exam 1 Flashcards
what is motivation
wanting (internal/external reasons)
a desire for change– within ourselves
or our environment
● a push from the past and a pull from the future
a journey to a desired end-state
Why is motivation so important?
The ability to engage in behavior is not
enough.
● We are capable of doing
lots of things that we may
not do because we lack motivation
motivation guides behavior
example- wanting to workout but not
varies across ppl and across situation
motive
internal dispositions that push forward 2 end state
example-hunger
goal
mental representation of end state that pulls forward
example-eating
incentive
+/- feature of environment that increases or decreases motives by making a goal seem better or worse
Emotions are
motivating
emotion
Emotions are reactions that coordinate our physiology,
psychology, and behavior to help us navigate
environmental challenges
Emotions are motives that come with built-in goals
● They prepare us to act in ways that achieve goal of that emotion
motives that come with built in goals
Motivation as Anticipation
People are motivated by the EXPECTATION of reaching an end-state, not necessarily the end-state itself.
E.g., I go to the grocery store because I expect to find groceries there.
MAKES MOTIVATIONAL PROCESS LIKE A JOURNEY
● According to self-determination theory, what three basic psychological motives are necessary for human well-being? Describe each motive and provide an example of how each one can be met.
- Autonomy- make your own decisions/control over your life
- Competence- feel like your smart/good at something
- Related ness- need to belong
● Describe consummatory behaviors and provide an example to support your answer.
a- Action or item that signals the end-state or goal has been reached (example, consummating a marriage, or saving up for a lego set and buying one would be the consummatory behavior)
● What are the two types of studies used in psychological research on motivation and emotion, and what are the strengths and weaknesses associated with each type?
experimental and correlational studies. Experimental allows for controlling of variables, correlational cannot, but simply observes what exists in the environment. Correlational has more external (real-world) validity but cannot establish causation, but experimental has higher internal (inside the experiment) validity, but cannot experiment on some things as it is unethical.
● Differentiate between internal and external sources of motivation. Include a discussion of how these sources of motivation might arise/ get their value.
a. internal- biological needs (hunger, thirst), psychological needs (personal growth and social)
b. External- incentives/goals that can attract/repel, stronger in either direction the attraction is, the stronger a response
● Why is anticipation important when discussing motivation? What are the three theoretical explanations for the anticipatory process?
makes it like a journey, expectation of reaching end-state drives action. Can include cognitive motivation (visualization and plan executing), anticipatory behavior (simulating end-state in mind) and affective forecasting (imagining how reaching goal is going to feel).
cognitive motivation
involves visualization of goal and following the plan of action (example-putting gas in a car)
anticipatory behavior and simulation
anticipatory response mechanism- pulls us toward our goal by evoking imaginary components of the end state
○ E.g., crossing the finish line of a race
○ Gets stronger as we get closer to the end-state
● Simulation–
○ How will I prepare, how are my senses engaged
○ Based on our previous similar experiences
affective forecasting
anticipating how someone would feel when reaching the goal
tendency to be wrong in predicting intensity and duration of our emotions
Motivation as a journey involves…
The choice to begin, and
2. Instrumental behaviors– behaviors that will help us
reach our goal
○ Activation
○ Frequency
○ Intensity
○ Persistence
Internal Sources of Motivation
bio needs and psych needs- Promote personal growth, social
development, and psychological
well-being
Self-determination theory
autonomy, relatedness, competence
external sources of motivation
incentives and goals
Where do motives come from? Where do incentives
get their value?
- evolutionary history of humans
- personal history
- individual differences
Research on Motivation and Emotion
Strengths and Weaknesses
Experimental studies
○ Strengths: Provide more control to researchers;
○ Weaknesses: it may not be ethical or possible to manipulate some states; less
ecological validity
● Correlational studies
○ Strengths: can observe variables that cannot be examined experimentally; more
ecological validity
○ Weaknesses: can’t establish causation
Internal and External Sources Interact
Internal drives and needs interact with external incentives
and goals to motivate behavior
○ Strong motive X strong incentive = strong behavior response
○ Strong motive X weak incentive = weaker behavior response
The motivational value
of an incentive can
fluctuate with internal states
Human nature
universally shared
patterns of behaviors, thoughts, and
emotions derived from a common
evolutionary history
Why discuss evolution?
