Unit VIII. Motivation and Emotion

1. Unit VIII. Motivation and Emotion 1

2. Emotion Emotions are our body’s adaptive response of the whole organism. Emotions involve physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience..

3. Expression of Emotions is Adaptive • Darwin speculated that our ancestors communicated with facial expressions in the absence of language. Nonverbal facial expressions led to our ancestors survival. • Surprise widens our eyes, enabling us to take in more information. • Disgust wrinkles the nose, closing it to foul odors.

5. Inside Out • Overview • Disgust and anger clip • Meet Sadness • Longer overview of sadness

6. Controversy • Does physiological arousal precede or follow your emotional experience? • Does cognition (thinking) precede emotion (feeling)?

7. I see a bear -> I tremble -> I am afraid • Perception -> physical response -> emotion • Emotions are a response to what is happening to the body • Value • – first attempt to explain the process • - includes an interpretation aspect

8. Cannon and Bard challenged James-Lange theory • Emotions do not come about as a response to physical responses • Emotions and physical responses occur at the same time • I see a bear -> I am afraid and tremble • Value • Early scientific look at emotions • Advanced understanding of process • Problem • Doesn’t include interpretative • part of the process

9. Schachter-Singer • Schachter-Singer • Emotions we feel depend on • Out internal physical state • The external situation • Psych Files

10. Limbic System (Amygdala)-Flight or fight responses • -evidence-lesioning (cutting) or electrically stimulating parts of the lymbic system • Reticular Formation-Located in brain stem-works w/thalamus and amygdala to monitor info • In detecting threats, the ret.form sets off heart accelerate, respiration increases Unit VIII. Motivation and Emotion 4

11. Physiological Differences Physical responses, like finger temperature and movement of facial muscles, change during fear, rage, and joy. Activity of the left frontal lobe (happy) is different from the right frontal lobe(depressed) for emotions. Observing activity in the amygdala, we can distinguish between anger and rage.

12. Role of Autonomic Nervous System • Parasympathetic-dominates in pleasant emotions • Sympathetic—startling or unpleasant emotions • Ie-A car coming towards you • Brain alerts the body by means of messages carried along pathway sof the sympathetic system • Messages direct adrenal glands to release stress hormones, raise heart, and blood pressure • Directs certain blood vessels to constrict, diverting energy to the voluntary muscles and away from the stomach andintestines (the “knot” in your stomach)

13. Catharsis Hypothesis Venting anger through action or fantasy achieves an emotional release or “catharsis.” Research has not supported the catharsis hypothesis. Expressing anger breeds more anger, and through reinforcement it is habit-forming.

14. Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon When we feel happy we are more willing to help others.

15. Emotional Ups and Downs Our positive moods rise to a maximum within 6-7 hours after waking up. Negative moods stay more or less the same throughout the day.

16. Stress and Stressors A stressor is a thing that causes a person to experience stress. Stress is not merely a stimulus or a response. It is a process by which we appraise and cope with environmental threats and challenges. Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works When short-lived or taken as a challenge, stressors may have positive effects. However, if stress is threatening or prolonged, it can be harmful.

17. Stress & Susceptibility to Disease A psychophysiological illness is any stress-related physical illness such as hypertension and some headaches. Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a developing field in which the health effects of psychological, neural, and endocrine processes on the immune system are studied.

18. Diathesis Stress Model • Diathesis-Predisposition+Stress-Something that causes negative effects=Result • Low Predisposition-low stress • High Predisposition-low stress • Low predisposition-high stress • High predisposition-high stress

19. The Stress Response System Our initial stress response is a fight-or-flight response: • epinephrine and norepinephrine from the inner adrenal glands, • increasing heart and respiration rates, • sugar and fat mobilized • natural pain killers released

20. Part II. Motivation

21. Motivation Motivation is a need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it towards a goal. Aron Ralston was motivated to cut his arm in order to free himself from a rock that pinned him down. Ralston describes it AP Photo/ Rocky Mountain News, Judy Walgren Aron Ralston

