CH10 – Motivation & Emotion

The below information is derived from the textbook “Psychology Themes & Variations”.

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Key Learning Goals

Here is an expanded summary of Chapter 10, “Motivation and Emotion,” with more detailed explanations of each key learning goal, based on the provided sources:

Chapter 10 delves into the interconnected realms of motivation and emotion, elucidating how these psychological forces instigate behaviour and shape subjective experiences. Motivation encompasses the processes that energise and direct goal-oriented actions, driven by needs, desires, and aspirations. Emotions, on the other hand, are multifaceted responses to events, particularly those related to the attainment or frustration of goals. The chapter explores diverse theoretical perspectives on motivation, encompassing both biological and social drives, dissects the components of emotional experiences, and examines various influential theories that seek to explain the nature and origins of human emotion.

Here’s an expanded summary of the key learning goals:

• Compare drive, incentive, and evolutionary approaches to understanding motivation.
  • Drive theories: These posit that motivation arises from internal physiological imbalances or needs that create a state of tension, prompting individuals to take action to reduce this tension and restore equilibrium. Drives are often linked to basic survival needs such as hunger, thirst, and temperature regulation.
  • Incentive theories: These emphasise the role of external stimuli or rewards in motivating behaviour. According to this perspective, individuals are drawn towards actions that promise positive outcomes or incentives, which can range from tangible rewards to social recognition.
  • Evolutionary theories: These propose that motives are products of natural selection, shaped over generations to enhance survival and reproductive success. From this viewpoint, motives such as affiliation, achievement, dominance, and sexual drive are seen as adaptive mechanisms that have evolved to promote the propagation of genes.
• Describe how evolutionary theories explain various motives.
  • Evolutionary theories provide insights into the adaptive functions of various human motives.
    • Affiliation – the need to belong and form social bonds – is seen as promoting cooperation, resource sharing, and protection from threats.
    • Achievement – the drive to excel and master challenges – may enhance status, access to resources, and reproductive opportunities.
    • Dominance – the desire to influence or control others – can lead to greater access to resources and mates.
    • Sexual motivation is essential for reproduction and the continuation of the species. Parental investment theory suggests that men and women have different mating strategies because of the unequal investment in offspring.
• Summarise evidence of the physiological factors implicated in the regulation of hunger.
  • The regulation of hunger involves a complex interplay of physiological signals and mechanisms.
    • Brain structures, such as the hypothalamus, play a crucial role in monitoring internal cues related to energy balance and initiating appropriate responses.
    • Hormones such as insulin and leptin act as signalling molecules, communicating information about nutrient levels and energy stores to the brain.
    • Ghrelin is another hormone that stimulates appetite.
• Explain how food availability, culture, and learning influence hunger.
  • While physiological mechanisms provide a foundation for hunger regulation, external factors such as food availability, cultural norms, and learned associations also exert a significant influence.
    • The availability and variety of palatable foods can override internal satiety signals, leading to increased consumption.
    • Cultural norms dictate what types of foods are considered acceptable or desirable, as well as appropriate eating behaviours.
    • Learning and conditioning processes can create associations between specific cues (e.g. time of day, location) and hunger, shaping food preferences and eating patterns.
• Describe evidence of the prevalence, health consequences, and roots of obesity.
  • Obesity has emerged as a major public health concern, with prevalence rates steadily increasing in many parts of the world. Obesity is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including:
    • Heart disease
    • Type 2 diabetes
    • Certain types of cancer
  • The roots of obesity are multifaceted, involving a combination of genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices. *Outline the four phases of the human sexual response.
  • The excitement phase is characterized by initial arousal, marked by increases in heart rate, respiration, and muscle tension.
  • The plateau phase represents a heightening of arousal, with further increases in physiological responses.
  • The orgasm phase is the peak of sexual arousal, characterised by rhythmic muscle contractions and intense pleasure.
  • The resolution phase involves a return to a normal state of arousal, with a decline in physiological responses.
• Describe parental investment theory and gender differences in sexual activity and mating preferences.
  • Parental investment theory suggests that differences in the amount of resources and time that each sex invests in offspring lead to different mating strategies.
    • Men often prioritise quantity, seeking multiple sexual partners to maximise their reproductive success.
    • Women often prioritise quality, seeking partners who can provide resources and protection for themselves and their offspring.
• Discuss sexual orientation and compare environmental and biological theories of sexual orientation.
  • Sexual orientation refers to an individual’s enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions toward men, women, or both sexes.
    • Biological explanations suggest that genetic factors, prenatal hormone exposure, and brain structure may contribute to sexual orientation.
    • Environmental theories propose that upbringing, social learning, and personal experiences play a role in shaping sexual orientation.
• Describe the need for achievement and how it has been measured.
  • The need for achievement reflects the desire to excel, overcome obstacles, and attain success. Individuals with a high need for achievement are motivated to pursue challenging tasks, strive for excellence, and experience a sense of accomplishment. The need for achievement is often measured using:
    • The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), a projective test that assesses individuals’ implicit motives based on the stories they create in response to ambiguous pictures.
• Explain how the need for achievement and situational factors influence achievement strivings.
  • Both individual differences in the need for achievement and situational factors can influence achievement-related behaviours.
    • Individuals with a high need for achievement tend to work harder, persist longer, and perform better on challenging tasks.
    • Situational factors, such as the perceived probability of success and the incentive value of success, can also impact achievement strivings.
• Compare the James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories of emotion.
  • The James-Lange theory posits that emotions arise from our perception of bodily responses to external stimuli. According to this theory, the experience of emotion follows the awareness of physiological changes.
  • The Cannon-Bard theory argues that emotional experiences and physiological arousal occur simultaneously and independently. In this view, the thalamus sends signals to both the cortex, resulting in the conscious experience of emotion, and the autonomic nervous system, leading to physiological arousal.
• Explain the two-factor theory of emotion and evolutionary theories of emotion.
  • The two-factor theory of emotion, proposed by Schachter and Singer, suggests that emotions result from a combination of physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. According to this theory, individuals first experience undifferentiated arousal, and then they seek to explain this arousal based on environmental cues and contextual information.
  • Evolutionary theories view emotions as innate and universal responses to evolutionarily significant stimuli. These theories propose that emotions have evolved to serve adaptive functions, such as facilitating survival, promoting social interactions, and guiding decision-making.
• Identify the factors that do and do not correlate with happiness, and articulate three conclusions about the dynamics of happiness.
  • Factors correlating with happiness:
    • Relationships
    • Work
    • Genetics
    • Health
  • Factors not strongly related to happiness:
    • Money
    • Age
    • Gender
    • Parenthood
  • Conclusions about the dynamics of happiness:
    • It is subjective
    • It is relative (influenced by social comparisons)
    • It is affected by adaptation (hedonic adaptation)
• Identify the five unifying themes highlighted in the chapter.
  • Influence of cultural contexts: There are both similarities and differences across cultures in motivation and emotional expression.
  • Connections between psychology and society: Motivation and emotion have far-reaching implications for various aspects of individual and collective life, including well-being, health, and social behaviour.
  • Theoretical diversity: The study of motivation and emotion encompasses a wide array of theoretical perspectives, each offering unique insights into the underlying mechanisms and processes.
  • Interplay of heredity and environment: Both genetic predispositions and environmental influences contribute to the shaping of motivational and emotional tendencies.
  • Multiple causes of behaviour: Motivational and emotional experiences are influenced by a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors.