Motivation
Motivation - the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the
reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior.
Characteristics of motivation: You are energized, directed, and you have differing intensities of feelings
about reaching your goal.
Theories of Motivation:
Instinct theory - An instinct is an innate biological force, which commands the organism to behave in
a particular way. The main advocate of the instinct theory was the psychologist McDougall. He
hypothesized that all thinking and behavior is the result of instincts, which are fixed from birth, but
which can be adjusted by learning and experience.
Activation of the brain's reward / pleasure center (Drive-reduction theory) - behavior occurs in response
to "drives" such as hunger, thirst, sexual interest, feeling cold, etc. When the goal of the drive is attained
(food, water, mating, warmth) the drive is reduced, at least temporarily. This reduction of drive serves as
a reinforcer for learning. Thus learning involves a dynamic interplay between survival drives & their
attainment (Clark Hull).
Incentive theory - Incentives have two common features:
1. They can be either thoughts or objects.
2. Their value can change over time.
Cognitive theory - We do things to satisfy personal beliefs or meet personal goals (intrinsic motivation) &
we do things to reduce biological needs or to obtain incentives or external rewards (extrinsic motivation).
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
From lowest to highest:
Physiological (biological) needs - This includes things such as food, water, and oxygen. This need
is one of the strongest motivators. This need has two unique features: 1) it can be completely or overly
satisfied, and 2) it is a reoccurring need.
Safety needs - Stability, dependency, physical security, and freedom from illness, anxiety, and danger
are just a few things we seek. The need for law and order also falls under the heading of safety.
Love & belongingness needs - The need for love, friendship, a mate, a family, and the need to belong
to a club, nation, or neighborhood mark this level.
Esteem needs - Maslow defined two levels of esteem needs -- self-esteem and reputation. Self-esteem
is a person's own feelings of worth and confidence, whereas reputation is based on recognition & prestige
that is reflective of other people's opinion. Most people desire to be confident in their own eyes rather
than in other's.
Self-actualization- the process of establishing oneself as a whole person, able to develop one's abilities
and to understand oneself.
Achievement
Achievement: level of attainment or proficiency in relation to a standard measure of performance, or of
success in bringing about a desired end.
The need for achievement can be measured using tests such as the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) as well as more objective paper & pencil tests.
Three components that interact to produce a level of success:
1. Need for achievement - force that drives an individual to improve, succeed, or excel in things
considered both difficult and important.
2. Fear of failure - causes the choosing of the easy path.
3. Psychological Factors such as self-concept, self-esteem and self-confidence.
According to David C. McClelland's research, achievement-motivated people have certain characteristics
in common, including;
* the capacity to set high ('stretching') personal but obtainable goals,
* the concern for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success, and
* the desire for job-relevant feedback (how well am I doing?) rather than for attitudinal feedback
(how well do you like me?).
Cognitive factors in motivation:
Intrinsic motivation - Intrinsic means innate or within; hence intrinsic motivation is the stimulation or drive
stemming from within oneself. In relation to learning, one is compelled to learn by a motive to understand,
originating from one's own curiosity. Intrinsic motivation is often associated with intrinsic rewards because
the natural rewards of a task are the motivating forces that encourage an individual in the first place.
This is the better motivator !!!!!!!
Extrinsic motivation is encouragement from an outside force; behavior is performed based on the expectance
of an outside reward, such as money or praise. It can be delightful when the reward is unexpected.
Hunger
Ideal body weight is exactly that, an ideal. There are a number of variables that influence your weight and there
is no set number. An ideal body weight is really a range that is within the boundaries of good health. It is
important to maintain a healthy body weight as it limits the chances of many illnesses and heart conditions.
Your body at the right weight will function and run at its optimum.
Three Hunger Factors:
1. Biological hunger factors:
Peripheral cues come from the stomach, liver, intestines, & fat cells.
Central cues come from the brain's hypothalamus.
2. Genetic hunger factors:
- Fat cells - the number of these you have is determined by heredity, they vary in size as your weight changes.
- Metabolic rate - your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day.