According to an evolutionary perspective, motivation pushes and pulls us
towards basic goals of SURVIVAL and REPRODUCTION
universal
motives/ incentives examples
fear, beauty standard
Sexual Desire
Securing a partner for and engaging in sexual intercourse is time-consuming,
resource-intensive, and potentially dangerous
○
Sexual desire: motivates sexual behavior for the production of offspring; critical in
romantic attraction
■ Reinforced physiologically through physical pleasure and orgasm
■ Experience varies between males and females
Romantic Love
Offspring benefit to the extent that they have relatively long-term, biparental care
■ Lots of developing outside of the womb
○
Romantic love: a strong attachment between individuals that promotes long-term
commitment
■ Universal
■ Decreases motivation to look for alternative partner
■ Sexual desire contributes to romantic love
The Search for a Mate
We search for high mate value in romantic partners
■ Summary value of characteristics prioritized in a reproductive partner
●
E.g., physical attractiveness, status and resources, dependability
○
We are motivated to get a partner with the highest mate value possible
■ What we get can be limited by our own mate value
■ Matching hypothesis
Physical attractiveness is universally valued in romantic partners
■ Symmetry, averageness
●
Symmetry is an indication of the quality of our genetics, i.e., genes
that are expressed with fewer mistakes are considered healthier
overall
Universal and Cultural Aspects of Beauty
Some aspects of physical attractiveness are universal
■ E.g., symmetry, full lips, relatively masculine/feminine faces
○
Others are more influenced by culture
■ E.g., weight, makeup, hairstyles
●
Long-Term Mate Selection
Generally, everyone wants a partner who is attractive, warm, committed
●
But, males and females prioritize different traits when selecting long-term mates
○
Males prioritize youth and fertility
○
Females prioritize status and weath
●
Parental investment
Good gene hypothesis and bade gene hypothesis
Good gene hypothesis
■ We value physical attractiveness because it signals health and fertility
●
Physically attractive people often are more healthy
○
Bad gene hypothesis
■ We avoid unattractive people out of a desire to avoid disease, low
intelligence
Biosocial theory
Physical differences between m and f exist, but is mediated by social and cultural influences
Mate guarding
Jealousy can be reactive (in response to a situation) or suspicious
Fear
Universal motive
Evolved to help animals survive
Result of human nature not learning
But can be influenced by learned behaviors
Preparedness and counter preparedness
Preparedness is easier to learn the fear
Counter is harder to learn the fear
Example is diseased puppy and harmless daddy long leg
Food neophobia
Tendency to avoid new foods
Common in kids
May protect a person from eating something toxic
But also lose out on nutrition
Doesn’t like bitter and sour foods
Music
Part of human nature
Infants can recognize music over other sounds
Possible explanations. -byproduct of vocal mimicry
Mood regulation
Promotes social bonding
Sexual selection- preferences for mates that make music
Forced mismatch:
The environment changes in ways that organisms cannot control (e.g., urbanization).
Hijacked mismatch:
Novel stimuli override evolved mechanisms, such as preference for highly processed sugary foods over natural fruits.
Causes of Mismatch
Changes in input intensity, missing input cues, or replacement with artificial cues (e.g., internet pornography replacing real-life mating cues).
Nepotism in family-owned businesses stems from
ingrained kin favoritism, conflicting with meritocratic workplace expectations.
Policy Implications
Recognizing mismatch can help design better public policies, such as limiting excessive sanitation to promote immune system development or using evolutionary psychology to encourage sustainability behaviors.
Understanding how human tendencies operate in modern contexts can improve interventions for health, education, and workplace environments.
initial intensity bias
overestimating initial distress
decay bias
underestimating the rate of emotional recovery
Agentic Theory
Bandura’s theory that humans willfully create or alter their circumstances, which
in turn affect behavior
Instrumental Behaviors
A person’s actions that are designed to achieve the goal or satisfy a motive;
behavior that results in goal attainment
Reductionism
Using the brain as a more basic entity to explain the workings of the mind,
which is considered a less basic entity
Structural Powerless Hypothesis
Women are not as effective in today’s society at obtaining the same level of
financial resources as men
