PSYCHOLOGY

Third Edition
by

Drew Westen

PowerPoint

Presentation

C h a p t e r 10
MOTIVATION
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lecture Outline

Motivational Perspectives
Hunger and Obesity
Sexual Motivation
Need for Achievement

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Motivation

Motivation refers to the moving force that

energizes behavior
Direction or goal of motives
Strength of motives

Motives reflect
Biological needs
Psychosocial needs

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Evolutionary Perspective

Evolutionary perspective argues that motivational

systems can contribute to reproductive success
Evolution selects for animals that maximize their
inclusive fitness (their own reproductive success plus
that of close relatives)
Recall that close relatives share similar genes

Pheromones may serve as a cue to identifying close

relatives
Crickets spend more time in a
territory marked with the scent of a
close relative

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Pheromones Guide Behavior

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Psychodynamic Perspective

Freud argued for two fundamental

motives:
Sex
Aggression

Subsequent psychodynamic theorists

argue for
Need for relatedness to others
Need for self-esteem

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Unconscious Motivation

Freud argued that a person can be unaware of

their own motives for their behaviors
Motivation can be unconscious and conscious
at the same time
Unconscious motivation can be assessed using
projective tests in which a person is asked to
describe a vague stimulus
The idea is that their verbal descriptions of the scene
will reflect their motivations (ego defense mechanism
of projection)

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ProjectiveTests

A subject might be
asked:
What is happening in
the scene to the right?
What is she thinking
now?
What would you be
saying if you were the
person in the middle?

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Behaviorist Perspective

Behaviors are governed by stimuli in the

environment
Needs reflect a requirement such as food and
water
Drives are states of arousal that accompany
an unfulfilled need
Hunger
Thirst

Drive reduction theory argues that we behave

in order to satisfy needs and reduce drives

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Cognitive Perspective

Goals refer to positive outcomes that are

established by social learning
Finding a mate

Goals can be set and persons can monitor their

own progress toward the goal
Note that this view of motivation relies on conscious
processing rather than unconscious processing
Feedback about progress toward the goal is key to
motivating performance

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

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Homeostasis

Homeostasis: refers to the tendency of the body

to maintain constancy of the internal environment
Core body temperature is defended
Increased core temperature leads to sweating
Decreased core temperature leads to shivering

Behavior can serve as part of the homeostatic

process
Blood sugar levels dip--> we eat
Core body temperature goes up, we take off a layer of
clothes and look for iced tea.

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Eating

Food supplies energy as well as minerals

and vitamins
Ingestion of food leads to a sequence of
metabolic events:
Absorptive phase: food is ingested, energy
is extracted and stored as either glycogen or
fat
Fasting phase: glycogen is converted to
glucose for use by the body

Eating is a behavior

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Overview of Metabolism

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Hypothalamic Regulation of
Eating

Hypothalamus receives
information regarding
nutrient levels in body
Lateral region
Stimulation induces eating
Lesions of the lateral region
produce starvation

Ventromedial region
Lesions induce overeating
Stimulation inhibits eating

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Glucostatic Theory of Hunger

Glucostat measures the level of glucose in

blood
Periphery: Liver glucoreceptors
Brain: Hypothalamic glucoreceptors

Manipulations of glucose level alters eating

Injections of glucose into blood at the start of a meal
will delay the meal
Reducing the level of glucose in blood will intensify
hunger

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Impact of Glucose Inhibition on

Hunger

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(Figure adapted from Thompson & Campbell, 1977)

Non-Physiological Factors that

Modulate Eating

Food palatability can alter eating

Positive flavors can enhance eating
Aversive flavors can suppress eating
Quinine added to food reduces eating

Food variety: exposure to the same food

day after day can diminish intake
Presence of others: meal size increases
as the group size increases

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Obesity

Obesity is an excess level of fat in the

body
Defined as weight that is 15% above ideal

Risks of obesity
Physical
Heart disease, diabetes, or stroke
Early mortality

Psychological
Negative stereotypes about the obese
Basis for discrimination in jobs and housing
Difficulty in relationships
2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Causes of Obesity

Biological
Obesity is heritable (twin studies)
Fat cell size and number may play a role in obesity
Homeostasis: the body defends its level of fat
Leptin is secreted by fat cells: reduces appetite and weight
Leptin may be the hormone that serves to reduce appetite when body fat
level exceeds some threshold

Environmental
Rapid increases in prevalence of obesity suggests environmental
causes
Diet rich in fat
Low levels of exercise
Efforts to restrain eating

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Eating Disorders

Western society is obsessed with thinness

Eating disorders are seen in young white
females
Anorexia: self-induced starvation leading to loss of
15% or more of body weight (described first in 1689)
Cardiovascular issues (low heart rate and blood pressure)
Low metabolism
Cessation of menstruation

Bulimia:
Binge eating followed by purging

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Anorexia Nervosa
Mr. Dukes daughter in St. Mary Axe, in the year 1684,
and the Eighteenth year of her Age fell into a total
suppression of her monthly courses from a multitude
of Cares and Passions of her mind.. From which time
her Appetite began to abate She wholly neglected
to care for herself for two years (like a skeleton
only covered with skin)
Richard Morton (1689)
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Hormones and Sexual Motivation

Organizational effects: prenatal exposure to

androgens alters the neural circuits in brain
and spinal cord
Adult behavior of androgenized subject is
masculine
In the absence of androgens, Natures impulse is
to create a female

Activational effects: alteration of adult levels

of hormones can alter the intensity of a
behavior that is modulated by that hormone

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is the

direction of attraction for a
sexual partner
Homosexuality: attraction for a
person of the same-sex

Twin studies document a

biological basis for
homosexuality
Hormonal responses differ
between homosexual and
heterosexual men

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Achievement Motives

Need for Achievement: refers to the

need to do well, to succeed, and to
avoid failure
Persons who have a high level of need for
achievement tend to

Choose moderately difficult tasks

Enjoy being challenged
Avoid failure
Work more persistently
Enjoy success

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hierarchy of Motives

(Figure adapted from A.J. Elliot & M.A. Church, 1977, p 227)

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright
Copyright 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York, NY. All rights reserved. No part of the
material protected by this copyright may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission of the
copyright owner.

2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.