Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Motivation and Emotion
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Motivation: Why do we do the things we do?
 Dynamics of behavior that initiate, sustain, direct, and
terminate actions
 What makes us start, persist, focus on, and stop what
we do?
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Types of Motives
• Primary (or Biological) Motive: Innate (inborn) motives
based on biological needs we must meet to survive
• Stimulus Motive: Innate needs for stimulation and
information (but not necessary for survival)
• Secondary (or Learned) Motive: Based on learned
needs, drives, and goals
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
A Model of Motivational Activities
• Model of how motivated activities work
• Need: Internal deficiency; causes
• Drive: Energized motivational state (e.g., hunger,
thirst); activates a…
• Response: Action or series of actions designed to
attain a…
• Goal: Target of motivated behavior
• Incentive Value: Goal’s appeal beyond its ability to fill a
need
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Arousal: The need for stimulation
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Stimulus Drives
• Reflect needs for information, exploration, manipulation,
and sensory input
• Sensation Seeking: Trait of people who prefer high
levels of stimulation (e.g., the contestants on “Fear
Factor”)
• Yerkes-Dodson Law: If a task is simple, it is best for
arousal to be in the middle; if the task is complex, lower
levels of arousal provide for the best performance
Figure 9.11
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.11 (a) The general relationship between arousal and efficiency can be described by
an inverted U curve. The optimal level of arousal or motivation is higher for a simple task (b) than
for a complex task (c).
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
How to Cope With Test Anxiety
•
•
•
•
Preparation
Relaxation
Rehearsal
Restructuring thoughts
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Learned Motives
• Social Motives: Acquired by growing up in a particular
society or culture
• Need for Achievement (nAch): Desire to meet some
internal standard of excellence
• Need for Power: Desire to have impact or control over
others
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Measure Your Own Need for Achievement
• We’ll use two measures
• Caution—be aware of the social
desirability response bias
• Use meta-cognitive skills—”Do I honestly
feel this way or am I just trying to look
good?”
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Scoring
• Test 1
– Count the number of “yes” responses
– The more “yes” responses, the higher your need for
achievement
• Test 2
– Give yourself a point each time any of the following is
mentioned:
•
•
•
•
•
Defining a problem
Solving a problem
Obstructions to solving a problem
Techniques that can help overcome the problem
Anticipation of success or resolution of the problem
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Achievement Motivation
• Characteristics of those high in need for achievement
– moderate risk takers
• Avoid goals that are too easy or too hard
– Complete difficult tasks
– Earn better grades
– Tend to excel in chosen occupations
– Attribute success to ability; failure to insufficient effort
– More likely to renew efforts when they perform poorly
• Can you think of some disadvantages of a direct,
objective test like this?
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Measuring the Need for Achievement
• TAT
– Measuring the need for achievement is
complex and difficult to do.
• It involves looking at not only how much, but also
why some people achieve more than others.
• A projective personality test, the Thematic
Apperception Test or TAT, has been used for this
purpose.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
TAT—Thematic Apperception Test
• Developed by Henry Murray, personality theorist
• Projective device consisting of 20 drawings
(black and white) of various situations
• People must make up stories about the people
in it
• Central themes are examined and interpreted
• Good at revealing feelings about a person’s
social relationships
• Disadvantages?
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Abraham Maslow and Needs
• Hierarchy of Human Needs: Maslow’s ordering of needs
based on presumed strength or potency; some needs
are more powerful than others and thus will influence
your behavior to a greater degree
• Basic Needs: First four levels of needs in Maslow’s
hierarchy
– Lower needs tend to be more potent than higher
needs
• Growth Needs: Higher-level needs associated with selfactualization
Figure 9.14
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.14 Maslow believed that lower needs in the hierarchy are dominant. Basic needs must
be satisfied before growth motives are fully expressed. Desires for selfactualization are reflected
in various metaneeds (see text).
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Types of Motivation
• Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation coming from within, not
from external rewards; based on personal enjoyment of
a task
• Extrinsic Motivation: Based on obvious external rewards,
obligations, or similar factors (e.g., pay, grades)
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Emotions
• State characterized by physiological arousal and
changes in facial expressions, gestures, posture, and
subjective feelings
• Physiological Changes: Include heart rate, blood
pressure, perspiration, and other involuntary bodily
responses
• Emotional Expression: Outward signs of what a person
is feeling
• Emotional Feelings: Private emotional experience
Figure 9.15
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.15 Primary and mixed emotions. In Robert Plutchik’s model, there are eight primary
emotions, as listed in the inner areas. Adjacent emotions may combine to give the emotions
listed around the perimeter. Mixtures involving more widely separated emotions are also
possible. For example, fear plus anticipation produces anxiety.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Brain and Emotion
• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): Neural system that
connects brain with internal organs and glands
• Sympathetic Branch: Part of ANS that activates body for
emergency action
• Parasympathetic Branch: Part of ANS that quiets body
and conserves energy
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Figure 12.4 PARASYMPATHETIC REBOUND
After the stimulus eliciting the sympathetic response is removed, that
response is reduced, and the opposing parasympathetic response is
enhanced. This is why people sometimes feel faint at the end of an
exciting experience.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
• Sudden Death
– After strong emotional shock, sympathetic
system becomes too active
• Results in excessive stress
– Parasympathetic Rebound
• After shock, parasympathetic system overreacts
– lowers blood pressure too much
– Slows heart to a stop
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Lie Detectors
• Polygraph: Device that records heart rate, blood
pressure, respiration, and galvanic skin response (GSR);
lie detector
• GSR: Measures sweating
• Irrelevant Questions: Neutral, unemotional questions in a
polygraph test
• Relevant Questions: Questions to which only someone
guilty should react by becoming anxious or emotional
• Control Questions: Questions that almost always
provoke anxiety in a polygraph (e.g. “Have you ever
taken any office supplies?”)
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Figure 12.7b
The polygraph, a method for detecting nervous arousal, is the basis for the so-called “lie detector” test. The
polygraph operator (a) asks a series of nonthreatening questions to establish base-line readings of the subject’s
autonomic responses (b), then asks questions relevant to an investigation. The underlying assumption is that an
increase in arousal indicates nervousness, which in turn indicates lying. Unfortunately, a large percentage of
innocent people become nervous and therefore appear to be lying.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
Theories of Emotion
• James-Lange Theory: Emotional feelings follow bodily
arousal and come from awareness of such arousal.
• Cannon-Bard Theory: The thalamus (in brain) causes
emotional feelings and bodily arousal to occur at the
same time.
• Schachter’s Cognitive Theory: Emotions occur when a
label is applied to general physical arousal.
• Attribution: Mental process of assigning causes to
events; attributing arousal to a certain source.
• Facial Feedback Hypothesis: Sensations from facial
expressions and help define what emotion someone
feels.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 12.9
According to the James-Lange theory, physiological arousal determines the nature of an emotion. According to
Schachter and Singer’s theory, physiological arousal determines the intensity of an emotion, but not which emotion
is experienced.
Figure 9.21
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.21 Theories of emotion.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
A Modern View of Emotion
• Each of these theories has some truth, so can we
combine them in a way that makes sense?
Figure 9.23
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.23 A contemporary model of emotion.