Motivation and Emotion part 2 Flashcards
What is the first stage of the Human Sexual Response?
Excitement
physiological arousal for both sexes (e.g., heart rate, respiration rate, tension, blood pressure);
Vasocongestion (engorgement of blood vessels)
What is the second stage of the Human Sexual Response?
Plateau
Arousal continues to build, but at a slower pace
What is the third stage of the Human Sexual Response?
Orgasm
Peak intensity
Muscular contractions in the pelvic area
Women more likely than men to experience
more than one orgasm
Women also more likely than men NOT to orgasm
One study 78% men vs 28% women always orgasm.
What is the fourth and final stage of the Human Sexual Response?
Resolution
Physiological changes subsiding
If no orgasm, reduction in sexual tension can be slow
After orgasm, men experience a refractory period where they are largely unresponsive to further stimulation (minutes to hours depending on age)
What is the Coolidge Effect?
The phenomenon of a new sexual partner reviving sexual interest
Animal studies:
Present in most mammalian species
Ex: rats in enclosed box with 3-4 females
Refractory period reduced with the introduction of a new sexual partner (less rest time needed)
More powerful in males
Do hormones influence sexual behaviour?
yes
What are pheromones?
Chemicals secreted by animals can impact the behaviour of another (detected through smell)
Been suggested that pheromones might influence human desire
Inconclusive results, when it comes to sexual desire
Cosmetic industry still tries
What is Parental Investment Theory?
Species’ mating patterns depend on what each sex has to invest (time, energy, risk of survival) to produce and nurture offspring
Predicts that:
Men will show more interest in sexual activity, more desire for variety in sexual partner, and more willingness to engage in uncommitted sex
Women will be more discriminatory when choosing partners. Need males with greatest ability to contribute toward caring for offspring (strength, agility, skillful, resources)
_________________________________________
Parental Investment Theory also suggests that there are differences in the characteristics of what females and males want in a long-term mate:
What do you look for in a mate?
All: kindness and intelligence
Women: power & status
Men: youthfulness & attractiveness
What is sexual orientation?
preference for emotional and sexual relationships
when was it legal for same-sex couples to marry in Canada? Has violence increased or decreased?
2005 legal for same-sex couples to marry (Canada)
Violence decreasing but still current
What is a big reason as to why sexual orientation is a controversial topic?
because homosexuality cannot be explained by evolution
Who was the first person to explore sexual orientation?
Alfred Kinsey
Explain Alfred Kinsley’s continuum of sexual orientation.
Asked people to rate on a 7-point scale, their orientation
A continuum, rather than an either/or (he was one of the first people to publicly say that it’s a continuum and very rarely people fall into one of the really strong sides)
Heterosexuality and homosexuality are endpoints on the continuum
Self-identification and behaviour are two different things
Explain the twin study and how this relates to sexual orientation. Explain epigenetic processes. What does this prove?
Bailey & Pillard (1991) - behaviour genetics
Gay men with either
Twin brother (identical, fraternal)
Adopted brother
Identical twins - 52% were gay (they share 100% of their genes)
Fraternal twins - 22% were gay (they share 50% of their genes)
Adoptive brothers - 11% were gay
Similar pattern study with lesbians
Epigenetic processes may dampen or silence specific genes’ effects on sexual orientation (some people may have the gene, but it may not be “turned on” by the environment for example (including prenatal environment)
Proves that there IS SOME GENETIC PREDISPOSITION
Explain the relation between prenatal hormones and sexual orientation.
Prenatal hormones have an impact on neurological development
Research suggests that hormonal secretions in critical periods of prenatal development may shape sexual development, and influence subsequent sexual orientation
E.g., exposure to high levels of androgen levels during prenatal development linked with higher rates of homosexuality
Regardless, it’s biological
What is asexuality? Can it be a diagnosis? How much of the population?
deficiency in sexual desire, or abstinence of sexual fantasies and sexual activities (can be a diagnosis)
1% of the population
“Deficiency”: Do not report feeling they are missing something, and find satisfaction in other areas
Seems to be higher in women than men
Not clear whether it’s lifelong or acquired
Explain the achievement motive
need to excel, master difficult challenges, outperform others, meet high standards
Great societal importance: economic growth, scientific progress, masterpieces
Fairly stable PERSONALITY TRAIT
How can Achievement Motivation be measured?
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) = Projective test
Where a vague or ambiguous stimuli is presented to participants and the person’s interpretation is said to reveal their motives and traits
Asked to write or tell stories about what is happening in the scene and what the characters are feeling
The themes of these stories are then scored to measure the strength of their need
What are some characteristics of people scoring high on achievement motivation? What is a curious finding?
Tend to:
- Work harder & persistently on tasks
- Pursue competitive careers
- Enjoy tasks where personally responsible
- Prefer tasks with feedback about performance
- Delay gratification to pursue longer-term goals
Curious finding: Prefer some, but not too much, challenge (not looking to have the highest achievements under their belts)
The tendency to pursue achievement in a particular situation depends on what factors (Atkinson)?
Strength of motivation to achieve/avoid failure (personality)
Probability of success/failure (varies from task to task)
Incentive value of success/failure (tangible and intangible rewards & punishments) how much do I want this?
*Latter two are situational determinants.
Give two examples of how emotion can cause motivation and vice versa.
Highly intertwined
Emotion can cause motivation:
- Anger about work schedule, motivated to find a new job
- Fearful of failure, motivated to study
Motivation can cause emotion
- Motivation to win can bring anxiety during judging, and then great happiness upon winning
What are the three elements of emotional experience?
Cognitive Component (frontal lobe, thought)
Physiological Component (biological, bodily response, brain)
Behavioural Component (outward expression of our emotion)
Explain the cognitive component of emotional experience. What are cognitive appraisals and affective forecasting?
We think about our emotional experiences
We evaluate emotions as pleasant or unpleasant (or both, e.g. “bitter-sweet”)
Cognitive appraisals (how we think about a situation) of events can alter our emotions (e.g., giving a speech, being called to dean’s office)
Predicting how we will feel = affective forecasting (good at pleasant unpleasant, less accurate at intensity/duration) we’re not very good at this because we don’t think of the non-focal events that are around us that will also impact our emotion
Physiological Component of emotional experience: explain the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and the galvanic skin response (GSR)
Sympathetic: really responsible for fight-or-flight reaction (many emotions are very similar to fight-or-flight reactions, they activate the system that creates much arousal in the body)
Parasympathetic: Opposite
Prominent part of emotional arousal is the galvanic skin response (GSR):
- increase in the electrical conductivity of the skin that occurs when sweat glands increase their activity
- convenient and sensitive index of autonomic arousal that has been used as a measure in labs
