Chapter 12: Motivation & Emotion

Motivation: set of factors that activate, direct & maintain behavior, usually toward some goal

….Motivation energizes and directs behavior

Emotion: subjective feeling that includes arousal (heart pounding), cognitions (thoughts, values, & expectations), and expressive behaviors (smiles, frowns, & running)

….Emotion is the feeling response

Theory of Motivation: Instinct/Evolution• Instinct/Evolution Theories: Explains behavior in how it

supports reproduction in the organism. These behaviors are generally innate and unlearned.

• Instincts: Unlearned, genetically programmed, fixed action pattern of complex behavior by all members of species

examples: birds flying south in the winter, ducks imprinting, bears hibernating, salmon swim upstream to spawn

• What instincts do humans have?• William McDougall: 18 human instincts (parental, submission,

curiosity, escape, reproduction, repulsion, self-assertiveness, jealousy…) • Later turned into over 10,000 • Critics

BIO

Theory of Motivation: Drive-Reduction

• Drive-Reduction Theory: an organism is motivated to engage in activities that reduce an internal drive state and return to homeostasis

• Drive: an internal state of tension that motivates an organism to reduce tension

• Homeostasis: balanced internal state• Lack of homeostasis – need – drive – motivate to act –

homeostasis • Primary drives (unlearned): hunger, thirst• Secondary drives (learned): fear, want for attention/praise

BIO

Arousal Theory• We are

motivated to seek an optimum level of arousal.

Theory of Motivation: Arousal• Arousal Theory: Organisms are motivated to achieve and

maintain an optimal level of arousal. Prefer environments that are more stimulating

• Yerkes-Dodson modelBest level of arousal for difficulty– Low difficulty- high arousal

(lineman)– Med difficulty- med arousal

(quarterback)– High difficulty- low arousal (surgeon)

BIO

Theory of Motivation: Incentive & Cognitive• Incentive Theory: being driven to perform a behavior

because of some external payoff…externals “pull” us in a certain direction

- Environmental cause of motivation - Goal attainment

Intrinsic: internal need for achievement Extrinsic: external reinforcement from Expectancy: value, what you believe will/can happen

• Cognitive Theory: motivation is affected by our attributions, or how we interpret or think about our own and others’ actions. Expectations, interpretations, outlooks.

PSYCHOSOCIAL

Achievement Motivation: TAT

• Write down what is happening in this picture?

• Write a story including details.

nAch • Need for achievement (nAch): a social need that

directs a person to constantly strive for excellence Low nAch

- choose easy tasks - want to minimize

- risk of failure High nAch:

- Set challenging, but attainable goals - Present and future successes

- Willing to take risks - Persist after failure

nAch Achievement motivation appears to be learned Parents: Encourage difficult tasks Praise and give appropriate rewards for success Provide strategies for success Encourage new challenges Culture: Collectivist vs. Individualist societies

Theory of Motivation: Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: being driven by an ascending “needs” list

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL

Drives-Hunger

Why do we become hungry?…

Create a biological explanation of hunger using the following terms:

• Glucose• Insulin• Leptin• Hypothalamus• Lateral hypothalamus• Ventromedial nucleus• Set Point• Drive Reduction Theory

Physiology of Hunger

• Washburn’s studies showed hunger was partially related to the stomach.

• But those with their stomachs removed still feel hunger.

Factors controlling hunger & satiation

Garcia Effect: occurs whenever nausea is paired with either food or drink even if you know the food/drink did not cause your sickness

Hormones• Glucagon: hormone involved in carbohydrate metabolism

• produced by pancreas• released when blood glucose levels start to fall too

low, causing the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose and release it into the bloodstream, raising blood glucose levels and ultimately preventing the development of hypoglycemia.

• Glucose: blood sugar• Glycogen: molecule that functions as secondary long-term

energy storage in animal cells• made primarily by liver & muscles.

The BrainIn the 1960’s it was discovered that hunger comes from………..

The Hypothalamus

HypothalamusLateral Hypothalamus

• When stimulated it makes you hungry.

• When lesioned (destroyed) you will never be hungry again.

Ventromedial Hypothalamus• When stimulated you feel

full.• When lesioned you will

never feel full again.

