MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
LECTURE OPENER SUGGESTIONS:
Opening quotes:
“The full definition of the person or of human nature . . . must include intrinsic values. . .”
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
“We are so made, that we can only derive intense enjoyment from a contrast and only very little
from a state of things.” Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Opening art works:
Claude Monet (1840-1926) Water Lilies and Agapanthas, 1914-1917. This is a good example of
motivation because Monet was determined to be able to paint despite having cataracts (which
were operated on in his 80s).
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-08
Jackson Pollack (1912-1956), Lavender Mist, 1950.
OPENING THEMES
The topics of motivation and emotion are ones that are basic to psychology. Theories of
motivation attempts to explain the “why’s” of behavior; theories of emotion attempt to explain
why we feel the way we do. Both areas share the quality of involving a variety of theoretical
approaches. These approaches reflect the major perspectives in psychology ranging from
biological to social. There are important implications of theories in both areas for the way that
we feel about ourselves and our daily activities. The topic of sexuality, included in the module on
motivation, is one of natural interest and concern to most students and can readily be expanded upon
within the overall framework of considering types of human needs.
KEY CONCEPTS
 Theories of motivation
 Maslow’s hierarchy
 Sexual behavior patterns
 Homosexuality and bisexuality
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Types of needs—power, achievement, etc.
Weight set-point theory
Types of emotions
Theories of emotions
Facial feedback hypothesis
Facial Affect Program
Prologue: Armed with Bravery
Looking Ahead
MODULE 24: EXPLAINING MOTIVATION
Instinct Approaches: Born to Be Motivated
Drive-Reduction Approaches: Satisfying Our Needs
Arousal Approaches: Beyond Drive Reduction
Incentive Approaches: Motivation’s Pull
Cognitive Approaches: The Thoughts behind Motivation
Maslow’s Hierarchy: Ordering Approaches to Motivation
Applying the Different Approaches to Motivation
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How does motivation direct and energize behavior?
Learning Objectives:
24-1 Define motivation and emotion, and discuss the role of each in human behavior.
24-2 Describe and distinguish among instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, incentive, and
cognitive theories of motivation.
24-3 Explain Maslow’s hierarchy of motivation.
Student Assignments:
Interactivity 40: Thrill Seeking Behavior
Students answer questions about the Sensation Seeking Questionnaire featured in the text.
Applying Theories of Motivation
Assign Handout 8-1, on applying theories of motivation to personal accomplishments.
Self-Actualization
Assign Handout 8-2, on Maslow’s theory of self-actualization.
Self-Actualization Test
Assign Handout 8-3, a measure of self-actualization.
Incentive Theories
Assign Handout 8-4, on drive vs. incentive theories of motivation.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Ask students the following questions about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation:
1. Name three sources of intrinsic motivation in your life.
2. Name three sources of extrinsic motivation in your life.
3. Do you agree that your creativity suffers if extrinsic rewards are provided for conducting
activities that are intrinsically rewarding to you?
Lecture Ideas:
Arousal vs. Drive Reduction Theories
Help students remember the difference between arousal and drive-reduction theories by using
overheads that illustrate the relationship as follows:
Drive Reduction Theory
Stimulation
too high
(The horizontal line represents desired level of stimulation)
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If stimulation becomes too high, we try to reduce it to achieve homeostasis.
Stimulation
reduced
Arousal theory
If stimulation becomes too high, we try to reduce it, as in drive reduction theory….
Stimulation
too low
But if stimulation becomes too low, we try to increase it.
Stimulation
increased
These graphics will help students visualize the difference between the two theories.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The text does not include a discussion of the Yerkes-Dodson law, relating level of arousal with
level of performance. This principle can be introduced after discussing the drive-reduction and
arousal theories of motivation. Briefly, the Yerkes-Dodson law states that there is an inverted Ushaped relationship between arousal and performance and that easier tasks allow for a higher
level of arousal. This overhead can be used to present these basic principles:
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You can talk about how this principle applies to your own performance as an instructor. If you
are not aroused sufficiently, you cannot present the material well but if you are too anxious, you
will find it equally difficult to do a good job teaching. Ask students to provide examples from
their own lives, such as in the area of athletics, music, drama, or a testing situation.
