Emotion and Motivation

Motivation Theories and Concepts

Motivation – The process that initiates, directs, and sustains goal-directed behavior.

Intrinsic Motivation – Engaging in a behavior for personal satisfaction or internal rewards.

Extrinsic Motivation – Performing an action to receive external rewards or avoid punishment.

Drive – A psychological state that motivates an organism to fulfill a need.

Drive-Reduction Theory – Suggests that physiological needs create an aroused state that drives an organism to reduce the need (hunger → eating). If you have a motivation to maintain homeostasis, you will not be able to do anything until that need is met. ( you can't learn if you are hungry and until you eat you will not be able to focus). 

Homeostasis – The body’s tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Need – A requirement essential for survival or psychological well-being.

Incentive – External stimuli that motivate behavior by promising rewards or avoiding punishment. ( prize) a stimulus that motivates your behavior

Self-Determination Theory – Proposes that motivation stems from autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Instinct theory- you are motivated to do something because your gut is telling you to do so. 

Motivational Conflicts

Approach-Approach Conflict – Choosing between two desirable options ( deciding between two dream colleges).

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict – Choosing between two undesirable options ( studying for a hard test or failing).

Approach-Avoidance Conflict – A situation with both positive and negative aspects ( a high-paying job with long hours).

Arousal and Sensation Seeking

Arousal Theory – People are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal; too much leads to stress, too little leads to boredom.

Yerkes-Dodson Law – Performance is best at a moderate level of arousal; too much or too little arousal impairs performance.

Sensation-Seeking Theory of Motivation – Some individuals have a higher need for thrilling and intense experiences.

Thrill-Seeking – Engaging in risky or exciting activities for pleasure.

Boredom Susceptibility – The tendency to be easily bored and seek new stimulation.

Disinhibition – The tendency to seek out social and impulsive experiences.

Experience-Seeking – The desire to engage in novel sensory and mental experiences.

Biological Factors in Motivation

Hunger – A physiological drive to eat, regulated by biological processes.

Hypothalamus – A brain structure involved in regulating hunger and other bodily functions.

Lateral hypothalamus- makes you hungry

Ghrelin – A hormone that stimulates hunger.( hunger)

Leptin – A hormone that signals satiety and helps regulate body weight.

Satiety – The feeling of fullness that reduces the desire to eat.

External Eating Cue – Environmental factors that influence eating behavior (seeing or smelling food).

Pituitary Gland – A gland that releases hormones affecting growth, metabolism, and motivation-related behaviors.

Emotion and Cognitive Theories

Emotion – A complex reaction involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.

Cognitive Appraisal – The personal interpretation of a situation that influences emotional responses. ( laughing when you should be crying)

Cognitive Labeling – Associating a physiological response with an emotional experience (interpreting a racing heart as excitement or fear).

Broaden-and-Build Theory of Emotion – Positive emotions expand cognition and encourage problem-solving and creativity.

Display Rules – Socially learned guidelines for expressing emotions in different cultures.

Elicitor – An event or stimulus that triggers an emotional response.

External Factor – Environmental or social influences that affect emotions and behaviors.

Facial feedback- if your in a bad mood smile and it will change your mood

Notes

hunger= homeostasis