Module 15: Motivation
- Says that performance on a task
Motivation
 The various physiological and
psychological factors that cause us
to act in a specific way at a
particular time.
 The general desire or willingness of
someone to do something
When you are motivated, you usually show
three characteristics:
1. You are energized to do or engage in
some activity
2. You direct your energies toward
reaching a specific goal.
3. You have differing intensities of
feelings about reaching that goal.
A. Theories of Motivation
1. Instinct Approach
- Motivation is caused by
biological or genetic
programming
Instincts
- Innate tendencies or biological
forces that determine behavior
Fixed action pattern
- Innate biological force that
predisposes an organism to
behave in a fixed way in the
presence of a specific
environmental condition.
Arousal Theory
 States that we are motivated to seek
out activities that provide a level
stimulation that allows us to
maintain our optimal level of
arousal.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
is an interaction between the
level of physiological arousal and
the difficulty of the task.
- Difficult tasks: low arousal is best
Most tasks: medium arousal is
best
Easy or simple tasks: high
arousal may be best
Sensation seeker
- Someone who needs more
arousal than the average person
- They look to engage in highly
stimulating sensory experiences,
such as mountain climbing,
bungee jumping, skydiving, and
drug use.
2. Reward/Pleasure Center Approach
Reward/Pleasure center
- Includes several areas of the
brain, such as the nucleus
accumbens and the ventral
tegmental area, and involves
several neurotransmitters,
especially dopamine.
- These make up a neural circuity
that produces rewarding and
pleasurable feelings.
- We are motivated to eat, engage
in sex, gamble, use recreational
drugs, and listen to “spine-
chilling” music because, as brain
scans (fMRIs) have shown, all
these behaviors activate the
brain’s reward/pleasure center.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow
- Proposed that we satisfy our
needs in a certain order or
hierarchy
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
o Is an ascending order, or
hierarchy, in which
biological needs are
placed at the bottom and
social needs at the top
Biological Needs
- Physiological requirements that
are critical to our survival and
physical well-being.
- researchers have identify dozen
biological needs, such as the
needs for food, water, sex,
oxygen, sleep, pain avoidance.
Social Needs
- Social needs are needs that are
acquired through learning and
experience.
- Depending on your learning and
experience you may acquire
social dozen of social needs.
- example:
- needs of achievement, affiliation
(forming social bonds), fun
(play), relaxation, helpfulness,
independence, nurturance.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Level 1: Psychological needs
- Food, water, sex, and sleep.
Level 2: Safety needs
- Protection from harm.
Level 3: Love and belonging needs
- Affiliation with others and acceptance by
others.
Level 4: Esteem needs
- Achievement, competency, gaining
approval, and recognition.
Level 5: Self- actualization
- Fulfilment of one's unique potential.
Self-Determination Theory
 States that as we aim to fulfill our
basic needs, which include the need
to feel autonomous, competent, and
related to others, we experience
either autonomous or controlled
motivation.
Incentives
- Goals that can be either objects
or thoughts that we learn to
value and that we are motivated
to obtain.
- They can be thoughts or objects
that we LEARN to value
- Our behaviors are motivated by
a variety of incentives, including
grades, praise, money, clothes,
or academic degree.
- You can think of incentives as
pulling us or motivating us to
obtain them.
 Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation Body Mass index (BMI)
 A number calculated from a
Extrinsic Motivation person’s weight and height.
 Involves engaging in certain  A measure of body fatness
activities or behaviors that either and is used to screen for
reduce biological needs or help us weight categories that may
obtain incentives or external lead to health problems,
rewards. including underweight,
overweight, and obesity
Intrinsic Motivation
 Involves engaging in certain Three Hunger Factors
activities or behaviors because the
behavior themselves are personally Biological Psychosocial Genetic
rewarding or because engaging in Hunger Factors Hunger Hunger factors
these activities fulfills our beliefs or factors
expectations.
