CHAPTER 10 Motivation and Emotion Chapter Preview Motivation is a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior. Under the influence of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, the popular view was that instincts control behavior. Drive-reduction theory maintains that physiological needs create psychological drives that seek to restore internal stabil- ity, or homeostasis. In addition, some motivated behaviors increase arousal, and we are pulled by external incentives. According to Maslow, some motives are more compelling than others. Hunger seems to originate from changes in glucose and insulin levels that are monitored by areas deep within the hypothalamus, as well as changes in the levels of appetite hormones such as ghrelin. To control weight, the body also adjusts its basal metabolic rate. Body chemistry and environmental factors together influence our taste preferences. In studying obesity, psychologists have found that a number of physiological factors make it difficult to lose weight permanently. Those who wish to diet should set realistic goals, minimize exposure to food cues, exercise, and make a lifelong change in eating patterns. The need to belong is a major influence in motivating human behavior. Social bonds boosted our ancestors’ survival rates. We experience our need to belong when feeling the gloom of loneliness or joy of love, and when seeking social acceptance. People who excel are often self- disciplined individuals with strong achievement motivation. Emotions are psychological responses that involve an interplay among (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behavior, and (3) conscious experience. James and Lange argued that we feel emotion after we notice our bodily responses. Cannon and Bard contended that we feel emo- tion when our body responds. Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory states that to experience emotion, we must be aroused and cognitively label the emotion. Some emotional responses are immediate, as sensory input bypasses the cortex, triggering a rapid reaction outside our conscious awareness. Others, especially responses to complex emotions, require interpretation. Carroll Izard has identified 10 basic emotions, most of which are present in infancy. Other emotions are variations of these 10. Although the physical arousal that occurs with the different emotions is for the most part indistinguishable, researchers have discovered subtle differences in brain circuits, finger temperatures, and hormones. In using physiological indicators to detect lies, the polygraph does better than chance but not nearly well enough to justify its widespread use. We decipher people’s emotions by “reading” their bodies, voices, and faces. Women are supe- rior to men in emotional sensitivity and responsiveness. Although some gestures are culturally determined, facial expressions, such as those of happiness and fear, are universal. Facial expres- sions not only communicate emotion but also amplify the felt emotion. 77 78 Chapter 10 Motivation and Emotion Chapter Guide Introductory Exercise: Fact or Falsehood? The correct answers to Handout 10–1 are as follows: 1. F 2. T 3. T 4. T 5. F 6. T 7. T 8. F 9. T 10. T u Lecture: Why Do Students Go to College or University? (p. 610) u Exercise: The Hope Scale (p. 609) u Feature Film: A Man for All Seasons (p. 610) u Worth Video Anthology: What Is Motivation? Motivational Concepts u Lecture: Evolutionary Psychology (p. 610) u Exercises: Exploration Index (p. 611); Sensation-Seeking Scale (p. 611) u Worth Video Anthology: Self-Stimulation in Rats 10-1. Define motivation as psychologists use the term, and identify the perspectives useful for studying motivated behavior. A motivation is a need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it toward a goal. The perspec- tives useful for studying motivated behavior include (1) instinct/evolutionary perspective, (2) drive-reduction theory, (3) arousal theory, and (4) Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Under Darwin’s influence, early theorists viewed behavior as being controlled by instincts, com- plex behaviors that are rigidly patterned throughout a species and are unlearned. When it became clear that people were naming, not explaining, various behaviors by calling them instincts, this approach fell into disfavor. The idea that genes predispose species-typical behavior is still influen- tial in evolutionary psychology. u Exercise/Lecture Break: How Do You (Should You) Reduce Your Drives? (p. 610) Drive-reduction theory proposes that most physiological needs create aroused psychological states that drive us to reduce or satisfy those needs. The aim of drive reduction is internal stability, or homeostasis. Furthermore, we are not only pushed by internal drives but we are also pulled by external incentives. When there is both a need (hunger) and an incentive (smell of freshly baked bread), we feel strongly driven. Arousal theory states that rather than reducing a physiological need or minimizing tension, some motivated behaviors increase arousal. Curiosity-driven behaviors, for example, suggest that too little or too much stimulation can motivate people to seek an optimum level of arousal. