Chapter 12

Motivation comes from

the interplay between nature and nurture (the bodily

push/the pull from thought and processes from culture)
Four Perspectives on Motivation

Instinct theory

Drive reduction theory

Arousal theory

Maslows hierarchy of needs

 Instinct Theory
Instinct complex behaviour with a fixed pattern
throughout a species and is unlearned

Innate/inborn biological force

Ex. Return of Salmon to their birthplace
Instinct theory failed to explain most human
motives
Used instinct to name behaviors, rather than to
explain them
5759 supposed instincts but doesnt describe them.
Humans actually have few true instincts
Instinct Theory and Evolutionary
Psychology
Our genes do predispose species-typical
behaviours
Evolutionary psychologists search for reasons for
our behaviour in our genetic code

Evolutionary theories natural selection

favors behaviors that maximize survival and
reproductive success
Why are we motivated to belong to groups?
Why are we motivated to eat?
Why are we motivated to find a romantic partner?
Drive-Reduction Theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an

aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates
an organism to satisfy the need
When a physiological need increases, so does a
psychological drive a motivated state
____________________
Need
Drive Drive-reducing
(e.g., for
(hunger, thirst) behaviors
food, water)
(eating,
drinking)
 Drive-Reduction Theory
Behaviour is motivated by necessity to reduce need
The physiological aim of drive reduction
A state of homeostasis; to maintain a steady internal
state (think thermostat)
Thermostat sensors feed room temp to a control device, if
room temp cools, the control device switches on the furnace.
Likewise if our body temp cools, blood vessels constrict to
conserve warmth, and we feel driven to seek a warmer enviro
or to put on a sweater. Or if the water levels in our cells drop,
sensors detect our need for water &we feel thirsty.

Need Drive Drive-reducing

(e.g., for (hunger, thirst) behaviors
food, water) (eating,
drinking)
Rest
Incentive Theory
We are pushed by our internal needs to reduce drives
or are pulled by incentives
Incentives are positive or negative stimuli that motivate
behaviour
Ex of incentive: threat of disapproval can influence our
motives, money can be an incentive for motivation
Ex. Hungry person smells baking bread and feels a stronger hunger
drive. In the presence of that drive, the bread becomes an incentive
For each motivation:
How is this driven by my inborn physiological needs and
pulled by the environment?
An internal drive and an external stimulus leads us to be
strongly driven in our behaviour
Optimal Arousal critiques
Not all motivated behaviours reduce arousal; Some motivated
behaviours increase arousal
Ex. Well- fed animals will leave their shelter to explore & may
gain resources or information
Without stimulation we feel bored and look for a way to increase arousal to some
optimal level (ex. Sky diving). However too much stimulation = stress & we look for
ways to decrease arousal.
Optimal Arousal theory:
Even when our biological needs have been met, we feel driven to
experience stimulation (infovores)

E.g., curiosity
Too little stimulation = Boredom
Too much stimulation = Stress
Is this clip an ex of Incentive
Theory? Drive Reduction Theory?
Arousal Theory?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Yerkes-Dodson law
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Begins at the base
with needs that must
first be satisfied
before higher-level
needs become active
*Our needs are
prioritized*
Hierarchy of Needs in Ratatouille
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tzQ9vrvTAtk
Maslow
Maslow said we have a hierarchy of
needs:
Physiological
Safety
Belongingness and love
Esteem
Self-actualization
Self-transcendence
 Issue - How does
this explain why
people go on
hunger strikes?

Implication - May not

be quite so
hierarchical????
Hunger and Eating
What starts you eating?

Cultural factors
Time for tea?