 We are motivated to engage in Changes in Learned Determines the
many behaviors because of our own blood associations number of fat
personal beliefs, expectations, or chemistry that between cells that our
goals, rather than external either tell us to food and body burns
incentives. eat or stop other stimuli
eating
B. Hunger

Optimal or Ideal weight Biological hunger factors

 Results from an almost
perfect balance between
how much food an organism
eats and how much it needs
to meet its body’s energy
needs.
 Calorie is a measurement of
how much energy food
contains.
Obesity
 Severely overweight/
Extremely fat
 Dangerous for health
 BMI = 30 higher
- Come from physiological
changes in blood chemistry and
signals from digestive organs
that provide feedback to the
brain, which, in turn, triggers us
to eat or stop eating.
- If eating was regulated primarily
by biological factors, we could
keep your weight at optimal
levels.
Peripheral Cues
- Come from changes in blood
chemistry or signals from
digestive organs, which secretes
various hormones.
1. Stomach – secretes a
hormone, ghrelin, which
 carries “hunger signals” to
the brain’s hypothalamus,
master control for hunger
regulation.
2. Liver – Monitors the level of
glucose (sugar) in the blood.
3. Intestines – Secretes ghrelin
and PYY, which carries “full
signals” to the
hypothalamus, decreasing
appetite. And CCK
(cholecystokinin), which
signals the hypothalamus to
inhibit eating.
4. Fat Cells – Secretes a
hormone, leptin, that acts on
the brain’s hypothalamus.
Leptin helps maintain a
constant level of body fat
and defend against starving
the body to death.
Central Cues
- Result from activity in different
brain areas, which in turn results
in increasing or decreasing
appetite.
1. Hypothalamus
2. Lateral Hypothalamus –
receive “hunger signals”
from digestive organs.
Interprets these “hunger
signals” and increase your
appetite.
3. Ventromedial Hypothalamus
– receive “full signals” from
digestive organs. Interprets
these “full signals” and
decrease appetite.
Psychosocial hunger factors
- Come from learned associations
between food and other stimuli,
such as snacking while watching
television; sociocultural
influences, such as pressures to
be thin; and various personality
problems, such as depression,
dislike of body image, or low
self-esteem
o Learned Associations
o Socio-Cultural Influences
o Personality & Mood
Factors
Genetic hunger factors
- Come from inherited instructions
found in our genes. These
instructions determine the
number of fat cells or metabolic
rates of burning off the body’s
fuel, which push us toward being
normal, overweight, or
underweight.
1. Fat Cells – whose number is
primarily determined by
heredity, do not normally
multiply except when people
become obese.
2. Metabolic rate – Refers to
how efficiently our bodies
break food down into energy
and how quickly our bodies
burn off that fuel.
3. Set point – Certain level of
body fat (adipose tissue) that
our bodies strive to maintain
constant throughout our
lives.
4. Weight-regulating genes –
Play a role in influencing
appetite, body metabolism,
and secretion of hormones
(leptin) that regulate fat
stores.
 C. Sexual Behavior
Genetic Sex Factors
- Include inherited instructions for
the development of sexual
organs, the secretion of sex
hormones, and the wiring of the
neural circuits that control
sexual reflexes.
Biological Sex Factors
- Include the action of sex
hormones, which are involved in
secondary sexual characteristics
(facial hair, breasts), sexual
motivation (more so in animals
than in humans), and the
development of ova and sperm.
Psychological Sex Factors
- Play a role in developing a sexual
or gender identity, gender role,
and sexual orientation.
- In addition, psychological factors
can result in difficulties in the
performance or enjoyment of
sexual activities.
Genetic Influences on Sexual Behavior
Sex Chromosome
 Sperm or the Egg, contains 23
chromosomes, which in turn have
 genes that contain instructions for
determining that sex of the child
Fertilization
 The process where the sperm cell
and the egg cell unites and form one
whole cell
 After fertilization, the human cell,
which is called a zygote, will divide
over and over many thousands of
times during the following weeks
and months and eventually develop
into a female body with female sex
organs or a male body with male sex
organs
Importance of Testosterone
 The presence of testosterone, which
is secreted by fetal testes, results in
male sexual organs and a male
hypothalamus; the absence of
testosterone results in female sexual
organs and a female hypothalamus
Biological Influences on Sexual Behavior
Sex Hormones
 Which are chemicals secreted by
glands, circulate in the bloodstream
to influence the brain, body organs,
and behaviors.
