Motivation, Emotion, and Stress

Question 1

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

Answer 1

• Motivation: Purpose or driving force behind actions. Motivation can be directed toward minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure or rooted in a Appetite (desire to fulfill a need).
• Extrinsic Motivation: Created by external forces; rewards and punishments. Competition is strong form of extrinsic motivation, because beating others is incentivized.
• Intrinsic Motivation: Created by internal forces; behavior is driven by interest and is personally gratifying or enjoyable. Interest in subject matter and having a goal of mastering the content is driven by intrinsic motivation.

Question 2

Theories of Motivation

Answer 2

• Four primary factors influence motivation: Instincts, Arousal, Drives, and Needs.
• Instinct Theory: Certain behaviors are based on evolutionarily programmed instincts (innate and fixed patterns of behavior that may be consistent throughout life or may appear/disappear with time).
• Arousal Theory and Yerkes-Dodson Law: Actions are performed in order to maintain an optimal level of arousal (psychological and physiological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli); seeking to increase arousal when it falls below optimal level and to decrease arousal when it rises above optimal level. Yerkes-Dodson Law postulates hill-shaped function between performance (DV) and arousal (IV); performance is worst at extremely high and low levels of arousal and optimal at some intermediate level.
• Drive Reduction Theory: Particular behaviors are activated by drives (internal states of tension that create an uncomfortable state due to unmet needs) with the goal of eliminating uncomfortable states or relieving internal tension by satisfying the unmet need. Primary Drives (need for food, water, warmth) motivate us to maintain homeostasis (which is controlled by negative feedback loop). Secondary Drives motivate us to fulfill nonbiological, emotional, or learned desires (such as matriculating into med school or love).
• Need-Based Theories: Primary Needs (physiological) and Secondary Needs (mental) motivate actions by creating long lasting feelings that require relief or satisfaction.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: 1. Physiological Needs (food/sex), 2. Safety and Security (health/job), 3. Love and Belonging (family/partner), 4. Self-Esteem (confidence/respect), 5. Self-Actualization (need to realize one’s fullest potential). Lowest (1) has highest priority and must be met before higher needs can be fulfilled.
• Self-Determination Theory (SDT): Three universal needs must be met in order to develop healthy relationships with oneself and others; Autonomy (need to be in control of one’s actions and ideas), Competence (need to complete and excel at difficult tasks), Relatedness (need to feel accepted and wanted in relationships).
• Incentive Theory: Behavior is motivated not by need or arousal, but by desire to pursue rewards and to avoid punishments.
• Expectancy-Value Theory: Amount of motivation needed to reach a goal is the result of both the individual’s expectation of success in reaching the goal and the degree to which succeeding at the goal is valued.
• Opponent-Process Theory: Repeated use of a drug will cause the body to counteract the effects of the drug by changing its physiology (body will counteract repeated use of alcohol, a depressant, by increasing arousal). Drug user is motivated to take drugs by pleasure experience when taking a drug or by the removal of withdrawal symptoms, which creates physical dependence and tolerance (perceived decrease in effectiveness of drug over time).
• Sexual Motivation: Men and women are both motivated to sexual behavior by secretion of estrogens, progesterone, and androgens. Both experience similar levels of physiological arousal and sexual desire, and cultural norms and conditioning influence the desire for (or lack thereof) sexual interaction.

Question 3

Emotion

Answer 3

• Emotion: Natural instinctive state of mind derived from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.
• Three Elements of Emotion: Physiological Response (feeling causes ANS to stimulate physiological arousal), Behavioral Response (facial expressions and body language), and Cognitive Response (perception of emotion-triggering stimulus and subjective interpretation of feeling being experienced).
• Universal Emotions: Emotions and corresponding expressions are universal as a result of evolution (fear, anger, happiness, surprise, joy, disgust, sadness).

