Emotion and Motivation
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
The Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida
Elements of Emotion
• Physiological arousal (heart rate, blushing,
sweating, etc)
• Subjective experiences/feelings (rage,
elation, sadness, etc)
Elements of Emotion
• Cognitive interpretations (blaming another,
recognizing the object of desire)
• Behavioral expressions (crying, smiling,
gazing longingly
Emotion and the Species
• Emotions have survival value and have
evolved to support organism in its
environment:
– Recognition of threats, attraction, etc
– Signals to presence of problems and
opportunities
Emotion and the Species
• Wide range of individual differences within
the species:
– emotional responsiveness,
– interpretation, and
– expression (e.g. grieving patterns and
responses differ by tradition and culture)
Basic emotions recognizable across many
different cultures
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•
•
Sadness
Fear
Anger
Disgust
• Contempt
• Happiness
• Surprise
Processes of Emotions
• Fast-response cycle
– Largely unconscious
– Relies largely on the limbic system of the
brain (largely “reflex” response)
– Tends to be linked to survival reactions
grounded in evolution but learning does
impact reaction (habituation)
Processes of Emotions
• Conscious response cycle
– Largely conscious and slower to respond
– Relies on cerebral cortex (learned
associations and decision-making processes)
Processes of Emotions
• Arousal and performance
– Inverted “U” in arousal and performance
relationship
• Easy tasks are performed better with higher
arousal
• Moderately challenging tasks performed better with
moderate level of arousal
• More challenging tasks performed better with lower
levels of arousal.
Theories of Emotion
• Major theories have several elements:
– Emotionally salient stimulus
– Physiological reaction (arousal)
– Cognitive appraisal
– Emotional response
Theories of Emotion
• James-Lange Theory:
– StimulusPhysiological ArousalBehavioral
ResponseEmotional response
– “I see a bear, I am running away from the
bear, therefore I am afraid.”
Theories of Emotion
• Cannon-Bard Theory
– StimulusEmotional Response
Physiological ArousalBehavioral Response
– “I see the bear, I am afraid of the bear
therefore I will run.”
Theories of Emotion
• Schachter & Singer introduced the
concept of appraisal
• Cognitive Appraisal Theory
– Stimulus Cognitive Appraisal (how does it
affect us?)Decide how to cope
– “I see a bear. Is the bear posing a threat? If
yes, run. If not, get the camera.”
Theories of Emotion
• Debate is still active:
– Are emotion and cognition separate systems?
• Izard (1993) & Zajonc (1984) argue that they are
• Lazarus (1991) argues they are linked
– Emotional functions that are largely
inaccessible to consciousness—Izard &
Zajonc
– Emotional functions that emerge from more
controlled processes—Lazarus
Motivation
 Mental processes that


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select,
initiate,
direct, and
sustain our behaviors
• Links behaviors with inferred internal
states (e.g. someone who is drinking water
must be thirsty and want water);
Motivation
• Motivation is related to biologically based
“drives”
• Fight
• Flight
• Food
• Reproduction
Intrinsic—Extrinsic motivation
• Intrinsic Motivation
– motive for some behavior originates in
preferences of the individual;
– the action is its own reward;
• Extrinsic Motivation
– Motive for some behavior is based on external
reinforcement
– Reinforcement is contingent on some
behavior
• Typically some combination of both are
present
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy—Motivation
• Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
– Physiological (food, water, air, shelter)
– Safety (protection from threats)
– Love (nurturing caregivers)
– Esteem (sense of satisfaction with one’s self)
– Self Actualization (peak performance,
realizing one’s highest level of existence)