Topic 3/Chapter 13: Motivation and Emotion

Question 1

What are the basic motives according to the Psychodynamic Perspective?

Answer 1

Sex
Aggression
Fear
Wishes

Question 2

What is motivation?

Answer 2

The driving force that influences behaviour to act on certain things, and avoids other things.

Question 3

What is an explicit motive (Psychodynamic Perspective)?

Answer 3

A motive that oneself is conscious of (commonly self-reported).

Question 4

What is an implicit motive (Psychodynamic Perspective)?

Answer 4

A motive that oneself is unconscious of (commonly identified through psychological testing, such as a TAT).

Question 5

What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Psychodynamic Perspective)?

Answer 5

Series of ambiguous images that are presented to participants to code stories from motivational themes. Usually uncovers unconscious motives. It is considered a helpful tool in clinical assessment and in research where results are interpreted as part of a suite of tests.

Question 6

What are the limitations of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Psychodynamic Perspective)?

Answer 6

Validity and subjectivity of the TAT has been criticised due to the explicit motives being able to override implicit motives. Self-report often differs completely from TAT responses.

Question 7

What is a primary drive (Behavioural Perspective)?

Answer 7

Innate and biological drive to fulfil basic need (e.g., food, water).
Human behaviour in wealthy countries are not as motivated by primary drive.

Question 8

What is secondary drive (Behavioural Perspective)?

Answer 8

Neutral stimulus becomes associated with drive reduction through conditioning/modelled behaviour, so that it then becomes a motive itself (e.g., drive to earn money to fulfil primary and secondary drives).

Question 9

What constitutes motives according to the Behaviourist Perspective?

Answer 9

Defined through operant conditioning (production of behaviours that incur reward and avoid punishment).
It is the most valid/empirically supported view of motivation, although behaviourists avoid the word motivation as it implies causation in internal states.

Question 10

What is incentive in motivation (Behavioural Perspective)?

Answer 10

Where the external stimuli/reward acts as the motive to drive

Question 11

What is the Drive-Reduction Theory (Behavioural Perspective)?

Answer 11

This theory concurs that motivation stems from drive and reinforcement, based on the concept of homoeostasis, where one must maintain a state of balance and equilibrium.
Biological need occurs (food) > drive activates > goal directed behaviour > drive reduced (need satisfied) > restored state of balance/equilibrium.

Question 12

What is meant by deprivation of needs (Behavioural Perspective)?

Answer 12

Causes a unpleasant state of tension resulting in behavioural changes. Once the need has been met/satisfied, the behaviour will return to a state of drive-reduction.

Question 13

What is the Expectancy Value Theory (Cognitive Perspective)?

Answer 13

Views motivation as a joint function (value of the outcome and the belief that it can be achieved). E.g., studies have found that students’ actual ability vs their perceived ability can impact results dramatically.

Question 14

What is the Goal-Setting Theory (Cognitive Perspective)?

Answer 14

Centred on goal-setting, belief that conscious goals regulate human behaviour.

Question 15

What are the conditions of goal-setting (Cognitive Perspective, Goal-Setting Theory)?

Answer 15

Discrepancy between what one has/what one needs.
Define specific goals.
Feedback to gauge progression toward goals.
Belief in ability to achieve.
Set high enough goals to remain motivated to achieve.
High degree of commitment.

Question 16

What is the Self-Determination Theory (Cognitive Perspective)?

Answer 16

Suggests that humans need 3 innate needs to be met to have their motivation flourish - competence, relatedness to others, and autonomy. Suggests that reward (i.e., theory of Behaviourism) diminishes intrinsic motivation unless in a social context where there is support and reward comes from competence rather than compliance. Compromised sense of autonomy can feel like motivation must be forced rather than intrinsically motivated.

Question 17

What are the underpinning themes of the Cognitive Perspective of motivation?

Answer 17

Theory emphasises goal-setting and feelings of competency/ability to achieve these goals.

Question 18

What is the Humanistic Perspective on motivation?

Answer 18

Emphasis on dignity, individual choice, and self-worth playing key roles in explaining human behaviour. Motivation comes from desire for personal growth and overcoming obstacles for personal fulfilment.

Question 19

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Humanistic Perspective)?

