Motivational Psych Flashcards
1
Q
Motivational psychology
A
- Examines what drives people to do the things they do
- Personality is seen as consisting of a few general motives/drives
2
Q
Needs vs. motives vs. press
A
- Need: state of tension within a person; as a need is satisfied, the related tension is reduced (ex. the need to eat)
- Motive: internal state that arouses and directs behaviour toward and specific object of goal (ex. hunger); caused by a deficit or lack of something; based on need
- Press: any environmental factor influencing your needs (alpha press = real/objective environment, beta press = perceived/subjective environment)
3
Q
Henry Murray’s Theory of Needs
A
- Primary needs: based on biological demands, such as the need for oxygen, food, and water
- Secondary (“psychogenic”) needs: not always necessary for survival, but essential for psychological well-being
- Ex. Ambition needs, needs to defend status (dominance), needs related to social power, social affection needs
- everyone has a higherarchy of needs -> some needs are stronger than others
4
Q
The Big 3 Motives
A
- Need for achievement
- Need for power
- Need for intimacy (warmth, closeness, communication)
- all these needs interact with each other to produce different outcomes
5
Q
Humanistic psychology
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- Emphasizes conscious awareness of needs, choices, and personal responsibility
- Focus on growth instead of deficiency; human nature is positive
- Humans have a need for growth and for realizing one’s full potential
6
Q
Abraham Maslow
A
- American psychologist/professor
- Stressed importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people
- Main work: Hierarchy of Needs, self-actualization, peak experiences, psychology of religious experiences
7
Q
Hierarchy of needs (from bottom to top)
A
- bottom needs are most important, can be working towards many needs at same time (ie. self-actualizing, but still ensuring that other needs below them are met)
- Physiological needs (ex. Air, water, food, etc.)
- Safety needs (ex. Personal and financial security, safety, health, etc.)
- Belongingness/Love needs (ex. Sense of belonging, acceptance in social groups)
- Esteem needs (ex. Self-esteem, self-respect, feeling valued and recognized)
- Self-actualization needs (ex. Drive towards creativity, realization of full potential, becoming true self)
- Contains “Aesthetic Needs” (appreciation and search for beauty, balance, etc.) and “Cognitive needs” (knowledge, meaning, self-awareness, etc.)
- Self-transcendence needs (helping others self-actualize)
8
Q
Hierarchy of Needs in collectivistic cultures (from bottom to top)
A
- Belonging Needs
- Physiological Needs
- Safety Needs
- Self-Actualization Needs
9
Q
Self-actualization
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- According to Maslow, this is the final level of psychological development; achieved only when all basic and mental needs are fulfilled and full potential dominates the individual
- Living life according to one’s true self
- What’s the alternative?
- One possibility: “false self” (other people’s expectations can override original sense of self)
- Narcissism serves as defensive armor
10
Q
Key characteristics of self-actualizers
A
- Efficient perception of reality (accurate understanding of the world and your own behaviour)
- Affinity for solitude/autonomy
- Genuine desire to help human race
- Democratic ideals (not prejudiced, don’t hold negative stereotypes about groups)
- Creativity (fresh perspective, can see new connections among things)
11
Q
Peak Experiences
A
- a kind of transpersonal and ecstatic state, characterized by feelings of euphoria, harmonization, deep meaning, and interconnectedness
- Individuals describe these experiences, and their associated revelations, as possessing a mystical and spiritual (or overtly religious) quality or essence
- Tied to concept of flow
12
Q
core beliefs of motivational psychologists
A
- people differ in the type and strength of their motives
- these differences are measurable
- differences cause different life outcomes
- differences in motives amongst people remain fairly stable overtime
- motives may provide one answer to the question “why do people do what they do?”
