MOTIVATION and EMOTION: In Class Notes

Question 1

INTERVENING VARIABLE?

Answer 1

• used to explain the RELATIONSHIP b/w an ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULUS and a BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE
• we don’t see the motivation, we see the behavior and then we say “oh it was motivated” e.g. dog eats the food, it was motivated.

Question 2

PHYSIOLOGICAL MOTIVATION?

Answer 2

• our desire for food, water, shelter, sex…

Question 3

EMOTIONAL MOTIVATION?

Answer 3

• panic, anger, love, ambition…

Question 4

SOCIAL MOTIVATION?

Answer 4

• influence of parents, peers, media…

Question 5

DRIVE THEORY?

Answer 5

• maintain HOMEOSTASIS –> motivation to stabilize; PRIMARY drives; SECONDARY drives
  e. g. if i’m hungry, i seek food; if I’m full, i stop eating.
  e. g. shivering warms us; sweating cools us

Question 6

AROUSAL THEORY?

Answer 6

• seeks to regulate, balance arousal –> OPTIMAL AROUSAL LEVEL; depends on the person, some people like high levels of arousal (e.g. going to a jungle) or low levels of arousal (e.g. botanical garden)
• STRONG HEREDITARY CONTEXT

Question 7

INCENTIVE THEORY?

Answer 7

• focuses on the role of EXTERNAL STIMULI; (behaviorist); different b/w individuals, and can be different IN the individual at different points of time. - seeks to GAIN or AVOID incentive.
• WANT: a classical conditioning process
• LIKE: operant conditioning process; was it reinforcing after?

Question 8

SENSE of WELLBEING derives from…? (4)

Answer 8

• HEREDITARY –> identical twin studies; very high positive correlation (.85) of general subjective sense of well-being
• SOCIAL TIES (obviously)
• RELIGION
• RESOURCES (basic level of material comfort)

Question 9

ASSORTATIVE MATING?

Answer 9

• we tend to–in mating behavior–wind up with those who are similar to us (more often than not)

Question 10

Achievement MOTIVATION is .. but .. (among individuals and times…); we have pretty .. levels of motivation throughout life. There is also a .. element to motivation. (impulsiveness, control over emotions, sensory activity…)

Answer 10

• UNIVERSAL
• VARIABLE
• STABLE
• GENETICA

Question 11

(3) CHARACTERISTICS of HIGHLY MOTIVATED PPL

Answer 11

• EXCEPTIONALISM (“i’m special”)
• INSECURITY (very strong person hanging on the edge of a very high cliff)
• IMPULSE CONTROL (your ability to control your impulses: defer and put off reinforcement)

Question 12

GOAL SETTING helps you achieve when the .. of the GOAL is set HIGH.–>Did you SET your own goal or has someone else set that goal for you? .., .. GOALS are much more easily pursued.

Answer 12

• VALUE

- CLEAR, SPECIFIC

Question 13

(KEY FACTS) All EMOTIONS are a .., .. EXPERIENCE; every EMOTION has parallel a .. manifestation in your ..; every EMOTION has a characteristic expression (e.g. .. language or .. expression)

Answer 13

• SUBJECTIVE (different b/w individuals)
• CONSCIOUS
• PHYSICAL
• BODY
• BODY
• FACIAL

Question 14

CHARACTERISTICS of EMOTION (6)

Answer 14

• USUALLY TEMPORARY (if lasts longer–> mood; longer –> state)
• can be POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or MIXED
• ALTERS THOUGHT
• triggers an ACTION TENDENCY–>you can restrain yourself
• OFTEN INVOLUNTARY (oftentimes, feeling just come over us)
• mixed bag of things we have LEARNED, and things that are INNATE.

Question 15

BIOLOGY of EMOTION (5)

Answer 15

• AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (changes organ activity to meet a need and prepare for change; frees up energy +glucose into bloodstream)
• emotions goes first to THALAMUS –> then FAST and SLOW PATHWAYS; fast: thalamus –> amygdala(fear); slow: thalamus –> prefrontal cortex(process emotion)
• PARALLEL DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING; CLUSTERS of NEURONS are activated in different areas as we process emotion.
• activates MIRROR NEURONS
• note: when you FAKE a smile, you activate a DIFFERENT PART of the brain.

Question 16

EMOTIONS like ANGER and ANXIETY tends to have more .. sided ACTIVITY; EMOTIONS like CALM and EMPATHY tends to have more .. sided ACTIVITY.

Answer 16

• RIGHT

- LEFT

Question 17

DAVIDSON’S CONTRIBUTION to EMOTION?

Answer 17

• ->NEUROLOGIST;

- discovered 6 different patterns of emotion in the brain; POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY; interaction w/ DALAI LLAMA; BUDDISM

Question 18

NUCLEUS ACUBENS in STRIATUM?

Answer 18

• REWARD CIRCUIT

Question 19

DAVIDSON’S (6) DIFFERENT PATTERNS of EMOTIONS?

Answer 19

• OUTLOOK (positive or negative?): NUCLEUS ACUBENS in STRIATUM
• RESILIENCE (how long does it take for you to bounce back from negative emotions?): PREFRONTAL CORTEX and AMYGDALA
• SOCIAL INTUITION (ability to detect emotional states of other people): amygdala and FUSIFORM GYRUS
• SELF-AWARENESS: back of FOREBRAIN (insula: tied to perception and limbic system)
• CONTEXT (how we behave according to context e.g. new years eve party vs. funeral…): hippocampus
• ATTENTION: phase locking in PREFRONTAL and ANTERIOR CINGULATE

Question 20

FUSIFORM GYRUS is in .. ..

Answer 20

• OCCIPITAL LOBE (for recognizing faces)

Question 21

POSITIVE EMOTIONS influence on BIOLOGY? (3)

Answer 21

• body will produce more GROWTH HORMONES
• stimulates PROLACTIN
• stimulates OXITOCIN (love chemical…)