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Motivation, Emotion, and Stress

Motivation What are motives? Needs or desires that prompts an individual into action and directs behavior Reflects biological or psychosocial needs

Stimulus motives Based on needs to interact with environment Curiosity Intellectual activity Entertainment Secondary motives Based on group acceptance Approval Individual achievement Motivation

Motivation Intrinsic motivation Internal drives to perform a task for its own sake More open to demands of the task Individual is more willing/eager to learn Enjoyment of the task often serves as the reward Extrinsic motivation Money, good grades, other “external” rewards “Carrot on a stick” Can produce good outcomes (in the short-term)

Motivation Physiological motives Based on the body’s need for survival Hunger Thirst Sleep Pain avoidance

Motivation Many goals/motivations in life are to achieve and maintain (physical, mental, emotional) homeostasis Approach-approach conflict Avoidant-avoidant conflict Approach-avoidant conflict

Motivation Behaviorist perspective Drives arise from unfulfilled needs Drive-reduction theory We do things in order to satiate our needs/reduce drives Behaviors (including motivation) governed by stimuli in environment

Eating Homeostasis State of equilibrium/body’s set-point Hypothalamus involved with regulation Lateral hypothalamus – “on” switch for eating Stimulation = eating induced Damage/lesions = immediately lose desire to eat Ventromedial hypothalamus – “off” switch for eating Stimulation = inhibition of eating (satiety center activated) Damage/lesions = leads to overeating, satiety center receives no “off” message

Eating What influences hunger? Palatability/taste preferences Variety – exposure to same/different foods Presence of others – bigger group = eat more Eating disorders Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Orthorexia Nervosa Pica?

Sexual Motivation Kinsey (1948) “ Father of sexology” Explored motives for widely varied human sex practices Surveyed 5,000 men and over 6,000 women The Kinsey Report had a profound impact on social awareness of sexuality in the 1950s

Psychosocial Motivation Esteem motivation The need to view one’s self in a positive light Self-enhancement motives Self-consistency motives Achievement motivation To do well, succeed, avoid failure Take pleasure in completing difficult/challenging tasks Often highly motivated to avoid failure

Emotion What is emotion? “ Affect” Mood, feeling, preferences Is this a good definition?

Emotion Limbic system Plays a role in transferring information into memory Hippocampus – main location for this transfer Amygdala – strongly implicated in attaching emotional significance to stimuli/information/events

Emotion Cognitive level Having conscious sense of emotion (i.e., being afraid) Emotions are perceived as having some level of (un)pleasantness and strength Over 400 words in the English language refer to emotions

Emotion Physiological level Emotions contribute to changes in heart rate, blood pressure, etc. (i.e, physiological arousal) Some physiological changes too small to notice Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) - measures fluctuations in electrical conductivity of the skin that occur when sweat glands increase activity Polygraph - "lie detector" - used to measure subtle variations in muscle tension, heart rate, etc.

Emotion Behavioral Level Facial expressions of emotion - smiling, frowning, clenching fists “ Facial-feedback” hypothesis Ekman showed photos to people and asked them to identify what emotion was being expressed People from different cultures recognize common facial features 6-7 basic emotions Use of facial expression to convey emotion appears to be innate (Ekman)

Theories of Emotion 1) James-Lange theory of emotion Subjective emotions arise from physiological arousal (emotion is the result of behavior) “ I yelled (behavior) which got my adrenaline pumping (physiological arousal) and this intensified my anger (emotion).” Therefore, controlling behavior controls emotions Make yourself smile and you will be happy!

