1. Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY
Unit 8A
Motivation

2. Food for Thought Why do people go to post secondary?
What types of behavior are “inherited, preprogrammed, complex behaviors that occur throughout” the human and animal species?
Where can we draw the line between individual behavior and instinctive behavior?
Does drive reduction theory help differentiate between what is considered an instinct and what is an individual behavior? Why or why not?

3. Motivation Motivation Instinct
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
(May or may not stem from a physiological need)
Instinct
complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

4. Arousal and Stimulation in Motivation
Yerkes Dobson Curve. An inverted u-shaped graph that shows the relationship between performance and stress.
As stress increases from minimal, performance increases.
Once stress reaches a moderately high level, performance peaks.
An increased in stress
beyond this threshold
will result in decreased
performance.
= an optimum level of
performance when stress
is moderate.
Workplace Video Link

5. Myron Zuckerman’s Theory
Argues that people differ in the amount of stimulation they need or want (to become motivated to act).
4 Forms of Sensation Seeking:
Thrill and Adventure Seeking - (seek excitement through risky yet socially acceptable activities (sky diving, bungee jumping)
Experience Seeking – seek sensation through mind, the senses and a non conforming lifestyle (trying unusual foods, such as insects or dog)
Disinhibition – chosen the middle class lifestyle but have chosen to escape its boredom through drinking, partying or shoplifting.
Boredom Susceptibility thrill seekers do their best to avoid falling into routines
2 types…Low and High Sensation Seekers

6. Motivation Drive-Reduction Theory
the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
The physiological aim of the DR Theory is homeostasis…maintaining a steady internal state.
Drive-reducing
behaviors
(eating, drinking)
Need
(e.g., for
food, water)
Drive
(hunger, thirst)

7. Motivation Homeostasis Incentive(s)
tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state
regulation of any aspect of body chemistry around a particular level
Including factors such as temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, lung capacity/breathing etc.
Incentive(s)
a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior
Skinner (Operant Learning) and the conception of reinforcements. Reinforcement is designed to encourage (lure) a behavior or it is designed to discourage (or repel) a behavior.
External vs Internal Motivation

8. Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the mental equivalent to homeostasis. The cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. (For example, when are thoughts and actions don’t align)
When people smoke (behavior) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition).

9. How do cognitive dissonance and homeostasis relate to each other?
Biological homeostasis focuses on physical conditions/needs like hunger, thirst and temperature,
Cognitive homeostasis involves mental conditions, such as consistency, balance and harmony in one’s thinking – that is seeking equity in the surrounding community, prioritizing one’s life, and promoting peace with the self and others.

10. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Humanistic perspective focuses on “self”)
Self-actualization needs
Need to live up to one’s
fullest and unique potential
begins at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied
then higher-level safety needs become active
then psychological needs become active
Esteem needs
Need for self-esteem,
achievement, competence,
and independence; need for
recognition and respect from others
Belongingness and love needs
Need to love and be loved, to belong
and be accepted; need to avoid
loneliness and alienation
Safety needs
Need to feel that the world is organized and
predictable; need to feel safe, secure, and stable
Physiological needs
Need to satisfy hunger and thirst

11. Was Maslow theory (hierarchy) valid?
What do the critics say?
Oversimplifies the relationship between motives and behavior
There are exceptions ie. Those who sacrifice needs for ideals like martyrs, suicide bombers etc.
Too rigid , stages…can one skip a need and “progress” to the level?
Needs vary cross culturally.
Are behaviors motivated by a single need or by complex “interconnected” needs?
Too simplistic…what about cognitive needs – the need to know and understand (curiousity?) or the need to experiment?
Underestimated the percentage of people who become self actualized…(1%)

12. Motivation-Hunger
Stomach contractions accompany our feelings of hunger

13. Motivation-Hunger Glucose
the form of sugar that circulates in the blood
provides the major source of energy for body tissues
when its level is low, we feel hunger

14. Motivation-Hunger Set Point Basal Metabolic Rate
the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set
when the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight
Basal Metabolic Rate
body’s base rate of energy expenditure

15. Motivation-Hunger
The hypothalamus controls eating and other body maintenance functions

16. Motivation-Hunger

17. Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa
when a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly (>15%) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve
usually an adolescent female
Bulimia Nervosa
disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

18. Women’s Body Images

19. Sexual Motivation Sex Sexual Response Cycle
a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but it is more affected by learning and values
Sexual Response Cycle
the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson
excitement
plateau
orgasm
resolution

20. Sexual Motivation Refractory Period Estrogen
resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
Estrogen
a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males

21. Forces Affecting Sexual Motivation

22. Sexual Motivation
Same drives, different attitudes

23. Sexual Motivation
Births to unwed parents

24. Sexual Motivation Sexual Orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own gender (homosexual orientation) or the other gender (heterosexual orientation)

25. Sexual Motivation

26. Sexual Motivation

27. Motivation at Work Flow Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology
a completely, involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology
the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

28. Motivation at Work Personnel Psychology Organizational Psychology
sub-field of I-O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development
Organizational Psychology
Sub-field of I-O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change

29. Motivation at Work

30. Motivation at Work Structured Interview Achievement Motivation
process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants
rated on established scales
Achievement Motivation
a desire for significant accomplishment
for mastery of things, people, or ideas
for attaining a high standard

31. Motivation at Work
Personnel psychologists’ tasks

32. Motivation at Work
360-degree feedback

33. Motivation at Work
On the right path

34. Motivation Task Leadership Social Leadership
goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals
Social Leadership
group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support

35. Motivation Theory X Theory Y
assumes that workers are basically lazy, error-prone, and extrinsically motivated by money
workers should be directed from above
Theory Y
assumes that, given challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve self-esteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity

36. STRESS LESSON
THEORIES

37. GAS applied to Sex!?
The sexual response cycle is similar to Han’s Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome Theory (GAS).
Stage 1 Alarm Reaction Phase
Recognizes and prepares for stress. (Excitement Phase)
Stage 2 Resistance Phase
Fights the stress (Plateau Phase)
Stage 3 Body either conquers the stress or exhausts resources in handling stress (orgasm/resolution phase)
Therefore, body’s reaction to stress is like its reaction to stress!