What is motivation?
Something that energizes behavior and directs it towards a goal
What is instinct theory?
says all behavior driven by instincts
Problems with instinct theory?
Motivation is biological and intrinsic and we participate in things that are not biologically innate
What is drive-reduction theory?
As drive state becomes strong, behavior is motivated
What is a drive
psychological state – an aroused state caused by physiological need
what is a need?
physiological state (hunger, water, etc)
incentives
positive/negative stimuli that can also motivate behavior
Environmental cues
Just after eating a big lunch, you find something that you want to eat
What is the hierarchy of human needs
There is an order to needs people are driven to meet All human behavior seeks to meet and satisfy these needs
What are “d-needs”?
Physiological needs (Strongest needs) Deficiency needs (1-4) – when we are deficient in these areas, there will be some indication
What are the strongest needs
Deficiency needs (1-4) – when we are deficient in these areas, there will be some indication
Physiological, safety, belongingness and love, and esteem
Weakest needs?
5&6: Self-actualization and self-transcendence
Do Americans fulfill all of the needs
Americans’ needs are only partially fulfilled: 85% fulfill physiological needs, 70% safety, 50% love, 40% self-esteem, 10% actualization
How might Maslow’s theory be different cross-culturally?
In the US, he believed that self-esteem is very important while it isn’t in other cultures
How do the narratives from Nazi concentration camps support Maslow’s hierarchy?
Fathers and sons fight “tooth and nail” over a piece of food
What did researchers do in the semi-starvation study by Ancel Keys (1950)?
Researchers gradually took away the food supply from 36 men
How did Keys’ study provide support for Maslow’s hierarchy?
Once the food supply was cut, they noticed that they rapidly lost weight, lost interest in everything that wasn’t food, lost ability to concentrate, they were obsessed with food because their d-needs were not being met
Define self-control
the ability to control ones emotions, behavior, and desires in order to obtain some reward or avoid punishment
What is a cold motivational state
complex, flexible, develop with age (learned over time)
Hot motivational state
When we are preoccupied with meeting a need; innate; simple and fast
What conclusion can we draw about self-control with Mischel’s different studies?
The participants were in hot motivational states. As adolescents…had less behavior problems in school, higher scores on coping with stress inventories, almost 200 points higher on college placement tests As adults…reported higher quality relationships, greater social competence, rated as more dependable workers
What happens in the brain when we experience hunger?
Increase in glucose
What specific parts of the brain influence hunger (e.g., trigger hunger or slow/depress hunger)?
The hypothalamus monitors appetite hormones
What do experiments with animals manipulating these different areas show
Found that many mice were missing leptin and therefore, once they were injected with leptin, they lost weight
Does the mouse experiment work for humans
Leptin shots don’t work for humans
What hormone has been linked to obesity in rats and in some few humans?
Leptin
Social facilitation
other people increase our natural behavioral tendencies
Longitudinal research of social networks and likelihood of obesity (Christakis & Fowler, 2007)
If your friend becomes obese, you are 57% more likely to become obese as well
What is anorexia nervosa
Excessive fear of gaining weight/becoming overweight Sometimes engage in excessive exercise May begin as a weight loss diet Usually adolescents; mostly female Fall significantly below normal body weight
What is bulimia nervosa
May also be triggered by weight loss diet Repeated (pattern of) binging and purging Late teens, early 20s; mostly female More common than Anorexia (NIMH, 2009)
Which is the more common condition; Bulimia or Anorexia?
Bulimia
Cognition difference between anorexia and bulimia
thoughts preoccupied by weight (anorexia) vs. sweets (bulimia)
Psychological health difference between anorexia and bulimia
those with bulimia more prone to depression
Personality difference between anorexia and bulimia
impulsivity (B), self-control (A), and achievement seeking (A)
Contingent self-esteem
specific areas of which self-esteem is derived Physical attractiveness, specifically thinness is one of the most valued characteristics
Body image
beliefs and feelings toward physical body
emotion
a brief feeling state that involves cognition, physiological responses, and behavioral reactions to events
three components of emotion
cognition, physiological responses, and behavioral reactions to events
How does an emotion differ from definitions of mood or affect?
Mood – an enduring, longer lasting feeling state Affect – a broad descriptor used to denote evaluation, can represent emotion or mood
What is the Circumplex model?
The model of emotions
What dimensions does Circumplex model cross
Pleasant/unpleasant and activation/deactivation
What division of the nervous system is activated in fight-or-flight?
Sympathetic
How does this system affect us (i.e., what are the physical effects)?
Release stress hormones; release excess sugar into bloodstream
With the exception of physiological arousal, what are various ways in which researchers can determine the emotions individuals are experiencing?
Self-report – we can ask them Context – we can make inference Laboratory measures (electromyography)
What is EMG?
electromyography; detect brief changes in facial muscles
What does corrugator activity indicate
frowning muscle” Absence sometimes used to indicate positive emotion
zygomatic activity?
“smiling muscle” Combined with the orbicularis oculi
the Duchenne smile
The “true” smile
What have researchers found regarding left/right sides of the brain and positive vs. negative emotions?
Left side of the brain –positive emotion Right side of the brain – negative
What does activity in the frontal lobes show? (Davidson, 2000; Harmon-Jones et al., 2002; Hecht, 2010)
Depressed people have more right frontal lobe activity than non-depressed; less left frontal lobe activity compared to right Vs. Individuals who tend not to experience depressive states (e.g., alert infants, goal-oriented adults) show more left frontal lobe activity
Currently, what is the best explanation for the above associations?
