Motivation and Emotion deals with the drives and incentives behind everyday thoughts and actions.
Motivation- A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior primarily based on our instincts that are biological.
Drive- Is an internal state of tension that motivates an organism to engage in activities that should reduce this tension. Drive Theories- Organisms seek to maintain homeostasis a state of physiological equilibrium or stability. Drive Theories cannot explain all motivation because homeostasis is not relevant in all drives.
An incentive is an external goal that has the capacity to motivate behavior. We are pushed by our needs and pulled by our incentives. The strongest source of motivation lies within the organism. Internal vs. external motivation.
1. Expectancy about one s chances of attaining the incentive. 2. The value of the desired incentive. Your motivation to pursue a promotion at work will depend on your estimate of the likelihood that you can achieve the promotion.
Evolutionary Psychologists take the side that all drives and incentives are based on their adaptive value.
Hypothalamus- part of the brain that regulates many biological factors. When the lateral hypothalamus is lesioned animals lose complete interest in eating. When the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus is lesioned the animals were deathly hungry all the time. Ex. Fat Rat Investigators decided that the LH and the VMH are the brain s on off switches. Tumors, illnesses or even habits can interfere with proper regulation.
Glucose - simple sugar that is an important source of energy. Glucostats- neurons sensitive to glucose in the surrounding fluid. Glucostatic theory - fluctuations in blood glucose affect hunger.
Insulin- Hormone secreted by the Pancreas used to extract glucose from blood cells. Lack of insulin can result in diabetes. Insulin secretion increases with hunger. Leptin- Is produced from fat cells throughout the body and released into the bloodstream. Leptin provides the hypothalamus with information about the body s fat storage. As glucose decreases hunger increases. As insulin increases hunger increases. As leptin increases hunger decreases.
1. Food availability it is shown that people often eat not because of energy deficits but because of environmental cues like a TV commercials or an odor. 2. Learned tastes are important because people are born with no specific taste. Learning occurs through operant, observational and classical conditioning. 3. Stress also leads to eating because eating produces hormones that induce physiological arousal which in turn relieves stress.
Obesity- The condition of being overweight Body Mass Index (BMI)- Weight divided by height squared. In a country where slimness is considered normal more then 50% of Adult Americans are overweight. Obesity possesses serious health threats.
Settling Point Theory- Proposes that weight tends to drift around the level at which the constellation of factors that determine food consumption and energy expenditure.
Sexual motivation has gender differences. Estrogens- Are the principal class of gonadal hormones in females. Androgens- Are the principal class of gonadal hormones in males. Ex. Testosterone Both sexes have both hormones. Females choose mates mostly based on social stability while males tend to choose mates based on external appearances.
Pheromones Synchronized menstrual cycles The Coolidge effect (20 s) (DOPAMINE high levels = high sex drive & PHEROMONES)
Reproduction requires minimal involvement of time, energy, and risk. Maximize reproductive success by seeking more partners. Look for youth and attractiveness in partners and greater number of sexual conquests. Reproduction involves substantial investment of time, energy, and risk. Maximize success by seeking partners willing to invest time energy and material to offspring. Look for income and status in partners. Seek less sexual conquests over time.
Heterosexual, Homosexual, and Bisexual. Environmental Theories says that sexual orientation is due to nurture. (abuse # 1) There is no evidence that children raised with homosexual parents become homosexual. Biological Theories state that sexual orientation is due to nature (genes). APA suggests that most people are born with a non specific sexual orientation. Exceptions lie in hormonal & chromosomal abnormalities. Sexuality lies on a continuum between heterosexual and homosexual.
There is a cluster of cells in the hypothalamus that is larger in heterosexual men than in heterosexual women or homosexual men. If one identical twin is homosexual, the other twin has about a 50% chance of being gay (about 20% for fraternal twins). Testosterone levels can be a factor.
Affiliation- The need to associate with others and create social bonds. Interaction with others is key to survival. Achievement- A desire for significant accomplishments; for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard. Gender differences are changing. Does high achievement motivation mean success in life?
1. A subjective conscious experience (the cognitive component) 2. Bodily arousal (physiological component) 3. Characteristic overt expressions (behavioral component) Emotion is different in every person it is highly subjective and controlled by the person.
Galvanic Skin Response- Increase in electrical conductivity that occurs when the adrenal glands increase their activity. The limbic system, hypothalamus, and amygdala are key factors in emotion. People s emotions can be expressed nonverbally through ones body language.
Facial Expressions are the greatest body language clue because they are most easily noticeable the cultural differences.
James-Lange Feel afraid because pulse is racing Cannon-Bard Thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex and the autonomic nervous system Schacter s Two-Factor Theory Look to external cues to decide what to feel Evolutionary Theories Innate reactions with little cognitive interpretation
1. Money 2. Age 3. Parenthood 4. Intelligence 5. Attractiveness Strong Predictors of Happiness Love Marriage Work Personality