Motivation and Emotion
Chapter 8
Motivation
• Motivation - the process by which activities are
started, directed, and continued so that physical
or psychological needs or wants are met.
▫ Industrial and Organizational Psychology (I-O)
 Motivational principles that boost efficiency,
productivity, and well being in the work place
• Incentive Theory- we are pulled toward
behaviors by rewards or incentives
▫ Positive or negative environmental stimuli that
motivates behavior
▫ Extrinsic motivation- a person performs an action
because it leads to an outcome that is separate
from or external to the person. ( get rewards/avoid
punishments)
▫ Intrinsic motivation- desire to perform a behavior
for it’s own sake
Instinct Approaches to Motivation
• Instincts - the biologically determined and
innate patterns of behavior that exist in both
people and animals. (unlearned)
▫ Ex.- salmon spawning at their birthplace,
migrating birds
• Instinct theory is not generally accepted as
motivation for humans
Drive (Reduction) Theory of Motivation
• Drive-reduction theory - approach to
motivation that assumes behavior arises from
physiological needs that cause internal drives
to push the organism to satisfy the need and
reduce tension and arousal.
▫ Need - a requirement of some material (such as
food or water) that is essential for survival of the
organism.
▫ Drive - a psychological tension and physical
arousal arising when there is a need that
motivates the organism to act in order to fulfill
the need and reduce the tension(eating or
drinking).
Drive Reduction Theory of Motivation
• Primary drives - those drives that
involve needs of the body such as
hunger and thirst.
• (Acquired) Secondary drives - those
drives that are learned through
experience or conditioning, such as
the need for money or social
approval.
• Homeostasis - the tendency of the
body to maintain a steady state;
aspect of body chemistry
▫ What do you do when you are cold?
Arousal Approach to Motivation
• Stimulus motive - a motive that appears to be
unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation, such
as curiosity.
• Arousal theory - theory of motivation in which people
are said to have an optimal (best or ideal) level of
tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or
decreasing stimulation.
▫ Sensation seeking behavior
 Driven by curiosity
Arousal Approach to Motivation
• Yerkes-Dodson law - law stating performance
is related to arousal; moderate levels of
arousal lead to better performance than do
levels of arousal that are too low or too high.
▫ This effect varies with the difficulty of the task:
easy tasks or well learned require a high-moderate
level while more difficult tasks require a lowmoderate level.
 Runners excel when aroused by competition. But
facing a difficult exam, high anxiety may disrupt
performance.
Abraham Maslow’s- Hierarchy of Needs
• Humanist that believed we all have needs we
are motivated to satisfy
• Self-actualization - according to Maslow, the
point that is seldom reached at which people
have sufficiently satisfied the lower needs and
achieved their full human potential.
• Peak experiences- according to Maslow, times
in a person’s life during which self
actualization is temporarily achieved.
Criticism- theory based on successful upper/middle class people living in the Western Hemisphere.
Self- Determination Theory
• Humans have inherent growth tendencies and
do most things out of intrinsic motivation
• Positive Psychology
▫ Positive emotions and attributes contribute to our
overall health and well being
 Martin Seligman- feel-good, do-good phenomenon
Hunger: Bodily Causes
• Insulin - a hormone secreted by the pancreas to
control the levels of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates
in the body by reducing the level of glucose in the
bloodstream.
• Glucagons- hormones that are secreted by the
pancreas to control the levels of fats, proteins, and
carbohydrates in the body by increasing the level of
glucose in the bloodstream.
▫ Provides Energy
▫ When it is low, we feel hungry
• Endocrine System
Hunger: Bodily Causes
• Weight set point – the particular level of
weight that the body tries to maintain.
 “Weight Thermostat”- fall below and hunger
increases while metabolism decreases
• Basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the rate at
which the body burns energy when the
organism is resting.
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Biological factors of Eating
• Lateral hypothalamus▫ tells the body to eat. If
damaged, a person could
starve to death
• Ghrelin- a hormone, that,
when released into the
bloodstream, cues your brain
that food is needed
Biological Factors of Eating Problems
• Ventromedial hypothalamus
▫ tells the body to stop eating- if
damaged a person will eat
uncontrollably
• Leptin - a hormone that, when
released into the bloodstream,
signals the hypothalamus that the
body has had enough food and
reduces the appetite while
increasing the feeling of being full.