 The major male sex hormones
secreted by the testes are
androgens, such as testosterone;
the major female sex hormones
secreted by the ovaries are
estrogens.
Male-Female Differences
 Male hypothalamus triggers release
of testosterone
 Female hypothalamus triggers
release of estrogen
Sexual Motivation
 In rare cases, males are born with an
extra X chromosome, XXY or
Klinefelter’s syndrome, which
results in undersized testes and
penis, decreased secretion of
testosterone, infertility, no
development of secondary sexual
characteristics at puberty, and little
or no interest in sexual activity.
Psychological Influences on Sexual
Behavior
Gender Identity
 Formerly called sexual identity, is
the individual’s subjective
experience and feelings of being
either a male or a female
Gender Identity disorder
 Commonly referred to as
transsexualism
 A transsexual is a person who has a
strong and persistent desire to be
the other sex, is uncomfortable
about being one’s assigned sex, and
may wish to live as a member of the
other sex.
 Transsexuals usually have normal
genetic and biological (hormonal)
factors, but for some reason, they
feel and insist that they are trapped
in the body of the wrong sex and
may adopt the behaviors, dress, and
mannerisms of other sex.
Gender dysphoria
 The persistent negative emotional
state that occurs when there is a
disconnect between a person’s
biological sex and gender identity
Gender Roles
 Formerly called sex roles, are the
traditional or stereotypical
behaviors, attitudes, and personality
traits that society designates as
masculine or feminine
 For example, young boys learn
stereotypical male behaviors, such
as playing sports, competing in
games, engaging in rough-and-
tumble play, acquiring status in his
group. In comparison, girls learn
stereotypical female behaviors, such
as providing and seeking emotional
support, emphasizing physical
appearance and clothes, and
learning to cooperate and share
personal experiences.
Sexual Orientation
 Also called sexual preference, refers
to whether a person is sexually
aroused primarily by members of his
or her own sex, the opposite sex, or
both sexes
Homosexual Orientation
- Is a pattern of sexual arousal by
persons of the same sex
Heterosexual Orientation
- Is a pattern of sexual arousal by
persons of the opposite sex
Bisexual Orientation
- Is a pattern of sexual arousal by
persons of both sexes
Interactive model of sexual orientation
 Says that genetic and biological
factors, such as genetic instructions
and prenatal hormones, interact
with psychological factors, such as
the individual’s attitudes,
personality traits, and behaviors, to
influence the development of sexual
orientation
Male-Female Sex Differences
Double standard for sexual behaviors
 Set of beliefs, values, and
expectations that subtly encourages
sexual activity in men but
 discourages the same behavior in
women
Biosocial Theory
 Emphasizes social cultural forces,
says that differences in sexual
activities and in values for selecting
mates developed from traditional
cultural divisions of labor: Women
were primarily childbearers and
homemakers, while men were
primarily providers and protectors
Evolutionary Theory
 Emphasizes genetic and biological
forces, says that our current male-
female differences in sexual
behavior, which we call double
standard, arise from genetic and
biological forces, which in turn grew
out of an ancient set of successful
mating patterns that helped the
species survive.
