MOTIVATION

UMER FAREED

o What Motivates a Human ?

o Motivation and Emotions

o Biological Causes of Human Behavior

o Reflexes

o Instincts

o Imprinting

o Drive Reduction Theory

o Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

o Incentive Theory

o Arousal Theory

o Question & Feedback

WHAT MOTIVATES A HUMAN ?

EMOTIONSWe all have them

Yet most of us can't explain themEmotions are thought to be the Causes and Reasons for a large number of human actions (behavior)They are thought to be comprised of cognitive, physiological and behavioral components

COGNITIVE•We have perceptions of emotions that usually ranges from pleasantness-unpleasantness & weak-strong (Woodworth & Sehlesberg). We perceive our emotions as having some level of pleasantness and strength

PHYSIOLOGICAL

•Emotions are accompanied by physiological arousal, usually at an autonomic level (involuntary) e.g. increase in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, pupils dilation, etc

BEHAVIORAL•Very often organisms communicate without words. We may communicate emotions nonverbally; through body language e.g. smiling, frowning, clenching fists

BIOLOGICAL CAUSES FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOUR REFLEXES A simple unlearned (inherited) act that occurs in response to a specific

stimulusHuman reflexes are classified as Tendon Reflexes provide information on the integrity of the central and peripheral nervous system • Biceps reflex• Triceps reflex • Ankle jerk reflex • Blink reflex• Orienting reflexPrimitive Reflexes displayed by newborn babies but are not seen in adults. Also known as infant or new-born reflex• Babinsky reflex• Grasp reflex • Hand-to-mouth reflex • Moro reflex, also known as the startle reflex • Rooting reflex• Step reflex• Crawl reflex

INSTINCTSComplex inherited patterns of behaviour that are common to all creatures and are associated with specific innate knowledge about how to survive (James, 1890)

Animals are born with innate tendencies pre-programmed at birth with the capacity and often times knowledge of how to survive by spinning webs, building nests, avoiding danger, and reproducing

Humans have same types of innate tendencies when compared to animals. Babies are born with a unique ability to survive; they are born with the ability to cry. Helps in when to feed the baby, know when he needed changing, or when she wanted attention and affection?

Early theorists (James, McDougall) associated enormous tendencies with humans but still not all psychologists believe these tendencies to be instincts

IMPRINTINGAnimal behaviour develops as a result of the interaction between genetic and environmental influences at an early stage of life. (John Bowlby, 1982)

Imprinting describes an instinctual, unlearned behaviour that is specific to aspecies until an animal has been exposed to the stimulus(Releaser), provided the exposure occurs at right period of animal’s life (critical period)

According to Lorenz, ducklings and chicks will follow and become attached (socially bonded) to the first moving object they encounter (which usually, but not necessarily, is the mother duck or hen)

Imprinting does not occur in the absence of a releaser, or if the releaser is presented too early or too late

DRIVE REDUCTION THEORYAccording to Hull (1940) organisms possess a hierarchy of needs which are aroused under conditions of stimulation and drive

We act so as to reduce the push exerted by drives

MASLOW’s HIERARCHY OF NEEDSMaslow formulated a hierarchy of biogenic and psychogenic needs, in which certain levels of motives are specifiedMaslow believed that human motivation is driven by a set of needs

The order of development is fixed: a certain level must be attained before the next higher one is activated

One must first satisfy basic needs before progressing up the ladder: a starving man shouldn’t be interested in status symbols, friendships or self-fulfilment

If we are interested in what actually motivates us and not what has or will, or might motivate us, then a satisfied need is not a motivator

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can do, he must do (Maslow )

MASLOW’s HIERARCHY OF NEEDS SELF-ACTUALIZATION The highest and most difficult level to reach

It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for one to become actualized in what one is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming

If a person has a talent for painting, but they become a doctor, they will be forever frustrated because the need for self-actualization will be hindered

According To Rowan (1998), self-actualization is an ongoing search to develop and to grow and the Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy of needs is misleading as it suggests that there is an end point to personal growth

INCENTIVESIncentive theory holds that certain external stimuli act as incentives, pulling us toward some behaviourThe basic concept behind the incentive theory is goals

intangible (involve awards or something to give public recognition)

Incentives may be tangible (involve feeling good about oneself)

OR

AROUSAL THEORY

Arousal theory holds that we act so as to bring about an optimal level of arousal (Donald Hebb [1955]).When we are too aroused (e.g. hungry) we act to reduce arousal (e.g. eat).When we are not aroused enough (e.g. bored), we act to increase arousal (e.g. read a book)

The graph of performance vs arousal is an inverted U: Performance improves with increased arousal up to a point, then it drops off.Optimum performance on an easy task occurs at a higher level of arousal than on a difficult task.Ability to do a menial job may actually be improved by having music on, and so forth

Arousal is a term used for a general state of physiological activation. You could think of it as the extent to which your body and mind are "revved up"

YERKES-DODSON LAW

WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?

UNPARALLELED CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE

FEEDBACK