22. Types of Motivation • Drive-Motivation that is assumed to have a strong biological component. Important in reproduction and survival • Ie-Hunger and thirst • Motive-learned urges • achievement or playing video games • Intrinsic V. Extrinsic motivation • Engages in an activity for their own sake without any outside reward-intrinsic • Rewards for actions-extrinsic • Prep and Landing

23. Perspectives on Motivation Four perspectives used to explain motivation include the following: Instinct Theory (replaced by the evolutionary perspective) Drive-Reduction Theory Arousal Theory Hierarchy of Motives

24. Motivation in Evolutionary Psychology Instincts are patterns of behavior that are inherited and unlearned. Instincts generally serve to help survival. Examples: • Salmon swim upstream to reproduce – survival of species. • Rooting of human infants – survival of individual. Evolutionary Theory of Motivation • Under Darwin’s influence, early theorists viewed motivationas resulting in purposeful behavior that is ultimately directed toward the fundamental goal of evolutionary fitness, and as being controlled by instincts. • When it became clear that people were naming, not explaining, various behaviors by calling them instincts, this approach fell into disfavor.

25. Drives and Incentives When the instinct theory of motivation failed, it was replaced by the drive-reduction theory. Drive-reduction theory says: • a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need. • Our goal is homeostasis, internal stability. • Our needs push our behavior • Incentives pull us toward behavior that reduces our drives. • Incentives are positive or negative stimuli Incentive

26. A Hierarchy of Motives Abraham Maslow (1970) suggested that certain needs have priority over others. Physiological needs like breathing, thirst, and hunger come before psychological needs such as achievement, self-esteem, and the need for recognition. Prep and Landing (1908-1970)

27. Prep and LandingMotivation • Wayne—Incentive, Maslow, Arousal • Lanny—Arousal • Magee—Drive Reduction, Arousal • Santa—Self-Determination, Maslow • Reindeer—Instinct, Arousal

28. Hunger When do we eat? When we are hungry. When there is no food in our stomach. When are we hungry? How do we know when our stomach is empty? Our stomach growls. These are also called hunger pangs.

29. Body Chemistry & the Brain Rat Hypothalamus • Levels of glucose in the blood are monitored by receptors (neurons) in the stomach, liver, and intestines. • These receptors send signals to the hypothalamus in the brain. • Hypothalamus produces the hormone orexin. • Reminder: Hypothalamus directs maintenance activities like eating, drinking, body temperature, and control of emotions.

30. Hypothalamic Centers The lateral hypothalamus (LH) brings on hunger (stimulation). Destroy the LH, and the animal has no interest in eating. The reduction of blood glucose stimulates orexin in the LH, which leads rats to eat ravenously. The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) depresses hunger (stimulation). Destroy the VMH, and the animal eats excessively.

31. Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa:A condition in which a normal-weight person (usually an adolescent woman) continuously loses weight but still feels overweight. Sexual Abuse:Childhood sexual abuse does not cause eating disorders. Family: Younger generations develop eating disorders when raised in families in which weight is an excessive concern. Family also tends to be highly competitive, high-achieving and protective. Genetics: Twin studies show that eating disorders are more likely to occur in identical twins rather than fraternal twins.

32. Obesity A disorder characterized by being excessively overweight. Obesity increases the risk for health issues like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and back problems. For women, obesity is linked to late-life Alzheimer’s and brain tissue loss. http://www.cyberdiet.com

33. Sexual Motivation Sexual motivation is nature’s clever way of making people procreate, enabling our species to survive. To understand sexual motivation we must consider both the internal and external stimuli.

34. The Physiology of Sex Masters and Johnson (1966): • 382 female voluteers, 312 male volunteers agreed to participate in a study in which they were observed in a laboratory setting during masturbation and sexual intercourse. • Their results were used to gather information about the human sexual response cycle

35. The Physiology of Sex Masters and Johnson (1966) describe the human sexual response cycle as consisting of four phases:

36. The Psychology of Sex Hunger responds to a need. If we do not eat, we die. In that sense, sex is not a need because if we do not have sex, we do not die.

37. Imagined Stimuli Our imagination in our brain can influence sexual arousal and desire. People with spinal cord injuries and no genital sensation can still feel sexual desire. Sotographs/The Gamma-Liaison Network/ Getty Images