13
Q
Thematic Apperception Test
A
- Developed by Henry Murray
- measures apperception (interpreting the environment and figuring out what is going on in the situation)
- participants given ambiguous images and have to make up a story about what is happening
- interpretations are coded for themes that reveal aspects about the person’s personality
14
Q
state levels vs. trait levels of a need
A
- state levels: refer to a person’s momentary amount of specific need (ex. a batter who has just had 2 strikes might experience sharp increased in achievement motivation)
- trait levels: refer to a person’s average tendency of a specific trait (most useful in determining individual differences)
15
Q
Multi-Motive Grid
A
- combines features of TAT with self-report questionnaires
- uses photos that arouse one of the Big 3 motives, then have participants answer questions
16
Q
Differences between TAT and MMG/questionnaire measures of motives
A
- measure different types of motivation:
- implicit motivation: measured by TAT; the stories people are telling reveal things about their motives unconsciously; better predictors of long-term success
- explicit/self-attributed motivation: reflects a person’s conscious awareness of their motives; measured by questionnaires; better predictors of success in short-term, specific situations
17
Q
Need for Achievement
A
- Want growth, success, competence
- Prefer moderately challenging tasks where they are accountable and can receive feedback
- More drawn to careers with risk/uncertainty
- This need is less valued in collectivist culture
- Differences between men and women:
- life outcomes (ie. nAch manifests differently if women have strong desire for family - ie. more effort in physical appearance; or strong desire for career - ie. higher grades in uni)
- childhood experience (ie. women high in nAch experience more stressful/difficult early lives)
- studies show that women high in nAch are less likely to want to compete directly with people (pick individual over tournament game setting)
18
Q
Practices to promote Achievement Motivation in children
A
- Independence training: parents behaving in ways that promote autonomy in their children (ex. strict toilet training early in life)
- Setting challenging standards: providing children with challenging expectations that fall within the child’s capabilities (if it’s too hard, child will give up)
- engaging in parenting practices that promote secure attachment
19
Q
intrinsic vs. extrinsic behaviours
A
- intrinsic: behaviours done largely based on the inherent satisfactions associated with them (ie. enjoyment); not contingent on external rewards/responses
- stronger predictor of success and positive psychological outcomes
- extrinsic: behaviours performed based on some kind of contingency in the environment (ie. reward); usually based on expected social responses
20
Q
impact of Canadian acculturation on intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
A
- studied Indian teens who had immigrated to Canada (going from collectivist to individualist culture)
- Indian-Canadian teens more intrinsically motivated than Indian counterparts (and have higher academic success)
- suggest that individualistic culture may promote more intrinsic motivation
21
Q
Need for Power
A
- having an impact on others; enjoy control
- correlates with arguing, riskier gambling, being assertive, joining student government, having “prestige possessions” like sports cars
- prefer dependent spouses and friends that don’t threaten their power
- sex differences: nPow men and women similar on all domains except impulsive/aggressive (“profilgate impulsive”) behaviours -> men higher -> more likely to have dissatisfying relationships, divorce, have more sex partners, abuse alcohol
- reduced risk of this if individual has had responsibility training (ie. taking care of younger siblings) -> suggests that these behaviours may be related moreso to socialization than gender
- do not deal well with conflict, show strong stress responses (“power stress”), more vulnerable to disease
22
Q
wars, politics, and power
A
- study analyzing British parliament speeches showed wars more likely to be started when power imagery was high
- communication high in power images correlated with reduced likelihood of making concessions
- ideal politicians have balance of all 3 key motives
23
Q
research supporting Maslow’s hierarchy
A
- researchers presented participants with various goal’s in Maslow’s hierarchy, asked how they’d feel if they attained or didn’t attain them
- strongest negative reactions for thoughts of not attaining lower goals, strongest positive reactions for thoughts of attaining higher goals
- people can be happy regardless of what need they’re currently working on (self-actualizers aren’t necessarily happiest)
24
Q
Flow
A
- a moment of perfect match between one’s experiences/skills and needs/challenges
- person is in tune with present moment, lose track of what’s happening outside that moment
- functioning to your fullest capacity
25
fully-functioning person
- Someone who is on their way to self-actualization
- Someone who is self-aware, in touch with their innermost feelings & desires; understands their emotions and trusts their instincts & urges
- open to new experiences, enjoy diversity and novelty, centered on the present (don't dwell on past mistakes)
26
conditions of worth and types of positive regard
- positive regard: inborn need to be loved and accepted
- conditions of worth: requirements set forth by parents or SO's to earn positive regard (ie. get good grades); to many conditions cause people to lose touch with themselves because they only act in ways others want them to; become dependent and need constant approval
- conditional positive regard: PR earned by satisfying conditions of worth
- unconditional postive regard: PR and acceptance given with no strings attached, just because of who the person is; helps avoid negative consequences of too many conditions (ie. "I love you, but I don't like the way you acted") -> leads to positive self-regard (person accepts themself for who they are)
27
anxiety according to Rogers
- having an experience that does not fit with one's self-conception
- ex. when a person who got great grades in high school gets terrible grades on their first midterm in university
- may respond using the defense mechanism "distortion" (modifying the experience rather than their self-image to reduce the threat -- ie. "that prof made the test unfair")
28
emotional intelligence
- ability to know your own emotions
- ability to regulate those emotions
- ability to motivate yourself
- ability to know how others are feeling
- ability to influence how others are feeling
- correlates with tendency to self-actualize; perhaps more important than IQ or education in this regard
29
3 core conditions of Roger's client-centered therapy
- genuine acceptance therapist has for client
- unconditional positive regard for client, regardless of what they say
- empathetic understanding (understanding someone else's feelings from their point of view) -> reflecting back what person said so they themselves can examine it
- - empathy is more highly influenced by environment/teaching rather than genetics (women have higher initial levels of it, but men can be just as easily taught as women)
30
Carl Rogers
- Co-founder of humanistic psychology; focused on ways to self-actualize
- Saw people as intrinsically good -> person-centered (or "client-centered") approach
- Defined as a congruence between one's self-concept and one's ideal self
- Described the "Fully Functioning Person"
31
Trump Case Study: Self-Actualization and Fully-Functioning Person
- Fully Functioning Person: Does trust instincts & urges, but lacks self-awareness
- Self-Actualization: lacks democratic ideals, lacks awareness of reality
32
can you skip needs?
- 2 conditions in which needs may be skipped in order to pursue a higher-order need or self-actualization:
- - If one has previously met lower needs
- - If one believes they have the capacity to meet those lower needs
- Ex. Steve Jobs – pursued self-actualization even without safety needs (health issues) and sometimes without esteem needs (ie. When he got fired)
33
goals
- observable and measurable end results that one wishes to achieve
- Arise from our needs; satisfy those needs when achieved
34
aspiration index
- 2-dimensional circumplex of goals (instrinsic vs. extrinsic, physical self vs. self-transendence)
- In combination, describes 11 different goal domains (areas of goal focus)
- Goals next to each other are psychologically consistent
- Self-actualization & fully-functioning person are related to intrinsic & self-transcendence
35
aspiration index: intrinsic vs. extrinsic & physical self vs. self-transendence
- Intrinsic (driven to satisfy needs, ex. community) vs. Extrinsic (driven by reward and praise, ex. popularity)
- Physical Self (self-enhancement, ex. physical safety) vs. Self-Transcendence (enhancement of others, ex. spirituality)
36
goal orientation
- Mastery goal orientation (learning orientation): individuals seek to develop their competence or improve abilities
- Performance orientation (ego orientation): individuals seek to demonstrate their competence and/or avoid revealing their incompetence
37
3 factors involved in explaining causes of events (explanatory style)
- Internal vs. External (locus of control) -> do you blame yourself or the world?
- Stable vs. Unstable -> temporary or consistent over time?
- Global vs. Specific -> pervasive or applies to this event only?
- Worse outcomes associated with external, stable, and global styles combined (pessimistic explanatory style)
38
Existential Anxiety/Angst
- Existence in modern society is difficult because the world seems to have no overarching purpose
- 2 questions you most need to know:
- - Why am I here?
- - What should I be doing?
- Failure to come up with answers to these questions results in existential anxiety or angst
39
Dealing with angst
- can face unpleasant questions OR avoid problems alotgether (living "in bad faith")
- - advance social status, do what society says is conventionally appropriate, etc.
40
authentic existence
- Authenticity: living according to your "true self"
- Living a life that is honest, insightful, and moral
- Achieving meaning and sense of purpose
- awareness of your strengths, weaknesses, and motives; actions reflect true values and beliefs; unbiased processing; authentic relationships
- We need to pursue meaning, not happiness , to live authentically
41
research: authenticity is related to...
- High extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience
- High honesty-humility
- Organized functioning and health
- Better health and well-being at work (in terms of context-specific authenticity)
42
Barriers/challenges to authenticity
- Pressure from others
- Conforming to social norms re: gender, sexuality, etc.
- Having "multiple selves" on social media
- Being part of certain stigmatized groups (ie. LGBTQ+ community, certain races/ethnicities, ex-criminals, etc.)