Media Presentation Ideas:
Media Resources DVD: Self-Actualization (6:40)
This segment illustrates competitors in the “Eco-Challenge” who risk their lives to become selfactualized in competing in this event. Use this segment to point out that it is consistent with
Maslow’s theory to risk lower-order needs for the purposes of becoming self-actualized. Lowerorder needs must be satisfied but they may be set to one side for the purpose of achieving a
higher goal.
Popular Movie: Self-Actualization
Another option for self-actualization is to show a scene from a movie in which the main
character risks his or her life to achieve a higher-order goal. There are many examples of this
phenomenon; choose a recent movie that you think makes the point well (examples of recent
movies include “Twister” and “The Perfect Storm,” in which characters risk the elements to
achieve their true desires).
Popular Movie: Arousal Theory
Arousal theory can be illustrated by a movie in which a character seeks danger or stimulation to
overcome boredom or monotony in life.
Advertisement: Incentive Theory
To illustrate incentive theory, show TV or print advertisements that attempt to create a need in
the viewer or reader for food, entertainment, or luxury items (going through the daily newspaper
can provide ample examples, such as ads for jewelry, vacations, video games, digital equipment,
CDs, or DVDs). Ask students how advertisers manipulate our desires to sell their products (this
can be done in conjunction with the student assignment on Handout 8-4).
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MODULE 25: HUMAN NEEDS AND MOTIVATION: EAT, DRINK, AND BE DARING
The Motivation Behind Hunger and Eating
Biological Factors in the Regulation of Hunger
Social Factors in Eating
The Roots of Obesity
Eating Disorders
Sexual Motivation: The Facts of Life
Masturbation: Solitary Sex
Heterosexuality
Premarital Sex
Marital Sex
Homosexuality and Bisexuality
The Need for Achievement: Striving for Success
Measuring Achievement Motivation
The Need for Affiliation: Striving for Friendship
The Need for Power: Striving for Impact on Others
What biological and social factors underlie hunger?
How do most people behave sexually?
How are needs relating to achievement, affiliation, and power motivation exhibited?
Exploring Diversity Female Circumcision: A Celebration of Culture—or Genital Mutilation?
Learning Objectives:
25-1 Define obesity, differentiate between biological and social factors associated with hunger,
and discuss the roots of obesity.
25-2 Describe the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and discuss possible
causes for these disorders.
25-3 Indicate the most effective behaviors associated with weight loss.
25-4 Discuss the secondary motivations of achievement, affiliation, and power.
25-5
25-6
Describe patterns of heterosexual behavior, including premarital, marital, and extramarital sex.
Define homosexuality and bisexuality, and discuss theories that have been proposed regarding
the development of sexual orientation.
Student Assignments:
Interactivity 41: Need for Achievement
Students participate in a simple skill-based video game in which they can set their levels of
difficulty, illustrating the role of need for achievement in aspiration levels.
Interactivity 46: Attitudes toward Sexuality
Students answer questions about sexual normality, surveying sexual attitudes, and sexual
orientation.
Cultural Contributions to Eating Disorders
Have students complete Handout 8-5, which asks students to examine cultural contributions to
eating disorders.
Daily Activity Levels
Have students complete Handout 8-6, the Daily Activity Diary. Explain how to use this based on
the examples provided. For each low-energy activity, they should indicate a high-energy activity
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that could have been completed in its place (for more information, see www.cdc.gov/nchs, which
has advice on physical fitness).
Obesity and Eating Disorders
Ask students the following questions:
1. If you were developing a public health campaign to warn people about the dangers of
overeating and obesity, how would you balance off the need to prevent obesity with the
need to avoid increasing the risk of eating disorders?
2. What do you think the differences are in the causes of eating disorders in men vs.
women? Young people vs. older people? Explain your answers.
3. What can psychologists contribute separately from medical and health professionals to
help prevent and treat eating disorders?
Textbook Web Site: The Body Beautiful
Interactive exercise called “The Body Beautiful” has students rate their own body images and the
ideal body images for people of their own and the other sex.
Online Research: Hormone Replacement Therapy
Send students to the web to look up information on hormone replacement therapy for aging men
and women. Numerous recent references can be found in Medline (PubMed) or a related
government website, www.medline.gov. Ask for a summary of the latest data on safety and
efficacy. Suggest that students interview older relatives to find out their attitudes toward these
treatments and whether they are currently using them.