Biological Drives-HungerWhy do we become hungry?…We don’t only eat to survive…some eat even

though they are full, some do not eat even when they need nourishment.

Internal Cues• Glucostatic Theory of Hunger: As glucose levels

drop in the blood, hunger signals are initiated. Insulin works the opposite way (high=hunger)

• Set Point Theory of Hunger and Weight: idea that the body tries to maintain a set weight

• Fat Cell: Fixed number throughout life• Metabolism: genetic range for individuals• Brain Messages

– Ventromedial Hypothalamus: when stimulated, it signals satiety (fullness)

– Lateral Hypothalamus: when stimulated, it signals hungerExternal Cues

• Seeing others eat, watching a pizza commercial (stimulus cues), time of day, memory of when ate last meal

How does the hypothalamus work?

Leptin• Leptin is a protein

produced by bloated fat cells.

• Hypothalamus senses rises in leptin and will curb eating and increase activity.

• Can leptin injections help me?

Set Point• Hypothalamus acts like a

thermostat.• We are meant to be in a

certain weight range.• When we fall below weight

our body will increase hunger and decrease energy expenditure (Basic Metabolic Rate).

• What happens if we go above our set point?

Two Theories

The Psychology of Hunger

• Externals: people whose eating is triggered more by the presence of food than internal factors.

Taste PreferencesFood taste better and we chew less when we

are hungry (beginning of a meal).

Food tastes worse and we chew more when we are not hungry (at the end of the meal).

Its weird, the better the food tastes, the less time we leave it in our mouths.

Weight Control

• The thinning of Miss America•

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Trend in Body Mass Index (BMI) of Miss America Pageant Winners

BMI, kg/m²2423222120

19181716151920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year of Pageant

World HealthOrganization’scutoff point forundernutrition (18.5)

Trend line

Eating Disorders- anorexia: self-starvation & extreme weight loss- bulimia: intense, recurring episodes of binge eating and purging- obesity: excess weight threatens their health

Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa• An eating disorder in

which a normal weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.

Eating Disorders

Bulimia Nervosa• An eating disorder

characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high caloric foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Are these disorders cultural?

Body Image

Pressure to be thin…

Photoshopped…

Photoshopped…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lISfh-Ip-qA

Biological Drives-Thirst• Thirst– Osmotic Thirst• produced when intracellular fluids are depleted• After salty foods

– Volemic Thirst• produced when extracellular fluids are depleted• Decreased blood plasma volume (example with

bleeding or diarrhea)

Biological Drives-Sex• Internal Factors

– Brain mechanisms: hypothalamus regulates hormone release which may play a role in sexual behavior

– Normal Sexual Response Cycle– Hormones

• organize gender during gestation (ex: androgens masculinize genitals in males)

• activate gender-specific development during puberty(ex: breast development in women)

• their role in motivating sexual intercourse is unclear

• External Factors and Signals– Pheromones: odors which elicit a specific response in members of

the same species

Emotions

Basic Emotions: Acceptance, anger, anticipation, disgust, joy, fear, sadness, surprise

Defined• positive or negative feelings aroused by stimuli in the

environment Function

• enrich life• increase readiness for fight or flight

• Three Elements of Emotions• Physiological • Behavioral (Reveals to the outside world)• Subjective Exerience: Labeling Emotion (innerworld)

Physical Components of Emotions• Autonomic Nervous System Activation– Some differences in activation are noted with specific

emotions• ex: fear shows lower blood pressure and anger shows

increases cardiovascular changes

• Polygraph: an electronic device that measures physiological activation that some believe are related to deception

Brain Mechanisms in Emotion• Limbic System– Amygdala: associated with fear, anxiety, and rage – Hippocampus: important in the processing of memories– Hypothalamus: begins a cascade of hormonal changes to

perceived threats in the environment

The Expression of Emotions• Facial Expression: there is evidence that facial

expressions of various emotions are universal (anger, disgust, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness)

• Body Language/Movements/Gestures– ex: Thumbs up to indicate “A-OK”

• Tone of Voice/Rate of Speech– ex: pitch of voice increases when experienced

emotion increases

Eckman’s Facial Expressions Study

Display Rules• Cultural norms which prescribe who can display

what emotions

– ex: In our society, we are more accepting of men feeling anger and women feeling sadness

