Psych: Motivation

Question 1

What are the early theories of motivation?

Answer 1

• Deterministic/mechanistic
• Driven by psyhological needs, drives, incentives and reinforcers
• Classical conditioning (Pavlovs dog)
• Learning via punishment and reinforcement (Operant Conditioning)

Question 2

What is the personality and trait approach?

Answer 2

• Assumes motivation is determined by relativity stable traits that are fundamental units of personality
• These traits predispose one to act in a certain way, regardless of the situation

PERSONALITY DETERMINES BEHAVIOUR

Question 3

What are the social-cognitive theories?

Answer 3

• See humans as active and purposive
• Cognitive - humans are active and driven by thoughts and feelings
• Social cognitive - an individuals perceptions of the social environment impacts upon their thoughts and feelings and these responses influence motivated behaviour

Question 4

What is motivation?

Answer 4

Motivation is fundamental to all human endeavours as it is what intitiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviour

Question 5

What is the self determination theory?

Answer 5

The theory states that we do things for two different reasons:

• We have to
• We want to

Doing things because we have to is associated with:

• maladaptive health outcomes
• dropout

Doing things because we want to is associated with:

• beneficial health outcomes
• predicts persistance and adherance

Question 6

What are the three basic psychological needs?

Answer 6

-Competence
(Feeling effective in interacting within an environment and meet the challenges)
-Autonomy
(Feeling in control of your life and that your actions are in accordance with your interests and personal goals)
-Relatedness
(Feeling connected to and cared for by those around you)

Question 7

How can we encourage ‘want to’ behaviours?

Answer 7

• Be in social-environmental conditions which nurture intrinsic tendencies
• Show how the task holds considerable appeal on promoting health-related behaviours