Question 4

Theories of Emotion

Answer 4

• Early Theories: Stimulus -> Cognitive -> Physiological -> Behavioral. Anger starts with perceiving and interpreting negative stimulus, which causes arousal, which results in actions such as yelling or fighting.
• James-Lange Theory: Stimulus -> Physiological -> Cognitive -> Behavioral. Peripheral organs receive sensory information and respond (physiological), and this response is labeled by brain as emotion (cognitive), which is followed by physical action. Car cutting you off is stimulus, which causes HR and BP and temp to rise, which is interpreted and labeled by brain as anger, which then allows for honking. Patients with spinal cord injuries are unable to mount sympathetic response so should show decreased levels of emotion, but is false.
• Cannon-Bard Theory: Stimulus -> Physiological + Cognitive -> Behavioral. When exposed to stimulus, sensory information is received and sent to both the cortex (for cognitive response) and the sympathetic nervous system (for physiological response) simultaneously by thalamus, which is followed by physical action. I see a snake, so I feel afraid and my heart is racing, so I need to get out of here! Supported by severed afferent nerve study, but fails to explain vagus nerve.
• Schachter-Singer Theory (Cognitive Arousal Theory): Physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal (identifying environmental stimulus causing arousal) are needed to experience emotion and act accordingly. I am excited because my heart is racing and because everyone else is happy.

Question 5

Brain Systems and Emotion

Answer 5

• Limbic System: Set of structures below cerebrum on either side of thalamus, responsible for motivation and emotion.
• Amygdala: Associated with fear and aggression.
• Thalamus: Sensory processing station that relays information to cortex and other areas of brain.
• Hypothalamus: Serves homeostatic functions and modulates emotion, mood, and arousal by controlling neurotransmitter release.
• Hippocampus: Within temporal lobe, primarily involved in creating long-term memories, but also responsible for storage and retrieval of memories about emotions. Explicit memory systems store episodic memories about emotions, while implicit memory systems store emotional memory (the actual feelings of emotion associated with episodic memory).
• Ability to distinguish and interpret others’ facial expressions is primarily controlled by temporal lobe with some input from occipital lobe.
• Prefrontal cortex is associated with planning intricate cognitive functions, expressing personality, and making decisions. Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex controls emotional responses from amygdala.
• Autonomic Nervous System: Related to emotion due to physiological response of emotion.

Question 6

Cognitive Appraisal of Stress

Answer 6

• Stress: response to significant events, challenges, and decisions.
• Cognitive Appraisal of Stress: Subjective evaluation of a situation that induces stress. Primary Appraisal is the initial evaluation of the environment and the associated stress to determine if it is negative (can be identified as irrelevant, benign–positive, or stressful). If primary appraisal reveals a threat, secondary appraisal occurs. Secondary Appraisal is evaluation of Harm (damage caused by event), Threat (potential for future damage caused by event), and Challenge (potential to overcome and possibly benefit from event). Reappraisal requires ongoing monitoring in some situations (like perception of being followed).

Question 7

Types of Stressors

Answer 7

• Stressors (biological element, external condition, or event that leads to a stress response) can either cause distress or eustress.
• Psychological Stressors: Pressure, control, predictability, frustration, and conflict (Approach-Approach, Avoidance-Avoidance, Approach-Avoidance).
• Distress: Occurs when stressor is perceived as unpleasant (or a threat).
• Eustress: Occurs when stressor is perceived positively (or a challenge).
• Social Readjustment Rating Scale: System for measuring stress level in terms of “life change units”.

Question 8

Physiological Response to Stressors

Answer 8

• General Adaptation Syndrome: Sequence of physiological responses via ANS to stress consisting of three distinct stages.
• Alarm: Initial reaction to a stressor and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Hypothalamus stimulates pituitary to secrete ACTH, which stimulates adrenal glands to produce cortisol, which maintains steady supply of blood sugar needed to respond to stressful event. Hypothalamus also stimulates adrenal medulla to secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine to activate sympathetic nervous system.
• Resistance: Continuous release of hormones allows the sympathetic nervous system to remain engaged to fight stressor.
• Exhaustion: Elevated sympathetic nervous system activity can no longer be maintained.