Unit 8 Motivation and Emotion and Stress Health

Unit 8: Motivation and Emotion (…. and Stress & Health)

Motivation • Feelings or ideas that cause us to act towards a goal • General term for the biological, emotional, cognitive, and social processes involved in starting, directing, and maintaining behavior

Motivational Concepts (theories) • • • Instinct Theory (now Evolutionary Theory) Drive Reduction Theory Arousal Theory Incentive Theory Cognitive Dissonance Theory ***

Motivational Concepts (theories) Instinct Theory • Instinct Theory: we are motivated by our inborn automated behaviors. • Instinct- unlearned behavior, passed down generation to generation • Darwin’s Evolution (survival of the fittest) • But instincts only explain why we do a small fraction of our behaviors.

Motivational Concepts (theories) Drive Reduction Theory We are “pushed” to reduce our drives and we are “pulled” by incentives- put them together and we are REALLY motivated! • Our behavior is motivated by BIOLOGICAL NEEDS. • Wants to maintain homeostasis. • When we are not, we have a need that creates a drive. • Primary versus Secondary drives

Motivational Concepts (theories) Arousal Theory • We are motivated to seek an optimum level of arousal. • Yerkes-Dodson Law • As stress increases from minimal, performance also increases. • However, one stress reaches a moderately high level, performance peaks. • More stress leads to decreased performance. • Therefore, an optimum level of performance occurs when stress is moderate.

TOPSS Handout 1. 1: Sensation Seeking Scale Motivational Concepts (theories) • Arousal theory assumes that people seek an optimum level of stimulation. • Marvin Zuckerman argued that people differ in the amount of stimulation they need or want and hence in their “sensationseeking” – Moderate levels of arousal are adaptive (normal) but too low or too high is disruptive • Below optimal level motivates behavior to increase arousal • Above optimal level motivates behavior to decrease arousal • We all have a different “optimal level”

Motivational Concepts (theories) Demo: Sensation Seeking Scale (Arousal theory) 4 Forms of Sensation Seeking: 1. Thrill & Adventure Seeking: seek excitement in risky but socially acceptable activities (sky diving); desire for these can predict behavior 2. Experience- Seeking: seek sensation through the mind, senses, and nonconforming lifestyle; free, unusual friends, frequent travel, artistic expression 3. Disinhibition: Those who have chosen middle class lifestyle, but find it boring, so they seek escape in social drinking & partying; “extraverted sensation seeking”(needing other people as sources of stimulation) 4. Boredom Susceptibility- low tolerance for experience that is repetitive and constant; become extremely restless w/long periods with little external stimulation Type T- “Thrill Seeking”; high energy;

Motivational Concepts (theories) Incentive Theory • Behavior can be pulled by a desire to get an incentive (reward) • Incentives = stimuli we are drawn to due to learning – Extrinsic or intrinsic motivations • Why do people try to do well at their jobs? Why do you all try to do well in school? – What is your incentive? What drives this behavior?

Motivational Concepts (theories) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Abraham Maslow – Humanistic Perspective (human = self) • motivated by needs, and all needs are not created equal. • We are driven to satisfy the lower level needs first • Trying to reach self-actualizationfulfilling one’s potential • Education system <3 s it Humanistic Perspective: • Abraham Maslowhierarchy of needs, self- actualization • Carl Rogers- person/client centered therapy, GAE – genuineness, acceptance, empathy • 1960 s- freewill, be the best you can be (selfactualization), humans are basically good, selfesteem

Motivational Concepts (theories)

Motivational Concepts (theories)

Motivational Concepts (theories) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Haters gon’ hate (Criticisms): – Cannot explain human capacity for evil – People in 3 rd world countries, starving, yet they still love (belongingness & love needs) & still have esteem (respect for themselves & others) – Concept of self actualization is vague!

Motivational Concepts (theories) TOPSS Handout 1. 2 - Classification of Needs:

Cognitive Dissonance Theory • We are motivated by our beliefs- we want to feel that our beliefs (what we think and feel) are consistent with our actions • If they don’t match- we work until they are! – Dissonance: not in harmony • If what we are thinking is NOT in harmony with what we are doing, saying, or how we are behaving- it causes emotional/mental discomfort (cognitive dissonance)- and we are MOTIVATED to change!