▫ Role of leptin in obesity.
▫ Genetics and obesity.
 Genetics may play a part in anorexia
and bulimia, as well as insensitivity
to leptin.
Hunger: Social Causes
• Social cues for when meals are to be
eaten.
• Cultural customs.
• Food preferences.
• Use of food as a comfort device or
escape from unpleasantness.
• Eat when other people eat.
• Television Commercials
• Magazines
• Some people may respond to the
anticipation of eating by producing
an insulin response, increasing the
risk of obesity.
Obesity and weight control
• Obesity - a condition in which the
body weight of a person is 20 percent
or more over the ideal body weight
for that person’s height (actual
percents vary across definitions).
• Approximately 66% of Americans
• Especially dangerous for children (set
point, basal metabolic rate, eating
habits)
• Once a fat cell develops, it sticks
around
• Consequences are dire, lower life
expectancy and significant life long
health problems
• Environmental factors contribute to
weight- sleep loss, friendships,
attitude towards food
Eating Problems
• Anorexia nervosa - a condition in which a
person reduces eating to the point that a
weight loss of 15 percent below the ideal
body weight or more occurs.
• Bulimia - a condition in which a person
develops a cycle of “binging” or overeating
enormous amounts of food at one sitting,
and “purging” or deliberately vomiting
after eating or taking lacatives
▫ Leads to weakened heart muscle, tooth
decay, damage to the esophagus
▫ Binge Eating Disorder- without the
purging
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Aggression
• Hostile Aggression
▫ Aggression carried out for its own sake
 Tackling someone in the hallway
• Instrumental Aggression
▫ Aggression that is working toward some
other goal besides aggression itself
 Tackling someone on the football field
• Frustration-Aggression Principle
▫ When we are unable to reach an
objective we become frustrated
• Cathartic
▫ Avenues to get your aggressions out
Elements of Emotion
• Emotion - the “feeling” aspect
of consciousness,
characterized by a certain
physical arousal, a certain
behavior that reveals the
emotion to the outside world,
and an inner awareness of
thoughts and feelings.
• Display rules - learned ways
of controlling displays of
emotion in social settings.
Common Sense Theory of Emotion
• Common Sense Theory of Emotion - a
stimulus leads to an emotion, which then
leads to bodily arousal. (Not accepted in the
psychological community)
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
• James-Lange theory of emotion - theory in
which a physiological reaction leads to the
labeling of an emotion.
• “I am shaking, oh no, it’s a cougar! I am
afraid!”
▫ Fear followed your bodies response
• Cougar – Arousal – Emotion
Stimulus
Pounding Heart
J-L = Jump then Label
Fear
Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
• Cannon-Bard theory of emotion - theory in
which the physiological reaction and the
subjective experience of emotion are assumed
to occur at the same time by the thalamus.
• “Oh no, it’s a cougar! I am shaking and I am
afraid!”
Arousal (Pounding Heart)
• Cougar =
+
Emotion (Fear)
Two Factor Theory of Emotion
• Schacter’s Two Factor theory – theory of
emotion in which both the physical arousal and
the cognitive labeling of that arousal based on
cues from the environment (situation) must
occur before the emotion is experienced.
▫ Emotions can feel the same but they change based
upon situation
• Also called the Cognitive Arousal theory or
The Schacter-Singer theory
• Cougar =
Arousal (Pounding Heart)
+
= Emotion (Fear)
Cognitive Label(I’m afraid)
Opponent Process Theory
• People start at a baseline stage; we perform an act
that moves us from this stage into another stage
then we eventually go beyond homeostasis in the
opposite direction
▫ We may feel a “high” but will eventually return to our
baseline
• Bungee Jumping
• Drug Addictions
• Highs and crashes
Emotion and the ANS
• Autonomic Nervous System mobilizes your
body for action and calms it down
• Sympathetic system releases epinepherine
and norepinepherine, the liver increases
sugar in the blood, respiration increases,
digestion decreases, pupils dilate,
perspiration increases
• Parasympatheitc system takes over when the
emotion subsides.
