Motivation

Maslows (1970) hierarcy of needs

Suggests we all have different types of needs and that each one needs to be satisfied before we can focus on the next one

Physiological needs - focuses on needs relating to survival (food, water etc)

Safety needs - the need to feel safe

Love and belonging - close relationships and friendships

Esteem needs - the need to feel good about yourself

Self-actualisation - the need to become all that one is capable of being

Criticisms

needs to be met from bottom up

self actualisation is really vague and not measurable. it will not be the same for all people.

Instinct Theory Mcdougall (1932)

this theory believes that people are motivated by their innate, biological instincts. They believe that all of our behaviour is instinctive including eating, social bonds, newborn reflexes etc.

Criticisms say that it does not explain all behaviours, doesn't explain why we would do things that other people would find dangerous e.g skidiving.

Drive reduction theory Hull (1943)

believes that we satisfy our needs over our wants. Biological based theory. pushed by biological innate need e.g hunger pain.

Homeostasis based. It's about keeping our bodies the same, for example if we are hungry, we get hunger pains therefore we feel the need to eat to get rid of the hunger pains. we are motivated to get back to homeostasis.

Pulled by environmental incentives too. If we get too hot, there is the risk of brain damage, if we are too cold there is the risk of hypothermia. so we're motivated to regulate our temperature.

Problems with the theory include drive is impossible to measure. some things we do increase our drive, including a night out. Also sometimes we do things that are the opposite of homeostasis, like go on rollercoasters as you feel panicked and have a lot of adrenalin. we are motivated to do this however we are not in homeostasis

Arousal theory Eyesnck's theory of extraversion and Berlyne's optimum level theory

Eyesncks theory of extraversion looks at introverts and extraverts. introverts are over-stimulated and seek less stimulation. extraverts are under-stimulated and seek more stimulation.

Berlyne's Optimum Level theory believes that if arousal levels are too high, less stimulation is reinforcing. they also believe that if arousal levels are too low, more stimulation is reinforcing....... Problem? what is the optimum level? cant be tested

Yerkees-Dodson 1908 - law states that performance on a task is best when the arousal level is optimal for that specific task. His theory suggests that there us an optimal level in which we perform best.

This theory believes that our optimal level will be at a lower point of arousal with complex tasks and that it will be at a higher point of arousal with simple tasks.

Incentive theory

Focuses on other behaviours and is based on wants over needs.

Intrinsic motivation is wanting to do something because it gives us pleasure

Extrinsic motivation is being motivated by external factors. e.g we work hard at our job to get a bonus.

Primary incentives - rewards pr punishments that are innate. e.g reward is food. punishment is pain

Secondary incentives - things viewed as rewarding because of learning about their associations with other things e.g money

Biological motivations - hunger and sex

Hunger

learning and habit are involved in hunger. Social interactions also play a part. Hunger is a habit because we normally feel hungry around meal times each day

What stops us eating?

It takes about an hour after eating for nutrients to absorb into the body

Stretch receptors in the stomach detect quantity of food eaten

Brain regions involved

Hypothallus - eating, drinking, motivation behaviours

Lateral hypothalmus - linked to hunger

Ventromedical reigon of hypothalmus (VMH) - linked to satiety

Psychological, social and cultural factors play a part in what, when and how much we eat, time of the day and culturally things will be different too. We also eat more in social situations than we do on our own.

Problems with eating

overeating - obesity. this is linked to diabetes, heart disease, mood disorders

What contributes? Medical problems, medication, genetic factors, culture, eating habits when young, lower socioeconomic group, friendship group

Eating disorders, undereating

Anorexia - serious disease in eating, preoccupation with food, perception of body.

Bulimia - nervous hunger of an ox. Loss of control of food intake, being eating followed by purging, preoccupied with body shape.

Sex

Human sexual response cycle (Masters and Johnson, 1966)

Desire, excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution

What happens in the brain?

Reproductive organs help modulate sexual behaviour. Androgens in men are linked to sex drive. Oestrogen and progesterone in women - oestrogen and lower levels of androgens linked to sex drive.

Brain reigons involved - Medical preoptic area of the hypothalamus is rich in sex hormone receptors. Watching erotic films - hypothalamus. amygdala, prefrontal cortex, striatum, ventral tegmental area. the cerebellum is activated during orgasm

Gender differences in sexuality

Mate choices = Men prefer young, slim healthy looking women. Women prefer healthy looking men but also consider earning ability and social skills

Arousal Men - Visual images. Women - Physical contact and verbal expression

Men have more fantasies and a higher sex drive? Social influences might be at play here.

Psychological Motivations

Affiliation

We need to feel like we belong to a group

evolution - protection, we share food we have a greater chance of survival

Long term healthy relationships = live longer, less depression Holt-Lunstad (2008)

Isolation and exclusion

Anterior cingulate cortex - same region activated when in pain. Long term can lead to permanent psychological damage

Self determination theory (Ryan & Deci 2002) says competence, relatedness and autonomy give meaning and purpose to life.

Intrinsic motivation - we have more fun if we just strive for ourselves

Extrinsic motivation - more likely to fail if we rely on external rewards (Sheldon et al, 2004)