Motivation and Emotion Flashcards
What is motivation?
driving force behind behaviour that leads us to pursure some things and avoid other
- makes us act the way we do
- needs, wants, interests, desires = emergise/direct behaviour
- starts, directs, maintains, stops behaviours
Origins of motives & motives reflect
Biological
limited in range - shared by all
related to reproduction and survival
Eg: eating
Origins of motives & motives reflect
Psychosocial
wide variety between individuals/cultures
Eg: comfort, love, need for relatedness
Motivation
Psychodynamic Perspective
2 basic drives and 2 other motives
emphasises biological basis of motivation
Frued: motivated by drives (internal tensions that build until they are satisfied)
2 basic drives: SEX & AGGRESSION
Now 2 other motives: NEED FOR RELATEDNESS & SELF-ESTEEM
Motivation
Psychodynamic Perspective
Wishes & Fears
clinical observation
WISHES = representation of a desired state (emotion/arousal)
FEARS = undesired state (unpleasant feelings)
Standardised wish and fear list
Motivation
Psychodynamic Perspective
Unconscious motives
motives can be unconscious
conscious (explicit) motives can override unconscious (implicit) ones
thematic apperception test (TAT) - projective test, reveal hidden emotions and internal conflicts
Motivation
Behaviourist Perspective
theory of operant conditioning
intneral state of organism influences reinforcement
motivated behaviour expressed:
DRIVES = internal states that arise in response to disequilibrium (arousal)
HOMEOSTASIS
Motivation
Behaviourist Perspective
Drive Reduction Theory
motivation stems from drive + reinforcement - based on concept of homeostasis

What is a primary drive?
innate or biological drive
hunger, thirst, sex
What is a secondary drive?
learned through conditioning/learning/modelling
originally neutral stimulus comes to be associated with drive reduction
What is an incentive?
behaviours motivated by presence of external stimulus or reward
control much of human behaviour
stimuli activate drive states rather than eliminate
Motivation
Evolutionary Perspective
20th C - behaviour motivated by instincts
Now - behaviour varies across cultures/individuals
behaviour is flexible = learning NOT instinct motivates behaviour
environment is important + reinforcement crucial
What are instincts?
fixed patterns of behaviour without learning
preprogrammed tendencies
essential for survival
Motivation
Evolutionary Perspective
Power & Love
motives that emerged in cross-cultural research
POWER = dominate rituals, establish status, protect their ‘turf’
LOVE = basic motive across cultures, caring for offspring, mates, kin, friends
motives related to mating (sexual motivation), parental care
Motivation
Cognitive Perspective
Expectancy Value Theory
motivation explained by VALUE people put on an outcome + whether they THINK they can achieve it
Motivation
Cognitive Perspective
Goal Setting Theories
GOALS = desired outcomes established through social learning
Eg: good marks or making good impression
conscious goals regulate much of behaviour
Motivation
Cognitive Perspective
Intrinsic Motivation
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION = motivation to perform a behaviour for its own sake rather than for some kind of reward
rewards can stifle intrinsic pleasure in learning
rewards/threats/deadlines tend to compromise sense of autonomy
Motivation
Cognitive Perspective
Self-Determination
SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY = 3 innate needs and intrinsic motivation flourishes when needs are fulfilled rather than compromised
degree to which behaviour itself is motivated/determined - useful for culturally appropriate measures
- competence
- autonomy
- relatedness to others
What are expectancies?
(motivation)
expectations about things we value and behaviours necessary to produce them
central to cognitive accounts of learning, motivation, personality
Motivation
Humanistic Perspective
Maslow - dignity, individual choice, self-worth key in explaining human behaviour
Motivated by: desire of personal growth, reaching for full potential
Motivation
Humanistic Perspective
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
lower levels must be fulfilled first before higher needs guide behaviour
many behaviours reflect multiple needs

Motivation
Humanistic Perspective
ERG Theory (Alderfer)

Motivation
What is eating?
motivation to eat biologically based
eat in response to signals
consume food = energy, minderal, vitamins
ingenstion = metabolic events
Motivation: Eating
What is metabolism?
process of food into energy
Motivation: Eating
What are the phases of the metabolic event?
- Absorptive Phase - ingested food, short term stores = carbs, glucose to glycogen, liver, long term stores = fats/lipids, skin, abdomen
- Fasting Phase - not eating, stores to energy, glycogen to glucose
Motivation: Eating
Physiology of eating
homeostasis detects/corrects the system
regulation of food intake - detect internal food need, initiate/organise eating behaviour, monitor quality/quantity of food, sufficient ingestion = satiety
Motivation: Eating
Physiology of eating - homeostasis and other mechnisms involved
homeostasis: detect/correct to desired state
set point - optimal level
feedback mechanisms - info about variables being regulated
corrective mechanisms - restore to set point
satiety mechanisms - turns off ingestion behaviour
central (brain) + peripheral (stomach) mechanisms
Motivation: Eating
What turns hunger on?
dec levels of glucose/lipids - body uses long term stores
signals from liver/brain receptors converge in brainsteam = hunger
Motivation: Eating
Role of Hypothalamus
- *lateral hypothalamus** - switching on eating behaviour
- *ventromedial hypothalamus** - switches off eating
both regions require input from brainstem (blood glucose, taste, smell)
theory based off research on rats, destruction of lateral made rats eat less/destruction of ventromedial led to obesity
Motivation: Eating
External cues in eating
desire for food - hunger, palatability, taste = mediated by neural pathways/neurotransmitters
- food palatability - tasty food can motivate eating
- food variety - exposure to same food dec intake
- time of day - conditioning, eat at same time
- presence of others - meal size inc as group inc
regulated by learning/habit
Motivation: Eating
Turning hunger off
signals (taste/smell) - can be learned/innate
feeling of satiety - stretch receptors in stomach & intestines detect levels of nutrients
regulated by protein leptin
Motivation
Obesity
obesity = body weight 15% + above idea height/weight
genes play role BUT not main cause - rurality, SES (developed = low SES, developing = high SES)
way we think about food and how we eat are important
restricted VS unrestricted eaters
Motivation
Sexual behaviours/motivation
sexual motivation more variable
driven by fantasies and hormones (54% men think about sex at least once a day, 19% of women)
sexual revolution - Western society more liberal
non human sex behaviours - androgen, estrogen, pheromones, ritualised
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Role of hormones
effects NS and behaviour
ORGANISATIONAL = exert effects on circuitry of brain, prenatal, turns off femal development/androgens turn on male, estrogen lead to cognitive differences
ACTIVATIONAL = brain circuitry in place, acticate brain circuits that produce psychobiological changes (secondary sex characteristics)
puberty - hypothalamus - pituitary glands - hormones - activate testes/ovaries
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Role of hormones myths
does not equal sexual receptivity/gratification in humans, frequency/quality of sexual activity
if it DOES fall below normal limit = affect sexual desire
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Sexual arousal
excitement/tension
physiological/cognitive reations
response to erotic stimuli
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Sexual response cycle
- phase of excitement
- plateau phase
- orgasm
- resolution
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Sexual norms/scripts
sexual norms - culturally acquired behaviours, considered appropriate
sexual scripts - socially learned programs of sexual responsiveness that include expectations
Motivation: Sexual behaviours
Psychological aspects of sexual behaviours
problems in sexual responses often have psychological basis:
preoccupation with personal problems, fear of consequences, anxiety about performance, unconscious guilt, negative thoughts
Psychosocial motives - Achievement
psychosocial needs - personal/interpersonal motives for achievement, power, self esteem, affiliation, intimacy
2 clusters: relatedness, agency (achievement)
Psychosocial motives
Need for achievement
(to do well, succeed, avoid failure)
motives may be expressed selectively - hierarchically organised depending on motivation weight
high level of need for achievement = choose mod difficult tasks, enjoy the challenge, avoid failure (avoidance), persistent (approach/mastery), enjoy succcess
Psychosocial motives
Need for achievement - motives
- performance approach - motivated to attain goal, concrete outcome
- performance avoidance - motivated by fear of not attaining
- mastery - motives to inc competence, mastery, skill
Psychosocial motives: achievement
Attribution theory
high need for achievement - attribute success to ability, failure to forces beyond control
3 dimensions of attribution: internal vs external, stability vs instability, global vs specific

