Motivation and Human Behavior final

Motivation: A Basic Definition

• Motivation is a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Four Perspectives on Motivation

• There are four main perspectives to understand motivated behaviors:

  • Instinct theory (evolutionary perspective): Focuses on genetically predisposed behaviors.

  • Drive-reduction theory: Focuses on how we respond to our inner pushes.

  • Arousal theory: Focuses on finding the right levels of stimulation.

  • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Focuses on the priority of some needs over others.

1. Instinct and Evolutionary Theory

• Instinct:

  • A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.

  • Genes predispose some species-typical behavior.

• Evolutionary theory:

  • Certain human behaviors are innate and due to evolutionary programming (it’s in our genes).

  • Examples:

    • Newborn reflexes are survival instincts and signs of proper development.

      • Rooting Reflex: Turning towards touch on the cheek with mouth open.

      • Sucking Reflex: Triggered by touching the roof of the baby's mouth.

      • Moro Reflex (Startle Reflex): Throwing head back, extending arms and legs, and crying when startled.

      • Gag Reflex: Closing off throat and expelling excess milk.

      • Crawling Reflex: Drawing knees up under the tummy in a fetal position when on the stomach.

      • Babinski's Reflex: Big toe bends back and other toes fan out when the sole of the foot is stroked.

      • Walking Reflex: Attempting to moonwalk when held upright with feet on a flat surface.

      • Grasp Reflex: Hand closes around a finger when the palm is touched.

      • Traction Response: Being lifted forward into a sitting position when wrists are held.

      • Galant Reflex: Arching the body and pulling the pelvis towards the side stroked when held facing down.

Same Motive, Different Wiring

• The more complex the nervous system, the more adaptable the organism.

• Humans and weaverbirds both need shelter, but the bird’s behavior is fixed unlike Humans.

2. Drive Reduction Theory

• We have physiological needs.

• Unmet needs create a drive that motivates us to reduce the need.

• Need
  eq (food, water)

• Drive
  eq (hunger, thirst)

• Drive-reducing behaviors
  eq (eating, drinking)

• Homeostasis:

  • The tendency to maintain a balanced or steady internal state.

• Incentives:

  • Learned positive or negative stimuli that help meet our needs and reinforce our drives.

3. Arousal Theory

• Humans are motivated to engage in behaviors that either increase or decrease arousal levels (CNS arousal).

  • Baseline levels can vary by person.

• High arousal levels motivate engagement in behaviors that will lower these levels.

• Low arousal levels motivate activities that can increase arousal - often through curiosity.

• Young monkeys and children are fascinated by the unfamiliar.

• Their drive to explore maintains an optimum level of arousal and is one of several motives that do not fill any immediate physiological need.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

• Arousal levels can help performance, but too much arousal can interfere with performance.

• The effect of arousal on performance depends on how comfortable we are with the task.

• For taking an exam, moderate arousal might be best.

4. Hierarchy of Needs Theory

• Abraham Maslow described human motives as a pyramid of priorities.

• At the base are basic physiological needs; at the peak are the highest human needs.

• We are motivated to meet the lowest unmet need.

The Need to Belong

• Feelings of love/acceptance activate brain reward and safety systems.

• Social isolation increases risk for mental decline and poor health.

Social Effects of Social Networking

The questions asked about the social effects of social networking:

• Is social networking correlated with teen mental health (depression, anxiety, and self-harm)?

• Are social networking sites making us more socially isolated?

• Does electronic communication stimulate healthy self-disclosure (confiding)?

• Do social networking profiles and posts reflect actual personalities?

• Does social networking cause narcissism?

  • Narcissistic people feel self-important, self-focused, and self-promoting.

Social Networking: Correlation with Mental Health and Personality

• Lonely people spend more than average time online.

• Social networking is strengthening connections with people they already know.

• It connects us but prevents deep meaningful connections that result from face-to-face interactions, which most teens prefer.

• Greater than 3 hours per day of screen time is associated with depression and anxiety among teen girls.

• Online communications are less focused on others’ reactions, are less self-conscious, and less inhibited.

• In most cases, increased self-disclosure deepens friendships.

• Generally, social networking profiles reveal a person’s real personality.

• Social networks don’t cause narcissism, but they do attract people who are already narcissistic.