivation ↓.
  • Implicit Motives (Bargh et al.)
    • Learned, automatically activated goal associations (e.g. “look smart” cue in classroom → behaviour without conscious intent).

4. Humanistic Perspective

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (bottom → top):
    1. Physiological (food, water)
    2. Safety (security, protection)
    3. Belongingness/Love (closeness, affiliation)
    4. Esteem (self-esteem & esteem of others)
    5. Self-Actualisation (growth, fulfilment)
    • Growth-oriented, not deficiency-oriented.
  • ERG Theory (Alderfer) – condensed, non-hierarchical; needs can co-occur.
    • Existence ↔ Relatedness ↔ Growth

5. Evolutionary Perspective

  • Motivational systems are adaptive solutions selected for inclusive fitness (survival + reproduction).
  • Instinct-like tendencies (e.g. parental care, mate seeking) rooted in evolved neural circuits.

Specific Motives

A. Eating & Hunger Regulation

  • Metabolism: conversion of food → energy.
    • Absorptive phase: energy extracted & stored as glycogen/fat.
    • Fasting phase: stored glycogen → glucose.
  • Homeostatic loop
    • Set-points: optimal levels (blood glucose, lipids).
    • Sensors: liver & brain detect drops → hunger signal.
    • Corrective mechanisms: eating behaviour.
    • Satiety mechanisms: stretch & nutrient receptors in stomach/intestine send “stop” signals.
  • Hypothalamic control
    • Lateral Hypothalamus (LH) – initiates eating (“on-switch”).
    • Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH) – terminates eating (“off-switch”).
    • Lesion studies: LH damage → aphagia; VMH damage → hyperphagia/obesity, yet also affect other motivated behaviours.
  • External (non-homeostatic) cues
    • Palatability – tasty desserts override fullness.
    • Variety – sensory-specific satiety reduces intake of repeated foods.
    • Time-of-day conditioning – habitual meal times trigger hunger.
    • Social facilitation – eating with others ↑ intake.

B. Sexual Motivation

  • Masters & Johnson: Sexual Response Cycle
    1. Excitement – vasocongestion, myotonia, skin flush.
    2. Plateau – max HR, BP, respiration, tension.
    3. Orgasm – rhythmic contractions (vagina) / ejaculation (penis).
    4. Resolution – return to baseline; refractory period (male).
  • Hormonal influences
    • Organisational effects – prenatal/puberty; build circuitry.
    • Activational effects – acute; testosterone & oestrogen trigger desire/arousal.
  • Critiques of cycle: overly linear, underplays psychosocial/cultural factors.
  • Cultural variability
    • Western view: males need sex more; some cultures opposite.
    • Norms for permissible acts, initiation, satisfaction differ widely.

C. Psychosocial Motives

  • Two broad clusters:
    1. Relatedness Motives (connection-focused)
    • Attachment – desire proximity for comfort/pleasure.
    • Intimacy – self-disclosure, warmth, mutual care (deep friendships, romantic bonds).
    • Affiliation – interaction, contact, socialising.
    1. Agency Motives (self-oriented)
    • Achievement – do well, succeed, avoid failure.
      • High-nAch individuals choose moderate difficulty, persist, enjoy challenge.
      • Domain-specific & hierarchically organised (science vs cooking example).
    • Power, Autonomy, Self-esteem.
  • Goal Types
    • Performance-approach goals – aim for success; often good grades, may not spark interest.
    • Performance-avoidance goals – fear of failure; low grades & low enjoyment.
    • Mastery goals – focus on learning; good grades + intrinsic interest.

Emotion: Definition & Components

  • Emotion = evaluative response involving:
    1. Physiological arousal (ANS & endocrine changes)
    2. Subjective experience (feeling state)
    3. Behavioural/external expression (facial, posture, vocal).

Classical Theories of Emotion

  • James-Lange – \text{Stimulus} \rightarrow \text{Bodily response} \rightarrow \text{Emotion} “I’m scared because I’m running.”
    • Issues: visceral responses slow, similar across emotions; emotions can precede ANS.
  • Cannon-Bard – stimulus → simultaneous physiological arousal & subjective experience.
    “I’m running because I’m scared.”
    Emphasises fast thalamic-cortical appraisal.
  • Schachter-Singer (Two-Factor)
    • Emotion = \text{Physiological arousal} + \text{Cognitive attribution}.
    • Arousal is nonspecific; context labels it (fear, joy, anger).
  • Psychodynamic view – unconscious emotional processes shape thoughts & health; self-deception (illusory mental health) can elevate physiological stress.
  • Evolutionary view – emotions are adaptive signals (communication & motivation); basic expressions are universal.

Basic & Complex Emotions

  • Cross-cultural agreement on six “basic” facial expressions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise.
  • Factor analyses → Positive Affect vs Negative Affect superordinate dimensions; emotions within each highly correlated.

Expression & Display Rules

  • Facial expressions communicate emotion; whole-face vs mouth-only distinguishes genuine vs fake.
  • Display rules = culturally learned norms governing when/how emotions are expressed; vary by gender & subculture.

Neural Substrates of Emotion

  • Thalamus – sensory relay to emotion circuits.
  • Amygdala – links sensory input to emotional salience; rapid “low road” for quick reactions & decoding others’ faces.
  • Hypothalamus – triggers autonomic & endocrine responses (attack, flight, etc.).
  • Cortex (esp. prefrontal) – evaluates stimulus, interprets bodily feedback, regulates expression.
  • Dual-pathway model
    • Fast “low road”: Thalamus → Amygdala → Hypothalamus (instant response)
    • Slow “high road”: Thalamus → Cortex → Amygdala/Hypothalamus (evaluated response)
    • Feedback from body returns to cortex for conscious feeling.

Emotion Regulation

  • Strategies: situation selection, cognitive re-appraisal (positive spin), suppression, social sharing.
  • People pursue positive states & avoid negative; disclosure (verbal/written) improves mental & physical health, though online sharing may skew toward façade.

Review / Self-Test Items (with Answers)

  1. Force behind behaviour that leads us to pursue some things & avoid others = Motivation.
  2. Freud’s internal tension states that build up until satisfied = Drives.
  3. Correct Maslow order = Physiological → Safety → Belongingness → Esteem → Self-Actualisation.
  4. Body transforms food into energy = Metabolism.
  5. Desire for physical & psychological closeness = Attachment motivation.
  6. Need to succeed & avoid failure = Achievement.
  7. Cultural norms governing emotional expression = Display rules.
  8. Neuro-areas implicated in emotion = Thalamus, Amygdala, Cortex (all of the above).
  9. Theory linking physiological arousal + cognitive interpretation = Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

  • Intrinsic vs Extrinsic control: Over-reliance on external rewards undermines autonomy → implications for education & workplace policy.
  • Projective assessment validity: Ethical use requires awareness of cultural bias & interpretive subjectivity.
  • Display rule differences: Misinterpretation across cultures may affect diplomacy, business, therapy.
  • Emotion regulation strategies: Chronic suppression linked to hypertension; training in re-appraisal could enhance public health.