What is Motivation?

• Motivation is a state in which we are aroused and our behavior is goal directed

• Motivational States– Are energizing Activate or arouse behavior– Are directive guide behavior toward satisfying goal– Persist continues until goal is achieved– Vary in strength based in internal and external

factors

Function of Motivation

• Regulatory drives us to engage in behaviors that regulate internal states– Function homeostasis

• Purposive drives us to engage in behaviors that fulfill personal goals– Function achieve goal or desired outcome

Regulatory Function

Instincts

• Instincts unlearned automatic actions that are triggered by external cues– Orienting to sound

• Fixed Action Patterns– Instinctive behavior, similar to a reflex, that is

produced in response to a releasing stimulus– E.g., Three-spined stickleback

Fixed Action Pattern

Needs, Drives, & Rewards

• Needs state of deficiency or deprivation• Drives psychological states activated to

satisfy needs– Arousal physiological activation or increase

autonomic response

• Reward when behavior satisfies need, animal experiences drive reduction– Habit Usual or typical response to a need– Hedonism drive to experience pleasure

Biological Set-Points

• Homeostasis tendency for body functions to maintain equilibrium or balance

– Set point hypothetical state that indicates equilibrium

• E.g., thermostat• Normal body temperature• Glucose, water, fat

Negative Feedback Model

Purposive Functions

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

TOTE Model

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

• Extrinsic Motivation external goal toward which an activity is directed– Behavior that is controlled by social, cultural, material

reinforcers• E.g., paychecks; good grades

• Intrinsic Motivation behavior that is performed because of the value or pleasure associated with the activity– E.g., play; sports; reading

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation?

• Extrinsic rewards reduce intrinsically motivated behavior

• Why?– Deci & Ryan – intrinsic motivation satisfies

need for autonomy and personal control – extrinsic rewards take this away

– Bem – attribute our behavior to the reward; i.e., we must not have liked it as much as we though we did; we did it for the reward

Yerkes-Dodson Law

• Low and high levels of arousal inhibit performance

• Moderate levels of arousal are associated with optimal performance– E.g., sports performance– Test anxiety and performance

Optimal Level of Arousal

Novelty and Arousal

• In contrast to drive theory– People seek out arousal because certain

levels of arousal are pleasurable

– Follows Yerkes-Dodson law with low and high levels of arousal seen less pleasurable than moderate levels of arousal

– Basal level of arousal determines level of arousal that is found to be reinforcing

Brain Areas Involved in Motivation

• Hypothalamus controls the autonomic and endocrine systems– Autonomic Nervous System

• Parasympathetic• Sympathetic

– Both systems direct behaviors essential to survival• E.g., damage to hypothalamus leads to abnormalities in the 4

F’s

• Reticular formation responsible for arousal • Frontal lobes responsible for planning• Amygdala controls emotion • Basal ganglia is the reward system

Eating as an Exemplar

• Regulatory Function– Role of hypothalamus– Homeostasis

• Genetic influence and set-points– Glucostatic and lipostatic theories

• Sweet and fat are reinforcing

• Purposive Function– Time and taste– Stigma of obesity and body image