Motivation The psychological processes that arouse, direct, and maintain behavior toward a goal. Must infer behavior because sometimes you can’t directly observe it. Three sources of motivation: drives, incentives, heredity

Drives Drive theory states that behavior is motivated by some kind of need caused by physiological deprivation, which induces a tension state called a drive. The drive motivates a person to reduce the need. Goal of drive reduction: homeostasis (psychological balance or equilibrium)

Diagram of drive theory Biological needdrive statebehavior Drive state = tension Biological need = deprivation of some sort (e.g., hunger)

Problems with Drive Theory Sometimes people engage in behavior that actually increases rather than decreases various drives. The theory can’t explain why someone would do this.

Incentives Drives are internal states that push you toward a goal; incentives are external stimuli that pull you toward a goal. We’re pushed toward positive incentives and away from negative ones. Incentives and drives sometimes act together. Example: You’re thirsty (a drive), but you want a Coke instead of water (the coke is an incentive).

Goal-setting theory Motivation can be strongly influenced by goals. There are 3 conditions where goal-setting works best. 1. When goals are highly specific 2. When goals are challenging 3. When goals are perceived as highly attainable.

Heredity: Instincts Instincts: relatively complex , inherited behavior pattern characteristic of a species Instinct theory fell out of favor in the early 20th century because psychologists were compiling too many instincts that supposedly drove human behavior.

Sociobiology (Wilson) The controversial field that studies human and animal social behavior. Based on heredity.

Sociobiological view of altruism (helping behavior) Survival of the fittest should argue against altruism because it may hurt your own chance of survival. So why do we do it? Answer is that individual survival is not the goal of natural selection. Passing on of genes is the goal.

Altruism continued… Inclusive fitness—a species member’s ability to ensure the survival of its genes in future generations. Kin selection—a form of natural selection that favors genes because of their effect on improving the reproductive success of one’s relatives. You’re more likely to help relatives, especially younger relatives who can still reproduce.

Reciprocal altruism Why do we help those who aren’t related to us? Reciprocal altruism—if we help people, they might be able to help us in return someday.

Males vs. Females (sociobiology) Males want a woman who is young, healthy, and able to bear children. Females want a man who is financially and emotionally stable because this type of man will be more likely to take care of her and her children. Differential parental investment—women are more invested in children because they have to carry and deliver them.

Males vs. Females (continued) Women have higher criteria for dating and sexual partners than men do. A man’s biological goal in life is to “spread his seed” and father children. Women have to find a way to take care of those children. Women are more threatened by emotional infidelity; men are more threatened by sexual infidelity.

Overview of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Five basic needs that influence human behavior. Lowest level must be satisfied first, at least partial, before people can be motivated by higher level goals. Theory is criticized for being too simplistic. Also criticized because sometimes people skip the order in the hierarchy (e.g., going to grad school and putting esteem needs above money)

Maslow’s hierarchy

Arousal motive Arousal theory was developed in order to address why people sometimes seek to increase existing drives rather than decrease them. Humans seek an optimal level of arousal, not a minimal level (as drive theory would suggest). People differ in their optimal level of arousal.

Yerkes-Dodson Law Inverted U relationship between arousal and performance States that humans perform best at a moderate level of arousal w/ith performance deteriorating under extremely high or extremely low arousal levels Optimal arousal is higher for simple than for complex tasks. Higher for well-learned tasks than it is for simple tasks.

Graph of Yerkes-Dodson law

Achievement motivation A desire for excellence, mastery, and accomplishment Found more in Western cultures because we don’t have to worry as much about lower-order needs Assessed with the Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)

High achievement motivation People who are high on this need will persist at tasks in the face of difficulties, delay gratification in the pursuit of long-term goals, and achieve greater success Select moderately difficult challenges so they won’t be guaranteed to do well but also won’t be as likely to fail. Want success above everything; motivated to avoid failure. Desire feedback for performance & merit-based pay

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation—enjoyment of something for its own sake, not for any extrinsic rewards you might get for doing it Overjustification effect: paying someone for something they enjoy doing decreases their intrinsic satisfaction. Takes the joy out of it.

Self-handicapping A strategy that people use to guarantee that they will have an excuse for failure Could be either behavioral, in which you sabotage your own performance in some way (e.g, drinking the night before a test), or self-reported, in which you “warn” someone ahead of time that you won’t do well on the task because of some external factor (“I feel sick today, so I’m not going to do well on this test.”)