Theories of Motivation Instinct and Drive-Reduction Theories Various biological and social factors motivate us. A motive is something that activates behavior and directs it toward a goal. Instincts are innate tendencies that influence but don’t explain behavior. Drive-reduction theory suggests that behaviors are designed to obtain something that an organism needs. Needs can be physiological or psychological. The drive-reduction theory accounts for physical but not social motivation.

Theories of Motivation Incentive and Cognitive Theory The incentive theory considers the role of the environment in motivation. A drive is an outside force or event that causes us to act. An incentive is the object we seek or the result we are trying to achieve through our motivated behavior. We are energized to move by extrinsic motivation when we reduce our biological needs or gain external rewards. We are energized to move by intrinsic motivation when we fulfill our beliefs or social expectations.

Ex/Intrinsic Motivation

Biological and Social Motives Biological Motives We have biological needs and systems that motivate eating. The hypothalamus produces hunger signals. Biological factors may predispose people to obesity; psychosocial factors also affect eating and overeating.

Biological and Social Motives Social Motives and the Need for Achievement The need for achievement is both social and learned. The motive to achieve may be influenced by fear of failure or fear of success. The competency theory suggests that we choose moderately difficult tasks in order to learn from them.

Biological and Social Motives Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow’s pyramid scheme places fundamental needs—such as food and safety—at the bottom. Psychological needs—first belongingness and love, then esteem needs, including achievement—are in the middle of the scheme. Self-actualization is at the top of Maslow’s scheme. Maslow posits that a person can progress to satisfying higher needs only after fulfilling the lower ones.

Advertisement Analysis Which ad is more effective? Why? Which needs do you think are most powerful in motivating someone to buy a product? How do advertisers connect those needs to their products?

Discussion Questions Why do some advertisers appeal to our needs? Do you think this is ethical? Name other situations in which our needs are deliberately used by others to motivate us to do something.

Application Name 5 products or services that appeal to your age group. Create a print-advertisement for the product or service assigned to your group. Make sure you appeal to one or more of the needs identified by Maslow!

Emotions Motivation and emotion are interconnected. Expressing Emotions Motivation and emotion are interconnected. Emotion involves this sequence: interpretation of a stimulus; subjective feeling; physiological response; observable behavior. There are universally recognized facial expressions of emotion. Learning plays a role in the expression of emotion.

Emotions Physiological Theories There are two principle physiological theories of emotion, which emphasize bodily changes. The James-Lange theory states that bodily reactions form the basis of labeling and experiencing emotions. The Cannon-Bard theory argues that the brain is the seat of emotion; emotion is the burst of activity in the brain. Lie detectors, or polygraph machines, measure involuntary physiological responses, on the assumption that people feel nervous when they lie.

Emotions Cognitive Theories Cognitive theories emphasize mental processes, or suggest that mental processes work together with bodily changes to produce emotion. The Schachter-Singer experiment showed that perception (based on environmental cues) and arousal interact to create emotion. The cognitive appraisal theory states that cognitive arousal alone results in an emotional response. The opponent-process theory suggests that human emotional response is homeostatic, or tends to balance itself. People, subject to classical conditioning, develop emotional responses to stimuli, and then experience the opposite emotion when the stimulus ceases.

Intelligence Testing Views of Intelligence Psychologists disagree on how to define intelligence. In Spearman’s theory, there is a g factor of general intelligence and an s factor of specific mental abilities. Thurstone, a major opponent of Spearmann, suggested there were multiple intelligences, not just two. Gardner proposes multiple, unrelated intelligences. The triarchic theory divides intelligence into analytical, creative, and practical intelligences. Emotional intelligence is another theory, which relates to Gardner’s concepts of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence.

Intelligence Testing The Development of Intelligence Tests French psychologist Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence test. It is the basis of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, which gives an IQ as a result. The Weschler Tests provide an overall score plus separate scores. The Otis-Lennon School Ability Tests are often used in place of the Stanford-Binet to project how well students will do in school. There are tests assessing verbal abilities There are tests assessing nonverbal abilities. There are tests assessing quantitative abilities.

Intelligence Testing IQ Scores: Uses, Meaning, and Controversy IQ scores are used to determine mental handicap and giftedness. IQ has been linked to heritability, but that link has previously led to misuse of testing—pigeon-holing people based on race or ethnicity. A main point of controversy surrounding the testing of IQ is cultural bias, which results from testing items that are common knowledge to one population but not to another.