motivation Flashcards
what is motivation
**Definition: **Motivation is an internal state that explains why we behave or learn to behave.
Science of Motivation: The study of behavioral causation, or understanding why certain behaviors occur
what are motivational states
Definition: Motivational states refer to the internal conditions or drives that influence an organism’s behavior and decision-making.
what are motivational desires and drives
Desires: Internal wants or needs that motivate behavior.
Drives: Biological states that arise from a deprivation of basic needs, triggering behavior aimed at fulfilling those needs.
How can we study motivational states in animals?
Tools: Skinner boxes (also known as operant conditioning chambers) are used to study motivational states in animals.
Note: Skinner, despite using these tools, believed that focusing on internal states distracts from understanding the effects of reinforcement on behavior.
xWhat did Thorndike propose about motivation?
Thorndike’s view: Learning is motivated by internal states. This contrasts with Skinner’s approach, which emphasized external reinforcement over internal motivations.
What is the Drive Reduction Theory?
Proposed by Hull: A reinforcer supports learning by reducing an internal state of deprivation, like hunger.
Example: Food is reinforcing because it alleviates hunger.
What is the emphasis of Drive Reduction Theories?
Homeostasis: The tendency of physiological systems to maintain balance or equilibrium.
Arousal: An imbalance in homeostasis creates arousal, which initiates action to restore balance.
What are the physiological systems that work based on homeostasis?
Example variables to maintain:
Temperature,
Hydration,
Nutrients (e.g., food, water)
Goal: To minimize the difference between the optimum set-point and the actual state of the system.
What is negative feedback in motivation?
Definition: A process where the effect produced by an action serves to diminish or terminate that action.
Significance: It helps maintain homeostatic states by reducing the difference between the set-point and the actual point of a physiological system.
What is the basic structure of a homeostatic system?
1.** System variable:** The variable being controlled (e.g., temperature, hydration).
2. Set-point: The desired level of the variable.
3. Sensor: A mechanism that measures the variable.
4. **Effector system: **Behavioral or physiological mechanisms to restore balance
Why is water important for the body?
Percentage of body water: Water makes up 70% of lean body mass.
Consequences of water loss: Cellular processes become inefficient, and excessive loss can be fatal.
What is osmometric thirst (cellular dehydration)?
Cause: Loss of water increases the concentration of salts in extracellular fluid, leading to an osmotic imbalance.
Effect: Water leaves the cells to restore balance by osmosis, triggering thirst and drinking behavior.
Location of osmotic balance detection: Osmoreceptors in the Organum Vasculosum of the Lamina Terminalis (OVLT).
How does hypovolemic thirst differ from osmometric thirst?
Hypovolemic thirst: Caused by a loss of extracellular fluid, triggering thirst without changes in salt concentration.
Systems involved: The kidneys and heart monitor blood pressure and volume to trigger drinking.
What is the role of Angiotensin in thirst?
Process:
* Hypovolemia triggers the release of renin from kidneys.
* Renin converts angiotensinogen into angiotensin, which stimulates drinking and water retention.
Effect on drinking: Angiotensin binds to receptors in the Subfornical Organ (SFO), promoting drinking behavior.
What is the role of baroreceptors in thirst regulation?
Location: Atria of the heart detect stretch through baroreceptors.
Function: These baroreceptors monitor blood volume and send information to the brain to trigger drinking behavior when necessary.
How does the thirst control system work as a homeostatic motivation?
Set-point: Optimal fluid balance.
Sensors: Osmoreceptors in OVLT, baroreceptors in the heart and kidneys.
Effector: Drinking behavior, salt appetite, and water conservation measures.
