1. PSY 190: General Psychology
Chapter 11: Motivated Behavior

2. Motivation
The underlying processes that initiate, direct and sustain behavior in order to satisfy physiological and psychological needs or wants

3. Theories of Motivation
Evolutionary Perspective
Instinct Theory
Drive Reduction Theory
Stimulation Theory
Optimal Arousal Level Hypothesis
Humanistic Theory
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

4. Evolutionary Perspective: Instinct Theory
Complex unlearned response triggered by a stimulus or complex stimulus
Do humans have instincts?
Early Darwinian Theory (1800’s) proposed the idea of instinct, arising from genetic endowment
William James (1890) proposed an instinct theory in humans
Instincts were goal directed predispositions to behavior

5. Instinct Theory Paradox in Psychology:
As others were showing that animal behavior could be modified by learning (Thorndike), James was proposing that much of human behavior was unlearned
William McDougall (1908) followed…
Suggested their were 18 instincts

6. Instinct Theory
McDougall (1908) theorized that motivated behaviors are instinctual:
Unlearned
Uniform in expression (do not change with practice)
Universal (all members of a species show the same behavior)

7. Too many limitations…
By 1924 instinct theory was becoming obsolete as there were several criticisms:
Too many instincts
Researchers came up with 5759 of them
Logic was circular
i.e. the only evidence that an instinct exists was the behavior it supposedly explained
He’s an “overachiever” because he’s “hard-working”
She’s “hard-working” because she’s an “overachiever”
Just meaningless labels with no explanations

8. Drive Reduction Theory (Hull, 1943)
Supporters of this theory believe that when a need requires satisfaction, it produces drives
These are tensions that energize behavior in order to satisfy a need
Thirst and hunger are, for instance, drives for satisfying the needs of eating and drinking, respectively

9. Drive Reduction Theory
Drives have been generally established as primary and secondary…
Primary drives satisfy biological needs and must be fulfilled in order to survive
Homeostasis is the motivational phenomenon for primary drives that preserves our internal equilibrium. This is true, for example, for hunger or thirst
Secondary drives satisfy needs that are not crucial to a person's life 
Criticism
Critics felt that this theory was inadequate in explaining secondary drives

10. Stimulation: Optimum Arousal Hypothesis: Hebb (1955) and Zuckerman (1984)
This theory argues that we all have optimal levels of stimulation that we try to maintain…
we seek an optimal level of arousal
too little stimulation, we seek an increase
too much, we seek to decrease

11. Eysenck (1967) Extraversion-Introversion
Introverts were over-aroused individuals therefore they try to keep stimulation to a minimum
Extroverts were under-aroused individuals, therefore they tried to increase stimulation

12. Eysenck (1967) Cortical Arousal Differences
Eysenck suggests that the difference between introverts and extroverts depends on the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)
Causes introverts to be “stimulus shy”
Causes extroverts to be “stimulus hungry”

13. Cortical Arousal Differences
Geen (1984)
Introverts and extraverts choose different levels of stimulation, but equivalent in arousal under chosen stimulation
Extroverts chose to hear louder noises than introverts
After put in their chosen environment their HR’s are the same
This seems to suggest that being at their preferred level of stimulation results in the same overall level of arousal for both groups

14. Geen (1984) Performance on a learning task was also affected:
Introverts did best in introvert-selected environment
Extraverts did better in extravert-selected environment
Practical implications:
Roommates?
Mate Selection?

15. Does it explain psychopathic behaviors???
Serial killer

16. Incentive Theory
Viewpoint on motivation that is different than instinct, drive , and arousal theories
Suggests that behavior is pulled rather than pushed…
Emphasizes the role of environmental stimuli that can motivate behavior by pulling people toward them rather than pushing people to satisfy a need (as in the drive-reduction theory)
Suggesting that people act to obtain positive incentives and avoid negative incentives
Explains secondary drives much better than drive-reduction theory

17. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1970)
Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five levels of motives, or needs, arranged in a hierarchy
We must satisfy needs or motives low on the hierarchy before we are motivated to satisfy needs at the next level
Abraham Maslow 
( )

18. Physiological Needs
Physiological needs are basic, instinctual needs for air, food, water, and sex, among others. These needs must be at least partially met in order to ascend the hierarchy.
These needs can also be arranged in their own hierarchy.

