1. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement
Module 29
Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement
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2. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Motivational Concepts
29-1: HOW DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DEFINE MOTIVATION? FROM WHAT PERSPECTIVES DO THEY VIEW MOTIVATED BEHAVIOR?
Motivation: A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
Four perspectives for understanding motivated behaviors:
Instinct theory (evolutionary perspective): Focuses on genetically predisposed behaviors
Drive-reduction theory: Focuses on how we respond to our inner pushes
Arousal theory: Focuses on finding the right levels of stimulation
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Focuses on the priority of some needs over others

3. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Motivational Concepts Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology
Instinct
A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
Although instincts cannot explain most human motives, genes do predispose some species-typical behavior
Classification of many behaviors as instincts; named but did not explain behaviors

4. Same Motive, Different Wiring
The more complex the nervous system, the more adaptable the organism. Both humans and weaverbirds satisfy their need for shelter in ways that reflect their inherited capacities, but the bird’s behavior is fixed .

5. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Motivational Concepts Drives and Incentives
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: The 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 environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

6. Drive-Reduction Theory
Drive-reduction theory assumptions
We have physiological needs.
Unmet needs create a drive.
That drive pushes us to reduce the need.
Need (food, water)
Drive (hunger, thirst)
Drive-reducing behaviors (eating, drinking)

7. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Motivational Concepts Optimum Arousal
Humans are motivated to engage in behaviors that either increase or decrease arousal levels.
High arousal levels motivate engagement in behaviors that will lower these levels.
Low arousal levels motivate activities that can increase arousal—often through curiosity.
DRIVEN BY CURIOSITY Young monkeys and children are fascinated by the unfamiliar. Their drive to explore maintains an
optimum level of arousal and
is one of several motives that do not fill any immediate physiological need.

8. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Motivational Concepts A Hierarchy of Motives
Abraham Maslow
Described human motives as a pyramid of priorities.
At the base are basic physiological needs; at the peak are the highest human needs.
See Table 10.1 for a summary of Classic Motivation Theories (instinct theory/evolutionary psychology, drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).

9. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong
29-2: WHAT EVIDENCE POINTS TO OUR HUMAN AFFILIATION NEED—OUR NEED TO BELONG?
Greek philosopher Aristotle labeled humans the social animal.
Affiliation need: The need to build relationships and to feel part of a group.
This need to belong seems to be a central human motivation (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).

10. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong The Benefits of Belonging
Social bonds and cooperation enhanced early ancestors’ survivability
Combat, hunting, and food gathering more successful in groups; survival and reproduction strengthened
Innate need to belong drives us to befriend those who cooperate and avoid our foes (favoring “us” versus “them”)

11. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong: The Benefits of Belonging
Humans remain innately social beings.
Need to belong affects thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
Feelings of love activate brain reward and safety systems
Social isolation increases risk for mental decline and poor health
Children put through a series of foster homes or repeated family locations may have difficulty forming deep attachments
U.S. immigration policies encourage chain migration
Ostracism is the deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups

12. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong: The Pain of Being Shut Out
Being socially excluded (ostracism) threatens our deep need to belong
Real pain is experienced in social isolation
Increased activity in brain areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex (pain response area)
Acetaminophen lessens social as well as physical pain
Across cultures, social pain is described with the same words as physical pain
Social exclusion may interfere with empathy for others, increase aggression, or raise the risk for self-defeating behavior or underperformance

13. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong The Pain of Being Shut Out
SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION Successful participants on the reality TV show Survivor form alliances and gain acceptance among their peers. The rest receive the ultimate social punishment as they are “voted off the island.”
Worldwide, many forms of ostracism are used (for example, exile, imprisonment, solitary confinement).
For children, even a brief time-out in isolation can be punishing.
Social isolation and rejection foster depressed moods or emotional numbness and can trigger aggression.
Isolation can put us at risk for mental decline and ill health.
Worldwide, humans use many forms of ostracism—exile, imprisonment, solitary confinement—to punish, and therefore control, social behavior. For children, even a brief time-out in isolation can be punishing.
Across cultures the same words are used for social and physical pain: e.g., hurt, crushed.
Being shunned threatens the need to belong.

14. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong Connecting and Social Networking
29-3: HOW DOES SOCIAL NETWORKING INFLUENCE US?
Mobile Networks and Social Media
At the end of 2014, there were 6.9 billion mobile cell-phone subscriptions
Texting, social media sites, and other messaging technology are replacing ing
Three in four U.S. teens text; half (mostly female) send 60+ texts daily
94 percent of U.S. students entering college used social networking sites in 2014

15. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong Connecting and Social Networking
The Net Result: Social Effects of Social Networking
Modern changes in how we connect are vast and they prompt these questions:
Are we more, or less, socially isolated?
Does electronic communication stimulate healthy self-disclosure?
Do social networks reflect actual personalities?
Does social networking promote narcissism?
What do you think? Let’s compare your response to the information in your text.
Are social networking sites making us more, or less, socially isolated?
Lonely people spend more than average time online.
Social networking is strengthening connections with people they already know.
Connect us, but also can distract from face-to-face relationships.
Does electronic communication stimulate healthy self-disclosure?
Self-disclosure is self-sharing.
Online communications are less focused on others’ reactions, are less self-conscious, and less inhibited.
In most cases, increased self-disclosure deepens friendships.
Do social networking profiles and posts reflect people’s actual personalities?
Generally social networks reveal person’s real personality.
Does social networking promote narcissism?
Narcissistic people are self-important, self-focused, and self-promoting.
Social networks provide a “feeding trough.”
Excessive online socializing and gaming are associated with lower grades.

16. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement The Need to Belong: Connecting and Social Networking
Maintaining Balance and Focus
Excessive online socializing and gaming are associated with lower grades
Experts offer practical suggestions:
Monitor your time
Monitor your feelings
“Hide” your most distracting online friends when necessary
When studying, get in the practice of checking your phone only once per hour
Try a social networking fast or a time-controlled social media diet
Refocus by taking a nature walk

17. Basic Motivational Concepts, Affiliation, and Achievement Achievement Motivation
29-4: WHAT IS ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION?
Some human motives seem to have little obvious survival value, and not to diminish when they are fed. The more we achieve, the more we may need to achieve.
Psychologist Henry Murray (1938) first defined achievement motivation.
Achievement motivation: A desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of skills or ideas; for control; and for attaining a high standard.