Module 1: Intro to Motivation

Question 1

what is motivation

Answer 1

any internal process that gives behaviour its energy, direction, and persistence

Question 2

what are the three main reasons why we study motivation?

Answer 2

theoretical understanding, practical understanding, and for scientific studies

Question 3

what two questions does motivation aim to answer?

Answer 3

what causes behaviour? why does behaviour vary in intensity

Question 4

what is theoretical understanding when it comes to motivation?

Answer 4

general understanding of what motivation is

Question 5

examples of questions that practical understanding can answer when it comes to motivation?

Answer 5

where does motivation come from? how can motivation be increased? how can one motivate oneself? how can one motive others?

Question 6

what are scientific studies of motivation?

Answer 6

uses objective and empirical evidence gained from well-conducted and peer-reviewed research to answer questions

aims to describe and explain behaviour

Question 7

what type of science is the study of motivation

Answer 7

a behavioural science

Question 8

what type is the general type of motive that fuels motivation? define it

Answer 8

internal motives

a process that energies, directs, and sustains behaviour

is a general term to identify the common ground shared by needs, cognitions, and emotions

Question 9

what are the 3 different types of motives

Answer 9

need, cognition, and emotion

Question 10

what is a need?

Answer 10

conditions that are essential for the maintenance of life, and for the nuturance of growth and well-being

Question 11

examples of needs

Answer 11

hunger, thirst, sleep, autonomy, competence, relatedness, etc.

Question 12

what is cognition? (internal motive)

Answer 12

mental events capable of energizing and directing
behaviour

Question 13

examples of cognition

Answer 13

beliefs, expectations, goals, plans, attributions, mindsets, self-concept, etc.

Question 14

what is emotion? (internal motive)

Answer 14

complex, but coordinated feeling/arousal/purposive/expressive reactions to significant events in our lives

short lived/brief bursts of emergency-like adaptive behaviour

Question 15

what are the 4 components of emotion?

Answer 15

feelings, arousal, purpose, and expression

Question 16

what is the purpose of the 4 main components of emotion?

Answer 16

the combination of the components allow for emotions to work (meaning we can react adaptively to important life events)

Question 17

what are feelings?

Answer 17

subjective, verbal descriptions of the emotional experience

Question 18

what is arousal?

Answer 18

bodily motivation to cope with situational demands

Question 19

what is purpose?

Answer 19

motivational urge to accomplish something specific at that moment

Question 20

what is expression?

Answer 20

nonverbal communication of our emotional experience to others

Question 21

what are the five expressions of motivation

Answer 21

behaviour
engagement
psychophysiology
brain activation
self-report

Question 22

what are the seven behavioural expressions of motivation and emotion

Answer 22

effort, persistence, latency, choice, probability of response, facial expression, and bodily gestures

Question 23

what is effort

Answer 23

exertion put forth during a task

percentage of total capacity used

Question 24

what is persistence

Answer 24

time between when a behaviour first starts until it ends

Question 25

what is latency

Answer 25

duration of time a person waits to get started on a task upon first being given an opportunity to do so

Question 26

what is choice

Answer 26

when presented with two or more courses of action, preferring one course of action over the other

Question 27

what is probability of response

Answer 27

number (or percentage) of occasions that the person enacts a particular goal-directed response given the total number of opportunities to do so

Question 28

what does it mean if a behaviour shows high amount of expressions?

Answer 28

the internal motive is likely quite intense

Question 29

what is engagement?

Answer 29

how actively involved a person is

Question 30

what is behaviour in terms of engagement

Answer 30

refers to how involved a person is during an activity in terms of effort/persistence on task behaviour

Question 31

what is emotion in terms of engagement

Answer 31

refers to the presence of positive emotions during task involvement and lack of negative emotions

Question 32

what is cognition in terms of engagement

Answer 32

refers to how strategically a person attempts to process information and learn refers to if a person is employing sophisticated learnings strategies self regulation and seeking conceptual understanding instead of surface knowledge

Question 33

what is agency in terms of engagement?

Answer 33

refers to the extent of the person's proactive and constructive contribution into the flow of activity in terms of asking questions, expressing preferences, etc.

Question 34

what are the four factors of engagement?

Answer 34

behaviour, emotion, cognition, and agency all interrelated

Question 35

what is psychophysiology

Answer 35

the process by which psychological states produce physiological changes interaction between bodily and mental states

Question 36

what are the five psychophysiological expressions of motivation and emotion

Answer 36

hormonal activity, cardiovascular activity, ocular activity, electrodermal activity, and skeletal activity

Question 37

what is hormonal activity?

Answer 37

chemicals in saliva or blood

Question 38

what is cardiovascular activity

Answer 38

contraction and relaxation of the heart and blood vessels

Question 39

what is ocular activity

Answer 39

eye behaviour (pupil size, eye blinds, etc.)

Question 40

what is electrodermal activity

Answer 40

electrical changes on the surface of the skin in response to an event

Question 41

what is skeletal activity

Answer 41

activity of the musculature, as with facial expressions, or bodily gestures

Question 42

what is brain activation

Answer 42

neural activity that researchers can used brain scanning equipment to detect rise/fall in brain activity can be used to infer about motivational state

Question 43

what is self report

Answer 43

involves asking someone to self-report their motivation levels in an interview/survey

Question 44

what are the 6 unifying themes of motivation

Answer 44

motivation and emotion benefit adaptation and functioning motivation and emotion are dynamic motivation needs supportive conditions to flourish motivation and emotion are intervening variables various types of motivations exist we are not always aware of the motivational basis of behaviour