2) Cannon-Bard theory of emotion Emotions and physiological arousal often occur simultaneously The arousal of one emotion often the same as arousal of another emotion People cry when happy or when sad (same behavior) yet these emotional states are markedly different (different emotions) Theories of Emotion

3) Schachter-Singer cognitive theory of emotion Two components are necessary to experience emotion: 1) physiological arousal 2) cognitive labeling of the arousal We don't automatically know when we are happy, angry, or jealous - instead we label our emotions by considering situational cues Labeling depends on social settings and cultural norms Theories of Emotion

Theories of Emotion 3) Schachter-Singer cognitive theory of emotion (con’t) Independent variables: 1) Manipulating arousal through injections 2) Manipulating labeling of emotion by placing subjects with confederates who are either “angry” or “happy” Results: Informed subjects reported no change in emotional state Uninformed subjects happier w/happy confederate Uninformed subjects angrier w/angry confederate

Emotion Positive and negative affect + affect processed in left frontal lobe - affect processed in right frontal lobe High inter-correlation within each type People frequently experiencing one negative emotion (guilt) also more likely to feel others (anxiety, sadness, self-loathing)

Emotion Anger “A short madness” vs. “Making a coward brave” (Virgil) Anger can feel unpleasant but can also have pleasurable components Anger shown to be an approach-oriented emotion Anger creates EEG activity in left frontal lobe (location of positive affect?)

Emotion Jealousy Relationship jealousy A reaction to a perceived threat (real or imagined) to a valued relationship or to its quality “Normal” vs. “delusional” jealousy Sexual jealousy leading cause of homicide and assault This effect is cross-cultural (Daly & Wilson, 1988)

Emotion Jealousy (con’t) Mate poaching? 62% of men and 40% of women say they've attempted to entice another’s mate (“poachers”) 47% of men and 32% of women report succumbing to such advances (“poachees”) The more sexual equality in a culture, the closer women come to matching men in # of mate poaching attempts Mate poachers reportedly more open to new experiences, highly sexual, more likely to be narcissistic, and prone to feelings of intense jealousy

How do crazy people go through the forest?

They use a psychopath! How do crazy people go through the forest?

Emotion Emotion regulation Ability to intensify or maintain positive affect and practice “mood repair” when facing negative affect Regulation can take place before/after emotion occurs Reframing Suppression

Emotion Emotion regulation (con’t) Poor emotional regulation strongly associated with increased reactivity to stress Disclosure leads to improved positive affect and better internalization of problems (Warner et al., 2006)

Stress What is stress? The process by which we perceive and respond to events and environmental demands Overstimulation + demands for change Stressors Holmes-Rahe Life Events Rating Scale Measures stress related to 43 common life events Includes both negative and positive life stressors

Stress Physiological effects Impairs ability to focus and commit information to memory Causes interference with hippocampus and prefrontal cortex activity Chronic stress can lead to permanent cell death and reduction in hippocampus size

Stress Stress and physical health Headaches, heart disease, stomach ulcers, depression, potential vulnerability to cancer(?) Psychoneuroimmunology Examines influence of psychosocial factors on functioning of immune system Stress decreases body’s capacity to fight illness

Stress Personality and stress Type “A” personality linked with higher incidence of stress-related heart disease Optimism shown to be a crucial element in medical (and mental) recovery studies Pessimism strong predictor of poor overall health, less positive coping behaviors, and reduced immune functioning

Stress Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Classified as an anxiety/stress disorder Delay of onset common (up to six months) Enduring traumatic experience can lead to: a) Recurrent flashback episodes b) Exaggerated responses to loud noises/sudden touch c) Inability to remember certain aspects of the trauma d) Feelings of detachment e) Frequent irritability/outbursts of anger

Stress Psychosomatic disorders Real physical symptoms that begin, continue, or are made worse by mental or emotional factors Stress in life literally translates to “a pain in the neck” Demonstrates the influence of the mind over the body Symptoms often greatly exacerbated by stress Migraines, asthma, skin rashes/hives, frequent illness, aches, pain

Stress Hypochondria Obsession that real (or imagined) physical symptoms are signs of a serious illness Preoccupation with fears of becoming ill Direct correlation between exaggeration of symptoms and reported levels of current stress Typically chronic – tied to underlying mood disorders

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