Motivation and emotion part 7 Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is 🧠 Cognitive Theories?
🧠 Cognitive Theories
“From the cognitive perspective, it is understood that perceptual, attentional, emotional and memory processes interact in the analysis and interpretation of stimuli from the environment and thoughts.”
Intuitive analogy: Your brain is like a detective solving a mystery. It has to:
Perceive clues (perceptual),
Focus on important ones (attentional),
React to them emotionally,
Compare them to past cases (memory),
All this happens before deciding what to do — this is motivation from the inside.
🧪 Edward Tolman & Cognitive Model Precedents
“Edward C. Tolman, an American, showed that animals not only learned simple associations between stimuli and responses.”
“They also developed a cognitive knowledge of the environment in which they found themselves.”
Imagine a rat in a maze. Behaviorists (like Skinner) thought the rat only learned “turn right = cheese.” But Tolman noticed something more.
🔍 Latent Learning
“He introduced the concept of latent learning, which suggested that learning could occur even without immediate manifestation in observable behavior.”
“Animals could acquire knowledge about the environment without necessarily demonstrating it immediately in their behavior.”
Analogy: You might learn the layout of a video game map just by walking around — but not show off your knowledge until someone says “Find the treasure!” This hidden learning = latent learning.
So the rat knows the way to the cheese, but it doesn’t bother using that knowledge unless there’s a reason — like hunger.
🗺️ Kurt Lewin: Psychological Distance
“Psychological distance (Kurt Lewin), individual’s perception of the distance between their current state and the desired goal.”
“This psychological distance can influence the strength of motivation: the closer the individual perceives the goal, the greater his or her motivation to achieve it.”
Analogy: You’re hiking to a mountain top. If the peak looks super far, you might get discouraged. But if it looks almost there, you push harder. It’s not the real distance — it’s how far it feels. That’s psychological distance.
🎯 Aspiration Levels and Expectations
“Aspiration levels represent what an individual wants to achieve, while expectations are the individual’s estimates of his or her ability to achieve those goals.”
Example analogy:
You aspire to win a marathon 🏃.
You expect you’ll do it if you’ve trained hard enough.
If your aspiration is high, but your expectation is low (“I’ll never be good enough”), motivation drops. If both are high, you’re all in.
⚖️ Rotter’s Theory: Values and Expectancies
“Values: This refers to the importance a person assigns to a goal or outcome compared to other available options in a given situation.”
Example: Some people value money 💵, others value friendship 👫. A person might work hard if they think the outcome is valuable to them.
“Expectancies: These are the beliefs a person has about the likelihood that their behavior will lead to a specific outcome.**”
Analogy: If you’ve succeeded in the past by studying at the library, you expect doing the same again will bring results.
🧮 Rotter’s Equation
Behavior Potential = Expectancy × Reinforcement Value
This means:
You’ll be more motivated when you expect success and you value the result.
“This means that the likelihood of a person engaging in a particular behavior depends on how much they value the expected outcome and how likely they believe it is to achieve it.”
“For example, if someone highly values getting a promotion but believes their chances are low, they might not even try. On the other hand, if they value the promotion and believe that their effort will lead to success, they will be more motivated.”
“Rotter’s approach helps explain why two people in the same situation may act differently: each has different values and expectations that shape their behavior.”
🧮 Rotter’s Equation analogy
Imagine two students with the same exam coming up:
Student A wants a good grade (high value) but thinks, “I always fail” (low expectancy) → Doesn’t study.
Student B also wants the grade and thinks, “I passed last time by studying” (high expectancy) → Motivated to study.
Motivation = Value × Belief in success
👥 Social Motivation – Effects of Coercion and Audience❓ Question Slide
What difference do you think footballers (or athletes in general) perceive when they play behind closed doors than when there are people in the stands watching them?
Analogy: Think of giving a presentation in front of your classmates versus presenting alone in your room. The pressure is different, right?
“The presence of others can activate energy resources that increase a person’s motivation and performance.”
This idea links to a concept called social facilitation (not included in powerpoint). When others are watching, it can energize you — like adrenaline kicking in — which boosts motivation and performance.
Everyday analogy: You might run faster at the gym when others are watching than when you’re alone.
Coercion Effect vs Audience Effect
🏃 Coercion Effect
“Motivation and performance increase as a result of the direct action of other people who compete with her on the same task.”
This is when competition drives motivation. If someone is running next to you, you’ll try to outrun them. You’re not alone — you’re coerced into improving by their presence.
Analogy: If you’re racing a friend, you’ll push harder than if you’re running by yourself.
👀 Audience Effect
“The influence of others is manifested through a situation of passivity, such as observation or evaluation.”
Here, nobody is directly competing — they’re just watching you. But that changes how you act, especially if you think you’re being judged.
Analogy: You clean your room better if your mom is standing there than if she’s in another room.
