Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Motivation and Emotion

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Motivation
Dynamics of behavior that initiate, sustain, direct, and
terminate actions

What makes us start, persist, focus on, and stop what

we do?

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Types of Motives
Primary (or Biological) Motive: Innate (inborn) motives
based on biological needs we must meet to survive
Stimulus Motive: Innate needs for stimulation and
information (but not necessary for survival)
Secondary (or Learned) Motive: Based on learned
needs, drives, and goals

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

A Model of Motivational Activities

Model of how motivated activities work
Need: Internal deficiency; causes
Drive: Energized motivational state (e.g., hunger,
thirst); activates a
Response: Action or series of actions designed to
attain a
Goal: Target of motivated behavior
Incentive Value: Goals appeal beyond its ability to fill a
need

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Arousal: The need for stimulation

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Stimulus Drives
Reflect needs for information, exploration, manipulation,
and sensory input
Sensation Seeking: Trait of people who prefer high levels
of stimulation (e.g., the contestants on Eco-Challenge
and Fear Factor)
Yerkes-Dodson Law: If a task is simple, it is best for
arousal to be in the middle; if the task is complex, lower
levels of arousal provide for the best performance

Figure 9.11

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9.11 (a) The general relationship between arousal and efficiency can be described by an
inverted U curve. The optimal level of arousal or motivation is higher for a simple task (b) than for
a complex task (c).

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

How to Cope With Test Anxiety

Preparation
Relaxation
Rehearsal
Restructuring thoughts

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Learned Motives
Social Motives: Acquired by growing up in a particular
society or culture
Need for Achievement (nAch): Desire to meet some
internal standard of excellence
Need for Power: Desire to have impact or control over
others

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Measure Your Own Need for Achievement

Well use two measures
Cautionbe aware of the social
desirability response bias
Use meta-cognitive skillsDo I honestly
feel this way or am I just trying to look
good?

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Scoring
Test 1
Count the number of yes responses
The more yes responses, the higher your need for
achievement

Test 2
Give yourself a point each time any of the following is
mentioned:

Defining a problem
Solving a problem
Obstructions to solving a problem
Techniques that can help overcome the problem
Anticipation of success or resolution of the problem

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Achievement Motivation
Characteristics of those high in need for achievement
moderate risk takers
Avoid goals that are too easy or too hard
Complete difficult tasks
Earn better grades
Tend to excel in chosen occupations
Attribute success to ability; failure to insufficient effort
More likely to renew efforts when they perform poorly

Can you think of some disadvantages of a

direct, objective test like this?

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Measuring the Need for Achievement

TAT
Measuring the need for achievement is
complex and difficult to do.
It involves looking at not only how much, but also
why some people achieve more than others.
A projective personality test, the Thematic
Apperception Test or TAT, has been used for this
purpose.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

TATThematic Apperception Test

Developed by Henry Murray, personality theorist
Projective device consisting of 20 drawings
(black and white) of various situations
People must make up stories about the people
in it
Central themes are examined and interpreted
Good at revealing feelings about a persons
social relationships
Disadvantages?

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Abraham Maslow and Needs

Hierarchy of Human Needs: Maslows ordering of needs
based on presumed strength or potency; some needs
are more powerful than others and thus will influence
your behavior to a greater degree
Basic Needs: First four levels of needs in Maslows
hierarchy
Lower needs tend to be more potent than higher
needs
Growth Needs: Higher-level needs associated with selfactualization

Figure 9.14

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9.14 Maslow believed that lower needs in the hierarchy are dominant. Basic needs must
be satisfied before growth motives are fully expressed. Desires for selfactualization are reflected
in various metaneeds (see text).

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Types of Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation coming from within, not
from external rewards; based on personal enjoyment of
a task
Extrinsic Motivation: Based on obvious external rewards,
obligations, or similar factors (e.g., pay, grades)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Emotions
State characterized by physiological arousal and
changes in facial expressions, gestures, posture, and
subjective feelings
Physiological Changes: Include heart rate, blood
pressure, perspiration, and other involuntary bodily
responses
Emotional Expression: Outward signs of what a person
is feeling
Emotional Feelings: Private emotional experience

Figure 9.15

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9.15 Primary and mixed emotions. In Robert Plutchiks model, there are eight primary
emotions, as listed in the inner areas. Adjacent emotions may combine to give the emotions
listed around the perimeter. Mixtures involving more widely separated emotions are also
possible. For example, fear plus anticipation produces anxiety.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Brain and Emotion

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): Neural system that
connects brain with internal organs and glands
Sympathetic Branch: Part of ANS that activates body for
emergency action
Parasympathetic Branch: Part of ANS that quiets body
and conserves energy

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Figure 12.4 the ultimate rush

PARASYMPATHETIC REBOUND
After the stimulus eliciting the sympathetic response is removed, that response is reduced, and the opposing
parasympathetic response is enhanced. This is why people sometimes feel faint at the end of an exciting experience.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Sudden Death
After strong emotional shock, sympathetic
system becomes too active
Results in excessive stress

Parasympathetic Rebound
After shock, parasympathetic system overreacts
lowers blood pressure too much
Slows heart to a stop

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Lie Detectors
Polygraph: Device that records heart rate, blood
pressure, respiration, and galvanic skin response (GSR);
lie detector
GSR: Measures sweating
Irrelevant Questions: Neutral, unemotional questions in a
polygraph test
Relevant Questions: Questions to which only someone
guilty should react by becoming anxious or emotional
Control Questions: Questions that almost always
provoke anxiety in a polygraph (e.g. Have you ever
taken any office supplies?)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Figure 12.7b
The polygraph, a method for detecting nervous arousal, is the basis for the so-called lie detector test. The polygraph operator (a)
asks a series of nonthreatening questions to establish base-line readings of the subjects autonomic responses (b), then asks
questions relevant to an investigation. The underlying assumption is that an increase in arousal indicates nervousness, which in
turn indicates lying. Unfortunately, a large percentage of innocent people become nervous and therefore appear to be lying.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory: Emotional feelings follow bodily
arousal and come from awareness of such arousal.
Cannon-Bard Theory: The thalamus (in brain) causes
emotional feelings and bodily arousal to occur at the
same time.
Schachters Cognitive Theory: Emotions occur when a
label is applied to general physical arousal.
Attribution: Mental process of assigning causes to
events; attributing arousal to a certain source.
Facial Feedback Hypothesis: Sensations from facial
expressions and help define what emotion someone
feels.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 12.9
According to the James-Lange theory, physiological arousal determines the nature of an emotion. According to Schachter and
Singers theory, physiological arousal determines the intensity of an emotion, but not which emotion is experienced.

Figure 9.21

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9.21 Theories of emotion.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

A Modern View of Emotion

Each of these theories has some truth, so can we
combine them in a way that makes sense?

Figure 9.23

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9.23 A contemporary model of emotion.