Chapter 11 - Emotion and Motivation

Question 1

Define “emotion”

Answer 1

“Motivated state marked by physiological arousal, expressive behaviour, and mental experience.”

“Mental states or feelings associated with our evaluation of our experiences”

Question 2

Three aspects of emotion

Answer 2

1. Physiology - eg. autonomic nervous system, limbic system
2. Behaviour - What we do when ‘emotional’ (eg. crying, slamming doors)
3. Cognition/Mental - Subjective experience of emotion; Relation between physiology and cognition

Question 3

Discrete emotions theory of emotions

Answer 3

Theory that humans experience a small number of distinct emotions that are rooted in our biology

• Evolutionary basis; adaptive
• Prepare us for action (eg. disgust - avoid illness; anger - ready to fight)

Question 4

James-Lange Theory of emotion

Answer 4

-Physiological/behavioural response first, then our interpretation of this results in emotion

Question 5

Somatic Marker Theory of Emotion

Answer 5

• Variation of James-Lange theory

- Use our gut reactions to determine how to act

Question 6

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis of Emotion

Answer 6

• Another variation of James-Lange
• Changes to face (temp, blood-vessels, muscles) signal brain about type of emotion
• Darwin

Question 7

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Answer 7

• Contrast to James-Lange
• A situation leads to BOTH physiological and cognitive experiences of emotion
• Incorrectly proposed thalamus triggered both

Question 8

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Answer 8

• Interpretations of bodily reactions are important, but not sufficient for emotion:
  1. Emotion-provoking event causes “undifferentiated” arousal (alertness), which is the same across all emotions.
  2. We label the arousal with an emotion after attributing arousal to an occurrence.

Question 9

Broaden and Build theory

Answer 9

• Proposes that happiness predisposes us to think more openly
• Think more flexibly, creatively, big-picture

VS

• Negative emotion narrows our focus for ‘specific action tendencies’
• Find source of threat, ready for attack = survival

Question 10

What is happiness?

Answer 10

• Subjective well-being

- Positive affect (emotion)

Question 11

Two perspectives of happiness

Answer 11

1. Hedonic view:
   - pursuit of pleasure; avoiding suffering
   - Happiness is “totality of one’s hedonic moments” -Aristipuss
   - Modern accounts: focus on pleasure (physical and mental)
2. Eudaimonic view:
   - Aristotle - “self-realization”
   - Living the “good life,” which might not always bring you pleasure per se

Question 12

Misconceptions about happiness

Answer 12

-Good life events; money; youth; living in warm/beautiful places = happiness….wrong

Question 13

Hedonic treadmill

Answer 13

-Circumstances can temporarily shift our happiness but we return to our set point soon after

Question 14

Durability bias

Answer 14

-Belief that our good and bad moods will last longer than they do

Question 15

What makes us happy?

Answer 15

• Close positive relationships (strong r, and some causal)
• Exercise
• Giving and gratitude
• Flow
• Increases of income up to 50k

Question 16

Motivation

Answer 16

• Psychological drives that propel us in a specific direction
• Includes approach (hunger, sex) and avoidance (scary animals) behaviour

Question 17

Drive reduction theory of Motivation

Answer 17

• Organisms seek equilibrium in respect to certain “drives” like thirst, hunger, sexual frustration (all negative)
• Goal is to reduce tension by satisfying the drive
• Limitation: doesn’t explain why we act when our drives are satisfied

Question 18

Incentive Theories of Motivation

Answer 18

• Motivated by positive goals too (contrast to drive reduction)
• Incentives work best when we value them and expect we can get them
• Intrinsic and Extrinsic

Question 19

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivation

Answer 19

• Intrinsic: motivated by internal goals (eg, mastery of material)
• Extrinsic: motivated by external goals (eg, good grades)

-Sometimes these can interact (hunger)

Question 20

Physical factors controlling Hunger (2 switches, plus hormones)

Answer 20

2 “switches”:

Glucostatic Theory: dips in glucose creates drive to eat

Dual-centric Theory:

• Lateral hypothalamus ‘starts’ feeling of hunger
• Ventromedial hypothalamus ‘stops’feeling of hunger

PLUS hormones:

• Ghrelin communicates with hypothalamus to increase hunger
• Cholecystakinin (CCK) counteracts ghrelin to decrease hunger
• Leptin reduces hungerand increases energy used

Question 21

External factors controlling hunger

Answer 21

• Learned habits (places, types of food, cultural customs)
• Dietary restraints
• External cues (“it’s dinnertime”; sight, smell, associations)
• Presence of others

Question 22

Set point

Answer 22

• Bodies always try to get back to our genetically determined set-point (fat, muscle)
• Can shift slightly through lifestyle
• Genes play important role (shown by twin studies-MZ .7-.9 while DZ .35-.45 for fat mass)
• In 6% of severe obesity cases mutation of “melanocortin-4 receptor’ gene causes never feeling full