Test 1 Flashcards
• Form _____ new hypotheses can be generated
Theories
5 sub questions
a. Why does a behavior start?
b. Once begun, why is that behavior sustained over time?
c. Why is that behavior directed toward some goals (and
away from others)?
d. Why does that behavior change its direction?
e. Why does that behavior stop?
Sensation seekers
continually seek out strong sources of stimulation
Sensation avoiders
find strong stimulation an irritant.
‣ Needs
conditions within the individual that are
essential and necessary for the maintenance of life, well-
being and growth.
Cognitions:
mental events, such as plans, goals, beliefs, expectations, and the self
Emotions:
complex and coordinated reactions to
significant events in our lives and orchestrate four interrelated aspects
to react adaptively:
• Feelings:
subjective, verbal descriptions of emotional
experience
Arousal
How our body mobilizes itself to cope with situational demands
purpose
what specifically we want to accomplish in a given moment
expression
non verbal communication of our emotional experience.
external events are ______
environmental social and cultural aspects that affect motives such as: specific stimuli (money), events (being praised), general situations, culture
motivation is a ______, _______, ________, experience
private, internal, unobservable experience. behavior is observable.
Five ways to infer motivation:
- Behavior
- Engagement
- Psychophysiology
- Brain activations
- Self-report.
Engagement is
a multidimensional construct.
It consists of four distinct, intercorrelated and mutually supportive, aspects.
Aspects of engagement
- effort and persistence (behavioral engagement),
- positive emotions (e.g. interest, enjoyment) (emotional
engagement) - the use of sophisticated -rather than superficial- learning
strategies (cognitive engagement)
-verbal participation and contribution to the lesson (e.g.,
asking questions, constructive contribution, and so on)
(agentic engagement).
Phychophysiology:
study of the interaction between bodily and mental
states); the activity of our hormonal system.
How to measure neural and hormonal changes
- Blood tests
- saliva tests
- heart rate
- respiratory rate
- pupil diameter
when thirsty, the _________ is active.
hypothalamus
Self-Report:
• ask via an interview or a questionnaire to infer the level of anxiety
• by asking to report anxiety-related symptoms (an upset
stomach or thoughts of failure).
Advantages of questionnaires:
• easy to administer
• can be given to many people
simultaneously, can target very specific information.
Disadvantages of self report
lack of correspondence between what people say they do and what they actually do (e.g., more maximizers than satisfiers) between how they say they feel and what their 1psychophysiological activity indicates.
THEMES IN THE STUDY OF MOTIVATION
- Motivation benefits adaptation
- Motivation directs attention
- Motivation is an intervening variable
- Motives vary over time and influence the ongoing stream of behavior
- Types of motivations exist
- We are not always aware of the motivational basis of our behavior
- Motivation study reveals what people want
- To flourish, motivation needs supportive conditions
- When trying to motivate others, what is easy to do is rarely what works
- There is nothing so practical as a good theory.
- Motivation Benefits Adaptation
Circumstances constantly change (at home, school, work). Motivations and emotions help to adapt to the environmental changes.When students, workers, athletes are motivated, excited, confident and set higher goals, they will be able to adapt successfully to their environment.
In contrast, when motivation is low, personal adaptation suffers. People who feel helpless and unmotivated, tend to give up quickly when challenged.
- Motives direct attention (and prepares for action)
Environments constantly demand our attention. Our motivational states direct our attention to one aspect of the environment rather than to another. Motives prepare us for action by directing attention to select some courses of action over others.
- Motivation (and Emotions) are ‘Intervening
Variables’
Variables that intervene (or “mediate”) between causes (antecedents: environmental events) and effects (outcomes: behavior).
- Motives vary over time and influence the ongoing stream of behavior
Motivation is a dynamic process rather than a static
condition. The strength continually rises and falls as circumstances
change. One motive is strongest and dominates our attention, while
others are weak. But each subordinate motive can become dominant as
circumstances change.
- Types of motivations exist
Motivation is not a unitary concept, but important type of motivations exist (human beings are motivationally complex).
Examples of Motivations:
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic
Motivation To approach vs. To avoid
- We are not always consciously aware of the motivational basis of our behavior
Some motives are accessible to consciousness and to verbal report. Other motives are less accessible and they originate in the unconscious
- Motivation study reveals what people want
Motivation study reveals what human beings desire, hope,
want, need, and fear. It also reveals which motivations are universal and which
depend on culture, personal experience, age, historical period.
Examples of Universal Motivation are
our physiological needs (e.g., hunger, thirst, sex, pain), the tendency to be hedonists (approach pleasure and avoid pain).
Examples of Acquired Motivation
our culture, unique experience, exposure to particular role models.
- To flourish, motivation needs supportive conditions
Motivation cannot be separated from social context. A child’s motivation is affected by the social context provided by parents, athletes by coaches, patients by physicians, citizens by their culture.
Environment can be supportive or neglectful.
When it is supportive ________
people express positive emotions
joy, hope, interest, optimism
When an environment is neglectful ___________
neglectful or overwhelming, people express negative emotions (sadness, frustration, stress).
- When trying to motivate self and others, what is easy to do is rarely what works
Everyone has better success in motivating others when they stop giving commands and, instead, work patiently to see the situation from the other person’s point of view, ask
the other for suggestions.
- There is nothing so practical as a good theory
A Theory is a set of variables (e.g., self-efficacy, goals, effort) and the relationships that are assumed to exist among them (e.g., strong self-efficacy beliefs encourage people to set goals, and once set, goals encourage high effort).
A good theory is a practical tool for solving the problems faced by students, teachers, workers, employers, managers, athletes, coaches, parents, therapists, and clients.
___________ said “there is nothing so practical as a good theory. It
is a useful guide in how to understand and to solve a
problem.”
Kurt Lewin
_________ theorized about three levels of soul
Plato (ca. 428-348 B.C.)
3 levels of soul and examples:
- Appetitive aspect (biological level, bodily urges and desires, such as hunger, sex)
- Competitive aspect (social level, feeling honored or shamed)
- Calculating aspect (decision-making capacities: reasoning and choosing)
Hierarchically arranged - each higher aspect can regulate the motives of the lower aspects (e.g., reason could keep bodily appetites at bay).
______________ endorsed Plato’s tripartite soul.
Aristotle
Aristotle’s theory of motivation was composed of what 3 parts?
- Nutritive (the most impulsive, irrational and animal-like. Bodily urges necessary for the maintenance of life)
- Sensitive (It was also related to the body, but it regulated hedonic pleasure and pain)
- Rational (intellectual, unique to human beings)
The tripartite psyche (=soul) was reduced to
dualism
Dualism consisted of which two parts?
The passion of the body
(irrational, impulsive, and biological)
vs.
The reason of the mind
(rational, intelligent, spiritual)
________ created the grand theory of will
René Descartes
In his dualistic model, Descartes distinguished between:
• The body was a mechanical and passive agent
• The will was an immaterial and active agent.
• The body responded to the environment in mechanistic
ways through its sense, reflexes and physiology.
• The mind was a spiritual, thinking entity that possessed a purposive will.
• The ultimate motivational force was the will.
• The will initiated and directed action; it chose whether to
act and what to do when acting.
“If we can understand the will, then we understand
motivation” : _______________
Descartes
The instinct was brought about by the field of ____________
physiology
________ provided a foundation for instinct theory
Darwin
Darwin proposed ________, __________, and ________ in regards to instinct.
- Instincts arise from the genetic endowment.
- These behaviors occur naturally and automatically.
- They do not need to be learned in order to be displayed.
_____________ provided the first instinct theory of Motivation
William James
According to instinct theory, he presence of an appropriate_______ translates to an instinct into motivated behavior (goal-directed).
stimulus