Motivation and Emotion Flashcards
What is motivation?
the wants or needs that direct behaviour toward a goal
what is intrinsic motivation?
arises from internal factors
- behaviours are performed because they bring a sense of personal satisfaction
- autonomy, mastery, purpose
What is extrinsic motivation?
arises from external factors
- behaviours are performed in order to receive something from others
- compensation, punishment, reward
What is the overjustification effect?
intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation is given
- research suggests that when something we love to do, becomes our job, our intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to do it may change -> once we receive external motivation (eg payment) we may lose motivation to do it for enjoyment
- other research suggest the opposite , that certain types of reinforcement (eg praise) can increase intrinsic motivation
why are there differences in the overjustification effect?
may depend on the type of reinforcement
- tangible rewards appear to decrease intrinsic motivation
- intangible rewards appear to increase intrinsic motivation
may depend on the expectation of extrinsic reward
- intrinsic motivation is more likely to decrease if extrinsic reward is expected
What is the Instict theory of motivation?
- William James
- proposed that behaviour is driven by instincts (which aid survival)
- proposed instincts included mother’s protection of her baby, urge to lick sugar and hunting prey
- theory received criticism for ignoring the role of learning in shaping human behaviour
What is the drive theory of motivation?
proposed that the maintenance of homeostasis is important in direction behaviour
- deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs resulting in psychological drive states that direct behaviour to meet the need and bring the system back in homeostasis
- emphasizes the role of habits play in behavioural responses -> if behaviour successfully reduces a drive, we are more likely to engage in that behaviour in the future
what is the arousal theory of motivation?
asserts that there is an optimal level of arousal that we all try to maintain
- underaroused: boredom, seek stimulation
- overaroused: engage in behaviour to reduce it
research suggests that the optimal arousal level for performance is moderate arousal
What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law?
arousal theory of motivation
- the optimal arousal level depends on the complexity and difficulty of the task to be performed
-> task performance is best when arousal levels are in the middle range
- with difficult tasks best performed under lower level of arousal
- simple tasks best performed under higher levels of arousal
What is self-efficacy?
an individual’s belief in her own capability to complete a task
what did Bandura theorize?
that self-efficacy plays a role in motivating behaviour
- argues that motivation derives from expectations held about consequences of behaviours
- beliefs about our abilities will determine what we do and goals we set for ourselves
What are the social motives?
- need for achievement
drives accomplishment and performance - need for affiliation
encourages positive interactions with others - need for intimacy
causes us to seek deep, meaningful relationships
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
- maslow proposed a theory of motivation that spans the spectrum of motives including biological, individual and social
- one must satisfy lower-level needs before adressing the needs in higher level
Hierarchy:
- Self-actualisation : inner fulfillment
- Esteem : self-worth, accomplishment
- social: family, friends. intimacy
- security: safety, employment, assets
- physiological: food,water,warmth, shelter
what are the factors affecting body weight?
- gene-environment interactions
- number of calories consumed vs number of calories burned in daily activity
- metabolic rate (=amount of energy that is expended in a period of time -> varies individually, high metabolism = burns more calories)
What are the physiological mechanisms of hunger and eating?
before eating:
- empty stomach -> stomach contracts -> hunger pangs and secretion of chemical messengers that travel to the brain -> signals feeding behaviour
- low blood sugar -> pancreas and liver release chemical signals that induce hunger and initiate feeding behaviour
After eating:
- Satiation = feeling of fullness and satisfaction causing eating behaviour to stop
- increase in glucose level -> pancreas and liver signal to stop hunger and eating
- food in gastrointestinal tract -> satiety signal to the brain
- fat cells release leptin (satiety hormone)
What is the Set-Point Theory?
each individual has an ideal body weight/set point, which is resistant to change
- regulation of body weight
- set point is genetically determined
- efforts to move weight significantly from the set point are resisted by compensatory changes in energy intake/expenditure
- based on observation that people’s weight generally fluctuates within a narrow margin
- fails to account for the influences of social and environmental factors
What are the health risks of obesity?
- cardiovascular disease
- stroke
- type II diabetes
- breast cancer
- infertility
- arthritis
- liver disease
- sleep apnea
What are some possibilities for weight reduction?
- combination of diet and exercise
- bariatric surgery : gastric banding surgery
what is bulimia nervosa?
- engages in binge eating behaviour, follow by attempts to compensate for the large amount of food consumed
- compensation : vomiting, laxative, excessive exercise
- health consequences: kidney failure, heart failure, tooth decay
- psychological problems: depression, anxiety, increased risk for substance abuse
What is anorexia nervosa?
- maintenance of body weight below average through starvation or exercise
- distorted body image: view themselves as fat
- health consequences: bone loss, heart failure, kidney failure, amenorrhea (cessation of menstrual period), reduced functions of the gonads, severe cases death
- psychological problems: anxiety, mood disorder, substance abuse
which group has the highest risk for eating disorders?
