05. Important Information Flashcards
Behavioural states include
variations in motivation, emotion and level of arousal
Define motivation
The entire constellation of factors, some inside the organism and some outside, that cause an individual to behave in a particular way at a particular time.
Define motivational state or drive
An internal, reversible condition in an individual that orients the individual toward one or another type of goal (such as food or water). This condition is not observed directly but is inferred from the individual’s behaviour; also called a drive.
Why are drives considered hypothetical?
Because they cannot be directly observed
How do psychologists infer drives?
by observing an animal’s behaviour (it is hungry if it behaves in ways that bring it closer to food)
What is motivated behaviour directed towards?
Incentives
How do drives and incentives complement each other?
A strong drive can enhance the incentive value (attractiveness) of an object. A strong incentive can strengthen a drive.
Homeostasis
The constancy in the body’s internal environment that must be maintained through the expenditure of energy
What is a theory about the physiological underpinning for some drives?
A loss of homeostatis
List the two classes of drives
Regulatory and nonregulatory
Define regulatory drive
Any motivational state (such as hunger) that helps maintain some constancy of the body’s internal environment that is necessary for survival
Define nonregulatory drive
Any motivational state (such as the sex drive) that serves some function other than that of preserving some constancy of the body’s internal environment
List the 5 categories of mammalian drives (from an evolutionary perspective)
Regulatory drives, safety drives, reproductive drives
social drives, educative drives
Define safety drives
Drives that motivate an animal to avoid, escape, or fend off dangers (e.g. fear)
List two reproductive drives
The sex drives, and drive to care for young once they are born
List two social drives
Drives for friendship and acceptance, drive for approval by the social groups which one is a part of
List two educative drives
The drives to play and to explore (curiosity)
Define the central state theory of drives
Proposes that the most direct physiological bases for motivational states, or drives, lie in neural activity in the brain. According to most versions of this theory, different drives correspond to activity in different, localizable sets of neurons.
Define central drive system
According to the central-state theory of drives, a set of neurons in the brain that, when active, mostly directly promotes a specific motivational state, or drive (different drives may have overlapping but not identical components)
Where in the hierarchy do central drive systems sit?
They are at the top. To affect behaviour they must influence the activity of motor systems at lower levels of the hierarchy
List two reasons why researchers believe the hypothalamus is the hub of many central drives
- Anatomically, the brain structure is ideally located
- Small disruptions in parts of the hypothalamus can have dramatic effects on an animal’s drives
In psychology, what is a reward?
Something that we
1. like
2. want
3. reinforces learning
What is the medial forebrain bundle
A bundle of neurons that runs from the midbrain to the basal ganglia and other forebrain areas.
Where do the cell bodies of the medial forebrain bundle reside?
In the nucleus accumbens
What is the nucleus accumbens
A nucleus (center of neural cell bodies) in the basal ganglia that is a crucial part of the brain’s reward mechanism.
The nucleus accumbens is understood to be a crucial centre for…
behavioural effects of rewards in humans and other mammals
Animals will work harder and longer for rewards if this tract is stimulated
The medial forebrain bundle
Many of the neurons in the medial forebrain bundle that terminate in the nucleus accumbens release this neurotrasmitter
Dopamine
Define dopamine
One of many neurotransmitter substances in the brain. It is, among other things, crucial for the “wanting” component of reward.
The larger the expected reward the greater the degree of release of…
dopamine
endorphins
Chemicals produced in the body that act like morphine in inhibiting pain.
Dopamine release promotes this type of learning
Long term potentiation (LTP)
How do drugs exert their euphoric and habit-forming effects?
Through action on the brain’s reward pathways
What evidence is there to suggest that the nucleus accumbens is acted upon by drugs to produce their addictive effects?
Rats will work as hard for a tiny amount of drugs to the NA as for a greater amount into the blood stream
Rats who have their NA destroyed will stop self administering drugs
What is the difference between addictive drug rewards and normal rewards?
Normal drug rewards stimulate the neuron in the NA only when the reward is unexpected, drugs stimulate them each time which creates a strong learning response (craving is triggered whenever cues that were present during the past drug-taking are again present)
Over time, what becomes the main reason for drug taking
Over time addicts lose the liking of the drug while wanting increases