class 19. motivation and emotion what’s the difference? confusing because they usually occur...
TRANSCRIPT
CLASS 19
MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
What’s the difference?
Confusing because they usually occur together
Emotion the subjective experience of a physiological
reaction to a stimulus e.g. anxiety, excitement, disgust, love
Motivation: activates a goal-directed behavior hunger, thirst, sex, escape, money, power not necessarily conscious
Q: Function of motivation ? A: For survival:
Organisms need to initiate adaptive behaviors
Forces to push them in right direction cars & computers can’t do it
VARIETIES OF MOTIVATION
How many and what is their origin?
Freud – just two Learning theory – reward & punishment Humanistic theory not clear – except
Maslow Instincts – too many with no organization
DARWIN’S EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
•Organizes and explains motivation
•Motivations maximize reproduction of the species
Mechanism of evolution
Sexual reproduction variation Environmental pressures and mate-
competition
Some survive Namely, those who suit new circumstances
Floods Famine War
Creates Diverse Species
Many niches in ecosystem
Each niche selects for different traits
Yields great diversity between species
It all happens automatically
Evolutionary Psychology
Not just physical differences are selected
Also behavior and thinking
Our species shows specific psychological tendencies
E.g., specific fears and desires
Who survived?
The fittest ?–not strength or speed but intelligence
The best reproducers ? Must show cross-sex attraction
Effective reproducers Must also enjoy nurturance Adaptive qualities depend on gender
Individual Differences
Not emphasized in evolutionary theory 3 possibilities
1. Natural variation around ideal mean ?
2. Mutations ?
3. Polymorphisms ?
Gender differences
Predictable from evolutionary theory because males and females have different reproductive agendas
Most sex differences are small Except with regard to:
physical aggression reproductive preferences
Those show large differences
Different species? Different planets?
Clark & Hatfield (1989)
Students approached by opposite-sex stranger
1. Date ? yes = 50% of males
50% of females
2. Have sex ?yes = 75% of males
0% of females
Let me count the ways
Casual sex vs. commitment
Sex vs. relationship focus
Entertainment choice
Interest in nurturance
Which theory ?
EP predicts all these differences should occur in every human society
Other theories do not