Motivation Why do we do what we do?

Motivational Concepts• Motive

– a need or desire that initates behavior and directs it towards a goal.

– triggered by stimulus or incentive (bodily condition, external cue)

• Theories of Motivation1) Instinct theory2) Drive-reduction theory3) Arousal theory4) Hierarchy of motives5) Cognition/Incentives theory

Instinct Theory• Instinct = complex behavior patterned throughout

a species, unlearned • Instinct theory we are motivated by our inborn,

automated behaviors• BUT instincts only explain why we do a small

fraction of our behaviors

Drive-Reduction Theory • Behavior is motivated by drives that arise from

biological needs that demand satisfaction• Drive = aroused, motivated state

– Primary drive = innate, biological

– Secondary drive = learned, acquired through experience

• Aim of drive reduction is homeostasis

Optimum Arousal Theory• Belief that we seek ways of increasing arousal when

level of stimulation drops– Linked to brain’s reticular formation & sympathetic nervous

system

• Motivated to satisfy curiosity, reduce boredom, seek stimulation

• See Yerkes-Dodson Law

Cognitive (Incentive) Theory• People actively and regularly determine their own

goals and means of achieving them

• Intrinsic motivation engage in behavior for internal pleasure & satisfaction of activity itself

• Extrinsic motivation engage in behavior for rewards from the environment (money, grades, awards)

• Over-justification effect less likely that a task will be done intrinsically when an extrinsic reward is no longer given

Cognitive Theory & Achievement Motivation

• Achievement motivation = master tasks & take great pride in doing so– High need to achieve challenging but realistic

goals, – Low enjoy success because they have avoided

failure, prefer easy & low effort tasks

Management Theory & Motivation• Theory X: Managers believe that employees will work

only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishment (extrinsically motivated).

• Theory Y: Managers believe that employees are internally motivated to do good work and policies should encourage this internal motive (intrinsically motivated). 

• How might this change the management techniques?

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

• A subfield in psychology that focuses on how to help organizations recruit, select, compensate and train employees.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Abraham Maslow said we are motivated by needs, and all needs are not created equal.

• We are driven to satisfy the lower level needs first.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Biological (food, water, sleep, sex)

Self-esteem (accepting of self as you are)

Safety (low risk of physical harm)

Love and belonging (loving, being loved, social relationships)

Self-actualization (ethics, philosophical and artistic expression)

Motives and Stress• Approach-approach conflicts

– Two desirable but exclusive motives– EX: Choosing between two parties occurring at same

time

• Avoidance-avoidance conflicts– Choosing between two undesirable choices– EX: Pay a fine or go to jail after convicted of crime

Motives & Stress (cont.)

• Approach-avoidance conflicts– One activity has both attractive and unattractive

features– EX: You want to go to the movies with some

friends, but doing so requires more money than you want to spend

• Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts– EX: Choosing between two jobs (one pays little but

has good coworkers; other pays a lot but coworkers are hostile)

Motivation of HUNGER

Physiology of Hunger• Body keeps tabs on our caloric

intake to prevent energy deficits & maintain stable body weight

• Glucose = blood sugar used for energy, helps regulate hunger

• The hormone insulin converts glucose to fat.

• When glucose levels drop, hunger increases

Physiology of Hunger

• Lateral hypothalamus tells us we are hungry, makes us want to eat

• Ventromedial hypothalamus tells us we are full, makes us stop eating

Set Point Theory• The hypothalamus acts like a thermostat.

• Set point = stable weight to which your body wants to return– Activate the lateral when you diet and activate the ventromedial

when you start to gain weight.

– Is it fixed?

• Basal metabolic rate: rate of energy expenditure for maintaining basic body functions when body is at rest

Hunger Motivation & Culture

Ecology of Eating• Situations also control our eating• People eat more when eating with others

(e.g. holiday parties!)• Portion sizes = unit bias

– When alloted smaller portion, ate less

– When given bigger portion, eat more

Motivation and Eating Disorders• Anorexia nervosa self-starvation that results in

dangerously low body weight

• Bulimia nervosa episodes of binge-eating followed by purging

• Binge-eating disorder binge-eating w/out purging (but with remorse)

Biopsychosocial Model & EatingBiological influences:Hypothalamic centersAppetite hormonesStomach pangsSet pointAttraction to tastes

Psychological influences:Sight & smell of foodVariety of foods availableMemory of time elapsed since last mealStress and moodFood unit size

Social-cultural influences:Culturally learned taste preferencesResponses to cultural preferences for appearance

Eating Behavior

Motivation & Obesity• Our bodies store fat

– Fat is an ideal form of stored energy (think of our ancestors)– However, such foods are available in abundance (unlike for our ancestors)

• Obesity = excess body fat• WHO (World Health Organization) in 2007

– More than 1 billion people are overweight, with 300 million of them clinically obese

– Adult obesity rate in U.S. has doubled in last 40 years, reaching 34%, child-teen obesity quadrupled

– “global epidemic” of diabetes

Social Effects of Obesity• Affects how we are treated, how we fell about ourselves

– Stereotypes of the obese

• Gortmaker weight study (1993)– 370 obese women, ages 16-24

– 7 years later 2/3 of women were still obese, 2/3 unmarried

– Made 25% less than women in comparable jobs

• Pingitore’s weight discrimination study (1994)– Filmed mock job interviews w/actors who were normal-weight &

overweight

– Overweight applicants were rated less worthy of hiring

• Lower psychological well-being

• Inhibits social behaviors

Physiology of Obesity• People gain fat by consuming more calories than they expend

• Immediate determinants of fat are size & number of fat cells (each person has average of 30 billion cells)

– When # of fat cells increases (genetics, eating patterns, overeating) it NEVER decreases

• Fat cells may shrink

• Set point & metabolism when overweight person’s body drops below previous set point, the person’s hunger increases & metabolism decreases to restore lost weight

– Body reacts to starvation by burning off fewer calories

Genetics & Obesity• Obesity gene (chromosome 7)• Adopted children’s weights resemble those of

biological parents, not adoptive family• Identical twins have similar weights even when

reared apart• Children of obese parents are more likely to be

obese

Food & Activity Factors on Obesity• Less active lifestyles• Sleep loss

– Sleep deprivation causes levels of leptin (reports body fat to brain) to fall and ghrelin (which stimulates appetite) to rise

• Social influence– People more likely to become obese when friend

became obese

• Our “fattening” world– People across the globe are

getting heavier– Being bombarded with food cues

• Data from Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

The Need to Belong (Baumeister & Leary)

• People are social animals • Aiding survival

– Social bonds boosted our ancestors’ survival rate

• Wanting to belong– Related to self-fulfillment, satisfaction

• Sustaining relationships– Resist breaking social bonds

• Pain of ostracism– Controls behavior – When socially excluded, people may engage in self-

defeating or antisocial behaviors

ReferencesKaplan, H. Motivation (PPT file). Retrieved from AP

Psychology Commune web Site: http://www.appsychology.com

Myers, D.G. (2011). Myers’ psychology for AP. Holland,

MI: Worth Publishers.