19. Safety Needs
Safety needs include things such as shelter, security, and protection from physical and emotional harm.

20. Belonging Needs
These needs are met by having meaningful relationships, such as significant others, friends and children

21. Esteem Needs This level has two sub-levels
Low esteem needs are the needs for the respect of others – need for recognition, etc.
Higher esteem needs are the needs for self respect –to achieve, to be competent, to be independent, etc.

22. Self Actualization
Self actualization involves becoming the most complete person that you can be – your full potential

23. Criticisms Some critics felt that it is possible to skip levels
Others felt that they could not be applied universally

24. Hunger Motivation What triggers our motivation to eat?
Internal Factors
Body Chemistry
Hypothalamus
Set Point Theory
External Factors
External Incentives
Externality Hypothesis
Social Factor
Other Factors
Emotion
Habit
Attention

25. Body Chemistry Blood Glucose Insulin
This is a simple sugar used by most cells in the body for energy - most food ultimately gets converted to blood glucose
Decreasing blood glucose levels  sense of hunger
Insulin
This is a hormone that increases the flow of glucose into body cells, diminishing the amount of glucose in the blood by converting it into stored fat

26. Body Chemistry Glucagon
This hormone helps convert stored energy supplies (stored fat) back into blood glucose
Increasing blood glucose levels  hunger decreases

27. Lesions of Hypothalamus
The destruction of the lateral area of the hypothalamus causes animals to ravenously decrease their weight
The destruction of the ventromedial area of the hypothalamus causes animals to ravenously increase their weight
Also see picture on page 364 for example of increase
ventromedial area lesioned rat 

28. Set Point Theory: Adaptive Thermogenesis
Set point is the weight that your body wants to be…
It is a self-regulatory system that maintains your body weight
If you starve yourself the hypothalamus activates compensatory mechanisms, your metabolism slows so that energy stores are used more sparingly and the amount of insulin that is produced increases so that more of the food that you take in remains as fat

29. External Factors Schacter (1978) Externality Hypothesis
This researcher argues that the difference between obese and normal weight participants is that the obese are overly responsive to external stimuli (cues for eating)
Obese humans are more likely to eat more when they are misled into thinking it's lunchtime than are control humans - evidence of the influence of external cues

30. External Factors Social Factor is another external cue
Eating around others often increases food intake

31. Other Factors Emotion Habit Attention
Depressed or anxious people may eat too much or too little
Habit
Meal time - ancient Romans only ate two meals a day. We eat three - if we miss a meal, we feel hungry at that meal time
Attention
Awareness vs. non-awareness

32. Eating Disorders
Obesity
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa

33. Obesity
Weight which is 20-40% above the normal standard for a person’s height (BMI over 30 kg/m2)
Rates of obesity are climbing and have risen from 12 to 20 percent of the population since 1991.
An ominous statistic which indicates that the epidemic of obesity may get even worse is that the percentage of children and adolescents who are obese has doubled in the last 20 years

34. Obesity Depression Anxiety Too much TV and not enough exercise
Why do some people become seriously overweight?
Emotional problems
Depression
Anxiety
Sedentary lifestyle
Too much TV and not enough exercise
Genetics
Higher set point

35. Anorexia Nervosa
There are physiological abnormalities that are correlated with the disorder but are these abnormalities causes or effects?
Search for causes:
Homeostatic theory encourages the search for physical deficits in homeostatic mechanisms
Non-homeostatic theory encourages the study of non-regulatory mechanisms such as learning and social influences

36. Anorexia Nervosa Self-starvation and severe weight loss
Usually starts as an innocent diet that went out of control
At first, self-esteem was raised – “you look great”
They eat less and exercise more
Often they come from high-achieving or over-protective families
Restricting Type
Binge/Purging Type

