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Chapter 8 Emotion and Motivation

What Is Emotion?

Emotion – A four-part process consisting of physiological arousal, cognitive interpretation, subjective feelings, and behavioral expression

What Do Our Emotions Do For Us?

Emotions have evolved to help us respond to important situations and to convey our intentions to others

The Evolution of Emotions Emotions have survival value and have been shaped by natural selection Individuals vary tremendously in emotional responsiveness Emotions are not entirely programmed by genetics

Mrs. B. and the 7 Basic Emotions!

Cultural Universals in Emotional Expressions Can’t remember those? Then how about this mnemonic device! A (anger) Dog (disgust) Fears (fear) His (happiness)

Shadow (surprise) Cats (contempt) Squirrels (sadness)

•There are, however, huge cultural differences in the context and intensity of emotional displays

Cultural Universals in Emotional Expression

Display rules – Permissible ways of displaying emotions in a particular society

The Emotion Wheel

Where Do Our Emotions Come From? The discovery of two distinct brain pathways for emotional arousal has clarified the connections among the many biological structures involved in emotion and has offered solutions to many of the longstanding issues in the psychology of emotion

The Neuroscience of Emotion The biological mechanisms at work behind our emotions include: • • • • •

The limbic system The reticular formation The cerebral cortex The autonomic nervous system Hormones

JamesLange theory

Stimulus: Snake

Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate

•Named after William James and Carl Lange •The most basic explanation for emotions. •They said emotions follow a 3 part sequence: 1. You perceive the stimulus 2. The stimulus triggers physiological arousal 3. You label the bodily change as a specific emotion.

Emotion fear

So, arousal comes before emotion; you feel emotion because of arousal. •I feel sad because I cry •I am afraid because I tremble

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

CannonBard theory

Stimulus: Snake

Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate Emotion fear

•Named after Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard •They disagreed; said that arousal alone does not cause emotion. •How do we know if we are afraid, excited, etc.? •They said both the arousal and the cognitive labeling of the emotion occur simultaneously. 1. You perceive the stimulus 2. The arousal and the emotion occur at the same time.

So, we see snake and experience both increased heart rate and fear at the same time. •Walter Cannon thought the thalamus was responsible for both the biological change and the awareness of the emotion Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

•Named after Stanley Schacter and Jerome Singer So, emotion is the • Since arousal is similar for different emotions, result of the the important factor is that we THINK about the interaction of cognitive label that makes the best sense for the physiological situation. arousal and the •Two part sequence: cognitive label we 1. You perceive the stimulus use to describe the 2. Stimulus triggers both arousal and a cognitive situation. label that makes the best sense for that arousal. You then label the emotion based on those TWO FACTORS Physiological arousal trembling Twoincreased heart rate Emotion Stimulus: factor fear Snake Cognitive interpretation

theory

“Snakes scare me!” Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Psychological Theories of Emotion Cognitive appraisal theory – Theory that individuals decide on an appropriate emotion following the event Opponent-process theory – Theory that emotions have pairs; when one is triggered the other is suppressed

Arousal, Performance, and the Inverted “U Describes the relationship between arousal and The Inverted “U” Function – Describes the performance; both low and high levels of arousal relationship between arousal and performance. produce lower performance than does a moderate level of arousal

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Arousal, Performance, and the Inverted “U”

Sensation seekers – Individuals who have a biological need for higher levels of stimulation than do other people

How Much Control Do We Have Over Our Emotions?

Although emotional responses are not always consciously regulated, we can learn to control them

Developing Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence – Ability to understand and control emotional responses Emotional control can be achieved by learning

Detecting Deception People can also control their emotions to deceive Do “lie detectors” really work?

Polygraph – Device that records the graphs of many measures of physical arousal; often called a “lie detector” really an arousal detector

Motivation: What Makes Us Act as We Do?

Motivation takes many forms, but all involve inferred mental processes that select and direct our behavior

Motivation: What Makes Us Act as We Do?

Motivation – All processes involved in starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities

How Psychologists Use the Concept of Motivation Motivation • Connects observable behavior to internal states • Accounts for variability in behavior • Explains perseverance despite adversity • Relates biology to behavior

Types of Motivation Drive – Biologically instigated motivation Motive – Internal mechanism that directs behavior (often used to describe motivations that are learned, rather that biologically based)

Types of Motivation Intrinsic motivation – Desire to engage in an activity for its own sake Extrinsic motivation – Desire to engage in an activity to achieve an external consequence (e.g. a reward)

Rewards Can Sometimes Squelch Motivation Overjustification – The process by which extrinsic rewards can sometimes displace internal motivation, as when a child receives money for playing video games

Types of Motivation Conscious motivation – Having the desire to engage in an activity and being aware of the desire Unconscious motivation – Having a desire to engage in an activity but being consciously unaware of the desire