Sexual Response, Problems, and
Treatments
Paraphillas
 Commonly called sexual deviations,
are characterized by repetitive or
preferred sexual fantasies involving
involving nonhuman objects, such as
sexual attractions to particular
articles of clothing (shoes,
underclothes)
Sexual Dysfunctions
 Are problems of sexual arousal or
orgasm that interfere with adequate
functioning during sexual behavior
Causes of sexual problem
Organic factors
 Medical conditions or drug or
medication problems that lead to
sexual difficulties
Psychological factors
 Are performance anxiety, sexual
trauma, guilt, and failure to
communicate, all of which may lead
to sexual problems
Four-stage model of sexual response
1st stage: Excitement
- The body becomes
physiologically and sexually
aroused, resulting in erection in
the male and vaginal lubrication
in the female
2nd stage: Plateau
- Sexual and physiological arousal
continues in males and females
3rd stage: Orgasm
- Men have rhythmic muscle
contractions, that cause
ejaculation of sperm. Women
experience similar rhythmic
muscle contractions of the pelvic
area. During orgasm, women
and men report very pleasurable
feelings.
4th stage: Resolution
- Physiological responses return to
normal
Inhibited Female Orgasm
 Is a persistent delay or absence of
orgasm after becoming aroused and
excited.
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome
 HIV positive
- Refers to the presence of HIV
antibodies, which means that
the individual has been infected
by the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) which is believed to
cause AIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome)
- Life threatening condition that is
present when the individual is
HIV positive and has a level of T-
cells (CD4 immune cells) no
higher than 200 per cubic
milliliter of blood or has
developed one or more of 26
specified illnesses (for example,
pneumonia, skin cancer).
- It may take years or decades for
HIV to develop into AIDS
D. Genital Cutting
- Involves cutting away the
female’s external genitalia,
usually including her clitoris and
surrounding skin (labia minora).
- The remaining edges are sewn
together, which leaves only a
small opening for urination and
menstruation
E. Achievement
Social needs
 Such as the desire for affiliation or
close social bonds, nurturance or
need to help and protect others,
dominance or need to influence or
control others, and achievement or
need to excel, are acquired through
learning and experience
Achievement need
 Refers to the desire to set
challenging goals and to persist in
pursuing those goals in the face of
obstacles, frustrations, and setbacks.
Measuring the Need for Achievement
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
- Personality test which
participants are asked to look at
pictures of people in ambiguous
situations and to make up stories
about what the characters are
thinking and feeling and what
the outcome will be.
High Need for Achievement
 Shown by those who persist longer
at tasks; perform better on tasks,
activities, or exams; set challenging
but realistic goals; compete with
others to win; and are attracted to
careers that require initiative
Fear of Failure
 Shown by people who are motivated
to avoid failure by choosing easy,
nonchallenging tasks where failure is
unlikely to occur.
Self-handicapping
 Refers to engaging in tactics that
contribute to failure and then using
these very things, knowingly or
unknowingly, as excuses for failing
to achieve some goal.
Underachievement
Underachievers
 - Individuals who score relatively
high on tests of ability or
intelligence but perform more
poorly than their scores would
predict.
Cognitive Influences
Cognitive factors in motivation
- Refer to how people evaluate or
perceive a situation and how
these evaluations and
perceptions influence their
willingness to work
Intrinsic motivation
- Involves engaging in certain
activities or behaviors without
receiving any external rewards
because the behaviors
themselves are personally
rewarding or because engaging
in these activities fulfills our
beliefs or expectations
Extrinsic motivation
- Involves engaging in certain
activities or behaviors that either
reduce biological needs or help
us obtain incentives and external
rewards.
Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
- A serious eating disorder
characterized by refusing to eat
and not maintaining weight at
85% of what is expected, having
an intense fear of gaining weight
or becoming fat, and missing at
least three consecutive
menstrual cycles.
- Anorexics also have a disturbed
body image: They see
themselves as fat even though
they are very thin
Bulimia Nervosa
- Characterized by a minimum of
two binge-eating episodes per
week for at least three months;
fear of not being able to stop
eating; regularly engaging in
vomiting, use of laxatives, or
rigorous dieting and fasting; and
excessive concern about body
shape and weight.
Binge-eating Disorder
- Characterized by recurrent
binge-eating episodes during
which a person feels a loss of
control over his or her eating
- Unlike bulimia nervosa, there is
no vomiting, use of laxatives, or
rigorous dieting and fasting.