37. Case Study: Karen Carpenter
Famous singer died of complications to anorexia (cardiac arrest) in 1983 at the age of 32

38. Anorexia: Facts and Statistics
According to the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) on anorexia statistics, the lifetime prevalence of Anorexia Nervosa in U.S. adults is 0.6%.
Higher in year old females (around 2%)
Majority of patients are female (>90%) and white (> 90%), from middle-to-upper middle class families
Recent studies indicate onset is in childhood (maybe as young as 9 years-old)

39. Anorexia: Symptoms Body dissatisfaction; body distortion Lethargy
Irritability
Depression
Social withdrawal
Obsessiveness (food)

40. Anorexia Nervosa
Complications
Hypothermia may result
Results when the body’s natural isolation fat stores become non-existent and the victim becomes cold all the time
Some must be tube-fed to prevent death
Some will die from heart failure

41. Case Study: French Model Isabelle Caro
Her naked, emaciated frame appeared in anti-anorexia ad in 2007 

42. Anorexia Nervosa Treatment
Hospitalization or outpatient care may be a necessary first step
Clinical: Individual, group, and family therapy are then applied
Anti-depressants are often combined with these therapies
Nutrition Therapy can be introduced after patients have recovered enough so that non-compliance is not a major obstacle
Self-help group therapy is an option for those without the financial means or insurance to utilize the above options
Prognosis
There is a good chance for improvement and hopefully recovery
However, it is a life-long process

43. Bulimia Nervosa Associated Features
Most are within 10% of target body weight
Most are over concerned with body shape, fear gaining weight
Most are comorbid for other psychological disorders
Purging methods can result in severe medical problems

44. Bulimia Nervosa
Disorder characterized by repeated binge-purge episodes of overeating followed by vomiting or using a laxative
Again, mostly women in their early teens
High rates of college women (maybe 10%)
These individuals can be thin, average in weight or even overweight
So this one is more likely to go unnoticed by family or friends

45. Bulimia Nervosa Complications of Bulimia Sore throat
Mouth and throat ulcers
Swollen salivary glands
Destruction of tooth enamel
Depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms

46. Bulimia Nervosa Treatment
Similar treatment as given for anorexia patients with exception of initial hospitalization/outpatient treatment
Prognosis
There is a good chance for improvement and hopefully recovery
However, it is a life-long process

47. Sexual Behavior Studies
Pre-1960’s – considered a very conservative time as far as sexual behavior is concerned
Kinsey (1948, 1953)
Interviewed about 5000 men and 6000 women
Almost all subjects were well-educated, white, middle-class people primarily from Indiana and Illinois
Results were very surprising at the time

48. Kinsey is credited with starting the sexual revolution...

49. Sexual Behavior Studies
Early 1960’s – early 1980’s
Very liberal (free) time as far as sex is concerned
“sex, drugs, and rock and roll”
Percentage who engaged in premarital sex surges
Attitudes become permissive

50. Sexual Behavior Studies
Era of Aids (1980’s – late 1990’s)
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
A deadly disease which is primarily sexually transmitted and will gradually destroy a body’s immune system
Until, around 1985 it appeared it was limited to homosexual men – soon after that it became a heterosexual concern as well but still much more common among homosexuals
Lots of commercials
Back to a conservative time as far as sexual motivations were concerned

51. Patient Zero 1980 “Patient Zero”
55 young men diagnosed with cluster of similar symptoms of unknown origin
“Patient Zero”
Bragged about having sexual partners
250 per year
Gaetan Dugas
( )

52. Sexual Behavior Studies
What were the psychological implications of all this?
Winklestein (1987)
800 subjects from San Francisco (homosexual and heterosexual)
Number of sexual partners cut in half
Fineberg (1988)
5000 homosexual men
Those that were either celibate (no sex) or monogomous (one partner) rose 25% from

53. Today: Changing views of Sexual Behavior
Back to the free time?
New questions for a new generation’s behaviors…
Is Cybersex cheating?
How do we keep kids safe from the internet?

