18.9 Chapter 9: Motivation and Emotion

show what you know

1. Motivation
2. b. intrinsic motivation.
3. Answers will vary. Extrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of external reinforcers. Intrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of internal reinforcers. A teacher wants to encourage intrinsic motivation because the reinforcers originate inside of the students, through personal satisfaction, interest in a subject matter, and so on. There are some potential disadvantages to extrinsic motivation. For example, using rewards, such as money and candy, to reinforce already interesting activities can lead to a decrease in what was intrinsically motivating. Thus, the teacher would want students to respond to intrinsic motivation because the tasks themselves are motivating, and the students love learning for the sake of learning itself.
   When activities are not novel, challenging, or do not have aesthetically pleasing characteristics, intrinsic motivation will not be useful. Thus, using rewards might be the best way to motivate these types of activities.

1. c. instinct theory
2. d. drive-reduction
3. hierarchy of needs
4. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Competence means being able to reach goals through the mastery of everyday functioning (such as fixing meals, getting ready for work and school). Relatedness is the need to create relationships with others (for example, to make and keep friends, develop families). Autonomy means managing one’s behavior to reach personal goals (such as finishing one’s college degree).
5. The drive-reduction theory of motivation suggests that biological needs and homeostasis motivate us to meet needs. If a need is not fulfilled, this creates a drive, or state of tension, that pushes us or motivates behaviors to meet the need. Once a need is met, the drive is reduced, at least temporarily, because this is an ongoing process, as the need inevitably returns. Arousal theory suggests that humans seek an optimal level of arousal, and what is optimal is based on individual differences. Behaviors can arise out of the simple desire for stimulation, or arousal, which is a level of alertness and engagement in the world, and people are motivated to seek out activities that fulfill this need. Drive-reduction theory suggests that the motivation is to reduce tension, but arousal theory suggests that in some cases the motivation is to increase tension.

1. a. stomach was contracting.
2. d. extreme overeating followed by purging.
3. When glucose levels dip, the stomach and liver send signals to the brain that something must be done about this reduced energy source. The brain, in turn, initiates a sense of hunger. Signals from the digestive system are sent to the hypothalamus, which then transmits signals to higher regions of the brain. When the lateral hypothalamus is activated, appetite increases. On the other hand, if the ventromedial hypothalamus becomes activated, appetite declines, causing an animal to stop eating.

1. d. An emotion
2. arousal level
3. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Emotion is a psychological state that includes a subjective or inner experience. It also has a physiological component and entails a behavioral expression. Emotions are quite strong, but they don’t generally last as long as moods. In addition, emotions are more likely to have an identifiable cause (that is, a reaction to a stimulus that provoked it), which has a greater probability of motivating a person to take some sort of action. Moods are longer-term emotional states that are less intense than emotions and do not appear to have distinct beginnings or ends. It is very likely that on your way to a wedding you are in a happy mood, and you have been that way for quite a while. If you were to get mud on your clothing, it is likely that you would experience an emotion such as anger, which might have been triggered by someone jumping in a large mud puddle and splashing you. Your anger would have a subjective experience (your feeling of anger), a physiological component (you felt your face flush with heat), and a behavioral expression (you glared angrily at the person who splashed you).

1. James–Lange
2. b. Display rules
3. d. facial feedback hypothesis
4. Answers may vary. See Infographic 9.3. The Cannon–Bard theory of emotion suggests that environmental stimuli are the starting point for emotions, and that body changes and emotions happen together. The Schachter–Singer theory of emotion suggests there is a general pattern of physiological arousal caused by the sympathetic nervous system, and this pattern is common to a variety of emotions. Unlike the Cannon–Bard theory, the Schachter–Singer theory suggests our thoughts about our body changes lead to emotions. The experience of emotion is the result of two factors: physiological arousal and a cognitive label for this physiological state (the arousal). Cannon–Bard did not suggest that a cognitive label is necessary for emotions to be experienced.
5. Darwin suggested that interpreting facial expressions is not something we learn but rather is an innate ability that evolved because it promotes survival. Sharing the same facial expressions allows for communication. Research on an isolated group of indigenous peoples in New Guinea suggests that the same facial expressions represent the same basic emotions across cultures. In addition, the fact that children born deaf and blind have the same types of expressions of emotion as children who are not deaf or blind suggests the universal nature of these displays, and thus the emotions that trigger them.

1. amygdala
2. Heritability is the degree to which heredity is responsible for a particular characteristic in a population. In this case, the heritability for happiness is as high as 80%, indicating that around 80% of the variation in happiness can be attributed to genes, and 20% to environmental influences. In other words, we can explain a high proportion of the variation in happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being by considering genetic make-up, as opposed to environmental factors.
3. c. the sympathetic nervous system.

1. d. an incentive
2. a. extrinsic motivation.
3. c. Instincts
4. b. drive-reduction
5. a. sensation seekers
6. d. ventromedial hypothalamus
7. b. obesity.
8. d. binge-eating disorder.
9. c. behavioral expression.
10. b. could identify the facial expressions common across the world.
11. c. physiological arousal and a cognitive labeling.
12. b. cognitive-appraisal approach
13. a. physiological arousal.
14. a. cortex; amygdala
15. d. be better able to identify what emotion is being felt than are men.
16. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definitions. Extrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of external reinforcers. Intrinsic motivation is the drive or urge to continue a behavior because of internal reinforcers.
17. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definition. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is considered to be universal and are ordered in terms of the strength of their associated drive, with the most critical needs at the bottom. The pyramid includes increasingly higher needs: physiological needs; safety needs; love and belongingness needs; esteem needs; self-actualization; self-transcendence. Maslow suggested that one’s most basic needs must be met before higher-level needs motivate behavior. An example of someone not following the prescribed order of needs might be a martyr who is motivated by self-transcendence needs, ignoring safety needs altogether.
18. Answers will vary. See TABLE 9.2.
19. Answers will vary, but can be based on the following definition. Display rules provide a framework or guidelines for when, how, and where an emotion is expressed. Display rules are a product of cultures.
20. Answers will vary, but can include physical exercise, showing kindness, getting involved in activities that benefit others, recording positive thoughts and feelings of gratefulness in a journal, identifying and pursuing goals, and so on.