EXAM 1 (Revised) Flashcards
What does motivation study?
What starts behavior
How is behavior sustained over time
Why is behavior directed toward some ends but away from others?
Why does behavior change its direction
Why does behavior stop
Why does it change in energy.
What is motivation?
The processes that give behavior its energy and direction
direction in motivation
behavior that is aimed towards achieving a particular purpose or goal.
Energy in motivation
behavior that is relatively strong and persistent.
needs
The conditions within an individual that are both essential and necessary for the maintenance of life, nurturance of growth and well being.
Needs generate wants and desires
Needs can be physical or psychological
Emotions
Emotions are short-lived subjective. They orchestrate and organize four different aspects of experience:
- Feelings; subjective verbal descriptions of emotional experience
- Physiological preparedness; how our bodies physically mobilizes itself to meet situational demands
- Expression; how we communicate our emotions publicly to others
- Emotions allow us to anticipate and to react adaptively to important events in our lives.
What does the phrase grand theory refer to?
an all-encompassing theory that seeks to explain the full range of motivated action-why we eat, drink, work, play, compete, fear certain things, read, fall in love…….. why we do shit.
Drive
The psychological discomfort resulting from a biological deficit.
Drive theory view that behavior was motivated to the extent that it served the needs of the organism and restored a biological homeostasis.
The function of behavior is to service bodily needs
The two most widely accepted models of Drive were proposed by Freud and Hull
Drives emerge from bodily needs
Drive energizes behavior
Drive reduction is reinforced and produces learning.
What were all of the grand theories of motivation?
Drive: behavior was motivated to the extent that it served the needs of the organism and restored a biological homeostasis.
(Frued, Hull)
Will: The ancient philosophers understood motivation within the two themes (rational: will; primitive and impulsive: bodily desires)
(Aristotle; Descartes)
Instinct: Physiological analysis of motivation by focusing on the mechanistic. The appeal of instinct doctrine was its ability to explain unlearned behavior that had energy and purpose
(Darwin was the foundation, William James: Pioneered instinct)
(i.e., goal-directed biological impulses).
It started with will (Aristotle; Descartes) then moved to Instinct and finished with Drive.
A SUMMARY OF FREUD’S DRIVE THEORY
Source (A bodily deficit occurs) > Impetus (bio deficit grows & emerges into consciousness as a psychological discomfort, which is anxiety)»_space; Object (to reduce anxiety & satisfy deficit, the person searches out & consumes a need satisfying environmental object (food) > Aim (If the environmental object successfully satisfies the bodily deficit, satisfaction occurs & quiets anxiety, at least for a period of time)
Hull Drive theory (what was different?)
What was so outstanding about Hull’s theory? What made it revolutionary?
Main difference from Freud was Hulls theory
believed Motivation could be predicted before it occurred. With both the instinct and the will, it was impossible to predict in an a deductive fashion when and whether or not a person would be motivated.
What was wrong with the grand theories?
Will: Turned out to be a dead end that explained very little about motivation, as it actually raised more questions than it answered.
Instinct: dead end as well, as it became clear that “naming is not explaining.”
Drive: Limited in scope, and with its rejection grand theories in general. Several additional grand motivational principles emerged with some success (incentive and arousal).
What directly led to the grand theory of instinct - what single scientific discovery led to this?
Darwinism (evolution)
What causes hunger? (i.e: what part controls initiation, what hormone stimulate feeding behavior?)
The bodily organ that monitors level of blood glucose is the liver, and when blood glucose is low, the liver sends an excitatory signal to the lateral hypothalamus (LH), the brain center responsible for generating the psychological experience of hunger (Via the hormone Gherelin). Stimulation of the LH is important, because its stimulation will lead animals to overeat and, if stimulation is continued, to obesity.
(Need, Drive)
What inhibits feeding behavior (what brain structure, hormones, terminology) inhibit feeding behavior?
The brain structure involved is the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Acts as the brain’s satiety center—that is, the VMH is short-term appetite’s negative feedback system. VMH gets stimulated by the liver’s detection of high Cellular glucose. Insulin (hormone) is needed to increase permeability of glucose to send a signal to VMH which signals the production of Leptin.
(Homeostasis, Negative feedback)
Medial forebrain bundle
large collection of pathway-like fibers that connect the hypothalamus to other limbic structures. The “pleasure center” of the brain.