Emotion and the brain
• Negative emotions are linked to the right side
while positive emotions are linked to the left.
• The Singer and Schacter study showed how
we interpret and label our state of arousal will
reflect in our emotional experience. (arousal
fuels emotion, cognition channels it)
▫ A stirred up state can be experienced in one
emotion or another depending on how we
interpret it
 Example: Fear, Anger, Sexual Excitement
Brain’s shortcut for emotion
• In the two track brain, sensory input may be
routed directly to the amygdala for an instant
emotional reaction, OR to the cortex for analysis.
• Ex. We see a shadow and get alarmed only to
realize it is something harmless.
• (speedy low road vs. thinking high road)
Brain’s shortcut for emotion
Detecting Emotion
• Humans are good at detecting emotions of others
by listening to their voice and watching their
facial muscles.
• It is easy to misread electronic communication
due to the absence of nonverbal cues.
• Women have a stronger ability to read nonverbal
cues and respond with more emotion to
situations than men
▫ More likely to express empathy
Universal Expressions:
Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard
• Happy
• Sadness
• Surprise
• Anger
• Disgust
• Fear
Paul Ekman added contempt
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
• Facial feedback hypothesis - theory of
emotion that assumes that facial expressions
provide feedback to the brain concerning the
emotion being expressed, which in turn
causes and intensifies the emotion.
▫ Smiling induces happy feelings
▫ Emotions are contagious
• Pencil-in-the-lips
• Behavior Feedback- head up vs. head down
Function of fear
• Fear is adaptive.
• Learning to fear is a natural process
• Human fear is regulated by the amygdala,
which associates certain situations and object
with fear/danger.
• Phobias= intense fears out of proportion to
the danger they actually represent, that
disrupts a persons ability to cope.
Stress
• Stress- the process by which we perceive and
respond to certain events, called stressors,
that we appraise as threatening or
challenging.
▫ Stressor- stimulus (acute or chronic)
▫ Stress Reaction- physical or emotional
▫ Stress- how we relate
Stress response system
• Hypothalamus- pituitary gland- sympathetic-adrenal
gland- hormones- Fight or flight
• Withdraw, pull back, conserve energy- “paralyzed
with fear”
• Tend and befriend- common response among women
• General Adaptation Syndrome (Hans Selye’s)
▫ Alarm- Heart rate increases, body gets ready
▫ Resistance- body remains physiologically ready
▫ Exhaustion- body weakens as a result of the long fight;
Parasympathetic System
 Severe stress seems to age people; cause health and
emotional issues
Cognitive Model of Stress
• Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman
• How we deal with stressors is dependent upon
two cognitive processes:
▫ Primary-Appraisal Process- assess the potential
threat or harm; if true we move into the second
stage…
▫ Secondary-Appraisal Process- ability to cope with
the event and resources available
Stress Inducing Conflicts- Kurt Lewin
• Approach-Approach Conflict
▫ Two equally attractive options and you couldn’t decide
which one to choose
• Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict
▫ Two equally unattractive options and you couldn’t
decide which one to choose
• Approach-Avoidance Conflict
▫ A situation has both attractive and unattractive
elements that makes it hard to decide
• Multiple Approach-Avoidance Conflicts
▫ Same as above but there are multiple layers of
attractive and unattractive elements
Stressful life events
• Catastrophes- increases in depression,
anxiety and suicide rates often result
• Significant life changes▫ Death of significant person, loss of job,
marriage, divorce, birth of a child
▫ Daily hassles- perhaps most significant source
of stress; can negatively impact our health and
well being
 increases in coronary heart disease are a real
impact of stress on the body
Coping with stress
• Optimism- perceive more control, cope better
with stressful events and enjoy better health.
• Find humor in daily life
• Supportive family and friends (pets)
• Exercise- hellloo… norepinepherine, serotonin
and endorphins!
• Meditation, biofeedback and spirituality
• Type A Personality- competitive, hardworking
impatient, aggressive, anger-prone, intense
• Type B Personality- easy going, laid back, relaxed
▫ Who is more likely to have heart problems?