- The set point is the weight range in which your body is programmed to weigh & will fight to maintain that weight
- Weight-regulating genes
3. Psychosocial hunger factors:
Learned associations
Socio-cultural influences
Personality traits
Serious eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a severe decrease in eating. People with anorexia
nervosa are hungry, but they deny the hunger due to an overshadowing fear to become fat. This fear continues
even as the person becomes dangerously thin. Treatment for anorexia nervosa should include both a mental
health professional as well as a primary health care physician.
Bulimia nervosa is an illness that is most commonly found in girls of later adolescence and early adulthood.
It is very rarely found in men. It is characterized by episodes of binge eating; eating large quantities of food in
a short time. This behavior may be very severe with enormous quantities of food, most typically
carbohydrates being consumed. To prevent the otherwise inevitable consequence of weight gain there are
periods of food restriction and often vomiting, laxative abuse or excessive exercising. When vomiting is used
then the binges may become multiple with repeating cycles over several hours in which the sufferer eats until
full, then vomits and eats again. With increasing severity the girls' lives become more chaotic with the focus
increasingly on the bulimic behavior.
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Behavior - Three factors:
1. Genetic sex factors
Sex chromosome
Differentiation: male & female
Importance of testosterone
2. Biological sex factors:
Sex hormones
Male hypothalamus
Female hypothalamus
Sexual motivation
3. Psychological sex factors:
1st step: gender identity
2nd step: gender roles
3rd step: sexual orientation (preference)
Two theories of male-female differences in sexual pursuits:
Social Role Theory: This is the principle that men & women behave differently in social situations &
take different roles, due to the expectations that society puts upon them (including gender stereotyping).
This includes women taking positions of lower power, meeting ‘glass ceilings’, having home-making
roles, etc.
Three common patterns are:
• Women take on more domestic tasks
• In occupations, women often have lower status
• Women & men often have different occupational roles.
Evolutionary theory: uses reproductive goals as well as genetic & biological factors to explain the
behavior. Sociobiology says that the double standard for male promiscuity has a biological basis —
it is not moral or immoral; it simply is a strategy that produces more children.
Homosexuality - sexual attraction to or sexual relations with members of the same sex.
Sexual response: problems & treatments:
Paraphilias are sometimes referred to as sexual deviations or perversions including fantasies, behaviors,
or sexual urges focusing on unusual objects, activities, or situations.
Sexual dysfunctions - problems of sexual arousal or organism.
Organic factors - refers to medical problems.
Psychological factors - refer to performance anxiety, sexual trauma, guilt, or failure to communicate.
Four-stage model of human sexual response (Masters & Johnson)
1st - Excitement
2nd - Plateau
3rd - Orgasm
4th - Resolution - return to normal
Two common sexual problems:
Premature (rapid) ejaculation
Inhibited female orgasm
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive - To have the virus that causes AIDS.
AIDS - Acronym for Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome. An epidemic disease caused by an
infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), a retrovirus that causes immune system failure
and debilitation and is often accompanied by cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma as well as
secondary infections such as tuberculosis. AIDS is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids.
Defined as a level of T cells no more than 200 per cubic milliliter of blood or has developed one or
more of 26 specified illnesses such as pneumonia, skin cancer, etc.
Risk for AIDS - The CDC places 88% of American AIDS patients in two categories: men who have
sex with men or injection drug users. Just 10% of Americans diagnosed with AIDS cite heterosexual
contact as their only risk and of these, close to half (4%) mention sexual relations with users
of injection drugs.
Progression of the disease: A person is diagnosed with AIDS when he/she has HIV plus one or
more of the illnesses specific to the syndrome. At this stage a person has generally been living with
HIV for many years and the immune system is severely damaged. In most cases one of the
"opportunistic infections" will eventually cause the death of the person living with AIDS.
Treatment - While AIDS is a fatal illness, some drugs are now being used that can reduce HIV's
damage to the immune system, delay symptoms, prevent "opportunistic infections," & prolong life.
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Topics in Psychology
Robert C. Gates