Approach-Oriented
Reticular Formation
plays a key role in arousal and in the process of awakening the brain’s motivational and emotional concerns. (mouse)
Dopamine release and incentives
Incentives (stimuli that foreshadow the imminent delivery of rewards) triggers dopamine release.
Stimuli that foreshadow the imminent delivery of rewards — pleasurable thought.
Example - Kush, smelling Kush, or just thinking about Kush.
What hormone regulates the tend and befriend response?
Oxytocin
What is the master gland?
Pituitary Gland
What controls the master gland?
Hypothalamus
What are the different types of needs?
Physiological, Psychological, Implicit (social)
What is homeostasis?
The bodies tendency to maintain internal state. Homeostasis is the bodies ability to return to its’ basal state
What mechanism do we use to maintain homeostasis?
Negative feedback
Intra‑organismic mechanisms
All of the biological regulatory systems within a person that act in concert to maintain and terminate physiological needs that underlie drive
Extra‑organismic mechanisms
All of the environmental influences that play a part in activating, maintaining and terminating psychological drive
What are some examples of extra organismic mechanisms?
a cold breeze.
The four processes capable of giving behavior strength and purpose
- Needs - 2. Cognition - 3. Emotions - 4. External Events
Emotions
Emotions are short-lived subjective. They orchestrate and organize four different aspects of experience:
- Feelings; subjective verbal descriptions of emotional experience
- Physiological preparedness; how our bodies physically mobilizes itself to meet situational demands
- Expression; how we communicate our emotions publicly to others
- Emotions allow us to anticipate and to react adaptively to important events in our lives.
What parts of the brain are involved in approach & avoidance behavior?*
Hypothalamus
Medial forebrain bundle
Orbitofrontal cortex
Septal area
Nucleus Accumbens
Anterior cingulate cortex
Cerebral cortex
(Frontal lobes)
Left prefrontal cerebral cortex
Medial prefrontal cerebral cortex
What parts of the brain are involved in avoidance behavior?*
Right prefrontal cerebral cortex
Hippocampus
Amygdala (meaning “almond-shaped”)
Hypothalamus
Part of the brain that regulates a range of important biological functions. Including eating, drinking, and mat- ing (via the motivations for hunger, satiety, thirst, and sex) (1%)
Approach-Oriented
Medial forebrain bundle
large collection of pathway-like fibers that connect the hypothalamus to other limbic structures. The “pleasure center” of the brain.
Approach-Oriented
Orbitofrontal cortex
processes such incentive-related information that helps people make choices between options, such as which product among many to buy or whether to drink orange juice or water.
Approach-Oriented
Amygdala (meaning “almond-shaped”)
detects and responds to threatening and emotionally significant events, though each of its differ- ent nuclei serves a different function. Stimulation of one part of the amygdala generates emotional anger, while stimulation of another part generates emotional fear and defensive behavior.
Avoidance-Oriented
Septal area
Pleasure center associated with sociability, sexuality
Approach-Oriented
Nucleus Accumbens
plays a critical role in the experience of pleasure from naturally occurring reinforcers (good food, social acceptance) and drugs that contribute to addictions. It generates a “liking” reaction to different incoming sensations, such as food. (pleasure and reward center)
Approach-Oriented
Anterior cingulate cortex
involved in the control of day-to-day mood, volition, and making choices. Decreased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex is associated with felt sadness and depression. The anterior cingulate cortex is important to volition (will) and the mental activity underlying the act of making a choice.
Approach-Oriented
Cerebral cortex
Frontal lobes
Making plans, setting goals, formulating intentions
Approach-Oriented
Left prefrontal cerebral cortex
Approach motivational and emotional tendencies
Approach-Oriented
Medial prefrontal cerebral cortex
Learning response-outcome contingencies that underlie perceived control beliefs and mastery motivation
Approach-Oriented
Hippocampus
Behavior inhibition system during unexpected events
Avoidance-Oriented
Right prefrontal cerebral cortex
Withdraw motivational and emotional tendencies
Avoidance-Oriented
What does dopamine release do?
Leads to emotional positivity, which can enhance functioning and creativity
Dopamine Release and Reward
Dopamine release teaches us which events in the environments are rewarding.
To acquire—and continue to maintain—incentive motivational properties, then dopamine release needs to occur
Dopamine and Motivated Action
Dopamine release activates voluntary goal-directed approach responses.
affects two brain events activation of voluntary goal-directed approach responses. The dopamine pathway includes an interface with the body’s muscular/motor system via the nucleus accumbens, which is the brain structure involved in the release of locomotion involved in goal-directed behavior . Thus, stimulation of the dopamine pathway increases the likelihood of approach behavior —partly because good feelings create approach motivation but also partly because activation of the motor system releases goal-directed approach behavior.