Observer Status
❓ Slide:
“What difference does it make if the observer is, for example, the family or a specialized jury?”
✅ Slide:
“The status of the observer will impact the Response Activation, the higher the perceived status, the greater this activation will be.”
Response Activation means how much energy or attention you bring to a task. It goes up if the person watching you is important.
Analogy: You’ll perform differently if your grandma is watching vs. if it’s the CEO of a company.
Diffusion of Responsibility
“The presence of others as diffusion of responsibility”
“Diffusion of responsibility is the phenomenon in which the presence of other people decreases the sense of individual responsibility and the perception of the seriousness of the situation.”
“This decrease in the sense of individual responsibility can lead to a lower likelihood of any individual taking action in a situation of need.”
This is why bystander effect happens — everyone thinks “someone else will do it.”
Analogy: If someone collapses on a crowded street, you might assume others will help — so you don’t. But if you’re alone with them, you take responsibility.
Conformity
🧑🤝🧑 Conformity
“Tendency of individuals to respond in a manner consistent with the majority.”
“When motivation is low, that is, when individuals have little interest in or commitment to the outcome of the situation, they are more likely to conform to the majority.”
“The lack of personal involvement in the topic at hand, which causes people to be guided more by the opinions or actions of others.”
Analogy: Everyone in your class says the answer is B. You’re unsure, so you go with B too — even if you think it’s A.
Obedience
“Performance of actions by individuals in response to instructions from someone who possesses or is assigned power or authority.”
“We will be more likely to commit to a behavior if it comes from the instructions of someone who we consider to be an authority.”
“If the behavior goes against our morals, it is easier to go against it the closer the people who are victims of the behavior are to us.”
Obedience is acting under orders, even when you disagree.
Analogy: If your boss says “fire that person,” you might do it even if it feels wrong. But if the person is your friend, you’ll resist more.
🔹 Cognitive Consonance
“Harmonious relationship between thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.”
Analogy: Imagine your mind as a band. If every instrument (thought, belief, action) is in tune, you get harmony. That’s cognitive consonance.
Example: “A person has a positive attitude toward racial discrimination, in a specific situation, they find themselves making or supporting discriminatory comments or actions.”
That person’s attitude and behavior match — it’s all consistent (even if morally wrong), so there’s no inner conflict.
🔻 Cognitive Dissonance
“Conflictive relationship between thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.”
Analogy: One instrument in the band plays the wrong note — it causes mental noise. That’s cognitive dissonance.
Example: “An individual holds the belief that regular exercise is important for maintaining health, but continues to lead a sedentary lifestyle and avoids physical activity.”
The person believes one thing but acts another way. This clash produces tension and discomfort.
Cognitive Dissonance explained
“It produces an experience of tension, which motivates the individual to act to solve.”
We hate dissonance — it feels like having a pebble in your shoe. So we try to reduce it using these strategies:
🛠 4 Ways to Resolve Dissonance:
“Modifying the belief, behavior, attitude that generates dissonance”
→ Start exercising.
“Reinterpreting the belief, behavior, attitude that generates dissonance”
→ “I’ll exercise when I’m older.”
“Seeking information or evidence that justifies the belief, behavior, attitude”
→ “Some studies say walking 10 minutes is enough.”
“Avoiding situations that may generate dissonance”
→ Stop reading health articles or avoid the gym.
🌀 Flow Theory – Motivation for Leisure
“Flow is an emotional state of intense gratification and fascination that is experienced during various activities related to leisure or fun.”
“The flow state is achieved when the challenging activity and the individual’s skills are balanced, maintaining interest without frustration.”
Analogy: Flow is like surfing a perfect wave — you’re fully focused, time flies, and you’re completely immersed.
Too easy = boring.
Too hard = stressful.
Just right = flow.
Examples:
Playing music
Drawing
Video games
Basketball
These activities balance challenge and skill, creating deep motivation and pleasure.
🔁 Reversal Theory – Reversibility of Leisure Motivation
“The Reversal Theory was proposed by Michael Apter and is based on the idea that people switch between different motivational states depending on the situation.”
“These states are grouped into opposing pairs and can change (or ‘reverse’) depending on the context or subjective experience.”
“One of the most important pairs in leisure motivation is the Telic and Paratelic states.”
🔁 Reversal Theory: Telic and Paratelic states
📈 Telic States
“Motivational state towards persistent activities directed towards achieving a long-term goal.”
Analogy: This is your “goal-getter” mode. Like studying for an exam or saving money for travel. It’s about seriousness, focus, and delayed gratification.
🎮 Paratelic States
“Motivational state towards activities that seek immediate gratification and do not require prolonged effort.”
Analogy: This is your “fun now” mode. Binging Netflix, gaming, or eating cake — you’re in it for the moment, not long-term goals.
“States that alternate or reverse”
You can switch between the two based on your mood or situation. For example:
After studying (Telic), you might play games (Paratelic) to unwind.