Sexuality in the Media
Ask students the following questions:
1. How is sexuality represented in today’s media? Do you think the depictions of
relationships between partners are becoming more or less realistic than was true in the
past?
2. Think of current Hollywood couples. How do the media represent their relationships?
Why is our society so fascinated by relationships among the “rich and famous”?
3. How do you feel about sexual relationships among older adults? Do you think that sex
becomes more or less satisfying as people get older? Why?
Data on Attitudes toward Premarital Sex
Summarize new data on attitudes toward premarital sex from this source:
www.wjh.harvard.edu/~dharding/HardingJencksPOQ.pdf. There are some useful figures that can
be used as overheads.
The basic findings are as follows:
1. There has been an increase since the 1960s in liberal attitudes toward premarital sex.
Most of the increase occurred between 1969-73.
2. Cohorts turning 18 between the 1920s and 1970s became increasingly liberal.
3. After people turn 30, their attitudes toward premarital sex become more conservative.
Involve students in a discussion of why they think (a) people get more conservative after they
turn 30 and (b) why attitudes became more liberal during that particular era of history.
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Lecture Ideas:
Ventromedial Hypothalamus and Eating
A previous edition of the text featured the “fat rat” that had no ventromedial hypothalamus. Here
is its picture, which provides a very graphic image to illustrate the importance of the
hypothalamus in regulating eating behavior:
Biopsychosocial Causes of Eating Disorders
Present eating disorders in terms of a biopsychosocial model to indicate that there are
interactions among the possible causes in the biological (genetic, biochemical), psychological
(body image disturbances), and social (media) domains.
Eating Disorders and the Media
Summarize or present advertisements and magazine articles that emphasize a thin body as a
standard of beauty for women. Emphasize that cultural pressures from the media can help to
push young people (especially women) to disturbed eating patterns. Contrast this emphasis with
the increases in rates of obesity in the U.S. population (see below regarding physical fitness).
Ask students to discuss these contradictions in the media and the health implications of both sets
of cultural images.
Physical Activity in the United States
Emphasize the importance of physical fitness. Review the CDC’s 2003 report on physical
activity (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/physicalactivity/promoting_health/download.htm).
TAT Ratings
Show students the TAT picture in the text and instruct them to write a story in which they state
what is happening and what the people involved are feeling and thinking. Then show this list of
Murray’s 15 needs and their definitions. Have students count the number of times they referred
to one of these needs.
Abasement
Achievement
Affiliation
Aggression
Autonomy
Counteraction
Defendance
To surrender and submit to others, accept blame and punishment. To
enjoy pain and misfortune.
To accomplish difficult tasks, overcoming obstacles and becoming
expert.
To be close and loyal to another person, pleasing them and winning their
friendship and attention.
To forcefully overcome an opponent, controlling, taking revenge or
punishing them.
To break free from constraints, resisting coercion and dominating
authority. To be irresponsible and independent.
To make up for failure by trying again, seeking pridefully to overcome
obstacles.
To defend oneself against attack or blame, hiding any failure of the self.
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Deference
Dominance
Exhibition
Harm avoidance
Infavoidance
Nurturance
Order
Play
Rejection
Sentience
Sex
Succourance
Understanding
To admire a superior person, praising them and yielding to them and
following their rules.
To control one’s environment, controlling other people through
command or subtle persuasion.
To impress others through one’s actions and words, even if these are
shocking.
To escape or avoid pain, injury and death.
To avoid being humiliated or embarrassed.
To help the helpless, feeding them and keeping them from danger.
To make things clean, neat and tidy.
To have fun, laugh and relax, enjoying oneself.
To separate oneself from a negatively viewed object or person,
excluding or abandoning it.
To seek out and enjoy sensual experiences.
To form relationships that lead to sexual intercourse.
To have one’s needs satisfied by someone or something. Includes being
loved, nursed, helped, forgiven and consoled.
To be curious, ask questions and find answers.
Media Presentation Ideas:
Media Resources DVD: Bulimia Nervosa (2:29)
A client with bulimia talks about the struggles she has undergone with regard to bingeing and
purging as well as her feelings about control and eating.
Documentaries and Movies: Eating Disorders
The topics of anorexia and bulimia nervosa have also been the topics of numerous documentaries
and movies. Show a segment from one of these. For example, NOVA (www.pbs.org) aired a
special program on anorexia called “Perfect Illusions” that does an excellent job of dealing with
the relationship of this disorder to issues within the family.
Textbook Web Site: Ring Toss
Have students complete the “Ring Toss” on the textbook web site and write up their results.
Self-Ratings of Needs
Have students complete Handout 8-7 in which they rate themselves on three needs. The key is
shown at the bottom of the handout.
Popular Movie: Need for Power
Show a film in which the protagonist engages in behavior that could be interpreted as indicating
need for power. A humorous movie in this category is “Austin Powers,” in which the character
Dr. Evil shows an insatiable lust for world domination.
Popular Television Program: Homosexuality in the Media
Show a scene from “Will and Grace,” “Six Feet Under,” or another television show in which
people with homosexual orientations are depicted. Ask students to comment on how they think
these programs both reflect and influence people’s attitudes.
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Popular Television Program: Seinfeld
In the classic segment “The Contest,” the characters challenge each other to deprive themselves
of masturbating for as long as possible.
MODULE 26: UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES
The Functions of Emotions
Determining the Range of Emotions: Labeling Our Feelings
The Roots of Emotions
The James-Lange Theory: Do Gut Reactions Equal Emotions?
The Cannon-Bard Theory: Physiological Reactions as the Result of Emotions
The Schachter-Singer Theory: Emotions as Labels
Contemporary Perspectives on the Neurological Underpinnings of Emotions
Making Sense of the Multiple Perspectives on Emotion
What are emotions, and how do we experience them?
What are the functions of emotions?
What are the explanations for emotions?
Applying Psychology in the 21st Century Nonverbal Behavior/Lie Detection
The Appearance of Deception Can Nonverbal Behavior Be Used to Reveal Terrorists?
Learning Objectives:
26-1 Describe the functions of emotions and the range of emotional expression
26-2 Identify the key points of the James-Lange, the Cannon-Bard, and the Schachter-Singer
theories of emotion, and distinguish each theory from the others.
26-3 Describe how emotional responses can be used in lie detection, and discuss the validity of
traditional lie detection devices.
Student Assignments:
Interactivity 42: Brain Lateralization and Perception of Emotions
In this interactivity, students learn how the right and left hemispheres process emotional
information differently.
Role of Emotions in Daily Life
Ask students the following questions:
1. Why are emotions important in our daily lives?
2. What would be the benefits of learning to control our emotions?
3. How does a person’s expression of emotions influence what you think about that person?
Why?
Textbook Web Site: Interactive Review
Have students complete the interactive review called “Situational Review.”
Textbook Web Site: It’s Not What You Say
Interactive exercise has students rate the emotional content of language.
Textbook Web Site: Sensation Seeking Scale
Students rate their tendency to seek excitement and arousal.
Textbook Web Site: What Provokes You?
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Ratings of what provokes anger, found under “Interactive Activities“ for Chapter 14
(Personality).
Lecture Ideas:
Functions of Emotions in Everyday Life
Emphasize the functions of emotions by asking students to think about the importance of their
emotions in their own lives. Feeling good or miserable makes an enormous difference in your
day-to-day well-being. Emotions are also important in relating to others. Losing your temper can
alienate your friends or lead to other interpersonal and practical difficulties.
Emotion Wheel
Illustrate the different names of emotions in Figure 42-1. Contrast this view with other attempts
to categorize emotions, such as Pluchik’s wheel (below). Ask students what difference it makes
to our understanding of emotions if and how we categorize them.
Importance of Theories of Emotions
Theories exist with regard to emotions because, like motivation, there are many possible causes.
Lecture will highlight the pros and cons of the main theories.
James-Lange Theory
Starting with James, provide context for his theory that the emotion follows the physiological
response by reading this quote which captures the theory very well.
My theory . . . is that the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and
that our feeling of the same changes as they occur IS the emotion. Common-sense says we lose
our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a bear, are frightened and run; we are insulted by a
rival, are angry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended says that this order of sequence is
incorrect, that the one mental state is not immediately induced by the other, that the bodily
manifestations must first be interposed between, and that the more rational statement is that we
feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble.
For more information, read Ellsworth, P.C. (1994). “William James and Emotion: Is a Century of
Fame Worth a Century of Misunderstanding?” Psychological Review, 101, 222-229.