What is the difference between the psychological and social needs?
Psychological are inherent within the strivings of human nature and healthy development, where social are internalized or learned from our emotional and socialization histories.
What are the 3 different negative feedback mechanisms that signal the end of drinking?
When taken as a whole, multiple negative feedback systems for thirst satiety exist—in the mouth, stomach, and cells.
Whats the most important environmental factor in determining how much we drink?
The most important environmental influence for drinking is taste The incentive values for four tastes are: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter,
Using tasteless (pure) water as a baseline (no pleasantness), any taste is slightly pleasant at a very low intensity (even bitter to a small extent). At more substantial rate sweet is preferred and sour and bitter is not.
Ice Cream study
People had more licks of ice cream in social settings than alone.
Ice Cream study
People had more licks of ice cream in social settings than alone.
Additionally, if theres more variety, men and females had more licks of ice cream.
only difference was when men had more variety in a social setting.
Testosterone
underlies the mating effort—the investment of time and energy into same-sex competition and mate-seeking behavior.
For instance, high testosterone levels help Wall Street stockbrokers make more money (compete better) during the day’s trading.
High associated with cheating, while low associated with commitment and nurturing (single vs yolo).
Describe male sexual motivation
- Describe male sexual motivation
Hypovolemic Thirst
much simpler - what happens when we lose volume I.e. give blood, cut self, bleeding internally - causes a decrease in the volume of fluids in the extracellular space
Osmotic Thirst
comes when we have fluid loss in extracellular component - causes fluids of the intracellular component to rush out and dilute the salts of the extracellular component, causing those cells to shrink
What are the two different models of hunger?
Glucostatic & Limbostatic
Glucostatic Theory
Argues that blood-sugar levels are critical to hunger—when blood glucose drops, people feel hungry and want to eat
According to the glucostatic hypothesis, appetite rises and falls in response to changes in plasma glucose
Limbostatic Theory
when the mass of fat stored drops below its homeostatic balance, adipose tissue secretes hormones (e.g., ghrelin) into the bloodstream to promote weight gain motivation that increases food intake
Alternatively, when the mass of fat stored increases above its homeostatic balance, adipose tissue secretes hormones (e.g., leptin) into the bloodstream to reduce food intake and promote weight loss motivation
Male sexual motivation
The amount of testosterone and estrogen
that is produced in the adrenal gland, which is controlled by the hypothalamus. Men have higher testosterone so they fuck everything.
Male sexual motivation
The amount of testosterone and estrogen
that is produced in the adrenal gland, which is controlled by the hypothalamus. Men have higher testosterone so they fuck everything. (titty milk) #lumpyshit #sweet cashew
VTA
Regulator of dopamine output to parts of the brain, based off what a person expects and actually receives, in regards to rewards from a particular course of action.
How does male sexual motivation typically differ from theories of female sexual motivation?
males compete & females choose - success as an organism is dependent on you passing your genes onto another generation - biological standpoint: for males, success = reproduction for male; to pass on their genes - females - also need to pass genes on, but have added burden of also having to raise those offspring and bring them to sexual maturity, she invests so much into each of them; thus fights harder to keep them alive.
Whats a sexual script?
mental step-by-step representation of an individuals impression of what a typical sexual encounter would be like - begins in puberty - seems to be stronger in young men than young women - maturational (hopefully) as we gain experience, our sexual scripts will change - major part = allowing an individual to personalize their sexual orientation.
What are facial metrics and what particular types do men find attractive in women and what types do women find attractive in men?
Basically it’s a universal set of characteristics that we all find attractive
I.e. eyebrows, chin etc… - divided facial characteristics into 3 categories:
- Neonatal (men look for large eyes & a small nose — women look for a strong chin)
- Sexually mature (I.e. men look for high cheek bones — women look for a wide smile)
- Expressive (I.e. a wide smile)
forms of extrinsic motivation?
Incentives
Consequences
Rewards
What makes an effective verbal reward?
Spontaneity
What is the difference between reinforcement and punishment?
Positive Reinforcer - any environmental stimulus that, when presented, increases the future probability of the desired behavior.
