PSYCHOLOGY –

SSC 210
Lahore School
of Economics

Hirra Rana
 Motivation & Emotion
Forces that Push and Pull
Motivation
The factors that direct and energize the behavior of
humans and other organisms.

Motivation refers to the dynamics of behavior—the

ways in which our actions are initiated, sustained,
directed, and terminated
(Deckers,2010;Petri & Govern,2013).
A Model of Motivation
Incentives

The “pull” of a goal is called its incentive value (the

goal’s appeal beyond its ability to fill a need). Some
goals are so desirable (strawberry pie, for example)
that they can motivate behavior in the absence of an
internal need.
Drive-reduction approaches to motivation

Theories suggesting that a lack of a basic biological

requirement such as water produces a drive to obtain
that requirement (in this case,
the thirst drive).

Drive
Motivational tension, or arousal, that energizes
behavior to fulfill a need.
Homeostasis
The body’s tendency to maintain a steady internal
state.

Arousal approaches to motivation

The belief that we try to maintain certain levels of
stimulation and activity increasing or reducing them
as necessary.
Cognitive approaches to motivation
Theories suggesting that motivation is a product of
people’s thoughts, expectations, and goals—their
cognitions.

For instance, the degree to which people are

motivated to study for a test is based on their
expectation of how well studying will pay off in
terms of a good grade.
 The Motivation Behind Hunger and Eating
Eating Disorders:

Anorexia nervosa
A severe eating disorder in which people may
refuse to eat while denying that their behavior
and appearance—which can become skeleton-
like—are unusual.
Bulimia
A disorder in which a person binges
on large quantities of food, followed
by efforts to purge the food through
vomiting or other means.
Need for achievement
A stable, learned characteristic in which a person
obtains satisfaction by striving for and attaining a level
of excellence

The need for achievement is a stable, learned

characteristic in which a person obtains satisfaction
by striving for and attaining a level of excellence
(McClelland etal.,1953).
MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

How can we measure a person’s need for

achievement?

The measuring instrument used most frequently is the

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Spangler, 1992).

In the TAT, an examiner shows a series of ambiguous

pictures.

The examiner tells participants to write a story that

describes what is happening, who the people are,
what led to the situation, what the people are thinking
or wanting, and what will happen next.
For example, someone who writes a story in which the
main character strives to beat an opponent , or works
hard in order to get a promotion shows clear signs of
an achievement orientation.
 The Need for Affiliation: Striving for Friendship

Need for affiliation

An interest in establishing and maintaining
relationships with other people.

 The Need for Power: Striving for Impact on Others

Need for power A tendency to seek impact, control,

or influence over others and to be seen as a powerful
individual.
Motivation & Emotion (contd.)
Psychology of Emotion
Emotions
Feelings that generally have both physiological and
cognitive elements and that influence behavior
The Functions of Emotions

 Preparing us for action :

Emotions act as a link between events in our environment and our responses. For
example, if you saw an angry dog charging toward you, your emotional reaction
(fear) would be associated with physiological arousal of the sympathetic division of
the autonomic nervous system, the activation of the “fight-or-flight” response.

 Shaping our future behavior : Emotions promote learning that will help us
make appropriate responses in the future. For instance, your emotional response
to unpleasant events teaches you to avoid similar circumstances in the future.

 Helping us interact more effectively with others :

We often communicate the emotions we experience through our verbal and

nonverbal behaviors, making our emotions obvious to observers.
Determining the Range of Emotions: Labeling Our
Feelings:
THE JAMES-LANGE THEORY: DO GUT REACTIONS EQUAL
EMOTIONS?

James-Lange theory of emotion

The belief that emotional experience is a reaction to
bodily events occurring as a result of an external
situation (“I feel sad because I am crying”)
(James, 1890).
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
The belief that both physiological arousal and
emotional experience are produced simultaneously
by the same nerve stimulus(Cannon, 1929).

 This theory rejects the view that physiological arousal alone

leads to the perception of emotion. Instead, the theory
assumes that both physiological arousal and the emotional
experience are produced simultaneously by the same nerve
stimulus, which Cannon and Bard suggested emanates from
the thalamus in the brain.
Schachter-Singer theory of emotion

The belief that emotions are determined jointly by a

nonspecific kind of physiological arousal and its
interpretation , based on environmental cues.
Case study:

Suppose that as you are being followed down that

dark street on New Year’s Eve,
you notice a man being followed by another
shady figure on the other side of the street. Now
assume that instead of reacting with fear, the man
begins to laugh and act gleeful. Would the
reactions of this other individual be sufficient to lay
your fears to rest? Might you, in fact, decide there
is nothing to fear and get into the spirit of evening
by beginning to feel happiness and glee yourself?
 Thisapproach to explaining emotions
emphasizes that we identify the emotion
we are experiencing by observing our
environment and comparing ourselves
with others (Schachter & Singer, 1962).
Facial-feedback hypothesis:

The importance of facial expressions is illustrated

by an intriguing notion known as the:

facial-feedback hypothesis. According to this

hypothesis, facial expressions not only reflect
emotional experience, but they also help
determine how people experience and label
emotions. Basically put, “wearing” an
emotional expression provides muscular
feedback to the brain that helps produce an
emotion congruent with that expression
(Izard, 1990; Davis, Senghas,&Ochsner, 2009).