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Motivation and Emotion

Chapter 6

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What Is Motivation?

• What causes (motivates) behavior?• Motivation = physiological or psychological

factors that account for the arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior.

• Parts of motivation:– (a) state– (b) goal– (c) variability in intensity

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Theories of Motivation

• Biological theories

• Instincts are unlearned; more complex than reflexes; triggered by environmental events called releasing stimuli.– Fight or flight– Altruism?– Survival– Competition?

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Theories of Motivation

• Drives - Internal motivational states created by physiological needs e.g., need for food.

• Drives produce motivated behavior.

• Because drives are aversive, the goal of motivated behavior is drive reduction.

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Theories of Motivation

Optimum-level theories: there is a level of arousal at which organisms function best.

Goal: reduce discomfort

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Cognitive Theories of Motivation

• Cognitive-consistency - b/t beliefs and behaviorsE.g., cognitive dissonance: incompatible

cognitions provide evidence.

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Theories of Motivation

• Maslow: motivational needs are arranged in a hierarchy.

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Theories of Motivation

• Multiple motives often results in conflicts.

• The most common conflicts are: – approach-approach, – avoidance-avoidance, – approach-avoidance, – and multiple approach-avoidance.

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Specific Motives

• Hunger• Genetic factors play a key role in determining a person's

weight. • The resting metabolic rate is the rate at which a person

burns calories to keep the body functioning.

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The Body Mass Index (BMI)

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Hunger/Weight

• Set-point

• Anorexia-Nervosa

• Bulima

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Theories of Emotion

• The commonsense view: – emotional stimulus > emotion > physiological

changes

• James-Lange- physiological changes create emotions– emotional stimulus > physiological changes >

emotion

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Emotion

• Cannon-Bard > stresses the role of the thalamus in simultaneously relaying emotional input to the cortex and sympathetic nervous system.

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The Physiological Components

• Blushing

• Alexithymia

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The Expressive Components

• Strong evidence for universal recognition of six basic emotions: – Anger– Disgust– Sadness – Fear– Happiness– Surprise Interpretation = rt brain

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The Expressive Components

• The Duchenne Smile

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The Expressive Components

• Nonverbal communication involves communication through body language, movements, and gestures.

• Compared with men, women report more emotional experiences and greater comfort with emotions.