Video: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Psychology –
Unit 6– Motivation & Emotion: Hunger
Hunger is physiological, social &
psychological.
5 things to know about Motivation &
Emotion...
1) Human motivation is
complex, and while there are
a number of theories, none by
itself sufficiently explains our
behavior.
1) Biological motivation
includes the role of the
hypothalamus, which
maintains a state called
homeostasis.
1) Theories of social
motivation, including the
need for achievement and the
hierarchy of needs, show the
importance of understanding
motivation in the context of our
environments.
Hunger Games Ironic?
In the 60’s it was discovered that
hunger comes from…
The Brain
The
Hypothalamu
s
Physiology of Hunger
BIOLOGICAL
MOTIVATION:
Hypothalamus is the
region of the brain most
often associated with
motivation.
Plays an important role in
the motivation for
feeding, fighting,
fleeing, & sexual
reproduction.
Washburn’s studies showed hunger was
partially related to the stomach.
But those persons who have had their
stomachs removed still feel hunger.
Glucose
The hormone insulin converts glucose
to fat.
When glucose levels drop:
HUNGER INCREASES
BIOLOGICAL
MOTIVATION
Evidence: The lateral
hypothalamus provides
motivation for hunger or feeding:
Lesion lateral hypothalamus in a
rat,
the rat will lose its appetite.
The rat will experience a form of anorexia
in which it will not be hungry &, therefore,
will not eat.
--------------------------------------------------
Evidence: The ventromedial
hypothalamus as the satiety
center (part of the brain that tells you that you
Summary of The Hypothalamus & Hunger
Along the lower middle section of the hypothalamus is
the ventromedial hypothalamus: which depresses
hunger.
Stimulate the ventromedial hypothalamus & the
animal will stop eating
Lesion the ventromedial hypothalamus the
animal will continuously want to eat.
Along the sides of the hypothalamus is the
lateral hypothalamus:
which brings on hunger.
Stimulate the lateral hypothalamus & even a
well fed animal will begin to eat.
Lesion the lateral hypothalamus & a starving
animal will have no interest in food.
LATERAL AREA:
“Start center”
for hunger
VENTROMEDIAL
HYPOTHALAMU
S:
“Stop center”
for hunger
Is there more to this than a
simple start & stop center?
Probably.
Contemporary theories on hunger focus on
neural circuits within the hypothalamus.
How does the hypothalamus work? 2 Theories
1. Leptin Theory: protein
produced by bloated fat cells.
Hypothalamus senses rises in
leptin & will curb eating &
increase activity.
Can leptin injections help you
lose weight?
2. Set Point Theory: Hypothalamus
acts like a thermostat.
We are meant to be in a certain
weight range.
When we fall below weight our body
will increase hunger and decrease
energy expenditure (Basal Metabolic
Rate).
Homeostasis: tendency of all organisms to maintain a
balanced state.
When we are too cold, the hypothalamus releases hormones that cause us to shiver
and seek out warmth or put on clothing. When we have not had enough sleep, we are
likewise pushed to slow down as we yawn and struggle to keep our eyes open.
Homeostasis helps us to return to this balance when we
deviate from our normal state.
Mopani worms, which look like caterpillars in
appearance.
Habitat: the mopani trees of South Africa.
Somewhat stringy, this exotic food is usually
fried, grilled or cooked, spiced with chilli & often
eaten with peanuts.
Virgin eggs (童子蛋) are chicken
eggs cooked in the urine of young
boys.
Centuries old tradition in Dongyang
City, China. The street food has
been officially listed as one of the
city's cultural heritage.
The Biological Factors of Hunger
1. Activity of the lateral & medial
hypothalamus. (see previous slides)
2. Basal Metabolic Rate: Each person
burns food at a different rate &
expends energy with different
efficiency.
A person with a high metabolic rate can eat more
without gaining weight than someone who is just as
active, but has a lower metabolic rate.
3. Body Set Point: Just as we have a
temperature “thermostat” that keeps
our body temp within an acceptable
range, one theory suggests that we
have a weight “set point.”
Newer research suggests we have a “settling point” – a
range of normal weights within which we can vary.
4. Taste sensation: Tastes is an
important factor when we first begin
eating.
Taste
Preferences
Food taste better and we chew less
when we are hungry (beginning of
a meal).
Food tastes worse and we chew
more when we are not hungry (at
the end of the meal).
Its strange, the better the
food tastes, the less time we
leave it in our mouths!
Hunger & eating are governed in part by a variety of food-related
cues.
Schachter found that obese subjects would eat
more than non-obese subjects when they were
told it was much later in the afternoon than it
actually was.
Also, they would eat more of a tasty ice cream
product than one that was not as tasty.
Do advertisements impact
your eating habits?
Video: Junk Food - How addictive is it?
Social Eating
Celebration
Eating
YouTube: Discovering Psychology - Motivation & Emotion
(27:39)
Video: Psychology 101 - Motivation - Hunger
Politicians
understand the
power of food!
Video: Dove Evolution
Video: The Photoshop Effect
You are a university counselor who wants to develop a program to improve academic
performance. You believe that many students perform poorly because of motivational problems,
including simple lack of motivation as well as being motivated by the wrong things. What are
some of the considerations that should guide the design of your program?
Maslow's theory implies that
motivation to perform well academically
must wait upon the satisfaction of
lower-level motives.
It may be possible to link motivation to
perform well in school with other
motives that are already stronger, such
as the need for affiliation. Success
along these lines will require
understanding the nature of individual
differences in levels of these other
motives.
People with different levels of
achievement motivation respond
differently depending upon levels of
challenge.
Fear of failure also influences efforts
toward achievement.
You are a university counselor who wants to develop a
program to improve academic performance. You believe that
many students perform poorly because of motivational
problems, including simple lack of motivation as well as being
motivated by the wrong things. What are some of the
considerations that should guide the design of your program?
Remember that motivation can be
influenced by incentives.
Expectancy-value models can
be useful here.
Some motives are biological,
some social.
One's level of motivation to
perform well in school depends
on social experiences and can
thus be manipulated through
social experience.
Compare and contrast sexual motivation
with the basic motives of hunger &
thirst.
How well do the concepts of drive &
homeostasis contribute to understanding
sexual motivation?
All are biologically based, though hunger &
thirst are necessary for individual survival.
Sex is not (though some individuals might argue this point).
All 3 seem to conform to the definition of
"drive."
Compare and contrast sexual motivation with the
basic motives of hunger and thirst. How well do
the concepts of drive and homeostasis contribute to
understanding sexual motivation?
HOWEVER, sexual motivation is not driven
by deprivation as much as the other two, so
that its satisfaction is not as easily explained in
terms of homeostasis or maintaining
equilibrium.
Sexual motivation in humans appears to be
more under the influence of incentives than
are hunger and thirst.
All are influenced by a
complex network
of biological & social factors.
(Like Advertisements!)