Theories of Motivation Instinct theory – View that certain behaviors are determined by innate factors Fixed-action patterns – Genetically based behaviors, seen across a species, that can be set off by a specific stimulus

Theories of Motivation Drive theory – View that a biological need (an imbalance that threatens survival) produces drive

Drive Reduction Theory – An action that reduces the drive Homeostasis – The body’s tendency to maintain a biologically balanced condition

Theories of Motivation

Locus of control – An individual’s sense of where his or her life influences originate–internally or externally

Maslow’s Humanistic Theory Hierarchy of needs – The notion that needs occur in priority order, with the biological needs as the most basic

How Are Achievement, Hunger, and Sex Alike? Different? No single theory accounts for all forms of motivation, because each motive involves its own mix of biological, mental, behavioral, and social/cultural influences

Measuring the Need for Achievement

Projection – Process by which people attribute their own unconscious motives to other people or objects Need for achievement (n Ach) – Mental state that produces a psychological motive to excel or reach some goal

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Achievement Individualism – View that places a high value on individual achievement and distinction Collectivism – View that values group loyalty and pride over individual distinction

Hunger Motivation The multiple-systems approach to hunger

Hunger Motivation The multiple-systems approach to hunger • Set point – Refers to the tendency of the body to maintain a certain level of body fat and body weight • Lateral Hypothalamus • Ventromedial Hypothalamus • Eating Disorders

• Weight control is a complex issue with no simple answers

Thirst and Pain

Volumetric thirst – A drop in extracellular fluid levels Osmotic thirst – A drop in intracellular fluid levels

The Scientific Study of Sexuality Kinsey interviewed 17,000 Americans concerning their sexual behavior Masters and Johnson Sexual response cycle – Four-stage sequence of arousal, plateau, orgasm, and resolution occurring in both men and women

Phases of Human Sexual Response

Sexual Motivation Virtually any stimulus that becomes associated with genital touch and orgasm can become a conditioned stimulus that motivates sexual activity Sexual scripts – Socially learned ways of responding in sexual situations

Both learning and genetics affect our sexual behaviors

The Origins of Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation – One’s erotic attraction toward members of the same sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes

Motives in Conflict Approach-approach conflict – A conflict in which one must choose between two equally attractive options Approach-avoidance conflict – A conflict in which there are both appealing and negative aspects to the decision to be made

Motives in Conflict Avoidance-avoidance conflict – A conflict in which one must choose between two equally unattractive options Multiple approach-avoidance conflict – A conflict in which one must choose between options that have both many attractive and many negative aspects

How and Why Do We Experience Stress?

The human stress response to perceived threat activates thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiological arousal that normally promote adaptation and survival

Stress and Stressors Stress – A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation Stressor – a stressful stimulus, a condition demanding adaptation

A Model of Stress

Traumatic Stressors

Traumatic stressor – a situation that threatens one’s physical safety, arousing feelings of feel, horror, or helplessness

Catastrophe Cohen and Ahearn identified five stages that occur in the wake of natural disasters • • • • •

Psychic numbness Automatic action Communal effort Letdown Recovery

Posttraumatic Stress

Posttraumatic stress disorder – delayed stress reaction in which an individual involuntarily re-experiences emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of past trauma

The Physical Stress Response Acute stress – A temporary pattern of arousal caused by a stressor with a clear onset and offset Chronic stress – A continuous state of stressful arousal persisting over time

The Physical Stress Response Fight-or-flight response – A sequence of internal processes that prepares the organism for struggle or escape Tend-and-befriend model – stress response model proposing that females are biologically predisposed to respond to stress by nurturing and protecting offspring and seeking social support

The Physical Stress Response

General adaptation syndrome (GAS) – A pattern of general physical responses that takes essentially the same form in responding to any serious chronic stressor

The General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm reaction

Resistance

– the body – the body seems to adapt mobilizes it’s to the resources to presence of cope with a the stressor stressor Level of normal resistance

Alarm Reaction

Exhaustion – the body depletes it’s resources

Successful Resistance Illness/death

Resistance

Exhaustion

Stress and the Immune System

Immune system – bodily organs and responses that protect the body from foreign substances and threats

Stress and the Immune System Psychoneuroimmunology – Multidisciplinary field that studies the influence of mental states on the immune system Cytokines – Hormone-like chemicals facilitating communication between brain and immune system

Personality and Stress Type A – behavior pattern characterized by intense, angry, competitive, or perfectionistic responses to challenging situations Type B – behavior pattern characterized by a relaxed, unstressed approach to life

Psychological Responses to Stress

Learned helplessness – Pattern of not responding to noxious stimuli after an organism learns that its behavior has no effect

Psychological Responses to Stress

Resilience – Capacity to adapt, achieve well-being, and cope with stress, in spite of serious threats to development

Motivating Yourself

Flow – An intense focus on an activity, accompanied by increased creativity and near-ecstatic feelings Involves intrinsic motivation