Answer 19

Contends that the lower-level needs (biological/survival) must be fulfilled before needs on the higher-levels begin to influence behaviour (however one can remain on the same level forever and not look further than this). Many behaviours reflect multiple needs from the different levels of the hiarchy.

Question 20

What are the limitations of the Hierarchy of Needs (Humanistic Perspective)?

Answer 20

Has been difficult to prove theory with limited empirical findings to support.

Question 21

What is the ERG Theory (Humanistic Perspective)?

Answer 21

Existence, Relatedness, Growth (ERG) Theory was developed to offer a testable hypothesis of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and condensed the hierarchy. This theory was developed to be tested specifically in workplace environments and has attributed to the development of the Characteristics of Self-Actualisation Scale (CSAS).

Question 22

How does the Evolutionary Perspective view motivation?

Answer 22

Early 20th century psychologists assumed motivation was purely instinctual (fixed patterns of behaviour not learnt/conditioned), however was abandoned when found that instincts vary significantly across cultures. Primarily states that motivation comes from aiming to maximising inclusive fitness.

Question 23

What is meant by ‘maximising inclusive fitness’?

Answer 23

Motivation stems from natural selection and reproductive success (reproduction + survival). Suggests that evolution “selects” animals that maximise their inclusive fitness. “Selection” has been criticised, but aims to contend that some basic motivational mechanisms evolved to help organisms select action that fosters survival, reproduction and care for kin.

Question 24

What are psychosocial needs?

Answer 24

Personal/interpersonal motives for achievement, power, and self-esteem.

Question 25

What are the 2 main clusters of goals?

Answer 25

1. Relatedness (communion/connectedness motives)
2. Agency (achievement, autonomy, mastery, power, efficacy, self-oriented goals)

Question 26

What are the main 3 points of relatedness?

Answer 26

1. Attachment motivation: desire for physical/psychological proximity (earliest motive for children, forms basis for adult love).
2. Intimacy: self-disclosure, warmth, mutual caring (older children/adults, need met in deep friendships/adult relationships).
3. Affiliation: interaction with friends/acquaintances. Surface-level support/interactions.

Question 27

What is a fundamental motivator of behaviour (according to psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive theories)?

Answer 27

Self-esteem.

Question 28

What motivates exploration?

Answer 28

Humans have innate need to know/understand the world around them and exercise competency/knowledge. Feelings of displeasure are thought to foster motivation for exploration.

Question 29

When do competency behaviours commence in humans?

Answer 29

From around the age of 2, children strive for competency and effectiveness, even without parental reward (e.g., learning to walk).

Question 30

What is the need for achievement?

Answer 30

A psychosocial motive to succeed and avoid failure
- Work more persistently
- Failures are viewed as things beyond their control
- Pride in accomplishments
- Chooses challenge, but only those within reach

Question 31

What are the components of achievement motivation?

Answer 31

• Do not transfer to every domain of life
• Some motives carry more weight than others; hierarchically organised (cognitive perspective)
• Achievement goals (performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery)

Question 32

What is the difference between performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery goals?

Answer 32

• Performance-approach goals: outcome driven, focus on achievement at socially defined standard.
• Performance-avoidance goals: motivation derives from fear of failure/not achieving goal.
• Mastery goals: to achieve competence/mastery in a set skill (rather than just attaining/achieving).

Question 33

How does parenting and culture influence achievement?

Answer 33

• Achievement is a learned motive.
• Children with high-achievement motivation have parents who encourage new tasks (slightly out of reach), encourage independent thinking, discourage complaining, and prompt problem solving when met with failure.
• Motivation achievement varies significantly across cultures.

Question 34

What are the differences between affect, emotion, and mood?

Answer 34

Affect = patterns of observable behaviours/actions which express emotion which fluctuate with changing emotional states.
Emotion = Evaluative response (positive/negative), combination of physiological arousal, subjective experience, and behavioural/emotional expression.
Mood = longer-lasting/general emotional state (internalised/unobservable).

Question 35

What is the James-Lang theory?

Answer 35

Also referred to as the “peripheral theory of emotion”. Emotion-inducing stimulus = visceral reaction (peripheral nervous system which controls muscle movement/autonomic responses - racing heart/short breath). Claims that emotion is rooted in bodily experience (e.g., we do not run because of fear, the action of running induces feelings of fear).