Physiological factors
Hunger pangs accompany contractions of the
stomach
Detectors of levels of glucose and fat
Glucostatic hypothesis

Is hunger triggered by stomach sensations? People begin to feel hungry when

stomach 60% empty but even when stomach removed (cancer) still get hungry.
Amnesiacs forget they have eaten and eat again.
 Washburn intentionally swallowed a balloon when inflated in his
stomach, the balloon transmitted his stomach contractions to a
recording device.
While his stomach was being monitored, Washburn pressed a key
each time he felt hungry
Discovery: he was having stomach contractions whenever he felt
hungry. Some diet aids reduce this feeling of an empty stomach by
filling the stomach w fibers that swell as they absorb water
Would you be hungry if you had no
stomach?
Researched removed
stomachs of rats
Rats still ate
Some hunger persists
similarly in humans who
ulcerated or cancerous
stomachs have been
removed
The Hunger-Regulation Cycle
Homeostasis: The physiological aim of drive reduction. It is a state
of equilibrium or stability; to maintain a constant internal state.

Hypothalamus monitors blood glucose.

When blood glucose is low, people become hungry.
Food raises glucose, reduces hunger and eating.
 Hypothalamus

Brain controls food intake

Lateral hypothalamus increases hunger
Destroy lateral hypothalamus animals wont
eat. When electrically stimulated, well- fed
animals would begin to eat.
Ventromedial hypothalamus reduces hunger
Destroy ventromedial hypothalamus animals
will process food more rapidly, causing it to eat
more often and to become extremely fat
 Recent experiments have raised
hope for an appetite- reducing
medication
This hypothetical pill might
counteract the bods hunger-
producing chemicals, ex.
Ghrelin, the empty stomach
hormone that stimulates appetite
Or it might increase levels of
PYY, a digestive hormone that
suppresses appetite
Could ghrelin- blocking or PYY-
elevating pills offer a magic
bullet for treating obesity?
Jamie Oliver TED Talk on Obesity
and Food
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCM2PZ-
SFTk

Is obesity an issue for us today? Why/ why not?

What can we do to prevent it?
Hunger and Eating
What stops you eating?
Nutrients are not absorbed fully until an hour after a meal
stops
Injecting food into stomach stops hunger
Removing food from stomach restores hunger
Water can reduce hunger
Memory
those with amnesia can be made to eat repeated meals

Hunger also changes with

Changes in food type
Changes in exercise
How much do we eat?

Eating depends
Social in part on
facilitation:
situational influences.
the presence of
others accentuates
our typical eating
habits

Unit bias: we may

eat only one
serving/unit (scoop,
plateful, bun-full) of
food, but will eat
more if the serving
size is larger
Hunger and Eating
Environmental effects on eating
People all over the world seek out sweet and salty foods
Even young infants
Stressed students eat more snacks less meal food
People like familiar food but preferences can be
learned/unlearned
China: soy, rice wine & ginger
Greece: olive oil, lemon, oregano
Mexico: tomato, hot chillies
Learned food associations:
movie popcorn
baseball park hot dog.
Hunger and Eating
Set point for body weight
People who starve quickly replace lost body
weight
Prisoners who agreed to eat more at first gained
quickly, then added less to their weight
Despite eating 10,000 calories per day!
Came to hate eating
Lost most of the extra weight on returning to normal
diet
Set Point Theory
Set Point
the point at which an individuals 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

bodys base rate of energy expenditure when the
body is at rest
Do we have a set point?
Some researches doubt that the body has a set
point that drives hunger.
--> They believe that slow, sustained changes in
body weight can alter ones set point
Given unlimited access to good food, people and
other animals tend to overeat and gain weight
Believe psychological factors sometimes drive our
feelings of hunger
Hunger and Eating
Body Weights of Twins

Identical twins are

more similar in body
weight than are
fraternal twins.
Genetic factors play
a large role in body
weight.
 Eating disorders
Anorexia Nervosa:
An eating disorder in
which a normal-weight
person (usually an
adolescent female)
diets & becomes
significantly 15% or
more) underweight,
yet, still feeling fat,
continues to starve
 Eating disorders
Bulimia Nervosa: An eating disorder
characterized by episodes of overeating,
usually of high- calorie foods, followed by
vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive
exercise.
Shape of the Day Learning Intentions

