Unit 8 A Motivation Emotion Motivation 1 Motivational

Unit 8 A Motivation & Emotion: Motivation #1 Motivational Concepts

Motivation • a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior • EX: I eat (behavior) because I’m hungry (need that is directing behavior) • EX: I have sex (behavior) because it sounds pleasurable (desire that directs behavior)

Instincts & Evolutionary Psychology • Instinct • a complex behavior that is patterned throughout a species and is unlearned • EX: Humans- an infant sucking a thumb as a reflex • EX: Animals- salmon fish return to the same place they were born • Instincts don’t explain all motives • Genes play a role in behavior and help explain similarities between a species

Drives & Incentives • Drive-reduction theory • the idea that our body’s basic needs (what would those be? ) creates an aroused state (a drive) that motivates organisms to satisfy that need • Homeostasis • balanced internal state • EX: blood sugar levels or temperature • Need • Drive • Reduce drive

Drives & Incentives cont. • Not only are we pushed by our needs but we are pulled by incentives • Incentive • a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior • EX: the smell of pizza (environmental factor) can motivate us to eat (behavior) • this can be learned • They motivate behavior

Optimum Arousal • Human motivation aims not to eliminate arousal but to seek optimum levels of arousal • When our biological needs are met we are driven to experience stimulation and hunger for information

Hierarchy of Motives • Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of human needs • At the bottom are our physiological needs and the further up you go the more psychological the needs become • EX: if you need to go pee, does that not begin to preoccupy your thoughts?