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
Imprinting in birds, infant rooting and sucking

Instinct theory failed to explain most human

motives
Used instinct to name behaviors, rather than to
explain them
5759 supposed 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

____________________

__________________

Need
(e.g., for
food, water)

Drive
(hunger, thirst)

_______________

Drive-reducing
behaviors
(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)
Staying the same
E.g., blood glucose levels (hunger or satiation), body
temperature (too hot, too cold)
Need
(e.g., for
food, water)

Drive
(hunger, thirst)

Rest

Drive-reducing
behaviors
(eating,
drinking)

Incentive Theory
We are pushed by our internal needs to reduce
drives
We are also pulled by incentives
Incentives are positive or negative stimuli that
motivate behaviour

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
Not all motivated behaviours reduce arousal; Some
motivated behaviours increase 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

Yerkes-Dodson law

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Begins at the base
with needs that must
first be satisfied
before higher-level
needs become active

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????

SelfActualization Survey
Scoring

Questions 2,5,6,8,9,11,13 and 14 reverse the answers as

follows
6=1, 5=2, 4=3, 3=4, 2=5,1=6

Scores range from 15-90

College students have a mean score of 60
Factors measure autonomy, self-acceptance,
acceptance of emotions, trust, and responsibility in
interpersonal relations.
People with high scores:
tend to live in the present, rather then the past with
guilt and regret or in the future with overidealized
goals and fears.
Inner-directed, extraverted, and rational in their
thoughts and behaviors

SelfActualization Survey

Scoring

Questions 2,5,6,8,9,11,13 and 14 reverse the

answers as follows

6=1
5=2
4=3
3=4
2=5
1=6

SelfActualization Survey
Scores range from 15-90
College students have a mean score of 60
Factors measure autonomy, self-acceptance,
acceptance of emotions, trust, and
responsibility in interpersonal relations.
People with high scores:
tend to live in the present, rather then the past
with guilt and regret or in the future with
overidealized goals and fears.
Inner-directed, extraverted, and rational in
their thoughts and behaviors.

Hunger and Eating

What starts you eating?
Is hunger triggered by stomach sensations? People
begin to feel hungry when stomach 60% empty
But even when stomach removed (cancer) still get
hungry

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

Hypothalamus
Brain controls food intake
Lateral hypothalamus increases hunger

Destroy lateral hypothalamus animals wont

eat
Ventromedial hypothalamus reduces hunger

Destroy ventromedial hypothalamus animals

will not stop eating

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.

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
in partthe
on
Social
facilitation:
presenceinfluences.
of others
situational
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
Buffet effect: we eat
more if more options are
available

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

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.