Physiologically-based drives that are unlearned are called ________ drives.

Motivation and Emotion8

Enduring Issues in Motivation and Emotion

Perspectives on Motivation • Instincts • Drive-Reduction Theory • Arousal Theory • Intrinsic and Extrinsic

Motivation • A Hierarchy of Motives

Hunger and Thirst • Biological and Emotional

Factors • Eating Disorders and Obesity Sex • Biological Factors • Cultural and Environmental

Factors • Patterns of Sexual Behavior

Among Americans • Sexual Orientation

Other Important Motives • Exploration and Curiosity • Manipulation and

Contact • Aggression • Achievement • Affiliation

Emotions • Basic Emotions • Theories of Emotion

Communicating Emotion • Voice Quality and Facial

Expression • How the Brain Reads

the Face • Body Language,

Personal Space, and Gestures

• Gender and Emotion • Culture and Emotion

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Emotion refers to the experience of feelings such as fear, joy, surprise, and anger. Like motives, emotions also activate and affect behavior, but it is more difficult to predict the kind of behavior that a particular emotion will prompt. If a man is hungry, we can be reasonably sure that he will seek food. If, however, this same man experiences a feeling of joy or surprise, we can- not know with certainty how he will act.

The important thing to remember about both motives and emotions is that they push us to take some kind of action whether or not we are aware of it. We do not need to think about feeling hungry to make a beeline for the refrigerator. Similarly, we do not have to realize that we are afraid before stepping back from a growling dog. Moreover, the same moti- vation or emotion may produce different behaviors in different people. Ambition might motivate one person to go to law school and another to join a crime ring. Feeling sad might lead one person to cry alone and another to seek out a friend. On the other hand, the same behavior might arise from different motives or emotions: You may go to a movie because you are happy, bored, or lonely. In short, the workings of motives and emotions are very complex.

In this chapter, we will first look at some specific motives that play important roles in human behavior. Then we will turn our attention to emotions and the various ways they are expressed. We begin our discussion of motivation with a few general concepts.

Classic detective stories are usually studies of motivation andemotion. At the beginning, all we know is that a murder hasbeen committed: After eating dinner with her family, sweet old Amanda Jones collapses and dies of strychnine poisoning. “Now, why would anyone do a thing like that?” everybody wonders. The police ask the same question, in different terms: “Who had a motive for killing Miss Jones?” In a good mystery, the answer is “Practically everybody.”

There is, for example, the younger sister—although she is 75 years old, she still bristles when she thinks of that tragic day 50 years ago when Amanda stole her sweetheart. And there is the next-door neighbor, who was heard saying that if Miss Jones’s poodle trampled his peonies one more time, there would be consequences. Then there is the spendthrift nephew who stands to inherit a fortune from the deceased. Finally, the parlor maid has a guilty secret that Miss Jones knew and had threat- ened to reveal. All four suspects were in the house on the night of the murder, had access to the poison (which was used to kill rats in the basement), and had strong feelings about Amanda Jones. All of them had a motive for killing her.

In this story, motivation and emotion are so closely inter- twined that drawing distinctions between them is difficult. How- ever, psychologists do try to separate them. A motive is a specific need or desire that arouses the organism and directs its behavior toward a goal. All motives are triggered by some kind of stimulus: a bodily condition, a cue in the environment, or a feeling.

ENDURING ISSUES IN MOTIVATION AND EMOTION The heart of this chapter concerns the ways in which motives and emotions affect behavior and are affected by the external environment (person–situation). While discussing those key issues, we will explore the question of whether motives and emotions are inborn or acquired (nature–nurture) and whether they change significantly over the life span (stability–change). We will also consider the extent to which individuals differ in their motives and emotions (diversity–universality) and the ways in which motives and emotions arise from and, in turn, affect biological processes (mind–body).

PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION How can you use intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to help you succeed in college?