Negative Reinforcer - any environmental stimulus that, when removed, increases the future probability of the desired behavior
Punisher - any environmental stimulus that, when presented, decreases the future probability of the undesired behavior
What is the difference between positive & negative reinforcement?
Positive Reinforcer - any environmental stimulus that, when presented, increases the future probability of the desired behavior.
Negative Reinforcer - any environmental stimulus that, when removed, increases the future probability of the desired behavior
What produces intrinsic motivation?
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness ———> Psychological Need Satisfaction ———> Intrinsic Motivation
What are some of the negative effects of extrinsic motivators?
Benefits of intrinsic motivation - they show a greater degree of persistence (compared to extrinsic motivation) - also brings about creativity (intrinsically motivated people are more creative) - also have a higher conceptual understanding/high-quality learning (intrinsics like to understand the process, rather than memorize facts) - are more optimally functioning and have better well-being (tend to be more well off generally, greater vitality, lower levels of anxiety).
Do rewards have a purpose/serve a function? When are rewards useful?
A extrinsic reward enlivens positive emotion and facilitates reward-directed behavior because
it signals the opportunity for a personal gain. Rewards work. Rewards increase desired behavior when they signal in the recipient an unexpected and imminent personal gain. As
rewards become routinely predictable however, they lose their capacity to trigger dopamine release and hence lose their capacity to energize reward-directed behavior.
What’re the hidden costs of rewards?
The imposition of an extrinsic reward undermines future intrinsic motivation. The reward’s adverse effect on intrinsic motivation is the hidden cost.
What is the cognitive evaluation theory?
asserts that all external events have both a controlling aspect and an informational aspect. This theory presumes that people have psychological needs for autonomy and competence. It is the controlling aspect of an external event that affects the person’s need for autonomy whereas it is the informational aspect that affects the person’s need for competence.
What do we call the tyranny of should’s?
- When a person is neurotic, their self is split between an idealized self and a real self. As a result, neurotic individuals feel that they somehow do not live up to the ideal self. They feel that there is a flaw somewhere in comparison to what they “should” be. The real self then degenerates into a “despised self”, and the neurotic person assumes that this is the “true” self. Thus, the neurotic is like a clock’s pendulum oscillating between “perfection” and a manifestation of self-hate. This phenomenon is known as the “Tyranny of the Should’s” and the neurotic’s hopeless”search for glory”. These ingrained traits of the psyche forever prevent an individual’s potential from being actualized unless the cycle of neurosis is somehow broken, through treatment or life lessons.
How can a rational explanation work as a motivational influence?
Providing rationale provides in depth reason why you should do that task - as that rationale becomes clearer, a task that had no intrinsic motivation initially, can start to become internalized and integrated - giving this rationale allows you to provide a momentary spark that provides reason to do task
What are the 2 basic principles of the organismic approach to motivation?
Self-determination theory
organismic model
Self-determination theory
people are inherently active & the person-environment dialectic - we live in an ever changing environment that provides opportunities to fulfill needs, meet a challenge, maximize growth - but there are obstacles to reaching that - as the environment changes, its going to change us and also we are changing it - a never ending feedback loop between person and environment
organismic model
based on the ever-changing environment - based on what the environment provides and how we react - thought and interaction
Person-environment dialectic
person brings certain things to the table - use all of those to interact with the environment - a proactive person seeks out challenges in the environment - whether we’re successful in impacting the environment depends on the opportunities that the environment provides
What are the psychological needs?
Psychological needs - trying to seek new challenges, explore and master new tasks - means we use to grow, enhance development - growth needs - help us grow as an individual
3 Psychological Needs
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness
Which psychological need is effected by the perceived locus of causality?
Autonomy
Is choice good or bad? Or is there some choice that is good and some choice that is bad?
Not all choices promote autonomy - a lot of things masquerade choice but don’t truly give choice - I.e. paper on extrinsic vs intrinsic vs paper on motivation, get a greater sense of autonomy from the ladder
When you give someone true choice, it allows them to reflect their values and interests which leads to increased sense of autonomy
Autonomy & PLOC
based on how free we feel we are - we want to decide for ourself what it is we do - we don’t want to be told what we have to do - things that lead to increased sense of autonomy: perceived locus of causality (we want the reason we do something to come from within us, we want to be the origin of our behavior rather than a pawn) (origins vs pawns) - We want to freely accept the behavior (Volition) - all of autonomy is based on something we perceive, we don’t need, just have to think we do
What are the subjective experiences of autonomy?
- An internal perceived locus of causality - 2. Volition - 3. Perceived choice
Why is failure tolerance important?
Structure: gives us a framework to plan our activities -
gives you clearly defined goal in sight and strategies on how to get there -
strategies bridges into failure tolerance - treat failure as a learning opportunity
What leads to flow?
Must have the optimal balance between challenge and skill - when you get that optimal challenge for your skill set, you theoretically achieve flow
(Scale: boredom — optimal challenge — anxiety)
What is required for an environmental challenge to produce the psychological experience/sense of being challenged?
Feedback. You don’t know that you’re being challenged until you get some feedback. It could be Internal or External
(could be as simple as: this test was a lot harder than I thought it would be - or as simple as: weight training - picking up the weight and thinking wow, that is heavier than I thought it would be)
What is competence?
sense of how capable you are with interacting with your environment; you have the skills it takes to complete this task
What is the difference between a communal and an exchange relationship?
Has to do with Relatedness - need to be emotionally connected to others - want positive interactions with others - we want these relationships to go in both directions - communal: individuals have each others back regardless, help each other meet their needs & desires without looking for something in return - exchange: you are looking to get something out of it.
When we study motivation, what’re the essential questions we have to answer about our behavior?
Why does behavior start?* - Why does behavior vary in its intensity?* - Once begun, why is behavior sustained over time? - Why is behavior directed toward some goals yet away from others? - Why does behavior change its direction? - Why does behavior stop?
Which grand theory is deficiency based?
Drive
Whats the theoretical term used to depict the psychological discomfort resulting from a persistent biological deficit?
Drive
What is the difference between the two models of hunger in regards to feeding behavior?
(Glucostatic is the short-term hunger regulation ~ Lipostatic is the long-term metabolic needs)
What is the difference between an incentive and a consequence?
Incentive - an environmental event that attracts or repels a person toward or away from initiating a particular course of action; incentives always precede behavior; the incentive value of an environment is learned through experience (learning process = conditioning).
Both incentives and consequences are external events that direct behavior, however, incentives always precede behavior and they attract or repel the initiation of behavior.
Consequences always follow behavior and increase or decrease the persistence of behavior.
What is the difference between a set point and a settling point theory?
Set point - each individual has a biologically determined body weight that is set by genetics.
Settling point - body weight is culturally controlled; ideal body weight determined by the culture you live in I.e. some cultures = being overweight as a sign of affluence (America)
What are the 3 psychological needs?
Competence, Relatedness, Autonomy
Of the 3 psychological needs, competence is the most maturational - as we continue to engage in something, we will continuously increase our level of competence
What is the purpose of structure?
Structure provides clear expectations - provides timely performance feedback - provides optimal challenge - these are all signs of structure
Competence
sense of how capable you are with interacting with your environment, you have the skills it takes to complete this task
Relatedness
close emotional feeling with others, I.e. competition, some types of competition lead to a sense of relatedness - I.e. social drinker, relates to need for relatedness
HPA (Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Axis)
CRF (released from Hypothalamus; the releasing factor)—> gets into circulation —> goes to anterior pituitary —> ACTH —> adrenal gland —> release of cortisol —> functions through negative feedback to turn off ACTH
HPA/HPG
do not need to know specific hormones, just know the particular pathways and what the end product does (I.e. cortisol = response to stress)
Types of regulation
External regulation - recycle for 5 cents to get the 5 cents
Introjected - do it because you should / feel like you have to do it
Identified - there is a particular reason for it
Integrated regulation - do it because it expresses who you are and how you view yourself
Which compartment is most important in terms of regulating thirst?
must get fluid into cells to relieve thirst - it is the intracellular compartment that drives thirst
Serotonergic pathway
Dorsal Raphe - In the brain stem - the cell bodies that make the serotonin are found in the brain stem - from there, the cell bodies send their projections all over the brain - made only in the brain stem but they spread all over the brain.
Dopaminergic pathway
3 of these pathways -
1st: Hypothalamic (entirely in the hypothalamus)
2nd: Nigrostriatal (goes from substantia nigra —> striatal - involved in memory, habit formation & fine motor control - involved in Parkinson’s
3rd: Mesocorticolimbic (projection) - cell bodies next to substantia nigra in mesocephalon —> VTA —> Nucleus Accumbens & prefrontal cortex (both at the same time) - This is the REWARD PATHWAY - (everything related to reward releases dopamine and goes to the nucleus accumbens)
