MRCPsych Psychology Module: Motivation, Stress and States of Consciousness Dr Alex Hunt Clinical Psychologist
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Motivation What makes people tick Motivation refers in a general sense, to processes involved in the initiation, direction and energization of human behaviour Each major theoretical approach has a different emphasis on what motivates us: Psychodynamic Behaviourist Humanistic Evolutionary / biopsychology
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Theories of Motivation Extrinsic (pull) theories - external motivation for action Rewards, competition, coercion, threat of punishment Intrinsic (push) theories motivation driven by interest / enjoyment in the task itself, exists within the individual. pleasure, hobbies, achievement, interest
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Homeostatic Drive theory Motivation based upon the need to satisfy drives which maintain homeostasis in the body Hunger Thirst Drive - Voluntary and discontinuous. Tends to increase over time and operates on a feedback control system Focus on physiological needs Homeostasis controlled by hypothalamus
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Drive Reduction Theory Hull motivation based upon principles of positive and negative reinforcement, with respect to primary drives (innate, physiological drives) An action which reduces the tension associated with a biological/physiological drive is reinforced All behaviour ultimately concerned with satisfaction of these drives Secondary drives, are developed through conditioning: Money = food drink, etc
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Optimum Levels of Arousal Motivation for behaviour explained by a need to find an optimum level of arousal Yerkes-Dodson Law; performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When levels of arousal become too high, performance decreases. Too little stimulation bored, seek more stimulation Too much stimulation anxious tense, seek less
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Yerkes-Dodson Law
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Intrinsic Theories Competence Curiosity and stimulation Mammals often engage in behaviour, not designed to satisfy any primary drive or physiological need Play, conducted for intrinsic purpose, learning incidental
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Cognitive Motives Need cognitive consistency Cognitive dissonance (Festinger); tension/ uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. Obtain cognitive coherence rationalise / justify behaviour, change behaviour / attitudes / beliefs, blame, denial etc. Need for Achievement (nAch) Murray (1938) Desire for accomplishment, mastering of skills, control or high standards Assessed by thematic apperception test (TAT)
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Emotions as motivators What moves us? Usually say some sort of feeling Feelings good rewards positive reinforcement Avoiding threat and unwanted emotions negative reinforcement
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Social Motives Social anxiety a motivator Need for acceptance, positive view in eyes of others. Regarded as a basic need humans need other humans for survival Social motives develop as a need to belong in groups
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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Humanistic theory with ranked needs with lower ones met before higher ones physiological needs (lowest) safety needs love needs esteem needs cognitive needs aesthetic needs self actualisation (highest)
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Stress Stress as stimulus What causes stress engineering model Stress as response or reaction What are the effects of stress physiological model Stress as interaction between organism and environment How do we manage and cope with stress transactional model
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Causes of Stress Disruption of circadian rhythm Shift work, jet lag Life events 43 life events; social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) Hassles and uplifts of everyday life Trauma
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Causes of Stress Stress from an event depends on predictability controllability, Locus of control (Rotter); the extent to which individuals believe they can control events that effect them. Learned helplessness (Seligman)
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Effects of stress General Adaptation Syndrome Bodies reaction to any stressor, whether internal or external Mediated by the ANS and endocrine system Three stages Alarm; fight or flight response Resistance/Adaptation; body adapts to stressor Exhaustion; bodys resistance to stress exhausted
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General Adaptation Syndrome
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Effects of Stress The sympathetic autonomic nervous system (sANS) responds to stress with general arousal - fight or flight Physical vs psychological threat Physical effects Heart rate and BP Increased blood cholesterol Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) Stress = reduced immunity higher likelhood of illness
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Stress & Personality Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) Was considered a trait, now a set of behavioural responses Greater risk of HBP & CHD Greater likelihood rather than fixed Type C greater risk of Cancer Protective factors - hardiness 3Cs Commitment Control challenge
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Stress Response Problem focused coping; active strategies to change stressful situations Emotion focused coping; attempt to reduce negative emotions associated with experience of stress Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus and Folkman) Stress occurs when there is a discrepancy between perceived demands and perceived resources Cognitive defence and behavioural response
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Responses to Stress Primary appraisal is it a threat? Secondary appraisal what can be done? Lazarus - coping responses Direct action Information seeking Inhibition of action Intrapsychic or palliative coping Turn to others
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Transaction Model of Stress and Coping Lazarus & Folkman, 1984
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Measuring Stress Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes & Rahe Stress Scale) 43 life events that can contribute to illness No. of Life Changing Units that apply to events in the past year of an individuals life are added to give a score roughly estimating how stress affects health. Negative Event (Hassle) scales- every day events. Better predictors of ill health.
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States of Consciousness Not dichotomous - on/off - levels of consciousness Lack of consciousness - hyperconsciousness Conscious vs unconscious processing Purpose of consciousness Monitor information Control behaviour
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Arousal & Alertness Tonic alertness Consciousness follow body rhythms RAS, thalamus and hypothalamus Phasic alertness Momentary fluctuations dependent on stimuli Heart rate, pupil dilation Habituation occurs rapidly
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Consciousness and Attention Consciousness = what we are attending to Focal attention - what is in our awareness Peripheral attention - what is just outside, but could become focal Skill acquisition Initially requires full attention Quickly becomes automatic
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Sleep Stages / Levels of sleep Stage 1 early sleep - slow theta waves Stage 2 deeper sleep - sleep spindles Stage 3 sleep becomes deeper - spindles dissapear - delta waves Stage 4 - delta sleep - unresponsive, difficult to wake REM - rapid eye movement, dreams are common
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Sleep Evolutionarily disadvantageous - must be important Sleep - remain motionless Restoration Body repair Brain replenishment - proteins Hypnagogic (in to sleep) / hypnopompic (out of sleep) states
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Dreaming Freudian theory Dreams represent manifestations of repressed desires and wishes Reorganisation of mental structures - schema reconstructions Activation Synthesis Model; brain activity Brain is active from internal signals, cognitive system interprets them as if they have come from external sources
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Parasomnias Sleep terrors - psychological stress and biological factors NREM sleep stage 1-2, where brain active is relative high, but there is no paralysis REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) REM sleep parasomnia - muscle atonia is absent. Narcolepsy excessive daytime sleepiness Related to poor nocturnal sleep / insomnia
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Biorhythms Circadian 25 hour day - cave experiment Lark vs Owl 5-10% at extremes Diurnal rhythm Variation in alertness during wakefulness Ultradian rhythm (
