AP Psychology Notes

Chapter Outlines

Chapter 8: Motivation and Emotion

Overview
1. Motivation
  1. Feelings or ideas that cause us to act toward a goal
Theories of Motivation
1. Drive Reduction Theory
  1. Our behavior is motivated by biological needs
  2. Needs
    1. requirements for survival
    2. food, water, shelter
  3. Drives
    1. our impulses to act in ways that satisfy our needs
    2. ex: hunger
  4. Homeostasis
    1. a balanced internal state
    3. our body seeks it
    4. when we are out of it, we have a need that creates a drive
  5. Primary drives
    1. biological needs (ex: thirst)
  6. Secondary drives
    1. learned drives
    2. ex: we learn that money can get us food and water to satisfy our primary drives
2. Arousal Theory
  1. We seek an optimum level of excitement or arousal
    1. we are motivated by activities that help us achieve our needed level
  2. Yerkes- Dodson Law
    1. we might perform well at an easy task with a very high arousal level
    2. the same high level would worsen our performance on a difficult task
3. Opponent-Process Theory
  1. People are usually at a baseline (normal) state
    1. we might perform an act that moves us away from this state
    2. may be pleasurable at first, but eventually we feel an opponent process
      1. (we want to return to baseline state)
    3. with physically addictive substances, we get withdrawal
      1. we are required to have more to return to baseline state
  2. Generally used to explain addictive behaviors
4. Incentive Theory
  1. Incentives
    1. stimuli that we are drawn to due to learning
  2. We learn to associate some stimuli with rewards and others with punishment
    1. we are motivated to seek the rewards
5. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
  1. Physiological needs
    1. to satisfy drives for hunger, thirst, and sex
  2. Safety needs
    1. to feel safe, secure, and out of danger
  3. Belonging and love needs
    1. to be accepted and belong
  4. Esteem needs
    1. to achieve and to gain approval and recognition
  5. Self-actualization needs
    1. to achieve your unique potential
Hunger Motivation
1. Biological Basis of Hunger
  1. Lateral hypothalamus
    1. causes us to eat
  2. Ventromedial hypothalamus
    1. satiety center
    2. causes us to stop eating
  3. Set-point theory
    1. the hypothalamus wants to maintain a certain optimum body weight
      1. if we drop below the weight, it lowers our metabolic rate (how quickly our body uses energy)
    2. when the set point is reached:
      1. hypothalamus tells us to stop eating and raises metabolism to burn excess food
2. Psychological Factors in Hunger Motivation
  1. Externals
    1. more motivated to eat by external food cues
      1. attractiveness or availability of food
  2. Internals
    1. respond more often to internal hunger cues
  3. The extent of the effect of each type of cue on us might be learned
  4. Garcia effect
    1. taste aversion to a food results after feeling nauseous after eating it
  5. We prefer foods we were raised with
3. Eating Disorders
  1. Bulimia
    1. binging and purging
  2. Anorexia nervosa
    1. refuse to eat due to obsession with weight
    2. starve themselves to below 85% of normal body weight
  3. Obesity
    1. severely overweight
      1. often by over 100 pounds
      2. excess weight threatens health
    2. have unhealthy eating habits
Sexual Motivation
1. Sexual Response Cycle
  1. Documented by William Masters and Virginia Johnson
  2. Stages
    1. initial excitement
    2. plateau phase
    3. orgasm
    4. resolution phase
2. Psychological Factors
  1. Sexual desire can be present even when the capability to have sex is lost
  2. Erotic material can spark physiological responses
Social Motivation
1. Achievement Motivation
  1. Examines our desires to master complex tasks/knowledge and reach goals
  2. Some people have higher than others
  3. Varies from activity to activity
2. Extrinsic/Intrinsic Motivation
  1. Extrinsic motivators
    1. rewards that we get for accomplishments from outside ourselves
    2. ex: grades, salary
  2. Intrinsic motivators
    1. rewards we get internally
    2. ex: enjoyment, satisfaction
    3. most effective to sustain a behavior for a long period of time
3. Management Theory
  1. Theory X
    1. managers believe that employees will work only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishments
  2. Theory Y
    1. managers believe that employees are internally motivated to do good work and policies should encourage this inner motive
    2. studies show its more beneficial
4. When Motives Conflict
  1. Approach-approach conflict
    1. you must choose between two desirable outcomes
  2. Avoidance-avoidance conflict
    1. you must choose between two unattractive outcomes
  3. Approach-avoidance conflict
    1. one event or goal has both attractive and unattractive features
  4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts
    1. you must choose between two or more things, each of which has both desirable and undesirable features
Theories and Emotion
1. James-Lange vs. Cannon-Bard
  1. James-Lange Theory
    1. we feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress
    2. William James and Carl Lange
  2. Cannon-Bard Theory
    1. the biological change and the cognitive awareness of the emotional state occur simultaneously
      1. the hypothalamus sends signals to our cortex and autonomous nervous system about environment
    2. Walter Cannon and Philip Bard
2. Two-Factor Theory
  1. Stanley Schachter
  2. Both our physical responses and cognitive labels (mental interpretations) combine to cause emotional responses
  3. People who are physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions
Stress
1. Overview
  1. Stressors
    1. life events that cause stress
  2. Stress reactions
    1. how we react to these changes in the environment
2. Measuring Stress
  1. SRRS
    1. social readjustment rating scale
    2. measures stress using LCU’s
      1. life changing units
    3. any major life change increases the score
    4. people who score high are more likely to have stress related diseases
    5. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rae
3. Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
  1. Describes the general response animals and humans have to a stressful event
  2. Stages
    1. alarm reaction
      1. the organism readies itself to meet the challenge by activating the sympathetic nervous system
    2. resistance
      1. body remains physiologically ready
      2. hormones released to maintain readiness
      3. if in this state for too long, the body will be depleted of resources
    3. exhaustion
      1. parasympathetic nervous system returns our body to normal
      2. more vulnerable to disease
  3. Explains problems associated with extended periods of stress
4. Perceived Control
  1. Control over events lessens stress
  2. A perceived lack of control makes events more stressful

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Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Chapter 8: Motivation and Emotion" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.apstudynotes.org/psychology/outlines/chapter-8-motivation-and-emotion/>.

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Chapter 8: Motivation and Emotion

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