Question 36

What is the Canon-Bard theory?

Answer 36

Claimed that emotion-inducing stimuli elicit emotions and bodily responses. Different emotional states are linked to the same/similar visceral responses (e.g. sex and arousal can present the same as fear/anxiety). Rejected James-Lange theory as autonomic response is delayed by 2 seconds after stimulus presentation, whereas emotional response is immediate.

Question 37

What was the criticism of the Canon-Bard theory?

Answer 37

It was found that the visceral response to emotion was not as generalised as claimed. Now believed that different emotions cause different visceral responses that can be distinguished through certain physiological indicators (e.g., increased blood pressure, etc.).

Question 38

What is subjective experience?

Answer 38

What it feels like to an individual to feel happy, sad, angry, elated, etc.
Subjective experience is a spectrum, on one extreme is severe personality disorders (intense emotional state/spiralling) > the other is alexithymia (inability to recognise feelings).

Question 39

What is emotional disclosure?

Answer 39

• Expression of more emotion when talking about traumatic events can improve physical/emotional wellbeing
• Writing about stressful/traumatic events = increased functioning of cells in the immune system
• Disclosure decreases autonomic reactivity (body on “red alert”. Also changes cognitive functioning to rework the narrative of a traumatic experience in thought/memory (emotional disruption).
• Disclosure on social media is thought to be linked to loneliness and motivated by portraying false positivity.

Question 40

What are the aspects of “feeling happy”?

Answer 40

• Reasoning for momentary happiness vs sustained/lasting happiness differs.
• Age and gender do not influence feelings of happiness (equal findings in these domains).
• Cross-cultural differences in happiness predicted by individualistic culture (focus on individual needs/desires)/collectivistic culture (focus on needs/desires of group).
• Stability in politics is an indicator of increased happiness in cultures.
• Large network of friends/strong sense of religion/faith both contribute to feelings of happiness.

Question 41

What is meant by the term “emotional expression”?

Answer 41

Overt behavioural signs of emotion and emotional state (e.g., facial expressions, posture, gestures, and tone of voice).

Question 42

How do facial expressions link to our emotions?

Answer 42

• Some theorists believe the face is the primary centre of emotion.
• The relationship between emotion and displaying this emotion through facial expression is relatively similar across cultures.
• Some cultures even associate the same colour representation of emotion (e.g., red = anger).
• Facial expressions can influence one’s physiological state, however real/fake facial expression use different activation muscles, therefore eliciting different physiological effects.

Question 43

Are there different emotional display rules across cultures?

Answer 43

• There are 6 universally recognised facial expressions (surprise, fear, anger, disgust, happiness, and sadness).
• Primary emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, and fear.
  Socially constructed emotions: shame, guilt, pride, embarrassment.
• Display rules = cultural and socially constructed rules in the way people learn to express their emotions in a culturally-appropriate way.

Question 44

How does gender effect emotional expression?

Answer 44

• Females experience emotion more intensely, better able to read facial/non-verbal cues, express emotion more openly than males.
• Children as young as 3yo recognise that females are more likely to express fear, sadness, and happiness more openly, and males express anger.
• Further research is required for non-binary peoples.

Question 45

What are basic emotions?

Answer 45

• Attempts to create a standardised list, these include 5 - 9 basic emotions (surprise, contempt, interest, shame, joy, guilt, trust, and anticipation).
• Basic emotions are like primary colours, any departure from these are derivatives of these.

Question 46

What is positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA)?

Answer 46

• PA = pleasant emotions
• NA = negative emotions
• These underlie all emotions across cultures.
• Emotions are substantially intercorrelated (e.g., individual experiencing guilt will also feel other negative emotions, like fear/anxiety).
• PA and NA are neurologically different, but share some neural pathways. They are regulated by different neurotransmitter systems, frequency of experience can create differences in transmitter functioning (think CBT?).
• PA/NA is heritable (NA slightly higher correlation).

Question 47

What is approach and avoidance in relation to PA and NA?

Answer 47

• PA = pleasure-seeking, approach-oriented behaviour (mostly processed in left-hemisphere frontal lobe).
• NA = avoidance-oriented behaviour (right-hemisphere frontal lobe activation).
• Neuro-circuits are in place from early childhood (approx. 4yo). Indications of PA in children is social competency and minimal interpersonal isolation (resulting in more frequent left frontal lobe activation).
• Healthy adults = approach/avoidance learning used frontal-limbic-striatal neural networks; increased avoidance = reduced frontal/limbic reactivity.

