Motivation and Drive Theories

Motivation

• Motivation is the process that gives someone a reason to do something
• It energizes and directs behavior towards a goal
• Motivation can start or stop a behavior
• It comes from internal and external forces that drive actions

Theories of Motivation

• Schools of thought view motivation through different perspectives
• These include instinct, drive, arousal, incentive, and cognitive theories

Instinct Theory

• Instincts are inborn, biologically determined patterns of behavior, not learned
• Organisms are motivated to behave in certain ways due to genetic programming and success related to natural selection
• Reproduction to propagate the human race is an innate biological need, based on instinct

Drive Theory

• Drive refers to motivational tension or arousal that leads to fulfilling a need
• Drive theory (or Drive Reduction/Homeostatic theory) posits that behavior is motivated to reduce internal tension caused by unmet biological needs
• Hunger, thirst, sex, and sleep are examples of biological drives
• Unmet needs "drive" behavior to reduce the intensity of the drive
• This theory operates on "negative" feedback, experiencing an unpleasant feeling until the need is met

Homeostasis

• Homeostasis refers to the body's steady internal state including temperature, fluid levels, energy supplies, and nutrient levels
• It is the body's natural state achieved thru regulation
• The body adjusts when deviations from the ideal state occur to return to an optimal state
• Drive theory doesn't fully explain curiosity and thrill-seeking behaviors
• Examples of behavior motivated by curiosity includes checking e-mails
• Examples of thrill-seeking behaviors includes riding roller coasters or rafting

Arousal Theory

• Arousal theory explains curiosity and thrill-seeking behaviors
• Stimulation and activity levels that become too high cause attempts to reduce them
• Stimulation and activity levels that are too low cause attempts to increase them through seeking stimulation

Incentive Theory

• Incentive theory proposes that behavior is motivated by the desire to obtain valued external rewards like grades, money, affection, and food
• Attending class is driven by the desire for a good grade
• Working out is driven by the desire for compliments
• Working is driven by the desire to earn money
• Not all human behavior has attached direct rewards. Some actions are completed for fun or for personal growth

Cognitive Theory

• Cognitive theory puts forth that motivation is a product of people's thoughts, expectations, and goals or cognitions
• For example, the motivation to study for a test depends on how well studying leads to a good grade

Extrinsic vs Intrinsic

• Extrinsic motivation involves performing an action because it leads to an external outcome, for example, going to work for money
• Intrinsic motivation involves performing an action because the act itself is rewarding, for example, creating a website for fun

Human Needs and Motivation

• Learning objectives include: What is a motive? Types of motives and Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Motives

• Motives are the specific reasons for performing a specific action
• They are incentives and a particular goal or objective
• For example, fear of being punished is the motive for running away

Types of Motives

• Primary motives are based on biological survival needs: hunger, thirst, sex, pain avoidance, needs for air, sleep, elimination of wastes, and regulation of body temperature
• Secondary motives are based on learned needs, drives, and goals: fame, power, affiliation, approval, status, security, and achievement
• Secondary motives explain activities like making music or trying to win a competition
• Stimulus motives express needs for stimulation and information: activity, curiosity, exploration, parties, surfing the internet, reading, friends, emailing, learning computers, or dancing

Need for Achievement

• The need for achievement involves a habitual desire to achieve goals through one's efforts
• A desire to excel or meet some internalized standard of excellence motivates action

Need for Affiliation

• The need for affiliation is an interest in establishing and maintaining relationships with other people
• Individuals with high affiliation needs are particularly sensitive to relationships with others.
• They want to be with their friends more often and alone less often
• Female students spend more time with their friends and less time alone compared to male students

Need for Power

• The need for power is a tendency to seek impact, control, or influence over others and to be seen as powerful
• Men with high power needs tend to show aggression, drink heavily, act in a sexually exploitative manner, and participate more frequently in competitive sports
• Women display their power needs with more restraint; this is congruent with traditional societal constraints

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• People strive for a positive view of themselves in order to fully realize their own potential
• These needs are innate, and they require a supportive, nurturing environment to strive for full potential

Sequence of Needs

• Basic needs must be met before moving on to higher-level needs, as per Abraham Maslow
• For example, someone who does not have enough to eat or is at risk of losing their home probably won't focus on personal accomplishment

Self-Actualization

• Self-actualization is motivation to develop to one’s fullest potential.
• It represents a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential in their own unique way
• Everyone should strive to become “self-actualized” and use their full potential in vocational and personal life
• Self-actualization occurred in only a few famous individuals

Emotion

• Learning Objectives include: What is Emotion? The Functions of Emotions, Classifying Emotions, and The Roots of Emotions

Defining Emotion

• Emotion is defined as a state characterized by conscious experience, physiological arousal, subjective feeling, and behavioral expression

Conscious Experience

• Conscious experience is experiencing an external object or something within oneself with conscious awareness

Physiological Arousal

• Physiological arousal involves the autonomic nervous system
• The sympathetic nervous system arouses
• The parasympathetic nervous system calms
• Examples of physiological changes include a pounding heart, sweating palms, and "butterflies in the stomach"

Behavioral Expression

• It can either be verbal or nonverbal
• Nonverbal expression includes changes in facial expression, posture, and gestures
• Specific facial expressions include happiness, anger, sadness, surprise, disgust, and fear
• Facial expressions not only reflect emotional experience but also help determine it (a hypothesis known as facial-feedback hypothesis)

Functions of Emotions

• Preparing to take action, i.e fight or flight
• Shaping future behavior by influencing thought
• Helping interact more effectively with other people

Primary/Basic Emotions

• Happiness
• Anger
• Sadness
• Surprise
• Disgust
• Fear

Classifying Emotions

• Emotions classified based on valence
• Positive: Love and Joy
• Negative: Anger, Sadness and Fear

Roots of Emotions

• There are theories to explain the roots of emotions
• James-Lange Theory
• Cannon-Bard Theory
• Schachter-Singer Theory

James-Lange Theory

• Perception of external stimulus leads to physiological arousal, which leads to emotion
• Perception of physiological (or visceral bodily) changes
• The theory proposes feeling sad because a person cries, and afraid because of trembling

Cannon-Bard Theory

• Emotional and physiological reactions occur simultaneously by the same nerve stimulus
• After we perceive an emotion-producing stimulus, the thalamus is the initial site of the emotional response
• The thalamus sends a signal to the autonomic nervous system, thereby producing a visceral response
• Simultaneously, the thalamus communicates a message to the cerebral cortex regarding the nature of being experienced
• It is now believed that the hypothalamus and the limbic system, not the thalamus, play a major role in emotional experience

Schachter-Singer Theory

• Emotions are determined jointly by a nonspecific kind of physiological arousal and its interpretation, based on environmental cues.
• Physiological arousal
• Cognitive labeling leads to arousal, interpreting external cues then labeling emotion