Study unit 8.2 Motivation

Question 1

Motivation

Answer 1

Goal-directed behavior

Question 2

Drive Theories

Answer 2

Walter Cannon observed that organism seek homeostasis. Apply the concept of homeostasis to behavior. When individuals experience a drive, they are motivated to pursue actions that will lead to drive reduction. Cannot explain all motivation.

Question 3

Homeostasis

Answer 3

A state of physiological equilibrium or stability

Question 4

Drive

Answer 4

Hypothetical, internal state of tension that motivates an organism to engage in activities that should reduce this tension. Tensions are disruptions of the preferred equilibrium.

Question 5

Incentive

Answer 5

External goal that has the capacity to motivate behavior. Drive + incentive models of motivation contrasted as push vs pull.

Drive - internal states of tension push people in certain directions. Source of motivation within.
Incentive - external stimuli pull people in certain directions. Source of motivation outside

Question 6

Evolutionary theories

Answer 6

Natural selection favors behaviors that maximize reproductive success. Motives such as affiliation, achievement, dominance, aggression, and sex drive explained in terms of adaptive value. Motives can best be understood in terms of the adaptive problems they have solved over the course of human history.

Question 7

Walter Cannon & A.L. Washburn

Answer 7

There’s an association between stomach contractions and the experience of hunger. Cannon theorized that stomach contractions cause hunger, but it was discredited.

Question 8

Brain regulation (hunger + eating)

Answer 8

Experience of hunger is controlled in the hypothalamus. Lateral + ventromedial areas are elements in the neural circuitry that regulates hunger. Arcuate nucleus + paraventricular nucleus - play a role in modulation of hunger. The neural circuits that pass through the hypothalamus depend on a large variety of neurotransmitters. The neural circuits regulating hunger are massively and reciprocally interconnected with extensive parallel processing and is sensitive to a diverse range of physiological processes.

Question 9

Digestive + hormonal regulation (hunger + eating)

Answer 9

After food is consumed, the stomach can signal the brain to inhibit further eating - vagus nerve carries information about the stretching of the stomach walls. Other nerves carry messages about how rich in nutrients the contents of the stomach is.

When without food for a while, the stomach secretes ghrelin, causing stomach contractions. After food is consumed, the upper intestine releases CCK, reducing hunger.

Leptin contributes to long-term regulation of hunger, which is produced by the fat cells, providing the brain with information about fat stores. When high, propensity to feel hunger diminishes. When low, singnals arrriving in brain promote hunger.

Question 10

Palatability (environmental variable)

Answer 10

Better food tastes, more they will consume

Question 11

Quantity availability (environmental variable)

Answer 11

Consume what is in front of them

Question 12

Variety (environmental variable)

Answer 12

Increase consumption, when a variety is available

Question 13

Sensory-specific satiety

Answer 13

If only a few foods are available, the appeal of all of them can decline quickly

Question 14

Presence of others (environmental variable)

Answer 14

Eat 44% more. Reciprocally adjust intake to same amount.

Question 15

Stress (environmental variable)

Answer 15

Shift towards less healthy.

Question 16

Exposure to food cues (environmental variable)

Answer 16

Exposure to cues that have been associated with food - advertisements, sight/smell.

Question 17

Learned preferences + habits

Answer 17

Acquired through learned associations, classical conditioning.

Habits through observational learning. Matter of exposure, prefering familiar foods. Geographical, cultural, religious and ethnic factors limit people’s access to food.

Question 18

Obesity

Answer 18

Condition of being overweight

Question 19

BMI

Answer 19

weight (kg)/height (m) squared (kg/m2)

25-29.9 = overweight
30 and over = obese

Question 20

Inadequate sleep (obesity)

Answer 20

Alter hormonal balance involved in regulating appetite, eating and satiety

Question 21

Set point (obesity)

Answer 21

Homeostatic mechanisms defend weight loss. A constellation of metabolic and neuroendocrine processes work to resist weight loss.

Burn calories more slowly - energy expenditure decline
Reduced fat stores - reduced levels of leptin - fuel increased hunger

Set point - natural point of stability for weight, a narrow range of weight around that point

Question 22

William Masters & Virginia Johnson

Answer 22

Detailed description of the human sexual response. Divided the sexual response cycle into four stages: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

Question 23

Excitement phase

Answer 23

Level of physical arousal escalates rapidly. Muscle tension, respiration rate, heart rate, and blood pressure increase quickly.

Question 24

Vasocongestion

Answer 24

Engorgement of blood vessels - produces penile erection and swollen testes in males

In females, swelling and hardening of the clitoris, expansion of the vaginal lips, and vaginal lubrication

Question 25

Plateau phase

Answer 25

Physiological arousal continues to build, slower pace. Foreplay is lengthy, arousal fluctuates

Question 26

Orgasm phase

Answer 26

Sexual arousal reaches its peak intensity and is discharged in a series of muscular contractions that pulsate through the pelvic area

Question 27

Resolution phase

Answer 27

The physiological changes produced by sexual arousal gradually subside. If an orgasm has not occurred, the reduction in sexual tension may be relatively slow.

Question 28

Refractory period

Answer 28

A time after an orgasm, where a man is largely unresponsive to further stimulation.

Varies from a few minutes to a few hours and increases with age

Question 29

Robert Trivers’s parental investment theory

Answer 29

What each sex has to invest - in terms of time, energy, survival risk, and forgone opportunities (to pursue other goals) - to produce and nurture offspring

Question 30

Sexual orientation

Answer 30

A person’s preference for emotional and sexual relationships with individuals of the same sex, the other sex, or either sex.

Question 31

Heterosexuals

Answer 31

Seek emotional-sexual relationships with members of the other sex

Question 32

Bisexuals

Answer 32

Seek emotional-sexual relationships with members of either sex

Question 33

Homosexuals

Answer 33

With members of the same sex

Question 34

Freudian theorists on homosexuality

Answer 34

A male is likely to become gay when raised by a weak, detached, ineffectual father who is a poor heterosexual role model and by an overprotective, overly attached mother, with whom the boy identifies.

Question 35

Behavioral theorists on homosexuality

Answer 35

Is a learned preference acquired when same-sex stimuli have been paired with sexual arousal, perhaps through chance seductions by adalt homosexuals

Question 36

Biological theories of homosexuality

Answer 36

The roots of homosexuality may lie in the organizing effects of prenatal hormones on neurological development. Hormonal secretions during critical periods of prenatal development may shape sexual development, organize the brain in a lasting manner, and influence subsequent sexual orientation.

Question 37

Achievement motive

Answer 37

The need to master difficult challenges, to outperform others, and to meet high standards of excellence

Question 38

David McClelland

Answer 38

Pioneered research on achievement motivation. Achievement motivation is of the utmost importance - it is the spark that ignites economic growth, scientific progress, inspirational leadership, and masterpieces of creative art.

Question 39

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Answer 39

A projective test, that requires subjects to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal personal motives and traits. The stimulus materials pictures are of people in ambiguous scenes open to interpretation. Participants are asked to write or tell stories about what’s happening in the scenes and what the characters are feeling. The themes of these stories are then scored to measure the strength of various needs.

Question 40

John Atkinson

Answer 40

Identified important situational determinants of achievement behavior.

Question 41

Situational determinants of achievement behavior

Answer 41

Strength of motivation to achieve success

Estimate of the probability of success

Incentive value of success - tangible and intangible rewards