1. Aron Ralston – cut off own arm while trapped in canyon (127 Hours)
What factors may have motivated his actions?
MOTIVATION
AP Psych
Myers

2. Motivation a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
Instinct theory
Drive-reduction theory
Incentive theory
Arousal theory
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

3. Instinct Theory Behaviors are motivated by instincts
Instinct - a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
Evolutionary theory on motivation - genes predispose species-typical behavior
Rooting reflex
Fear - Fight/flight
Reproduction
People are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so.
Influenced by Darwin’s theory of natural selection
Tried to explain human behaviors as being compelled by “instincts” →  The main problem with this theory is that it did not really explain behavior, it just described it.
By the 1920s, instinct theories were pushed aside in favor of other motivational theories, but contemporary evolutionary psychologists still study the influence of genetics and heredity on human behavior.

4. Drive-Reduction Theory
A physiological need → an aroused tension state (a drive) → motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
Reflects the body’s desire to maintain homeostasis (constant, balanced internal state)
For each motive we can ask, “How is it pushed by inborn physiological needs and pulled by incentives in the environment?”
The problem with the drive theory of motivation is that these behaviors are not always motivated purely by physiological needs. For example, people often eat even when they are not really hungry.

5. Incentive Theory Motivation stems from external stimuli (incentives)
You may not be hungry, but the smell of cupcakes from the kitchen motivates you to eat one.
You study hard in school to get A’s, because if you get all A’s this year, your parents will buy you a car.
Explains why we can be motivated to act even when there isn’t a biological need or drive.
***Pushed by needs, pulled by incentives.***

6. Arousal Theory
Too little or too much stimulation can motivate people to find an optimum state of arousal
Ex: curiosity-driven behaviors – you’re bored and are motivated to explore your environment
The “optimum” level of arousal varies between individuals.
Yerkes-Dodson law – increased levels of arousal will improve performance, but only until an optimal level is reached, then performance begins to suffer.
The “optimal” level of arousal varies between tasks and individuals.
When arousal levels get too low, for example, a person might watch and exciting movie or go for a jog.
When arousal levels get too high, on the other hand, a person would probably look for ways to relax such as meditating or reading a book. 
Y-D Law - Most students have experienced this phenomenon when taking final exams. Increased arousal can lead to better test performance by helping you stay alert, focused, and attentive, but too much arousal can lead to test anxiety and leave you nervous and unable to concentrate on the test.

7. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Prioritized pyramid of human needs that motivate behaviors in which some needs must be met before being motivated to fulfill other needs.
Maslow claimed that not all people will reach the peak of self- actualization and will work on meeting lower needs for their entire lives
Critics
too rigid, some behaviors are motivated by multiple needs
some needs can eclipse others depending on the individual
some needs are left out
The order of needs is not universally set – cultural, societal, political, and financial aspects can change the order, however the hierarchy provides a basic framework for thinking about motivation.

8. HUNGER “Hunger is the most urgent form of poverty.”
– Alliance to End Hunger, 2002

9. The Physiology of Hunger
Cannon & Washburn (1912) – when hunger is felt, what is the stomach doing?
Washburn swallowed a balloon to measure stomach contractions → the stomach contracts when the body feels hunger pangs
Hunger can persist even without a stomach…rats and humans with partial/no stomach still “feel” hunger.
Hunger can persist even without a stomach (rats w/o stomach, humans w/o stomach due to cancer) → if hunger can persist without stomach, what else triggers hunger?

10. Body Chemistry and Hunger
Glucose - blood sugar that provides the major source of energy to body tissues
Low glucose = hunger
Appetite hormones
Insulin – regulates blood sugar
Increase in insulin reduces blood glucose → hunger
Ghrelin and orexin – bring on hunger
Leptin – increases metabolism
Answer How fat loss works in your body
Questions in your notes
Increases in insulin lower blood glucose → hunger.

11. The Brain and Hunger
Hypothalamus largely controls and monitors hunger.
Lateral hypothalamus
(Bring)
Lower-mid hypothalamus
(Depress)
Stimulation
Over-eating
No eating
Damage
Patients with tumors near the base of the brain (hypothalamus) eat excessively and become very overweight

12. Body Chemistry and the Brain
Set point - the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set
Predisposed by heredity (adoption and twin studies)
Range of 10% of weight
Can be reset, but difficult (why dieting often fails)
Basal metabolic rate - the body’s resting rate of energy exposure
Less food intake – slower
More food intake – faster
Set points can change over time with gradual rate fluctuations casting doubt on the idea that our bodies have a preset tendency to maintain an optimum weight
Less food intake – lower basal metabolic rate to conserve energy (demonstrated by a 29% drop in basal metabolic rate in the participates in Keys’ study)
More food intake – increased basal metabolic rate to expend excess energy (fidgeting, etc)

13. Starving for Science
Ancel Keys (1944) - wanted to study the science of starvation and how to properly rehabilitate people suffering from starvation
36 male volunteers, all conscientious objectors in WWII
Fed half of the required food to maintain weight for 6 months
Rapid weight loss to 25% below starting weight, then slowed weight loss
Conservation of energy
Obsession with food - lost interest in anything that was not food

