Lecture 6c: motives for behaviour

Question 0

motivation:

Answer 0

a process that causes some behaviour

toward some goal, or away from some unpleasant behaviour

Question 1

behaviour is mainly influenced by:

Answer 1

nature and nurture

Question 2

drive theory

Answer 2

• behaviours are caused by fulfilling biological needs (drives), these can be hunger, sex, thirst, ect.
• not all the behaviour that we show is to satisfy basic biological needs alone

Question 3

some biological motives in humans:

Answer 3

hunger, thirst, sex, excretion, temperature, activity, ect.

Question 4

some social motives in humans:

Answer 4

achievement, affiliation, dominance, order, play, ect.

Question 5

what are the categories of motivation

Answer 5

Extrinsic motivation: participating in an activity to gain a reward
inartistic motivation: participating in an activity for its own sake

Question 6

the genetic basis of weight: set-point

Answer 6

a biological mechanism that is partly genetic, it maintains people’s body weight at a certain level
-it is influenced by basal metabolism rate

Question 7

what is bad about obesity?

Answer 7

it is a costly social problem, and has major health threats

Question 8

why are people becoming so overweight nowadays?

Answer 8

1. fatty food is cheaper and tastes good
2. that food is easier to make
3. modern technology gives us more leisure and less exercise
4. we drive instead of walk
5. modern hobbies consume minimal calories

Question 9

the role of genes in weight gain:

Answer 9

we evolved when food was scarce and starvation was a concern, therefore, we eat when food is available, and store it is fat when there is more than we need

Question 10

the role of modern environment on weight gain:

Answer 10

food is cheap and in great abundance, unfortunately, our bodies still want to eat as much as we can and store the remaining fat

Question 11

how can people fight the genetics that make them gain weight?

Answer 11

reducing the amount of calries that you eat will only slow down metabolism, but since exercise increases metabolism, that is the answer

Question 12

what is the cultural influence of weight?

Answer 12

some places favour more weight, whereas some favour less, it depends on the ideal body type of the culture that the person is in.

Question 13

what is the consequence of cultural ideals for body image?

Answer 13

bulimia, anorexia, steroids, depression and anxiety (from not living up to a certain standard)

Question 14

the biological basis of sexual desire:

Answer 14

the hormone testosterone is important for the existence and intensity of one’s sex drive

• having sex increases testosterone levels
• castration does not eliminate sex drive

Question 15

do men or women have more sex drive?

Answer 15

seemingly men

Question 16

what often motivates sexual coercion?

Answer 16

often it isn’t just sexual gratification, but it is often same sex peer approval (they want to score and tell their friends), or because they want to express power and dominance

Question 17

what is the learned basis of sex?

Answer 17

for people sex is more than a reproductive function.
it is motivated by: 
-intimacy
-coping
-self-affirmation
-partner approval
-peer aproval
-revenge
-ect.

Question 18

what is a “sexual script”?

Answer 18

it is the learned “appropriate” ways to engage in sexual activity, it is influenced by the culture a person is in. it is often unconcious knowledge about proper sexual behaviour, such as gender, age, etc.

Question 19

what makes a person choose their sexual orientation?

Answer 19

at extreme ends of the spectrum it is probably biological, but all the variations are determined by dozens of reasons.