Left side has more dopamine receptors
James-Lange theory
Physiological arousal experienced first, then we experience emotion Counter-intuitive
Cannon-Bard theory
Arousal not distinct enough to signal emotion and emotion happens too quickly Physiological arousal and emotion occur at same time
Two-factor theory
addressed cognition related to emotion Physiological arousal and cognition happen together, and then emotion is experienced Other theories didn’t give attention to this step
Which theory or theories have received the most empirical support?
Two factor theory and the Cannon and Bard theory
What is a spill-over effect? Provide an example
our physiological arousal from one event ‘spills over’ to influence emotional response to another event Example: physiological arousal from a run may intensify an emotion that comes later
What did the study by Dutton and Aron (1974) do
can physiological arousal increase feelings of attraction? Misattribution of arousal Iv – varied physiological arousal Dv – attractiveness; did they call?
What did the study by Dutton and Aron (1974) find
Men who were approached on the bridge were much more likely to call the woman
Can emotion precede cognition?
Yes, Priming studies reveal that we are influenced by emotions that are experienced on an unconscious level (i.e., “low-road”; Zajonc, 1980, 1984)
Neuroscience evidence (Whalen et al., 2004); Emotions precede cognition
Participants primed with fearful or happy eyes in fMRI Amygdala showed response despite no self reported awareness
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
bodily reactions can influence emotional experience
findings of Strack et al. (1989)
When asked who was happiest, someone holding a pencil in their teeth was perceived to be happier than someone holding it in their hand and in their lips
How did Ekman develop his emotion atlas?
analyzed hundreds of films and photographs of people experiencing real emotion
What six emotions did Ekman argue were primary?
Surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and happiness
Which emotional expression is most universal according to cross-cultural research by Ekman and colleagues?
Combination of sadness and happiness
What is emotion detection?
ability to recognize emotion
On average, how good are we in detecting emotion
General performance is good We are particularly good for certain emotions
Does detecting emotion differ with regard to positive or negative emotions?
faster to detect single angry face than the single happy face
How do prior experience, personality, and gender influence emotion detection abilities?
Experience Physical abuse Personality Extraversion More introverted detect emotions better Gender Gender and “emotion literacy” Women
What is happiness?
a positive state of mind; also called subjective well-being
What effects of happiness have been shown in experimental research?
Flexible thinking, creativity, interest and exploration “Feel good, do good phenomenon”
Describe the relationship between wealth and happiness
If we don’t have any, we are miserable; once we have enough to be comfortable, increases in health/money matter less
Describe two phenomena that have a large influence on our happiness
Adaptation level and relative deprivation
Adaptation level
the tendency to judge stimuli relative to those we have previously experienced; means we will adapt quickly and the new thing will be the norm “We always recalibrate”
Relative deprivation
sense that we are worse off than others
What is personality?
a person’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
What is the contemporary approach to personality?
Adult human personality reflects differences along five broad dimensions
What do studies of personality and U.S. geography reveal? Specifically, describe a ‘Midwesterner’
- Personality traits tend to cluster in regions. Sociable, considerate, and traditional
Who was Sigmund Freud?
- Not a psychologist by training
- Was a physician and wanted to become a neurologist
- Developed his own theory of personality
What is conversion hysteria?
- Those with physical symptoms with no apparent biological cause
How did Freud think about the unconscious in a unique way?
- He saw it as a reservoir of unacceptable resources. Where we thought of things that were too unacceptable to be said out loud
What are three techniques Freud used in his psychoanalytic therapy?
Free association
Dream interpretation
Slips of the tongue
Free association
- relax, say whatever comes to mind
Dream interpretation
- believed dreams were the “royal road to the unconscious”
Slips of the tongue
“faulty actions”; errors in speech, memory, or behavior
What were the three interacting systems of personality according to Freud?
Id
Ego
Superego
Id
basic drives; operates on pleasure principle (as soon as newborn baby needs something, it cries; present from birth)
Ego
operates on reality principle; conscious thoughts, perceptions, and memories; wants to meet needs but in reasonable manner (develops from 3-4)
Superego
what we “ought” to do; parents’ wishes, values, and morals; strive for perfection (forms around age 5)
How was personality like an iceberg according to Freud?
- Different parts operate at different levels of awareness
- Most of our personality is hidden like the majority of an iceberg is underwater
What was the Oedipus complex? How was it resolved?
- Pertains to boys and says that boys obtain an unconscious sexual desire for their mother and this desire causes jealousy and hatred for the father and this was resolved by them identifying with their father
What is a defense mechanism? Provide some examples of them
- created by the ego to help deal with anxiety about losing control; they each distort reality in different ways
Repression
Regression
Reaction formation
Projection
Rationalization
Displacement
Denial
Repression
underlies all; banish from consciousness
Regression
return to an earlier, safer time
Reaction formation
makes unacceptable feelings, desires, and impulses look like their opposite
Projection
attributes own unacceptable feelings, desires, and impulses to another
Rationalization
rationalize; self-justify
Displacement
- directs unacceptable feelings away from a person or object that aroused the feelings and toward a more acceptable target
Denial
refusing to believe