Theories of Emotions• James-Lange– Theory that states that physiological arousal precedes (comes

before) and causes the sensation of emotion• Facial-Feedback Hypothesis– Focuses on expressive component of emotions….sensory input

is routed to subcortical area of brain that activates facial movements, which then initiate & intensify emotions

• Cannon-Bard– Theory that states that physiological arousal and emotional

feelings occur simultaneously• Schacter-Singer– Theory that states that emotion begins with an

undifferentiated arousal that we interpret into an emotion dependent on the perceived context

Theories of Emotions: chart

Experiencing Emotion• Facial Feedback Hypothesis: states that feedback

from facial muscles affects our experienced emotion

• Gender Differences– women report experiencing more emotion than men– women are more comfortable experiencing emotion

than men

Theories of Emotions• Catharsis: emotional release (expressing anger can be temporarily

calming if it does not leave us feeling guilty or anxious)

• Relative depravation: feeling that we are worse off than others with whom we compare ourselves.

• Adaptation Model: tend to judge various stimuli relative to those we have previously experienced

• Opponent-Process Theory: every emotion triggers an opposing emotion….parachute jump –fear, then elation….child birth – pain, then euphoria

• Feel good, do good Phenomenon: When we feel happy we are more willing to help others

Stress• Stress: term used to describe the physical,

emotional, cognitive, and behavioral response to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging.

• Stressor: stress-causing events– Distress: the effect of an unpleasant and

undesirable– Eustress: effect of positive events/optimal amount

of stress that people need to promote health/well-being.

Stress Disorders

• Acute Stress Disorder (ASD):– Occurs with 4 wks of traumatic event– Symptoms• Anxiety, recurring nightmares, sleep disturbances,

problems concentrating, reliving the events through dreams and flashbacks, emotional numbness.• If it last more than 1 month it is labeled Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder

Stress & HealthStress & Health: : Types of StressTypes of Stress– Life events require people to change, adapt, or adjust and

result in stress– Scale is measures events from 0 (no change) to 100

(extreme change)• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes & Rahe, 1967)

– Death of a spouse (100)– Divorce (73)– Marital Separation (65)– Jail Term (63)– Death of a close family member (63)– Personal injury or illness (53)– Marriage (50)

Major Life Changes

• Most stress is not from catastrophe but from ordinary life.

• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)– Life events require people to change, adapt, or

adjust and result in stress– Scale is measures events from 0 (no change) to

100 (extreme change)• Marriage is measured as a 50

Calculate Your Stresshttp://www.the6healthyhabits.com/online-stress-

test.html

Stress & HealthStress & Health: : Types of StressTypes of Stress

• Physiological Responses– Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome• A model of the body’s stress response, consisting of

three separate stages– Alarm– Resistance– Exhaustion

– Fight-or-Flight Response

Stress & HealthStress & Health: : Types of StressTypes of Stress• Behavioral Responses– Most behavioral responses to stress involve coping

• Active efforts to master, reduce or tolerate the demands created by stress; can be helpful or maladaptive

– Coping Mechanisms• Learned helplessness• Self-blame• Aggression • Catharsis• Self-indulgence• Defense mechanisms

Stress & HealthStress & Health: : Types of StressTypes of Stress

• Conflict– Occurs when two (or more) incompatible motivations

or behavioral impulses compete for expression• Approach-Approach Conflict

– A choice must be made between two attractive goals

• Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict– A choice must be made between two unattractive goals

• Approach-Avoidance Conflict– A choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that

has both attractive & unattractive aspects » Often produce vacillation…

Happiness• Sources: – Relationship with children– Friends– Contributing to others’ lives– Relationship with spouse/partner– Degree of control over your life– Leisure time activities– Relationship to parents– Religious– Holidays

Things to do to improve mood• Talk to someone• Listen to music• Pray/meditate• Help others in need• Take a bath• Play with a pet• Exercise• Go out with friends• Eat• Take a drive

8 steps to a more satisfying life• Count you blessings• Practice acts of kindness• Savor life’s joys• Thank a mentor• Learn to forgive• Invest time in family/friends• Take care of your body• Develop strategies for coping with

stress/hardships.