Emotion
Defintion: Affect
pattern of obersvable behaviours that express an individuals emotion
variable and fluctuating
Emotion
Defintion: Mood
extended emotional states that do not shift attention/disrupt ongoing activities
Emotion
Defintion: Emotion
evaluative response to a situation that typically includes:
physiological arousal, subjective experience/cognitive processes, behavioural expression
positive and negative
Emotion
Evolutionary Perspective
Darwin - emotion serves as adaptive purpose, basic emotional expressions wired into organism through neural circuits (recognised cross-culturally)
communicative function - regulate social behaviour, inc chance of survival
signal readiness fight, flight, attend to others needs (postural, facial, nonverbal)
Emotion
Evolutionary Perspective: Tomkins
Emotion is a powerful source of motivation - internal communication
emotions + drives operate in tandem to motivate action = universality of emotional responses
children prewired to respond to certain stimuli
Emotion
Emotional/facial expressions and culture
r/ship between emotion/facial movements is uniform enough between individuals/cultures
6 universal expressions = surprise, happiness, fear, anger, disgust, sadness
suggest: some emotions biologically linked not only to autonomic states but certain facial expressions
Emotion
Define: emotional expression
overt behavioural signs of emotion
facial expressions, posture, gestures, tone
different expressions = different emotions
Emotion
Define: facial expressions
indicate a persons emotional state + influence the phsiological/subjective components of the emotion
Emotion
Define: display rules
patterns of emotions expression that are considered acceptable in a given culture
some cultures worse at recognising certain emotions
Neuropsychology of emotion
- Hypothalamus
converts emotional signals into autonomic (sympathetic/parasympathetic) and endocrine (hormone) responses
electrical stimulation = attack, defence, flight reactions WITH corresponding emotions
Neuropsychology of emotion
- Limbic system
linking sensory stimuli with emotions/feelings
amygdala connecs to hippocampus (memory) - crucial role in associating sensory with feelings + detecting others emotions
= adjust behaviour based on emotional reactions to objects/situations encountered
Neuropsychology of emotion
- Limbic system
System 1: processing
NO cortical involvement
Thalamus sends sensory info directly to amygdala = immediate emotional response
conditioning can occur
QUICK response based on cursory reaction to stimulus (fewer synaptic connections)
Neuropsychology of emotion
- Limbic system
System 2: processing
amygdala connected to higher processing in cortex - thalamus sends info to cortex for thorough examination = cortex sends signals to amygdala
SLOWER reaction, more cognitive appraisal
thalamus - cortex - amygdala
Neuropsychology of emotion
- Cortex
assessment of stimulus: safe/not
interpretation of meanings of peripheral responses
frontal cortex - regulating facial displays
right hemisphere - emotional cues, producing facial displays
left frontal cortex - approach-related emotions
right frontal lobe - avoidance-related emotions
Theories of emotion
William James
emotion rooted in bodily experience
emotion inducing stimulus elicits visceral/gut reactions + voluntary behaviours (running/gesturing)
Theories of emotion
James-Lange Theory
emotions originate in peripheral NS responses that the CNS then interprets

Theories of emotion
Cannon-Bard Theory
stimulus produces simultaneous peripheral + subjective experience = emotion inducing stimuli (emotional experience + bodily response)
stimulus - brain activation/processing - arousal/action/emotional feeling

Theories of emotion
Schachter-Singer Theory
emotion involves 2 factors: physiological arousal + cognitive interpretation
cognitive judgements/attribution is crucial to emotional experience

Emotion
Cognitive Perspectives
Define: attributions
process of making inferences about the causes of ones own/others thoughts, feelings, behaviour
Emotion
Cognitive Perspectives
Lazarus
Lazarus - appraisal occurs WITHOUT conscious thought
peoples emotions reflect judgdments/appraisals of stimuli that confront them
Emotion
Cognitive Perspectives
Schacter-Singer
Schachter-Singer - cog judgements/attributions critical part of emotional experience (CONSCIOUS)
experience of non-specific arousal = figure out what it means, use situational cues
Emotion
Cognitive Perspectives
cognitive appraisals often underlie emotions - not only aspect
cognition can influence emotion - emotion/mood infleunce ongoing thought/memory
emotional states infleunce encoding/retrieval of info in LTM
Functions of emotion
motivation + attention
social functions - positive emotions facilitate social interaction
emotional effects on cog function
emotions on memory: mood-state-dependent memory