-> caucasian females, age 15-19, western society
- many blame the media for the thin ideal
- genetics may predispose people to disorders
- low-selfesteem, other mental illnesses
- stress
- experiences such as abuse
- personality types
- family issues
what are the psychological mechanisms for sexual behaviour?
- hypothalamus:
- amygdala and nucleus accumbens
What is the role of the hypothalamus in sexual behaviour?
- hypothalamus:
lesions in medial preoptic area completely disrupts a male rat’s ability to engage in sexual behaviour, but not sexual motivation -> suggests that the ability to engage and the motivation are mediated by different systems
humans: disorders that involve abnormal hypothalamic functions are often associated with hypogonadism and reduced sexual function
- testosterone from endocrine glands influence sexual motivation and behaviour
What are the roles of amygdala and ncl accumbens in sexual behaviour?
- motivation for sexual behaviour, but doesnt affect the ability to engage
- damage in rats result in decreased motivation to engage, while ability to do so is still in tact
What were the major points in Kinsey’s research?
- women are as interested and experienced in sex as men
- both males and females masturbate, without negative health consequences
- homosexuals acts are fairly normal
What is the Kinsey scale?
used to categorize an individuals sexual orientation
What is the Masters and Johnson’s Research?
- conducted study of physiological responses during sexual behaviour
- observed people engaging in sexual behaviour
- measured physiological variables (blood pressure, respiration rate)
- measures sexual arousal ( lubrication, penile tumescence)
What is the sexual response cycle?
1, Excitement - arousal phase (erection, lubrication)
2. plateau - increased swelling and blood flow to labia minora, pre-ejaculatory fluid
3. orgasm - rhythmic contractions, ejaculation
4. resolution - return to unaroused state
What is sexual orientation?
= emotional and erotic attraction toward another individual
- relatively stable characteristic
- 3-10% of adult population are homosexual
What makes someone homo- vs heterosexual?
- previously thought to be caused by different socialization and familial experiences but research shows that those experiences can be similar in homo- and heterosexuals
- genetic and biological mechanisms - research has found differences in brain structure and function between homo- and heterosexuals
What is gender identity?
= one’s sense of being male or female
in most cases, our gender identities correspond to our biological sex but not always
what is gender dysphoria?
diagnosis describing individuals who do not identify as the gender that most people would assume they are
- must persist at least 6 months
- must result in significant distress or dysfunction to meet diagnosis criteria
What is transgender hormone therapy?
use of hormones to make one’s body look more like the opposite sex
What is mood?
- prolonged, less intense, affective state
- does not occur in response to something we experience
- may not be consciously recognized or intentional
What is emotion?
- a subjective state of being that we often use to describe our feelings
- relatively intense and occurs in response to an experience
- consciously experienced and intentional
- components of emotions: physiological arousal, psychological appraisal and subjective experience
- informed by experiences, backgrounds and cultures
What is the James-Lange Theory?
emotions arise from physiological arousal
snake -> heart and respiration increase -> feeling of fear
What is the Cannon-Bard Theory?
Physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently
snake -> physiological arousal and feel fear
What are the empirical findings regarding the emotions?
- individual with spinal cord injuries could still experience emotion but in some it was less intense
- supression of facial expression of emotion lowered the intensity of emotions experienced
these findings suggest that physiological arousal is not necessary to experience emotion but increase the intensity!
What is the Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory?
Emotions are composed of two factors : physiological and cognitive
- physiological arousal is interpreted in context leading to the emotional experience
snake -> physiological arousal and cognitive assessment of situation labels arousal as fear -> experience fear
- believed physiological arousal is very similar across the different types of emotion, making cognitive assessment important (palm sweating, heart rate, respiration rate)
what is the Lazarus’ Cognitive Mediational Theory?
Emotions are determined by our appraisal of the stimulus
- the appraisal occurs before the label
- appraisal is immediate and unconscious
What is the limbic system?
involved in mediating emotional response and memory
- hypothalamus: activation of sympathetic nervous system
- thalamus: sensory relay center, neurons project to both the amygdala and higher cortical neurons for further processing
- amygdala: processing emotional information and sending it to cortical structures
- hippocampus: integrated emotional experience with cognition
What is the structure of the amygdala?
- basolateral complex:
has dense connections with different sensory areas of the brain, critical for classical conditioning and attaching emotional value to learning processes and memory - central nucleus:
involved in attention, has connections with hypothalamus and various brain stem areas to regulate the autonomic nervous sytem and endocrine system’s activities
What is the cultural display rule for display of emotions?
culturally specific standards that govern the types of frequencies of displays of emotions that are acceptable
- eg in japan, negative emotions are only expressed when alone
despite varying cultural display rules, recognition and production of facial expressions of certain emotions are universal
what are the seven universal facial expressions?
- happiness
- surprise
-sadness
-fright
-disgust
-contempt - anger
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
facial expressions are capable of influencing your emotions
- depressed individuals reported less depression after paralysis of their frowning muscles with botox injections
emotional stimulus - facial expression - physiological arousal - emotional experience