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, moderate arousal leads to optimal performance. u Lecture: Maslow’s Hierarchy (p. 611) u Exercises: A Short Measure of Self-Actualization (p. 612); Self-Transcendence Inventory (p. 612); The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (p. 612) u Project: An Assessment of Your Present Needs (p. 611) Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs expresses the idea that, until satisfied, some motives are more compelling than others. At the base of the hierarchy are our physiological needs, such as for food and water. Only if these are met are we prompted to meet our need for safety, and then to meet the uniquely human needs to give and receive love, to belong and be accepted, and to enjoy self-esteem. Beyond this lies the need to actualize one’s full potential. Near the end of his life, Maslow suggested that some people reach a level of self-transcendence in which they strive for meaning and purpose that is beyond the self, that is, transpersonal. Hunger u Feature Film: Alive (p. 613) u Exercise/Critical Thinking Break: Factors Influencing Human Eating Behaviors (p. 613) u PsychSim 5: Hunger and the Fat Rat (p. 613) u Worth Video Anthology: Hunger and Eating Chapter 10 Motivation and Emotion 79 10-2. Describe the physiological factors that produce hunger. Although the stomach’s pangs contribute to hunger, variations in body chemistry are more impor- tant. A major source of energy in your body is the blood sugar glucose. You do not consciously feel changes in your blood glucose. However, areas deep within the hypothalamus (for example, the arcuate nucleus, which regulates the body’s weight as it influences our feelings of hunger and fullness) monitor your body’s internal state. One task of the hypothalamus is to monitor levels of the appetite hormones such as ghrelin (which is secreted by an empty stomach). Other appetite hormones include insulin, leptin, PYY, and orexin. Some researchers have abandoned the idea that the body has a precise set point—a biologically fixed tendency to maintain an optimum weight— preferring the term settling point to indicate an environmentally and biologically influenced level at which weight settles in response to caloric input and expenditure. Human bodies regulate weight through the control of food intake, energy output, and basal metabolic rate—the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure. u Lectures: Taste Preferences—Learned and Genetic (p. 613); Environmental Factors in Eating (p. 616) u Exercises: Motivations-to-Eat Scale (p. 614); A Survey of Eating Habits (p. 615) 10-3. Discuss psychological and situational factors that influence hunger. Part of knowing when to eat is our memory of our last meal. As time passes, we anticipate eating again and feel hungry. Although some taste preferences are genetic (for example, sweet and salty tastes), conditioning and culture also affect taste. For example, Bedouins enjoy eating the eye of a camel, which most North Americans would find repulsive. Most North Americans also shun dog, rat, and horse meat, all of which are prized elsewhere. A taste may be conditioned, as when people given highly salted foods develop a liking for excess salt or when people who have been sickened by a food develop an aversion to it. We also tend to avoid unfamiliar foods (neophobia), which was adaptive for our ancestors. We eat more when eating with others (through social facilitation). In addition, the size of food portions (called unit bias) and even of bowls, plates, and eating utensils affects how much we eat. Food variety also stimulates eating. u Lectures: Student Eating Habits (p. 617); Paul Rozin’s History of Eating (p. 618); Genes, Exercise, and Weight Control (p. 620); Losing Weight (p. 620); Maintaining Weight Loss; (p. 620) The National Weight Control Registry (p. 621); A Twinkie Tax—Is Fighting Fat a Social Responsibility? (p. 622) u Lecture/Critical Thinking Break: Sleep and Weight Control (p. 617) u Exercises: The Dieting Beliefs Scale (p. 619); Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire (p. 619) u Worth Video Anthology: Eating and Weight Gain: A Role for Fidgeting; Eating and Weight Gain: Genetic Engineering u Feature Film: Super Size Me (p. 616) 10-4. Discuss the factors that predispose some people to become and remain obese. Obesity affects both how you are treated and how you feel about yourself. Obesity has been associated with lower psychological well-being, especially among women, and increased risk of depression. Fat is an ideal form of stored energy. It is a high-calorie fuel reserve that can carry the body through periods when food is scarce. In fact, in most developing societies today, obesity signals affluence and social status. However, the tendency to eat energy-rich fat or sugar becomes dys- functional in a world of easily accessible food. Combined with a lack of exercise, the abundance of high-calorie food has led to higher rates of obesity, which raises the risk of illness and shortens life expectancy.