Motivation and Emotion

Chapter 5

Motivation and Emotion: Physical Factors

Motivation – drive to eat, drink, make friends, etc.

Emotion – feelings – fear, hope, love, etc.

Hypothalamus Fear, rage, hunger, thirst

Amygdala Aggression and Fear

Motivational Forces

Thought to result from drives If you are thirsty you have a need for

water and are driven by the body to look for water

Homeostasis Standing (staying) the same We are driven by hunger to eat but

once satisfied we stop eating

Motivational Forces

Hunger What causes hunger?▪ Stomach growling – when you are hungry

your stomach does contract but. . . People who had the stomach removed still experienced hunger▪ Blood Sugar – If it’s low then you need to eat▪ Brain gets messages to say you are

hungry and full▪ As we continue to eat taste receptors shut

down and we stop eating

Motivational Forces

Factors Controlling Weight Theory – heavy people cannot read

internal clues accurately that are provided by the hypothalamus

Set Points – regulating mechanism in the body that determines what an individual’s weight should be▪ Set Points can be changed through

considerable work

Motivational Forces

Thirst Human Body is made up of roughly 65 –

70% water We respond to temperature

receptors on the tongue which trigger desires for cold drinks in the summer and hot ones in the winter

Over time we learn the amount of water we need and when we need extra and how much extra

Non-Survival Needs

Psychological need for change Something new, rearrange our rooms,

change colors or decorationsCuriosity Motive

Rush hour traffic – people will slow down to see the most minor accident

The more we know about something the more our curiosity increases

Non-Survival Needs

Manipulation Motive Drive to handle and use objects in

the environment▪ Monkeys ▪ Manipulate mechanical puzzles for hours with no

other reward▪ Will hold down a switch 60% or more every hour to

watch a show on TV

Non-Survival Needs

Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation What happens when you factor in

rewards to the monkeys?▪ They lose their incentive to play and focus on

the reward Intrinsic comes from within Extrinsic comes from outside When we give rewards we use

extrinsic motivation and remove some intrinsic motivation

Need for Stimulation

All Animals must have physical stimulation in order to develop properly Harry Harlow – Contact Comfort▪ Monkeys were placed in a cage with two

fake mothers ▪ One was made of wire and had a bottle where they

could feed▪ The other was covered with a terry cloth but no

bottle

▪ A windup teddy bear was placed in the cage frightening the mother

Which mother did they run towards for comfort: The one that fed them or the soft one?

Need for Stimulation

Contact Comfort in Humans WWII infants were raised in an institution where

there was no personal attention given but they were well fed and looked after

WWII infants were raised in a prison nursery where they had constant contact with the mothers

Results: 37% of the first group died within a year Without enough rocking and touching

the cerebellum does not develop properly which can create permanent emotional and psychical scars

The Theory of Needs

Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs – ranks needs

into an arrangement ▪ Physiological Needs – Bottom of the

pyramid▪ Hunger and thirst

▪ Safety Needs – 2nd Block▪ Shelter and extra money

▪ Belongingness Needs – 3rd Block ▪ Seek contact and love with one another▪ Friendships

The Theory of Needs

Maslow – Hierarchy Self-Esteem Needs – 4th Block ▪ Liking and respecting yourself

Self-Actualization Needs – 5th Block▪ Ability to put into practice the skills and

talents we possess

Psychological Motivation

Most of us are fortunate to have basic needs met on a regular basis so we don’t spend a lot of time dealing with them

Need for Affiliation and Approval Have learned to value these goals and to

associate them with good feelings or satisfaction

Need for Achievement Seems to be a learned behavior First born children are often high achievers

than later-born children

Emotions

We express ourselves in a social and symbolic context

We share certain basic emotions Joy, fear, anger, sadness

Opponent Process Theory When we experience an intense feeling of

some kind we don’t just come back to a normal feeling once it has passed▪ Example: You have just finished a lengthy final exam

that you have been dreading for weeks you don’t feel just ok once its over – you feel ecstatic or you can also feel depressed

Cognition and Emotion

Cognition is intimately involved in the emotions we feel We tend to overestimate how much pain

something will be because we expect it to hurt

Situational Cues help us determine what emotion we should be feeling▪ If we are in a hurry to get somewhere but

obstacles keep being put in our way we tend to get angry

Emotional Intelligence

Self – Awareness – knowing what we are feeling and why

Managing your feelingsEmpathy – read what another

person is feeling and being sensitive to his or her emotions

Having a high IQ is not enough to guarantee success in the real word – you have to have emotional intelligence

James Lange Theory

Emotions operate in reverse of the way we most of us assume Example: A Snake▪ Most people believe that we see a snake, feel

an emotion, and then run▪ James-Lange – We see a snake, our

bodies respond, we run, and then we feel an emotion

Cannon-Bard Theory

When an emergency is happening the bodily reaction and the emotional system respond at the same time

However not true for all cases Car Accident ▪ We respond physically by reflex then your

body panics

Schachter’s Cognitive Theory Subjects were injected with adrenaline One group was told the drug would make them

feel high – the other group was told their drug would make them feel angry

Subjects were placed in the room to act the way the groups were told their drug would make them act

Once the drug started taking effect the groups started acting the way they were told they were going to

Theory – We tend to label our behavior and control our feelings in terms of the environment and how others are acting