Myers’ Psychology for AP* David G. Myers *AP is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. PowerPoint Presentation Slides by Kent Korek Germantown High School Worth Publishers, © 2010

Introduction Motivation

The general term for the biological, emotional, cognitive, and social processes involved in starting, directing, and maintaining behavior.

Motivation Human behavior includes a wide range of motives and drives. No single comprehensive theory of motivation can explain the enormous variety of human behavior. As a result, psychologists have developed several theories of motivation.

Motivational Concepts

Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology Instinct (fixed pattern)Instinct –Instincts in animals –Instincts in humans

Instinct Theory Instincts are fixed action patterns that are not learned and occur in most members of a species. Animals display a number of fixed action patterns including bird migrations, mating rituals, and dominance displays. Inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution, early psychologists, led by William James, listed scores of human instincts including modesty, cleanliness, rivalry, and parental love.

Instinct Theory Instinct theory soon fell out of favor as it became evident that it lacked the ability to fully explain human motivation. Today, psychologists taking the evolutionary perspective explore the influence of our evolutionary history on eating, the selection of mates, the expression of emotions, and other patterns of human behavior.

Drives and Incentives Drive-reduction theory –HomeostasisHomeostasis –Need –Drive –Drive reduction

Drives and Incentives Drive-reduction theory –HomeostasisHomeostasis –Need –Drive –Drive reduction

Drives and Incentives Drive-reduction theory –HomeostasisHomeostasis –Need –Drive –Drive reduction

Drive Reduction Theory The drive reduction theory replaced instinct theory during the 1930’s. The drive reduction theory is based on the biological concept of homeostasis. This key concept literally means “standing still.” According to the principle of homeostasis, the body seeks to maintain a stable internal state, such as constant internal temperature and fluid levels. For example, after a marathon, runners drink a lot of water to restore homeostasis in their fluid levels.

Drive Reduction Theory The body creates a state of tension, known as a “drive,” if any of its needs are unmet. For example, drive reduction theory states that a person will drink water as a result of a drive for satisfying thirst and eat food as a result of a drive for satisfying hunger. Drive reductions theory is still used to explain motivated behaviors that have a clear biological basis. However, drive reduction theory cannot account for many human behaviors. For example, buying the newest cell phone, contributing to a charity, and participating in an extreme sport cannot be explained by the satisfaction of a biological need.

Drives and Incentives Incentive –Positive and negative –When there is both a need and an incentive, we feel strongly driven. –For each motive we can ask, “How is it pushed by our inborn physiological needs and pulled by incentives in the environment?”

Optimum Arousal Arousal –Optimum level of arousal

Arousal Theory According to arousal theory, humans (and other animals) are innately curious and seek out complexity and novelty. The Yerkes-Dodson law states that an optimal level of psychological arousal helps performances. When arousal is too low, our minds wander and we become bored. When arousal is too high, we become too anxious and “freeze-up.” People are thus motivated to seek a moderate level of stimulation that is neither too easy nor too difficult.

Arousal Theory For example, a youth soccer league proposes to implement a system in which games are played without keeping score. Removing scores may improve the performance of players who were too anxious. However, removing scores may cause highly competitive players to become bored, thus undermining their performance.

A Hierarchy of Motives Maslow’s hierarchy of needshierarchy of needs –Variations in the hierarchy

A Hierarchy of Motives

Definition Slide = add definition here

Definition Slides

Motivation = a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Instinct = a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.

Drive-reduction Theory = the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Homeostasis = a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.

Incentive = a positive or negative environment stimulus that motivates behavior

Hierarchy of Needs = Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

Glucose = the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

Set Point = 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 = the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.

Anorexia Nervosa = an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly (15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.

Bulimia Nervosa = an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually high- calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Binge-eating Disorder = significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging, fasting, or excessive exercise that marks bulimia nervosa.

Sexual Response Cycle = the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson – excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Refractory Period = a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.

Estrogens = sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amount by females than males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.

Testosterone = the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.

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