Instincts and Drives Flashcards
What is motivation?
Force acting within an organism to give behaviour its energy, direction, and persistence
Describe energy, direction, and persistence in the definition of motivation
energy: strength and intensity of behaviour
direction: the specific goal or aim of the behaviour
persistence: behaviour sustained over time
What is grand theory?
An all-encompassing theory that seeks to explain the full range of motivated action– e.g. why we eat drink play etc.
What were the two early grand theories in the study of motivation?
Instinct theory
Drive theory
Biological determinism
the belief that biological factors are the primary determinants of human behaviour
What are instincts?
“hard-wired” or “programmed in” bits of behaviour that do not require learning occur in response to some environmental trigger like corgi’s herding or spiders building webs
What is instinct theory?
Early instinct theory believed that humans have instincts based on evolutionary theory
How did William James view instincts?
saw them as similar to reflexes, elicited by sensory stimuli, occur blindly the first time but over time behaviour may be modified by experience
Variability in instincts comes from: learning (can inhibit them) and some are transitory in nature (like rivalry, jealousy)
How did William McDougall view instincts?
Believed instincts are the primary drivers of all human behaviour
Every instinct has 3 components:
- cognitive: knowing of an object that can satisfy instinct
- affective: feeling/emotion that the object arouses in the organism
- conative: striving toward or away from object
ex) parental care, combat, curiousity
What are the criticisms of early instinct theories?
- no agreement concerning what types or how many instincts exist
- naming the instincts does not explain them this is called the nominal fallacy
- circular reasoning
- insufficent recognition of the role of learning
- this led to the decline of instinct theoru as the “grand theory” of motivated behaviour
What is ethology?
the study of animal behaviour in natural settings using systematic and objective observation
What is fixed-action pattern?
pre-programmed behaviours that are triggered by specific stimulus, a sign stimulus, and follow a predictable fixed sequence
What is sign-stimulus?
a sign stimulus triggers pre-programmed behaviours that follow a predicted sequence
What is stereotyped behaviour?
Stereotyped behaviour is behaviour that follows a fixed sequence, often part of fixed action patterns
What is evolutionary psychology?
Study of how evolutionary processes have shaped the human mind and behaviours
- emphasizes adaptive functions of behaviour
Natural Selection
the process through which certain traits become more or less common in a population over time
3 components: Variation, Heredity, Differential Fitness
Variation
individuals in a population vary in traits (size, colour, behaviour)
Heredity
variation is passed on from parents to offspring through genes
Differential fitness
not all individuals in a population survive and reproduce equally –> adaptations gradually accumulate over generations to increase the chances of survival and reproduction in a given enviroment
Adaptation
traits that inc the chances of survivial and reproduction in a given environmenty that gather over generations
What are baby schemata?
a genetic motive for caregiving are baby-like features: big eyes, small chin and nose, large forehead. These are all sign stimuli for eliciting caregiving motivation
- associated with pity and protective urges toward “baby-face” adults
This is an evolved adaptation to ensure infants recieve carre
Survival vs sexual selection
Survival selection: adaptations that increase odds of survival
Sexual selection: adaptations that increase odds of securing a mate
Intrasexual vs intersexual selection
intra: driven by competition among individuals of the same sex ex) big tusks to fight
inter: driven by mate choice ex) bright colours, nest-building
From an evolutionary perspective, what adaptive functions might aggression serve?
An adaptation for defence against predators or adversaries, competition for mates, and attracting mates
What are the gender differences in aggression?
cross-culturally, men are more likley to engage in physical aggression than women.
- 79% of violent crimes by men
-EVOLUTIONARY VIEW: men’s greater propensity toward violence derives from historic need to compete for mates
- Women invest more into their offspring than men
Explain the experimental test of the evolutionary view of male aggression
Participants came in and performed a priming task , some under mating motivation condition and others in control. They were then asked to deliver a blast of noise to their partner (an operationalization of aggression)
RESULT
Men conditioned with mating motivation were more willing to deliver a blast of noise to same-sex partners but NOT opposite sex. This effect was non-existent in women.
What is an alternative view of the gender differences (not evolutionary)? What is some evidence?
Socialization/Culturally conditioned theory: men are socialized according to social norms that encourage physical aggressivness.
STUDY: Participants viewed videos of a startled infant, when told it was a boy, more people thought the baby was angry, when told it was a girl, more people thought the baby was afraid.
Cultures of honour?
Cultures where people place high value on social reputation, feel strong obligation to defend their honour, often through aggressive means
ex. The US South
Studies of cultures of honour
Lab study: Participants were male university students (from UMich) who grew up in North or South. They were bumped into a confederate outside lab.
–> result: Southerners were more likely to feel threatened, more likely to subsequently behave in an aggressive or domineering way. No difference between two groups in control condition.
field study: employers across US sent letter from job applicants who admitted to killing someone in Honour-related conflict or theft.
–> SOUTHERN companies more likely to respond positively to murder (not theft) relative to Northern companies
Why are cultures of honour more prevalent in certain regions?
Historically based on herding economy, wealth tied to livestock, so protection of livestock and land became essential to survival and social status. Threats to resources often prompt AGGRESSIVE responses
Result of socialization, parental modelling, peer reinforcement, cultural narratives, and values.
Proneness to aggression isn’t genetic, but socialized
What is drive theory?
The belief that behaviour is motivated to the extent that it serves bodily needs of the organism and restores biological homeostasis
Bodily deficits are experienced psychologically as internal states of tension called a drive
What is biological homeostasis?
the process by which organisms maintain stable internal environment despite changes in external environment
What is Freud’s drive theory?
All behaviour serves the purpose of satisfying biologically based bodily needs
- recurring conditions like hunger are generated by build-up of psychic energy
- Nervous system aims to maintain a low energy state and these urges disrupt this ideal state
- energy builds up and creates anxiety (psychological discomfort) and prolonged build-up threatens health
-TWO GENERAL CATERGORIES OF DRIVE:
–> Eros: life instinct, drive for live, reproduction, survival
–> Thanatos: death instinct, drive for rest, inactivity, destructive
What is a drive according to Freud’s theory?
an emergency signal compelling action to reduce discomfort and restore balance
Involves…
- Source: bodily deficit (like drop in blood sugar)
-Impetus: the intensity of the deficit grows and emerges in conciousness
-object: seeking to reduce discomfort and satisfy the deficit
-aim: the object-oriented goal of the drive
What are defensive strategies?
learned strategies for managing sexual and aggressive drives and allowing them to be channelled in socially acceptable ways
What is Hull’s drive theory?
pooled energy source of all current bodily deficits and disturbances
- food, water, sleep, mate deprivation
- behaviour is motivated by drive reduction, drive does not guide action, just signals us
- Habits direct behaviour and are derived from learning
Drive –> cue –> response –> reward
Criticisms of drive theory
Not all motivations arise from physiological deficits –> ex. rats will explore new environments even when not hungry or thirsty
ex> humans will restrict food intake for beauty standards
- Drive is very broad and vague