- Discussion around eating - I will understand the need

disorders to belong
- Notes - I will be able to explain the
- Video clip & discussion 4 errors in the interviewer
- Notes illusion/ fallacy
- Video - I will be able to explain the
- Time to work on essays? key points around
organizational psychology
- I will know what
organizational
psychologists do
Social Motivation

Achievement Motivation
Humans seem to be motivated to figure out our
world and master skills, sometimes regardless of
the benefits of the skills or knowledge.
Studies involve looking at differences in how
people set and meet personal goals and go about
acquiring new knowledge or skills.
Hormones and Sexual Motivation
Sexual motivation may have evolved to
enable creatures to pass on their
genes. Sexual desire and response is
not as tied to hormone levels in
humans as it is in animals.

During ovulation, women show a rise

in estrogen and also in testosterone.

As this happens, sexual desire rises in

women and also in the men around
them (whose testosterone level rises).
Low levels of testosterone can reduce
sexual motivation.
The Effect of External Stimuli
All effects of external stimuli on
sexual behavior are more
common in men than in women.
The short-term effect of exposure
to images of nudity and sexuality Imagined Stimuli
increases sexual arousal and The brain is involved in
desire. sexuality; people with
no genital sensation
Possible dangers include: (e.g. spinal cord injuries)
the distortion of our ideas of
can feel sexual desire.
what is appropriate and effective
The brain also contains
dreams, memories, and
for mutual sexual satisfaction. fantasies that stimulate
the habit of finding sexual
sexual desire.
response through idealized
Fantasies are not just a
replacement for sexual
images may lead to decreased activity; they often
sexual response to real-life sexual accompany sex.
partners.
Why do we have
a need to
belong?
 Acting to Increase Social Acceptance
When we feel included, accepted, and loved our
self esteem increases
Self- esteem is a gauge of how valued and
accepted we feel
Much of our social behaviour aims to increase our
belonging our social acceptance and inclusion
thus to avoid rejection, we generally conform to
group standards and seek to make favourable
impressions
Balancing Bonding with Other Needs
The need to bond with
others is so strong that we
can feel lost without close
relationships.
However, we also seem to
need autonomy and a
sense of personal
competence/efficacy.
There a tension between me
and us, but these goals
can work together.
Belonging builds self-
esteem, and prepares us for
confident autonomy.
The Need to Belong Leads to:
loyalty to
friends, teams,
groups, and
families.
However, the
need to belong
also leads to:
changing our
appearance to win
acceptance.
staying in abusive
relationships.
joining gangs,
nationalist groups,
and violent
 Fast fwd 5:20 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=uje4VZVhx3I

Questions to consider:
Who is demonstrating a need to belong?
Social Networking =
Social Connection?
Connecting online can be
seen as taking turns
reading brief words about
each other, or as an
experience of connection
and/or belonging.
Portrayal of ones self
online is often close to
ones actual sense of self.
Use of social networking
can become a compulsion,
sacrificing face-to-face
interaction and in-depth
conversation.
Another Area of Motivation: Work
Why do we workonly for money and other incentives?
The income from work can indirectly satisfy the drive for
food and shelter.
Some are driven by achievement motivation.
In rare cases, the goals and activities of work can feel
like a calling, a fulfilling and socially useful activity.
Some people may seek the optimal work experience
called flow.

