Human Motivation Flashcards
Motives
An internal force that leads an individual to behave in a particular way.
Instinct
A genetically endowed tendency to behave in a particular way. A complex behaviour that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.
Homeostasis
The body’s tendency to maintain internal equilibrium through various forms of self-regulation (tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state).
Drive
A state of internal bodily tension such as hunger or thirst or the need for sleep. An aroused state of tension that typically arises from a need (drives our behaviour).
Pain Matrix
A distributed network of brain regions, including the amygdala, that respond to many types of pain.
Intrinsically Rewarding/Intrinsic Motivation
Being pursued for its own sake. Performance of an activity for the satisfactions of the activity itself.
Extrinsically Rewarding/Extrinsic Motivation
Being pursued because of rewards that are not an inherent part of the activity or object. Performance of an activity to obtain some external outcome (incentive). Not as good as or beneficial as intrinsic motivation.
Glucostatic Hypothesis/Theory
The hypothesis that hunger and eating are regulated by the body’s monitoring and adjustment of blood glucose levels. When glucose levels drop, glucoreceptors signal the lateral hypothalamus to encourage eating (on switch). When glucose levels are too high, glucoreceptors signal the ventromedial hypothalamus to stop eating (off switch). There are also peripheral detectors such as stomach distensions and body temperature but if the ventromedial hypothalamus is damaged, one will not feel full.
Lipostatic Hypothesis
The hypothesis that adipose tissue plays an important role in governing hunger and regulating longer-term energy balance.
Body Weight Set Point
The weight an organism will seek to maintain despite alterations in dietary intake.
Metabolic Rate
The rate at which the body uses energy.
Unit Bias
The amount of food that is regarded as a single serving.
Anorexia Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by an extreme concern with being overweight and by compulsive dieting sometimes to the point of self-starvation. Are often severely underweight.
Bulimia Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by repeated binge-and-purge bouts. Are often normal weight.
Binge Eating
Eating a larger amount of food than is typical within a relatively brief time period.
Compensatory Behaviour
Subsequent actions to try to ensure that the binge eating does not translate into weight gain ex. self-induced vomiting, the misuse of laxatives or diuretics, and extreme levels of exercise.
Binge-Eating Disorder
An eating disorder characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating without inappropriate compensatory behaviour.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
A measure of whether someone is at a healthy weight or not. Is calculated as one’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of one’s height in meters.
Thrifty Gene Hypothesis
The evolutionary hypothesis that natural selection has favoured individuals with efficient metabolisms that maximize fat storage.
Estrus
A female mammal’s period of sexual receptivity.
Neurodevelopmental Perspective
This perspective holds that sexual orientation is built into the circuitry of the brain early in fetal development.
Performance Orientation
A motivational stance that focuses on performing well and looking smart.
Fixed Mindset
Believes that intelligence is fixed.
Mastery Orientation
A motivational stance that focuses on learning and improving.
Growth Mindset
Believes that intelligence can grow.
Hierarchy of Motives
The order in which needs are thought to become dominant. According to Abraham Maslow, people will strive to meet their higher-order needs such as self-actualization and self-transcendence only when their lower, more basic needs like food and safety have been met.
Self-Actualization
The desire to realize one’s full potential.
Self-Transcendence
The desire to further a cause that goes beyond the self.
Motivation
Internal forces that activate, energize, and direct behaviour towards specific goals. External factors do not lead to motivation but can impact internal processes which leads to motivation.
Instinct Theory
The faculty of acting in such a way as to produce certain ends without foresight of the ends and without previous education in the performance.
Evolutionary Theory
We are hard-wired to engage in certain behaviours for survival reasons. Can be physical (ex. sucking) and mental (ex. imitation) instincts.
Drive-Reduction Theory
Need leads to drive which leads to drive-reducing behaviour. For example, need for food or water leads to hunger or thirst which leads to eating or drinking.
Need
A state of deprivation that activates and directs behaviour to alleviate this deprivation.
Optimum Arousal Theory
People often seek to increase rather than reduce tension (motivated to achieve an optimum level of arousal). People differ in their optimum level of arousal.
Too Little Arousal
Bored, seeking stimulation.
Too Much Arousal
Anxiety, withdraw to lower arousal.
Incentive Theory
External stimuli can make us want to do things.
Incentive
An external object or event that can motivate behaviour (pull). Stresses the role of the environment. Are not the same as rewards and punishments. Occurs before the behaviour while rewards and punishments occur after the behaviour.
Expectancy Theory
The subjective prediction of the likelihood of future events.
Efficacy Expectation
The judgment of our capacity to carry out a particular action effectively (self-efficacy).
Outcome Expectation
The judgment that a given action, once we do it, will cause a particular outcome.
Value
How much we care.
Behaviour
Efficacy Expectation (Can I do it?) x Outcome Expectation (Will it work?) x Value (Do I care?)
Nonhomeostatic Eating
Are a result of visual cues (bottomless bowl ie. clean plate theory, unit bias, and portion sizes), variety (foods, nutrients, and tastes), and social contexts (social facilitations (you eat more with people than if you were alone) and impression management (you eat less if you are self conscious eating in front of someone)).
Libido
The motivation for sexual activity and pleasure. Is impacted by testosterone levels and menstrual cycles.
Evolutionary Psychology
Human nature can be understood in terms of how behaviours helped us to survive and reproduce (ex. Cinderella effect (step-parents treat their step children more poorly because they care more about the children that are biologically related to them (to be able to pass on their genes))).
Natural Selection
Differential reproductive success based on differences in inherited traits.
Sexual Selection
Differential success in competition for access to mates based on differences in heritable traits. Two types, intrasexual and intersexual.
Intrasexual Selection
Members of one sex compete to gain access to members of the other sex (the other sex is passive).
Intersexual Selection
Members of one sex compete to be chosen by members of the other sex (the other sex is active).
Parental Investment Theory
The sex that invests more in gestating and rearing offspring is more selective about choosing mates (intersexual choice). The less-investing sex, in turn, exhibit higher levels of competition for access to mates (intrasexual competition).
Females
Large investment of time, energy, and risk for offspring → Maximize success by seeking high quality partners (more selective) → Seek commitment, fewer partners, and look for income, status, and ambition
Males
Minimal investment of time, energy, and risk for offspring → Maximize success by seeking more partners (less selective) → Uncommitted sex, more partners, and look for youth and attractiveness
Transgender
People who identify with a gender that differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Biological Explanations For Transgender
Brain structures of transgender people align more with gender identity than sex assigned at birth ex. volume of nuclei in hypothalamus.
Physical Reasons For Sex
1) Stress Reduction
2) Pleasure
3) Physical Desirability
4) Experience Seeking
Emotional Reasons For Sex
1) Love and Commitment
2) Expression
Goal Attainment Reasons For Sex
1) Attain Resources
2) Improve Social Status
3) Seek Revenge/Harm
4) Utilitarian (to help fall asleep)
Insecurity Reasons For Sex
1) Self-Esteem Boost
2) Duty/Pressure
3) Mate Guarding
The Need to Belong
Humans require close, nonaversive, long-term relationships. Evolutionary explanation: social groups help us survive. The lack of such connections undermines well-being. Social bonds provide greater evolutionary success (more resources, better protection, and more (desirable) mates).
Pain
Operates as an alarm system when survival is threatened.
Physical Pain
Alerts us to physical injury which leads us to attend to injury.
Social Pain
Alerts us to an injury in our social connections which leads us to restore connections.
Overall Happiness in Life
1) Marriage 0.41
2) Family 0.29
3) Health 0.25
4) Hobbies 0.21
5) Friends 0.20
6) Community 0.19
7) Finances 0.16
8) Work 0.14
