motivation

Question 1

Motivation

Answer 1

1. Motivation is a complex concept with many levels
2. It includes many different mind-brain processes rather than one single construct

-Processes involved in initiating, sustaining, directing, and terminating behaviour

Question 2

motivation = conscious and unconscious parts

Answer 2

1. Motivation has many conscious and unconscious parts
   - The conscious components are easier to talk about and to study than the unconscious parts
2. But although we know less about the unconscious parts, we do know that they underlie everything we do and think about
   - We act and behave in a certain way, using our unconscious side, before we think about what we are doing, using our conscious side

Question 3

Homeostasis and Brain Mechanisms

Answer 3

1. In the past, researchers defined:
2. Motivations: processes that help us take care of our bodily needs
3. Bodily needs are based on the need for organisms to maintain homeostasis or internal equilibrium
   - This operates like a thermostat or an air conditioner
4. Emotions: processes that help us take care of our mental needs and challenges
5. More recently, there has been a better understanding that this separation is artificial and that motivations and emotions are inextricably linked
6. Similarly, the body has certain set levels for its own temperature, blood pressure, and so on, and it will create internal tension to push a person to act to help maintain the homeostasis
   - For example: You have just finished studying and now you are hungry
   - The state of internal tension (low blood sugar) will push the organism into action (getting food) with the goal of reducing the tension
7. You might think it is just your stomach feeling empty
   - A.L. Washburn studied this nearly 100 years ago and said that hunger was no more than one’s stomach contracting
   - However, more recent research has demonstrated the roles of various brain mechanisms
8. The most important part of the brain for regulating motives like hunger is the hypothalamus

Question 4

Motivation

Hypothalamus

Answer 4

1. The hypothalamus receives messages about blood sugar level from the stomach and liver
2. A number of chemicals in the body affect the action of the hypothalamus
3. Different parts of the hypothalamus control our experience of hunger
   - The lateral hypothalamus
   - The ventromedial hypothalamus

Question 5

Lateral hypothalamus

Answer 5

1. Acts as an ‘on switch’

2. If this part is overstimulated, you start eating even if your stomach is full

Question 6

Ventromedial hypothalamus

Answer 6

1. Acts as an ‘off switch’

2. If this part is damaged in some way, the organism will continue eating to extreme obesity

Question 7

Types of Motives

Answer 7

1. There are several types of motives and these operate in different ways
2. Motives may be:
   - Biological
   - Personal
   - Social
3. Motives may also be intrinsic or extrinsic

Question 8

Types of Motives: Biological

Answer 8

1. Based on survival needs
2. Biological motives include the need for food, sleep, water, sex, etc.
3. The need for sex here is referring to the need to procreate and pass our genes onto the next generation
4. However, most sex acts are not intended for procreation and people desire to have sex for a variety of reasons that relate to other motives that include pleasure, intimacy, submission to peer pressure, or as a ‘duty’

Question 9

Types of Motives: Stimulus

Answer 9

1. Based on a person’s need for stimulation and information
2. They are seen in our curiosity and activities, and can vary widely from person to person
3. e.g. People may be interested in nature walks or finding out how mechanical things work
4. Stimulus motives are not absolutely necessary for survival, but they do reflect a very important aspect of human (and animal) behaviour

Question 10

Types of Motives: Learned

Answer 10

1. Include things like motives for achievement, power, affiliation, etc.
2. These are not innate, but are learned through processes like reinforcement
3. The relative strength of learned motives is likely to be affected by one’s cultural context
   - e.g. In many Western societies, a strong personal motive for individual success and achievement is taught to children
   - While in traditional African societies, a motive for interdependence and cooperation may be more strongly instilled in children

Question 11

types of learning motives:

Learned (2)

Answer 11

1. An important social motive is the need for affiliation
2. This refers to our needs for human closeness and contact
3. People affiliate for four basic reasons:
   - To get positive stimulation
   - To gain social support
   - To gain attention
   - To enable social comparison
4. Social comparison is important in that it helps us know what is expected of us or how to behave in a specific situation

Question 12

Types of Motivation: Intrinsic

Answer 12

1. You are using intrinsic motivation when you freely choose to do something that you find interesting or enjoyable
   - e.g. Studying at university because you find your course fascinating
2. Intrinsic motivation leads to ‘high-quality learning and creativity‘

Question 13

Types of Motivation: Extrinsic

Answer 13

1. Occurs when there are external outcomes
   - e.g. Prizes, rewards, and approval
2. Occurs when the person can see the ultimate value of their action
   - Even if they are not doing it freely or for enjoyment
3. Person responds to with disinterest or resistance
4. That which the person accepts and perhaps even endorses

Question 14

Types of Motivation

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Answer 14

1. Both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards can ultimately lose their power to reward
   - e.g. For some people, if they receive more and more prizes or monetary rewards, these can lose their value as a motivation
2. Similarly, the power of intrinsic motivation can be undermined by social or environmental factors
   - For example, if learners are over-controlled by parents or teachers, they may lose their intrinsic enjoyment of a task and their desire to master it
   - Whereas parents who support autonomy are likely to have children with greater intrinsic motivation

Question 15

Motivational Conflicts

Answer 15

1. Motivational forces propel us into action
   - That action can either be towards something or away from it
2. The literature has long noted that humans seek to maximise pleasure and avoid pain
   - Researchers showed that these opposite reactions are based on two separate neural systems
   - -The behavioural activation system (BAS)
   - - The behavioural inhibition system (BIS)

Question 16

The Behavioural Activation System (BAS)

Answer 16

1. The BAS responds to signals that offer potential reward (we smell fried chicken or see a good special advertised) and gets us moving towards goals or pleasure that we would like to achieve
2. The BAS makes us feel hopeful and happy

Question 17

The Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)

Answer 17

The BIS responds to feelings of fear or anticipation of pain and leads us to avoidance or escape behaviour

Question 18

Motivational Conflicts

Answer 18

1. Avoidance-approach conflict
2. Approach-approach conflict
3. Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Question 19

avoidance-approach conflict

Answer 19

This happens when one option is appealing and the other is not

For example: a good friend invites you to a dinner party, but you have an important test the following day that you should study for

You would much rather spend the evening socialising than in front of your books

Question 20

approach-approach conflict

Answer 20

1. This happens when both options are equally appealing
2. For example: you are given a choice of chocolate mousse or strawberry cheesecake for dessert and you cannot decide because you like them both

Question 21

avoidance-avoidance conflict

Answer 21

1. This happens when both options are undesirable or painful
2. For example: you have to study for a test, but you also need to visit the dentist
3. Neither of these is something you enjoy doing

Question 22

Motivational Conflicts

Answer 22

1. These processes are also influenced by our personality
   - For example, people high in neuroticism tend to respond more strongly to stressors in their lives
   - The same applies to people who tend to be anxious
2. This research has tended to focus on personality traits that are relevant to negative events
   - - However, people high on agreeableness reported more positive moods when they engaged in behaviours consistent with their traits

Question 23

Motivation Based on Human Needs: A Humanist Approach

Answer 23

Maslow: Human motivation rests on a hierarchy of needs

1. Physiological (bodily) needs
2. Safety needs
3. Love and belongingness needs
4. Self-esteem needs
5. Self-actualisation needs

Maslow believed that when humans have fulfilled basic needs, they can then go on to fulfil more complex desires

Question 24

Motivation Based on Human Needs: A Humanist Approach

Answer 24

1. Although Maslow’s theory is widely used today, especially in management studies it has also been quite extensively critiqued
   - Levels rigidly ordered
   - The theory is not testable
   - -It is ‘pseudo-scientific’ and lacking in empirical support
2. Also criticised as a male-dominated Western theory which may have limited application on other contexts
   - e.g. Poverty or other barriers may hinder the achievement of self-actualisation, while people from some cultures may not even wish to achieve it
3. Maslow himself was aware that culture needed to be considered in the application of his theory
   - For many collectivist cultures, placing self-actualisation at the pinnacle of achievement is inappropriate and simply wrong