Emotion and Motivation Unit 11 Lecture 1 Basic Motivations Flashcards
Motivation
Biological & psychological processes that compels us to act to achieve essential goals
Drives
Stimulation that our brain generates to push us to address basic biological needs
Ex) Quenching our thirst
Homeostasis
Processes that allow us to maintain balance in our biological systems
Allostasis
- Processes that allow us to develop a state of readiness for anticipated future demands on our biological systems
- Signal that gives us drives of things like hunger, originate in the HYPOTHALAMUS
- Signal to stop eating comes from the ventromedial region of the hypothalamus
Satiation
The experience of being full and uninterested in eating anymore
Damage here causes overeating - and obesity
The hypothalamus receives info about glucose levels based on messages sent by special neurons called GLUCOSTATS sense a drop in glucose
When we eat, expansion of our intensives stimulates neurons to release CHOLECYSTOKININ (CCK)
When the hypothalamus detects enough CCK, it stimulates feelings of satisfaction
Food in the world
- In the environment in which we emerged as a species, food was hard to come by:
- That is why we tend to enjoy more sweet and fatty foods
- This reflects our historic needs of foods
- In Western countries like Canada and US, lack of food is not as big of a problem
However, it is the opposite in many other countries - The food industry works to weasel their products into our social lives, and we are very receptacle to this
Ex) We are raised with a value that we must eat everything that it put in front of us (on our plates) even when we are already full
In the “bottomless bowl of soup study” people who had soup imperceptibly replaced ate 70% more soup (because it kept entering through the bottom of the bowl without them knowing”
Unit Bias
The bias to behave as though the amount of food we relieve is just the right amount for us to achieve satiation
Social Facilitation
When we eat more because of the behavior or expectations of other people
Ex) Eating less would offend a dinner party host
Ex) When witnessing others snacking makes us want to
Minimal Eating Norm
Social contexts that discourage very much eating, such as being on a first date lol
This type of social influence falls under IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
Modelling
When the behaviors of others during a social event causes us to restrain our appetite
Obesity
An eating disorder in which people consume more food than they require to sustain their biological processes
The % of Canadian obesity has risen 20% in the last few years and number of overweight Canadians has raised to 60%
Obesity ted to be especially problematic in poorer neighborhoods, partly because healthy/nutritious food is more expensive than junk foods
Anorexia Nervosa
Chronic underrating to the point of self-starvation, combined with a fear of gaining weight and negative views about ones body size, and a lack of concern about the dangers of being underweight
Bulimia Nervosa
When eating behavior followers a pattern of reciting the urge to eat, followed by binge eating, and then purging with self induced vomiting, exercises or laxatives
Anorexia and Bulimia seem to originate form a desire for more self control
The absence of control elsewhere encourages unhealthy efforts to gain control over ones weight, resulting in underrating or binging & purging
Evolutions psychologists proposed a Reproductive Suppression Hypothesis
This idea is that eating disorders that results in low body fat may be a way for women to reduce the chance of becoming pregnant when they are under stress or when they do not feel ready or well supported by friends/family
This is possible because low body fat suppresses menstruation - AMENORRHEA
Average woman in America = 5’4 - 140lbs
Fashion model = 5’11 - 117lbs
Photoshop and media depictions are also present
Based on study at Wilfred Laurier, women’s are more likely to compete themselves to other women than men
Disney also influences some desirable traits
Sex Drive
The human need for sexual contact represents a basic biological need The drive that motivated us to seek our sexual contact is called LIBIDO Reasons for sex other than reproduction Pleasure Feel closer to someone Curiosity Revenge against a partner Self esteem boost
Alfred Kinsey
- Between 1938 - 1952 Kinsey conducted the 1st scientific investigations into the sexual behavior of - Americans
- Indian University Zoology professor
- His research led him to conclude that homo and heterosexuality are the 2 extremes of a sexual orientation CONTINUUM by interviewing many people
- He discovered that 37% of the males he interviewed & 13% of females had at least 1 previous homosexual experience that resulted in an orgasm
William Masters & Virginia Johnson
- Conducted 1st detailed investigations of human sexual response in the 1950s
- Had volunteers go to their lab and either have sex of masturbate while they observe all of their physiological responses
Sexual Response Cycle: Consists of 4 stages
Excitement
Plateau
Orgasms
Resolution
In a study with 1500 students, reasons for having sex fell into 4 main categories:
- For physical reasons
- To help attain a goal
- For emotional reasons (being in love)
- Because of insecurity (pressure)
Refractory Period
Time period in which it is not possible to have an orgasm
Much longer for men than women, it is possible for women to have a series of orgasms with no refractory period at all
Orgasms and Resolution
- The hypothalamus generates the orgasms - the point of intense pleasure and release during the sexual response cycle in both women & men
- Following orgasm, the hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland o release a hormone, called OXYTOCIN (floods bloodstream right after orgasm) accounts for resolution phase
Oxytocin
the chemical basis for the feelings of attachment, trust, and intimacy that is commonly referred to as LOVE
Sexual Orientation
- One’s preference for engaging in sexual activity with opposite sex partners, same sex, or either
- There is NO evidence that homosexuality has anything to do with child experiences
- There is SOME evidence that the brains of homo vs. heater sexual men are slightly different
- Studies show that homosexual men may have a smaller hypothalamus but this is pretty inconsistent
Gender Roles
Socially and culturally denies expectations about how males/females of a society should think/act
Sexual Scripts
- Social & culturally defined expectations about the sexual behavior of male & female members of a society
- Traditionally, gender roles have tended to reward males for fulfilling the role of promiscuous playboys (players)
- Whereas women often face scorn and denigration for engaging in the same type of behavior (real romance)
This idea has support for the growing similarity in male and female gender roles and sexual scripts as we move toward more gender equality
Has increased with:
- Women’s increasing presence in workforce
- Women’s rights movement
- Birth control pill
Sex in advertising
- Advertisers put sexually charged imagery in magazines etc
- Why? Because humans find sexiness a difficult thing to ignore