14. The Psychology of Hunger
We remember our last meal and anticipate our next meal.
Paul Rozin and colleagues (1998) tested 2 people with extreme amnesia (could not remember past minute)
Presented with first lunch and ate it
20 minutes later they ate a second lunch when presented
Another 20 minutes later they ate a third lunch when presented
Part of knowing when to eat is out memory of our last meal and the anticipation of our next meal.
Taste preferences
Genetic and universal for sweet and salty
Conditioned
Cultural traditions
Naturally avoid unfamiliar foods (evolutionary)
Adaptive (increases survival) - pregnant women feel most nauseous and avoid food around the 10th week, while the embryo is most susceptible to toxins.
Adaptive - pregnant women feel most nauseous and avoid food around the 10th week, while the embryo is most susceptible to toxins.

15. Eating Disorders
Eating disorders provide an example of when psychological factors take precedence over physiological needs and homeostatic pressures.
Anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder in which a normal-weight person (usually adolescent females) limits food intake to become significantly (15% or more) underweight, yet continues to starve.
Bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by purging - vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

16. Diathesis-stress model
Eating Disorders
Nurture
Possible childhood sexual abuse
Familial emphasis on weight, competition, and/or achievement
Unrealistic idea of ideal gender identities
Media – fashion, ads, toys, supermodels, celebrities
Nature
Genetics – identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins or siblings to share an eating disorder
Crash Course – Eating Disorders
Diathesis-stress model
Behaviors are a result of both biological (nature) factors and life experiences (nurture).

17. SEXUAL MOTIVATION
Sexual motivation is the result of a desire, not a biological need.
However, sexual reproduction is needed for the survival of a species.

18. Kinsey’s Reports on Sexuality
1950s - Interviewed thousands of single and married men and women
Evidence showed both sexes were more sexually active than socially accepted at the time.
Most men and women reported having premarital sex
Most women and virtually all men reported having masturbated
Developed a 7 point scale to measure sexual orientation, rather than relying on strict categorizations
Men and women reported having “reacted sexually” to the same sex – 11.6% of men and 7% of women rated at a 3.

19. The Sexual Response Cycle
The four stages of sexual responding (similar in males and females)
Developed by Masters and Johnson (1966)
Refractory period – a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
Masters and Johnson also studied sexual disorders – a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning
Can be treated with behavioral therapy or medication
Sexual disorder – a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning
Lack of sexual motivation, energy, or reusability
Premature ejaculation or erectile dysfunction for men
Orgasmic disorder for women
Can be treated with behavioral therapy or medication

20. Hormones and Sexual Behavior
Estrogen
Sex hormone secreted in greater amounts by females
Testosterone
most important of the male sex hormones
Greater in males
Testosterone increases libido (sexual motivation/drive) in both males and females.
When estrogen binds to testosterone, libid goes down.

21. Sexual Orientation
An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex (homosexual) or the other sex (heterosexual)
All cultures in all times have been predominantly heterosexual → evolutionary?
Homosexuality
3-4% of men and 1-2% of women identify as homosexual (anonymous self reporting)
Face cultural, societal, and political backlash → higher rates of depression and risk of suicide
Neither willfully chosen or willfully changed
APA dropped homosexuality from its list of “mental illnesses” in 1973
Facing cultural, societal, and political backlash can cause many homosexuals to struggle with their sexual orientation.
Ignorance or denial of desires, hoping they will go away
Attempted change through psychotherapy, willpower, or prayer

22. Biology of Sexual Orientation
General consensus in the scientific community is that sexual orientation is not psychologically influenced.
Cross-sections of the hypothalamus from homosexual and heterosexual males and females (blind study) → reliably larger cell cluster in heterosexual males than in females and homosexual males…
Still unclear when and how do these differences occur.
Psychologically caused? NO…
Homosexuality not related to sexually abusive childhoods
Not related to levels of hormones in the blood
Not related to familial factors (smothering mothers, absent fathers
Homosexuality does appear more often…
In certain populations → musicians, poets, fiction writers, and artists
In men with older brothers
LeVay concluded that the cell cluster does not depict a sexual orientation center, rather sees it as an important part of the neural pathway engaged in sexual behavior. (brain anatomy influences sexual behavior)

23. Genes and Sexual Orientation
Evidence to suggest genetic influence on sexual orientation.
Identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to share the same sexual orientation.
Sexual attraction in fruit flies has been manipulated through gene experimentation
Familial studies on heterosexual vs homosexual parenting show that the sexual orientation of parents does not affect that of children.
Why does homosexuality exist from an evolutionary perspective?
Genes can remain present in family genes
Possible a maternal trait? (passed on my mother to children)
Bottom line → it is unclear and unproven if environmental factors influence sexual orientation, therefore researchers focus on studying the potential biological factors that may influence sexual orientation.
Crash Course - Sex
Bottom line → it is unclear and unproven if environmental factors influence sexual orientation, therefore researchers have focused on studying the potential biological factors that may influence homosexuality

24. MOTIVATION AT WORK

25. Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces
Personnel psychology – a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal and development
Organizational psychology – a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change
Flow – a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills.