David Dai
Psychology AP
Period 2
Motivation and Emotion
I MOTIVATIONAL CONCEPTS
A:
1 Motivation- a need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it toward a goal.
2 Instinct- a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearn.
B:Dives and Incentives
1 Drive-reduction theory-the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that drives
the organism to reduce the need by, say, eating or drinking.
2 Homeostasis- the maintenance of a steady internal state. An example of homeostasis is the
body’s temperature –regulation system.
3 Incentive- Positive or negative stimuli that lure or repel us.
C: Optimum Arousal
Some motivated behaviors actually increase arousal.
D: A Hierarchy of Motives
1 Hierarchy of needs –Maslow’s pyramid of human needs , beginning at the base with
physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then
psychological needs become active.
Question:
How motivations affect our behaviors?
What is the common motivation in life?
II HUNGER
A: The physiology of Hunger
1Glucose-the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy
for body tissues. When it level is low, we feel hunger.
2 Set point-the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the
body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to
restore the lost weight.
3 Basal metabolic rate- the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.
B: The Psychology of Hunger
1Anorexia nervosa- an eating disorder in which a person diets and becomes significantly
underweight,yet , still feeling fat, continues to starve.
2 Bulimia nervosa- an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of
high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting , laxative use , fasting , or excessive exercise.
3 Binge- eating disorder- significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt,
but without the compensatory purging, fasting, or excessive exercise that marks bulimia nervous.
Eating Behavior:
Biological influences:
-hypothalamic centers in the brain monitoring appetite
-appetite hormones
-stomach pangs
-weight set/ setting point
-attraction to sweet and salty tastes
-adaptive wariness toward novel foods
Psychological influences:
-sight and smell of food
-variety of foods available
-memory of time elapsed since last meal
-stress and mood
-Food unit size
Social-culture influence:
-culturally learned taste preferences
-responses to cultural preferences for appearance
Obesity and Weight Control
Our bodies store fat for good reasons. Fat is an ideal form of store energy-a high-calorie fuel
reserve to carry the body through period when food is scarce-a common occurrence in the
feast-or –famine existence of our prehistoric ancestors.
Fat cells- the immediate determinants of body fat are the size and number of fat cells. A fat cell
can vary from relatively empty, like a deflated balloon, to overly full.
The genetic factor might cause people over weight. But also the foods we choose to eat and the
activity factors.
What is the most health way to losing weight? Can diet be a good way?
III Sexual Motivation
A The Physiology of Sex
1 sexual response cycle- the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and
Johnson –Excitement, Plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
2 refractory period- arresting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve
another orgasm.
Q: what stages mark the human sexual response cycle?
What make people want to have sexy?
B Hormones and Sexual Behavior
1 estrogens- sex hormones, such as estradiol,secreted in greater amounts by female than by
male and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman female manmals,estrogen
levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
2 testosterone-the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have
it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in
the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
C The Psychology of Sex
Hunger and sex are different sorts of motivations. Hunger responds to a need. If we do not
eat, we die. Sex is not in this sense a need. If we do not have sex, we may feel like dying. But
we do not.
SEXUAL MOTIVATION
BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCE:
 Sexual maturity
 Sex hormones, especially testosterone
 Sexual orientation
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE:
 Exposure to stimulating conditions
 Sexual fantasies
SOCIAL-CULTUREAL INFLUENCE:
 Family and society values
 Religious and personal values
 Cultural expectations
 media
Q:How do internal and external stimuli influence sexual motivation?
D Adolescent Sexuality
Teen Pregnancy
 Ignorance
 Minimal communication about birth control
 Guilt related to sexual activity
 Alcohol use
 Mass media norms of unprotected promiscuity
Sexually Transmitted Infections
 High intelligence
 Religious engagement
 Father presence
 Participation in service learning programs
Q: Why so many people have sexy without protection?
Do the school need to improve the health class for sexual education?
E Sexual Orientation
1 sexual orientation- an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex
Q: what has research taught us about sexual orientation?