Question 48

Is anger associated with PA or NA?

Answer 48

• Anger does not fit neatly into PA or NA and can have elements of both (revenge/frustration).
• Anger is an approach-oriented motive (approach and attack).
• Left frontal lobe activation (often associated with PA) = aggressive response.
• Right frontal lobe activation = inhibition of ruminative responses (internalised).

Question 49

What is the emotional hierarchy?

Answer 49

3 levels of emotions:
- Superordinate categories (PA and NA).
- Basic emotion categories (happy, sad, angry, scared).
- Subordinate categories (derivatives of basic emotions/cultural-specific emotions).

Question 50

What are the age milestones of emotional development?

Answer 50

• Emotional knowledge starts from childhood and develops to full-control in adulthood.
• 4yo can identify basic emotions
• 10 to 12yo begin to conceptualise more complex subordinate categories of emotions.

Question 51

What is the hypothalamus and what function does it serve to emotions?

Answer 51

• Is the central link that converts emotional signals (that are generated at higher levels of the brain) into autonomic/endocrine responses.
• Links to the brain through the pituitary gland (which activates other glands in the endocrine system).
• In some species, motivation is controlled by the hypothalamus and hence by instinctive responses/emotions linked to them.
• Electrical stimulation produces attack/defence/flight reactions with corresponding emotions (rage/terror)

Question 52

What is the limbic system and what function does it serve to emotions?

Answer 52

• Limbic system structure (particularly the amygdala) is central to emotional reactions.
• Where lesions are created in neurons that are connected to the amygdala with a specific sensory (sight, sound, etc.), the brain is unable to process emotions for objects that are perceived by that sense.
• Amygdala’s connection to the hippocampus (memory) is crucial for sensory/information processing and associating with pleasant/unpleasant emotions. This association influences behaviour through positive/negative association with objects/events.
• Amygdala plays a role in detecting facial expressions of others (increased activation of the amygdala relative to facial expression occurs between 3 to 9yo).

Question 53

What are the 2 circuits involving the amygdala that produces emotional responses?

Answer 53

• Circuit 1 = emotionally relevant information is relayed from the thalamus to the amygdala and cortex for production of immediate response.
• Circuit 2 = stimulus is evaluated on basis of stored knowledge/goals and is relayed from the thalamus to the cortex then to the amygdala.
• These circuits can encounter conflict (e.g., a cancer patient undergoing radiation treatment, despite the emotional response to treatment from physical discomfort - conditioned behaviour).

Question 54

What is involved in forming associations between stimuli and emotional reactions?

Answer 54

The hippocampus.

Question 55

What is the role of the thalamus?

Answer 55

Thought to be evolutionary (no cortical involvement). Processes sensory information to various parts of the brain and sends simple sensory info to the amygdala/ Info can then elicit immediate emotional response.

Question 56

What function does the cortex serve?

Answer 56

• Allows people to consider whether a stimulus/situation is safe (damage to the frontal cortex that receives input from the amygdala have trouble making decisions based on their emotions - e.g., risk-taking).
• Interprets the meaning of peripheral responses (e.g., shaking hands = anxiety).
• Regulates facial displays of emption during social interaction (frontal cortex).
• Left hemisphere cortex = approach-related emotions (frontal), more PA instead of NA in emotional experiences.
• Right hemisphere cortex = processes emotional cues/producing facial display of emotion. Tend to experience more NA (low mood states).

Question 57

What is meant by emotional regulation?

Answer 57

Efforts to control emotional states, a learnt behaviour from early childhood that progresses through maturity.

Question 58

Can emotions be regulated before or after they occur?

Answer 58

Both.
Before = reframing the event in positive light/makes them less upset. Can lead to diminished negative feelings.
After = surpression of emotions which leads to more sympathetic nervous system activity (physiological response to danger). Causes interference with engagement in other tasks (working overtime to keep feelings at bay). Leads to fewer social connections than those who reappraise/reframe their emotions before the event.

Question 59

How does mood regulation differ from emotional regulation?

Answer 59

Mood (relating to mood regulation) is an extended emotional state that provides a background sense of positive/negative wellbeing.