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Schachter-Singer Experiment Demonstration
Provide a more complete description of the Schachter-Singer experiment drawing from the
information here. Alternatively, you can ask students to act out a skit to the rest of the class to
demonstrate the 2 conditions of euphoria and anger when the subject was not informed about the
drug’s real effects. You need 5 students (2 confederates, 2 subjects, and an experimenter) who
can act out a skit with you reading the narration of what happened in the study. Afterwards, ask
the class to critique the experiment. This is a good description to use either for the skit or to read
to the class:
All subjects were told they were being used to test the effectiveness of a (fictitious) vitamin
supplement called “Suproxin” that supposedly improves the eyesight. They were then going to
be given a test as soon as the Suproxin had taken effect (in approximately 20 minutes). This was
a cover story to disguise the real purpose of the experiment. All subjects received extra credit on
their final exam for participating.
Drug injection had 2 conditions:
Adrenaline—Subjects were given an injection of adrenaline, which produces autonomic arousal.
Saline—Subjects were given an injection of saline, which produces no arousal.
Subjects given adrenaline then could be in one of 3 conditions:
 Informed about the effects of the drug (told to expect effects of adrenaline but weren’t
told the drug was adrenaline).
 Misinformed about the effects of the drug (told to expect numb feet, itching, and a
headache).
 Not given any information about the drug.
Then they were exposed to either the euphoria or anger condition while waiting the 20 minutes
for the drug to “take effect.” During this time, the experimenter’s confederate engaged in either
euphoric or angry behavior.
Euphoric condition
The waiting room had deliberately been put into a state of disarray. When the experimenter left,
he told the subject and the confederate that they could take any paper, pencils, or paper clips they
wanted. Then the confederate started playing with the objects in the room, including 2 hula
hoops. He tried to get the subject to join in.
Anger condition
The questionnaire is supposed to make the subject have a reason for being angry, as the
questions get progressively more personal. The confederate encourages this angry feeling toward
the experiment by complaining about the injection. The confederate then keeps pace with the
subject as the questionnaire is answered. The confederate adds negative comments about the
questions. At the end of the session the confederate pretends to be so angry by ripping up the
questionnaire. The experimenter then returns.
Behavioral observations were then made as well as ratings, including these two key questions:
1. How irritated, angry, or annoyed would you say you feel at present? This was answered
on a 5-point scale ranging from 0—I don’t feel at all irritated or angry, to 4—I feel
extremely irritated and angry.
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2. How good or happy would you say you feel at present? This also was answered on a 5point scale, ranging from 0—I don’t feel at all happy or good, to 4—I feel extremely
happy and good.
The results showed that the ignorant condition was significantly different from the informed
condition in the case of both euphoria and anger. But those in the anger ignorant condition did
not feel angry (although they behaved in an angrier manner than those in the informed
condition).
Although the study can be criticized for important limitations, the conclusions are important in
pointing to the role of cognition in emotion. Later theories such as those of Beck and Lazarus
placed even more importance on cognition, suggesting that thoughts (cognitions) produce
emotions as in the case of thoughts of loss or inadequacy leading to the emotion of sadness or
depression.
Contrasting the Theories of Emotions
Help students remember the differences among the theories by showing Figure 42-2. In addition,
you can use these hints to help them keep the theories straight:
James-Lange: Lange hits James and makes him angry (i.e., physiological changes precede
emotions).
Cannon-Bard: A cannon goes off in your thalamus.
Schachter-Singer: A singer makes you happy.
Media Presentation Ideas:
Sensation Seeking
Introduce the concept of sensation seeking by talking about “Extreme” roller coasters. How
many people enjoy those? Are these people more likely to be high on sensation seeking? Assign
the sensation seeking scale on the web site. Show students the Discovery Channel “Extreme
Rides” web site in class (http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/coasters/video/video.html) or
show a video (if you can find or tape the program) and compare those high in sensation seeking
with those who are low.
Popular Movie: Emotional Arousal
Show students a scene from a frightening movie (preferably not too gory, perhaps one of the
scenes in “Panic Room” where protagonists are trapped). Ask them how they felt after watching
the scene. What emotions are they experiencing? How much of their feelings can be attributed to
physiological arousal and how much to their cognitive labeling of the situation?
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