Quality of life increases when

they are purposefully engaged,
feeling
between overwhelmed and purposefully
stress and the apathy of being engaged,
underwhelmed and bored (That deeply
zone = flow) immersed, and
challenged
Industrial- Organizational Psych
Applies psychologys principles to the workplace
Main Subfields:
1) Personnel Psychology: applies psychs
methods & principles to selecting & evaluating
workers
2) Organizational Psychology: Considers how
work enviros & management styles influence
worker motivation, satisfaction, & productivity
Personnel Psychologists Work
All of the below are potential areas of research and
consultation for personnel psychologists.
 Selecting, Hiring and Which
employees
Placing Employees will do the job
well?
Personnel psychologists Strengths refer to
can help find the right enduring qualities that
person for the right job. can be productively
This involves: applied.
analyzing the content of Personnel
the job to be filled. psychologists such as
Mary Tenopyr have
developing tools and done research to find
procedures for assessing which strengths
potential employees, and predict success at
for selecting the ones that various jobs.
fit the job. This research can be
helping to optimize used to develop
worker placement and procedures for
promotion. selecting applicants
that have the right
strengths for a job.
How do we select the right
applicants?
To get the information which aptitude tests
would predict future job job
performance, personnel knowledge
psychologists recommend: tests
Still, employers rely on an work samples
informal interview to get a feel past job
for the applicant. performance
The Interviewers overestimate their
ability to read people because
interview of four errors:
er 1.valuing intentions rather than
illusion/ habits.
fallacy 2.neglecting to recall bad reads
such as past interviewees who
failed or quit.
3.seeing interview behavior as a
predictor of job behavior.
Interviewer illusion/fallacy:
The concept that Interviewers overestimate their ability... is a
classic case of the overconfidence error.
Error #2: interviewers often follow successful careers of
those they have hired than the successful careers of those
they have rejected/ lost track of.
Can be justified as availability heuristic, hindsight bias, or
confirmation bias (Availability heuristic is a mental shortcut
that relies on immediate examples that come to mind. When
you are trying to make a decision, a number of related events or
situations might immediately spring to the forefront of your
thoughts. Hindsight bias when ppl find situations more
predictable than they actually are. Confirmation bias:
interpreting new evidence as confirmation of ones beliefs/
theories )
Interviewer illusion/fallacy:

Error #3 - is known as the fundamental attribution error, that

is, seeing the interviewees friendly behavior as a sign of
his/her personality rather than as a function of the situation.
Error #4 is simply prejudice; if you like the interviewee, you
may see an error as a sign of humility rather than as a
disqualification.
Interviewers overestimate their ability to read
people because of four errors:
1.valuing intentions rather than habits.
2.neglecting to recall bad reads such as past
interviewees who failed or quit.
3.seeing interview behavior as a predictor of job
behavior.
4.using prejudgments to interpret interviewee
Organizational Psychology
Goals of
Organizational
Organization Psychology Research
Maximizing worker motivation,
al satisfaction, and productivity
psychology:
studying and
consulting Understanding organizational
about how structures and dynamics
worker
productivity Facilitating organizational
and change
motivation is
affected by
different Improving teamwork and
patterns of leadership
worker-
management
engagement,
Grit: 55

Motivation to Achieve
and Self-Discipline to
Succeed
Organizational psychologists Achievement in most fields of
work may seem like a
work in part to maximize function of talent; however,
motivation and put it to use Thomas Edison noted that,
for employers. genius is 1 percent
inspiration, 99 percent
Grit refers to a perspiration.
combination of desire Talent itself can be a result of
for achievement and perseverance. According to
the ability/willingness the ten year rule, it takes
to persist at hard work. about ten years of hard
Success in careers and
organizations may be caused work to become a skilled
in part by people with grit, expert in a field.
who stick to a goal when Success in work is predicted
others would have quit. more by self-discipline than
by intelligence test scores.
Satisfaction & Engagement
Employees who are
Employees who are more engaged
satisfied in an (connected, passionate,
organization are likely and energetic) get more
to stay longer. work done.

Because a happy worker is a productive worker,

organizational psychologists study factors related to
employee satisfaction, such as whether a worker:
feels that they personally matter to the organization
and to other people.
feels a sense that effort pays off in the quality of the
work and in rewards such as salary and benefits.
Employee Engagement: Three Levels
Many employees are Organizational
engaged (connected, psychologists find that
passionate, and people are most
energetic about the engaged in work
companies/organizations when they:
they work for). know what is
Some are not engaged; expected of them.
they show up and get have the materials
tasks done but show they need to do the
little passion or energy. work.
have opportunities to
Others are actively excel.
disengaged; they are feel fulfilled.
unhappy, alienated, feel part of
and not invested, even something important.
undermining what have opportunities to
people are trying to grow/develop in the
accomplish.
 Crash Course
Motivation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdSLiHaJz8