Second Half of Book Flashcards
human behaviour is motivated by what
basic psychological needs, which give rise to specific and socially contoured wants, which human beings translate into conscious and unconscious life goals
freud’s ultimate motives for humans were what
sex (eros) and aggression (thanatos)
Jung thought human motives were what (same as humanistic psychology view)
sex and aggressions could not be ignored but the most important motive across the life course is to develop or actualize the self, what Jung calls individuation. Each of us strives to become the authentic person were were uniquely designed to be
as motivated agents we are what
extraordinarily adept in working together to develop the most elaborate and sophisticated plans, programs, schemes, etc to accomplish our goals
why are we able to achieve goals
because we believe we can (it is in our innate power to do so) and the evolution of the PFC enables us to make more or less rational decisions an engage in all manner of plotting, scheming and planning–often in the company of other humans who think the same way
what do agents want
more than anything else to be agents
which is ironic became we have no choice when it comes to motivated agency. Human evolution has made us into these schemers and planners we cant be otherwise if we wanted to. As brainy eusocial creatures, we have to have a plan and we have to believe that the plan will work and the plan HAS to work, at least now and again
what is intrinsic motivation
the rewarding power of the activity is intrinsic to (inherent in) the activity itself. People who engage in intrinsically motivated behaviour do not need an outside reason for doing the behaviour, They do what they do because they like doing it, not because they will reeve an external reward down the road
psych research shows people who pursue ________ motivating goals in daily lives tend to enjoy especially high levels of happiness and well being
intrinsically motivated
what is extrinsic motivation
aimed at obtaining rewards from the environment or avoiding punishments.
why is it not good to only have extrinsic motivation
life may lose vitality and meaning if we come to believe that nearly everything we do is dictated by the bitch goddess of extrinsic motivation. Even if we enjoy success with our extrinsic goals, even if we obtain fame money and approval we have been craving, we may still feel unsatisfied
distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is what
the conceptual staring point of self-determination theory
what is self-determination theory
making sense of how motivated agent works.
includes intrinsic, controlled, amotivated
what is intrinsic behaviour
Intrinsically motivated behaviour is self determines in that the driving forces for the behaviour reside within the self rather than the external environment. When behaviour is fully self-determined, the motivated agent pursues a goal with’a full sense of choice, with the experience of doing what one wants, and without the feeling of coercion or compulsion’.
By contrast we tend to experience behaviour that is no intrinsically motivated as either controlled or motivated..
what is controlled behaviours
Conrolled behaviours occur when we meet the demands of an external force or an internalized force that was once external (e.g. harsh demands of the superego). Controlled behaviours may feel intentional in that we intend to do them but we still feel that we are doing them to satisfy an end that is external t the behaviour itself. Thus motivated agency is compromised somewhat
what is amotivated behaviour
unintentional and often disorganized because the person cannot exert choice or will.
self determination behaviour stems from what three basic psych needs
autonomy
competence
relatedness
explain the need for autonomy
involves agent’s desire to feel a sense of independence from external pressures. It is indeed the very need to feel that one is a free and autonomous agent
explain the need for competence
encompasses the agent’s striving to control the outcomes of events to experience a sense of mastery and effectiveness in dealing with the environment
explain the need for relatedness
encompasses the agent’s strivings to care for others, to feel what others are relating to the self in authentic and mutually supportive ways and to feel a satisfying coherent involvement in the social world more generally
intrinsically motivating activities often find their reinforcing sources where
in the three big needs of self determination theory
behaviours that stem from autonomy, competence and relatedness feel more rewarding
which of the three self determination theory behaviours is the most basic
autonomy
as you cannot effectively strive for mastery or love, but you can strive for agency (experiencing some rudimentary satisfaction of the need for autonomy is essential for agency striving– striving for anything, be it competence relatedness or becoming president)
becoming
what are the three especially important dimensions of the social environment for self-determination theory
autonomy support
structure
involvement
explain how a social environment can provide autonomy support
parent and teachers encouraging choice and innovation in behaviour
explain how a social environment can provide structure
for goal directed striving
highly structures environments provide clear guidelines about what kinds of behaviours lead to what kinds of outcomes, and they give the motivated agent explicit feedback regarding how well he or she is doing in achieving goals
explain how a social environment can provide involvement
describes the degree to which significant others are interested and devote time and energy to the development of children. The more involvement, the better for everyone
what is effectance
the drive to be an effective agent in the environment, any environment. the satisfaction of the effectance drive leads to the experience of competence
do humans want to be competent
yes
why do humans want to to be competent
more likely to survive and GET AHEAD
self-determination theory tends to downplay what
individual differences in motives
how do peoples motives and goals differ from eachothers
people differ in strength and salience of motives and goals seemingly linked to a general tendency toward competence
Prime example in personality psychology of the dimension of individual differences is the achemenet motive
what is a thematic apperception test
TAT; in which people tell imaginative stories in response to picture cues, the researcher believed that this was a totally X-ray into the personality of people
what is used instead of the TAT test
picture story exercise (PSE) instead because this is more accurate, it is a coding system for the stories
what are the motivations
achievement, power, intimacy
what kind of motivation did Hillary Clinton have
achievement
- high aspirations combined with moderate risk taking
- preference for situations in which personal responsibility can affect results
- a pragmatic approach to problem solving with emphasis on efficiency
- self control and delay of gratification
- future time perspective
- upward social mobility
- penchant for travel
what is the difference between intimacy and affiliation motives
affiliation concerns connections people feel to groups whereas intimacy is more about the quality of one on one relationships
they are similar but affiliation is used less
what is regulatory focus theory
people orient themselves in the future, they regular their actions according to two fundamental principles
the two focuses are promotion and prevention
explain promotion focus
the motivated agent aims to promote the self by approaching situations that promise reward, growth, expansion and the like
when the agent is successful in promotion they feel joy in achieving goals, if unsuccessful they feel sadness/disappointment
explain prevention focus
motivated agent aims to protect self by preventing harm, actively voiding situations and threaten the self. When the agent is successful in prevention they feel relief in achieving goal and when unsuccessful they feel anxiety and fear because threat still remains
are people with prevention or promotion focused
over the course of a day people shift between the two
seeking to prevent negative outcomes sometimes means preventing what
you own misbehaviour
promotion focus goes may seek to do what
decrease the discrepancy between actual and ideal self
are prevention and promotion goals related to intrinsic and extrinsic
no, not necessarily
what is the difference between competence and relatedess
competence; focus on getting ahead
relatedness; focus on getting along
why is morality primary for our eusocial species
because without mortality we cannot be a eusocial species
what is the golden rule
fo unto others as you would have them do unto you
what is an ethic of community
intuitions regarding in-group loyalty and hierarchy serve to bind autonomous agents together within the group, reinforcing what is called an ethics of community
human groups cannot function well if individual members feel no loyalty to the collective; as a result evolution has shaped human beings to respond with anger and even moral outrage when someone betrays the group
what are the 5 moral foundations
Care/harm fairness/cheating loyalty/betrayal authority/subversion sanity/degradation
explain Care/harm
reacting negative to harm of other sentient beings
explain fairness/cheating
reacting negative to inequity to breaches in fairness’ expecting reciprocity in relationships
explain loyalty/betrayal
reacting negative to failures in commitment
explain authority/subversion
reacting negative to disrespect of legitimate authority
explain sanity/degradation
reacting negative to and often with disgust to violations of purity or sacredness
people tend to think of moral scenarios as involving what
at least one intentional agent and one suffering patient
morality = agency + patient
explain who can be an agent or patient in the equation of morality = agency + patient
agency= someone has control/intentionality (adult, god) patient= someone who can feel/experience (adult, child)
in most cases characters who lack both agency and experience do not qualify for moral scenarios
God cannot be a patient because he cannot experience
Children cannot be agents because they do not have control
what is a sacred canopy
religion bring people together under a common sociomoral banner, or sacred canopy
how do children understand inanimate objects
when an inanimate object is seen to move with no visible external cause, young kids often assume that an invisible force of some kind made it move. If the force is imagined to be inside the object then children (and adults) imagine the object to be alive in some sense, an active AGENT who INTENDS to move. If the force is imagined to be outside the object, then children (and sometimes adults) may invoke notions of God or some other external AGENT who’s INTENTION is to make the object move
why do humans want to give most things some kind of internal or external agency
because otherwise life seems random
what are the five basic tenets that undergird religious value systems for many american adolescents
- a god exists who created and orders the world and watched over people
- god wants people to be food, nice and fair to eachother, as taught in the bible and by most world religions
- god also wants people to be happy and to feel good about themselves
- people should call upon god during times of need because for helps people solve problems
- good people fgo to heaven when they die
is religion heritable
heritability of religion seem to increase with age into adulthood… as people grow older they are better able to ignore what other people want them to do and follow instead the promptings of their genotypes
heritability of religion is tightly connected to the heritability of personality characteristics that specify concerns for 1- community integration ad 2- existential certainty
personality - being close to others in community and endeavouring to find ultimate meaning in life- may be genetically drawn to religion
what big 5 traits is religion associated with
A and C
religion and politics are linked closely in the human mind why
because both springs from moral considerations regarding how people should live together in groups
what are the two german words used to describe a resultant tension that modern people feel between social relations and arrangements
Gemeinschaft and gesellschaft
what is Gemeinschaft
refers to traditional patterns of social relations based on shared blood, shared place and shared bleeds, the prototype for which is the extended family or clan (more conservative)
what is gesellschaft
refers to the more modern, impersonal arrangements of ‘civil society’ reflected in modern markers, urban settings and complex bureaucratic states, wherein individuals are more or less free to pursue their own destines (more liberal)
how do religion and moral foundations relate
conservatives may stem mainly from deep intuitions regarding loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion and sanity/degradation
liberals may stem from concerns about care/harm and fairness/cheating
the difference is how much each group values each foundation
primary determinants of variation in political values among adults are what
- genetic diffs between people
- effects of assortative mating (politically minded people mate likeminded people)
- big environmental events that impact the entire cohort such as war and economic depression
what big 5 trait is most associated with personal values
openness; people higher in this are associated with higher stages of oral resining, greater religious searching or quest and liberal political attitudes
also associated with high spirituality
views religion as a personal journey and, thereby experiencing change and development in their beliefs
what are paradigmatic expressions of human thought, how are they different from stories
things like ‘2 +2 = 4’
how things work
aims to reveal the truth
stories aim to explain why people do what they do
what is verisimilitude
‘lifelikeness’ or human plausibility
often used in stories… ‘their motives are understandable to me’
lifetime exposure to good fiction is positively correlated to what? is non-fiction related to anything
social skills and empathy
non-fiction is not correlated to anything
explain the key variable in the research literature on children’s stories
elaboration: parents with an elaborative conversational style ask their children to reflect and elaborate upon their emotions, thoughts and desires. They provide many opportunities for there children to describe what they are feeling in their experiences. By contrast, parents who show more restricted conversational style focus more on the description of behaviour rather than the exploration of inner experience. They may dismiss their children’s feelings or show relatively little interest in pursuing the emotional dynamics of their children’s experiences
define narrative identity
the internalized and evolving story of the self that a person constructs t provide his or her life with unity, purpose and meaning
the story manages to ‘selectively reconstruct’ the past ‘in such way that, step by step, it seems to have planned’ you or better, you ‘seem to have planned it’
is narrative identity fact
no, it is a personal myth
people high in N have what kind of stories
high in contamination sequences
people high in O have what kind of stories
higher levels of narrative coherence
what is stagnation
to fail in generatively is to experience stagnation; to feel the you are stuck or stunned, that you can no generate anything useful, that you are unable to unwilling to be of good use to the next generation
generatively connects most strongly with what big 5 traits
C and the altruism facet of A. Also positively correlated with E and O and negatively associated with N
can different levels of generatively be shown in different domains of life
yes
for example Ghandi, father to the world but not to his own children
essentially being a parent does not make a person mor regenerative but research does suggest that parents who are more generative to begin with tend to be better parents
does being generative enhance life
yes, it is associated with better life satisfaction
and in contrast low generatively is associated with depression
is generatively easy or hard
really hard
so it takes a good life story to be a highly generative adult. You need a good story about your life to sustain a strong commitment to generatively for the long haul. You need a story that bucks you up when things get bad, that provides you with support for the hard work that generality demands and the heartaches it will bring your way
highly generative adults tend to narrate their lives in what kinds of stories
stories of redemption
redemptive stories often begins with what
accounts of childhood wherein the protagonist felt that they enjoyed and early advantage, at the same time the protagonist shows an early sensitivity to the suffering of others, then a moral steadfastness (protagonist commits the self to a personal ideology. Their values remain strong, clear and highly relevant in daily life for the duration of the story)
what are positive illusions
autobiographical authors may simply overlook the most negative aspects of life events and exaggerate the positive meanings
what are narrative unconscious
when the narrator tells the story with lack of world assumptions, cognitive constructs or experimental categories to make the story make sense
the theme of redemption comes in what 4 categories
atonement- making amends
upward social mobility
liberation
recovery
how does culture influence being a social actor, motivated agent and autobiographical author
social actor- provides rules or how to perform the traits and the roles that structure social life
motivated agent- provide norms for the content and importance of personal goals and values
autobiographical author- most cultural influence here, life stories capture and elaborate metaphors and images that are especially resonant in a given culture
what do a culture’s master narratives provide
vital resources for the construction of narrative identity while, at the same time, severely constraining the kinds of lives that people can live. Master narratives speak to the identity of the entire group as well as members of the group. The group itself must be a shared ethnicity, religion, ideology or even its status as a nation. It summarizes the group’s understanding of its own history and destiny. In dong so, it also suggests how members of the group should understand their place and their position in the world.
explain the master narratives and the example of palestinians and israelis
small group brought together to discuss peace and stuff, short term was great
year or two later brought back together after going to back to their countries and their attitudes had hardened back to the norm
why do life stories change over time
- peoples lives change
2. people change their stories as they change their understanding of themselves
what are self defining memories
emotionally vivid scenes in their lives in which they grapple with important psychological issues
do older adults tell stories that are more positive or negative
more positive in emotional tone
what is positivity bias
comes with gang, the fact that older adults tend to emphasize positive emotions in their daily lives and in their memories compared to younger adults
what is the method of life review
counsellors who work with older adults sometimes employ this method to encourage older adults to relive and reflect on past events. In life review, older adults are encouraged to mine their autobiographical memory fr specific events that seem to have meaning and value, life review therapists teach their clients how to reminisce productively about these events and to reflect upon their meaning. This can help increase life satisfaction
what happens to our dispositional traits in the last years of life
not much research has been devoted to this however it suggests that personality stability may decline in the later years, and people may reverse the gains they have made on positive personality traits
