Motivation



The psychological processes that
arouse, direct, and maintain behavior
toward a goal.
Must infer behavior because sometimes
you can’t directly observe it.
Three sources of motivation: drives,
incentives, heredity
Drives


Drive theory states that behavior is
motivated by some kind of need caused
by physiological deprivation, which
induces a tension state called a drive.
The drive motivates a person to reduce
the need.
Goal of drive reduction: homeostasis
(psychological balance or equilibrium)
Diagram of drive theory



Biological needdrive statebehavior
Drive state = tension
Biological need = deprivation of some
sort (e.g., hunger)
Problems with Drive Theory

Sometimes people engage in behavior
that actually increases rather than
decreases various drives. The theory
can’t explain why someone would do
this.
Incentives



Drives are internal states that push you
toward a goal; incentives are external stimuli
that pull you toward a goal.
We’re pushed toward positive incentives and
away from negative ones.
Incentives and drives sometimes act
together. Example: You’re thirsty (a drive),
but you want a Coke instead of water (the
coke is an incentive).
Goal-setting theory




Motivation can be strongly influenced
by goals. There are 3 conditions where
goal-setting works best.
1. When goals are highly specific
2. When goals are challenging
3. When goals are perceived as highly
attainable.
Heredity: Instincts


Instincts: relatively complex , inherited
behavior pattern characteristic of a
species
Instinct theory fell out of favor in the
early 20th century because psychologists
were compiling too many instincts that
supposedly drove human behavior.
Sociobiology (Wilson)


The controversial field that studies
human and animal social behavior.
Based on heredity.
Sociobiological view of
altruism (helping behavior)


Survival of the fittest should argue
against altruism because it may hurt
your own chance of survival. So why do
we do it?
Answer is that individual survival is not
the goal of natural selection. Passing
on of genes is the goal.
Altruism continued…



Inclusive fitness—a species member’s ability
to ensure the survival of its genes in future
generations.
Kin selection—a form of natural selection that
favors genes because of their effect on
improving the reproductive success of one’s
relatives.
You’re more likely to help relatives, especially
younger relatives who can still reproduce.
Reciprocal altruism


Why do we help those who aren’t
related to us?
Reciprocal altruism—if we help people,
they might be able to help us in return
someday.
Males vs. Females
(sociobiology)



Males want a woman who is young, healthy,
and able to bear children.
Females want a man who is financially and
emotionally stable because this type of man
will be more likely to take care of her and her
children.
Differential parental investment—women are
more invested in children because they have
to carry and deliver them.
Males vs. Females (continued)




Women have higher criteria for dating and
sexual partners than men do.
A man’s biological goal in life is to “spread his
seed” and father children.
Women have to find a way to take care of
those children.
Women are more threatened by emotional
infidelity; men are more threatened by sexual
infidelity.
Overview of Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs



Five basic needs that influence human
behavior.
Lowest level must be satisfied first, at least
partial, before people can be motivated by
higher level goals.
Theory is criticized for being too simplistic.
Also criticized because sometimes people skip
the order in the hierarchy (e.g., going to grad
school and putting esteem needs above
money)
Maslow’s hierarchy
Arousal motive



Arousal theory was developed in order to
address why people sometimes seek to
increase existing drives rather than decrease
them.
Humans seek an optimal level of arousal, not
a minimal level (as drive theory would
suggest).
People differ in their optimal level of arousal.
Yerkes-Dodson Law




Inverted U relationship between arousal and
performance
States that humans perform best at a
moderate level of arousal w/ith performance
deteriorating under extremely high or
extremely low arousal levels
Optimal arousal is higher for simple than for
complex tasks.
Higher for well-learned tasks than it is for
simple tasks.
Graph of Yerkes-Dodson law
Achievement motivation



A desire for excellence, mastery, and
accomplishment
Found more in Western cultures
because we don’t have to worry as
much about lower-order needs
Assessed with the Thematic
Apperception Tests (TAT)
High achievement motivation




People who are high on this need will persist
at tasks in the face of difficulties, delay
gratification in the pursuit of long-term goals,
and achieve greater success
Select moderately difficult challenges so they
won’t be guaranteed to do well but also won’t
be as likely to fail.
Want success above everything; motivated to
avoid failure.
Desire feedback for performance & meritbased pay
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic
motivation


Intrinsic motivation—enjoyment of
something for its own sake, not for any
extrinsic rewards you might get for
doing it
Overjustification effect: paying
someone for something they enjoy
doing decreases their intrinsic
satisfaction. Takes the joy out of it.
Self-handicapping


A strategy that people use to guarantee that
they will have an excuse for failure
Could be either behavioral, in which you
sabotage your own performance in some way
(e.g, drinking the night before a test), or selfreported, in which you “warn” someone
ahead of time that you won’t do well on the
task because of some external factor (“I feel
sick today, so I’m not going to do well on this
test.”)