54. Masters & Johnson (1966): Sexual Response Cycle
William Howell Masters was a gynecologist, and Virginia Johnson was a psychology researcher
They teamed up in 1957 to study human sexuality
Instead of asking people about their sexual activities, as Kinsey did, Masters and Johnson observed sexual activity in a laboratory setting
They developed tools and techniques for accurately measuring the physical responses of 700 men and women during masturbation and intercourse

55. Sexual Response Cycle EXCITEMENT PHASE Genital areas become engorged
HR, BP, breathing rates increase
PLATEAU PHASE
HR, BP, breathing rates increase further
ORGASMIC PHASE
Muscle contractions all over the body
HR, BP, breathing rates increase even further
Feelings of pleasure apparently the same for both sexes
RESOLUTION PHASE
Body gradually returns to unaroused state
Males enter a refractory period in which he is incapable of another orgasm (this varies in time depending on the individual from a few minutes to over a day)
Females refractory period is not long (if at all) as often they can reach orgasm again if restimulated

56. Sexual Arousal Internal Stimuli External Stimuli Imagined Stimuli
Hormones
External Stimuli
What we read, hear, and see
Imagined Stimuli
Fantasies

57. Internal Stimuli
Sex Hormones
Testosterone (males)
Estrogen (females)

58. Internal Stimuli Overall Analysis of Hormonal Influence…
It is an influence but probably not the major one
More research needed in this area

59. External Stimuli
Heiman (1975) provides some insight into responses of both men and women
Participants were sexually experienced men and women undergraduates who listened to tape recording of erotic stories
Obtained both self-report and physiological measures of arousal

60. Heiman (1975) Participants listened to one of four kinds of tapes…
Erotic
Romantic
Erotic-romantic
Control
What was most arousing for men and women?
Physiological data?
Self-reports?

61. Heiman (1975) Researcher also varied the plots of the tapes…
Whether female or male initiated sexual activity
Whether the plot centered on the female’s or the male‘s physiological and psychological response
Results???

62. Imagined Stimuli Wilson & Barber (1983)
Study of 26 women with “fantasy-prone” personalities…
Some had experienced orgasms solely by sexual fantasies

63. Motives for Having Sex Stereotype
Male
Interested in physical aspects and a "love 'em and leave 'em" philosophy
Female
Interested in love and romance and concerned with the interpersonal aspects of a relationship

64. Why have sex???
Hyde and her colleagues (1984) asked college students "What would be your motives for having sexual intercourse?"
Typical Female answers
emotional feelings that we shared
wonderful way to express love
wanting to share myself with someone I love
needing to be needed
Typical Male answers
need it
to gratify myself
for the pleasure or the love
to satisfy my needs
when I'm tired of masturbation

65. Sexual Orientation Random Telephone Surveys in North America:
About 2.5% of the adult population acknowledges that they are homosexual or bisexual
Many feel that this is an underestimate
Very rare to be “actively bisexual”

66. Mosher (2005) 3-4% self-labeled as "gay“
Males:
3-4% self-labeled as "gay“
Women:
1-2% self-labeled as "lesbian"

67. Why is someone gay or straight?
Psychologists really don’t fully understand the causes of sexual orientation
Biological explanation:
Concordance rates: MZ > DZ
Birth-order effects
Blanchard (2008)

68. Concordance rates Eysenck (1964) Bailey & Pallard (1991)
Reported a higher incidence of homosexuality among men whose MZ twin was gay than among men whose DZ twin was gay
Bailey & Pallard (1991)
Twin study
Homosexual men
Co-twin was more than twice as likely to be homosexual if the twins were MZ
Bailey, Pallard, Neale, & Agyei (1993)
Replicated earlier study using homosexual women
Same results

69. Birth-Order Effects Blanchard (2008)
Slight link to gay men having older brothers
First son: 2%
Second son: 3%
Third son: 4%

70. Sexual Motivation
More research is needed in this area

71. Credits Some slides prepared with the help of the following websites: