Motivation and Attitude Flashcards
Motivation
underlying purpose for our actions
Intrinsic Motivation
internal factors drive behavior, more self sustainable
Extrinsic Motivation
external factors drive behaviors, ex. money
Instincts
hardwired, fixed behavioral patterns
Drive
an excitatory state produced by a homeostatic disturbance
Drive-Reduction Theory
motivation comes from a desire to return to homeostasis
Primary Drives
basic, biologically grounded needs
Secondary Drives
less basic needs
Psychological Arousal
people are motivated to engage in actions that optimize psychological arousal
Yerkes-Dodson Law
performance at various tasks is optimized at medium levels of arousal
Incentive Theory
humans respond to external incentives
Primary Reinforcers
rewards that respond to basic physiological needs
Secondary Reinforcers
psychologically complex concepts (recognition/appreciation)
Expectancy-Value Theory
motivation is a reflection of the balance between expectancies (how successful we think we will be at a task) and values (whether the task is seen as worthwhile)
Self-Determination Theory
emphasis placed in intrinsic motivation
Opponent-Processing Theory
if a certain experience initially provokes an intense reaction, the opposite reaction then tends to predominate after a certain time
Attitudes
psychological orientations that people have towards another person, activity or topic in general
Role-Playing
simulating certain behaviors can shape one’s attitude
Thomas Theorem
if people define situations as real, those situations have real consequences
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
the discrepancy when a certain attitude or behavior is confronted with conflicting evidence
Central Route of Processing
rational decisions based on advantages and disadvantages of choice
Peripheral Route of Processing
superficial decisions based on gut reactions and surface-level characteristics
Social Cognitive Theory
modeling desired attitudes and behaviors can be a strong method of changing attitudes