Question 60

What are the strategies for emotional regulation?

Answer 60

Subjective feelings of pleasure/pain are targets for emotional regulation strategies. They are a form of procedural knowledge to alter their emotions. This is learnt implicitly (). These procedures are not always healthy/productive, they are essentially a way to blow off steam (e.g., gambling as a way to avoid awareness of unpleasant emotions).

Question 61

Are the gender differences in emotional regulation?

Answer 61

Yes.
Men = inhibit expression of fear/sadness
Women = inhibit expression of anger
These link back to motivations for genders (power vs relationships).

Question 62

What is the psychodynamic perspective of emotion?

Answer 62

• Claims people can be unconscious of their emotional experience, and can influence thought, behaviour, and even health (somewhat counter intuitive from the overall perspective).
• Suggests that humans delude themselves about their own abilities/attributes to avoid unpleasant emotional consequences of viewing themselves more objectively (referred to as “illusionary mental health” where participants self-reported emotions are better than those found by indirect measures).

Question 63

What is the cognitive perspective of emotion (Interpretation and emotion)?

Answer 63

• Reactions of events depend on attributions (the way we infer causation = reason for occurrence) we make about bodily sensations.
• Cognitive judgement/attribution is crucial for emotional experience (figuring out the meaning of arousal when experiencing non-specific arousal - when the emotion-inducing stimuli is not clear to us).

Question 64

What is the Schachter-Singer theory?

Answer 64

Emotion involves 2 factors:
1. physiological arousal
2. cognitive interpretation

Study conducted where 1/2 participants were given adrenaline inducing drug and the other 1/2 were given placebo. Results concluded that emotional experience is not simply subjective awareness of arousal (being aware of emotions), but a complex cognitive-affect state that includes inferences about the meaning of the arousal (how it is interpreted to that individual on the attribution/causation).

Study was difficult to replicate/received criticism, however numerous studies have supported some degree of interpretation is involved in the experience of many emotional states (e.g., distinguishing between depression and tiredness/fatigue requires interpretation as shares similar physiological state. On the other hand, excessive caffeine intake may be attributed as anxiety).

Question 65

What is the cognitive perspective of emotion (cognition and appraisal)?

Answer 65

• People’s emotion reflect their judgement/appraisals of situation/stimuli that confront them.
• Cognitive processes also play role in interpretation of facial expression, however initial interpretation is subject to override by context of a situation (initial appraisal = fear, however person was actually running on 2 hours sleep).

Question 66

What influence does emotion and mood have on cognition?

Answer 66

• Emotion/mood can influence ongoing thought and memory (e.g., anxiety reducing memory capacity due to distraction).
• Mood can influence one’s perception, judgements, and inferences.
• Fear can lead to pessimistic judgement/anger can lead to optimistic judgements.
• Mood/emotional states influence encoding/retrieval of information from long-term memory. Positive mood generally facilitates memory, however, as people fight negative mood, they try to retrieve more positive information.
• Motivational process (regulating negative mood) may actually counteract auto-cognitive process (the recall of information consistent with the current mood/thoughts - e.g., negative mood state can still access recall of positive information).

Question 67

What is the evolutionary perspective of emotion (Charles Darwin)?

Answer 67

• Emotion serves an adaptive purpose.
• Humans and animals signal their readiness to fight/run/attend to needs by postural/facial/non-verbal cues.
• Communications regulate social behaviour and increase chance of survival.
• Explains why basic emotional expressions are wired into organisms and recognised cross-culturally (amygdala).

Question 68

What is the evolutionary perspective of emotion and motivation?

Answer 68

Emotion drives motivation - it is the internal communication that something must be done.

Question 69

What is the evolutionary view of jealousy?

Answer 69

Women = view mate as source of resources for offspring. When this is threatened, this elicits feelings of jealousy. Self-reported levels of jealousy increase in the ovulation period of menstruation, suggesting support for the evolutionary perspective.
Males = must have confidence that offspring are their own (confidence in paternity). To ensure this, they must prevent their mate from co-populating with other males. Linked by access to sexual needs met.

A study found that men were more distressed by sexual infidelity of their mate, whereas women were more concerned about emotional fidelity. These findings have been mirrored in other cultures, which provides support for the perspective.