Instincts Early in the 20th century, psychologists often attributed behavior to instincts—specific, inborn behavior patterns characteristic of an entire species. In 1890, William James compiled a list of human instincts that included hunting, rivalry, fear, curiosity, shyness, love, shame, and resentment. But by the 1920s, instinct theory began to fall out of favor as an explanation of

motive Specific need or desire, such as hunger, thirst, or achievement, that prompts goal-directed behavior.

emotion Feeling, such as fear, joy, or surprise, that underlies behavior.

instincts Inborn, inflexible, goal-directed behaviors that are characteristic of an entire species.

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E • Compare and contrast instincts,

drive-reduction theory, and arousal theory (including the Yerkes-Dodson law) as explanations of human behavior. Distinguish between primary and secondary drives, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and summarize Maslow’s hierarchy of motives.

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human behavior for three reasons: (1) Most important human behavior is learned; (2) human behavior is rarely rigid, inflexible, unchanging, and found through- out the species, as is the case with instincts; and (3) ascribing every conceivable human behavior to a corresponding instinct explains nothing (calling a person’s propensity to be alone an “antisocial instinct,” for example, merely names the behavior without pinpointing its origins).

Drive-Reduction Theory An alternative view of motivation holds that bodily needs (such as the need for food or the need for water) create a state of tension or arousal called a drive (such as hunger or thirst). According to drive-

reduction theory, motivated behavior is an attempt to reduce this unpleasant state of ten- sion in the body and to return the body to a state of homeostasis, or balance (S. Cooper, 2008). When we are hungry, we look for food to reduce the hunger drive. When we are tired, we find a place to rest.

According to drive-reduction theory, drives can generally be divided into two cate- gories. Primary drives are unlearned, are found in all animals (including humans), and motivate behavior that is vital to the survival of the individual or species. Primary drives include hunger, thirst, and sex. Secondary drives are acquired through learning. For instance, no one is born with a drive to acquire great wealth, yet many people are moti- vated by money.

Arousal Theory Drive-reduction theory is appealing, but it cannot explain all kinds of behavior. It implies, for example, that once drives are reduced, people will do little. They would literally have no motivation. Yet this is obviously not the case. People work, play, do Sudoku puzzles, and do many other things for which there is no known drive that needs to be reduced.

Arousal theory suggests that each of us has an optimum level of arousal that varies over the course of the day and from one situation to another. According to this view, behav- ior is motivated by the desire to maintain the optimum level of arousal for a given moment. Sometimes, as envisioned in drive-reduction theory, that may call for reducing the level of arousal. But other times, behavior appears to be motivated by a desire to increase the state of arousal. For example, when you are bored, you may turn on the television, take a walk, or check for text messages.

Interestingly, overall level of arousal affects performance in different situations but psychologists agree that there is no “best” level of arousal necessary to perform all tasks (Gray, Braver, & Raichle, 2002). Rather, it is largely a question of degree. The Yerkes–Dodson law puts it this way: The more complex the task, the lower the level of arousal that can be tolerated without interfering with performance (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908/2007). Thus, to perform optimally on a simple task, you may need to increase your level of arousal. Conversely, you may need to reduce your level of arousal to perform well on a complex task. (See Figure 8–1.)

Arousal theory has some advantages over drive-reduction theory, but neither one can readily account for some kinds of behavior. For example, many people today participate in activities that are stimulating in the extreme: rock climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping, and hang gliding. Such thrill-seeking activities do not seem to be drive-reducing and do not seem to be done in pursuit of an optimal level of arousal. Zuckerman (1979, 2007a) accounts for such activities by suggesting that sensation seeking is itself a basic moti- vation, at least some aspects of which are inherited and neurologically based (Arnaut, 2006;

Primary Drives

Primary drives are, by definition, unlearned. But learning clearly affects howthese drives are expressed: We learn how and what to eat and drink. 1. Given that information, how might you design a research study to

determine what aspects of a given drive, say hunger, are learned and which are not?

2. What steps would you take to increase the likelihood that your results apply to people in general and not just to a small sample of people?

3. Would you have to rely on self-reports or could you directly observe behavior?

arousal theory Theory of motivation that proposes that organisms seek an optimal level of arousal.

Yerkes–Dodson law States that there is an optimal level of arousal for the best performance of any task; the more complex the task, the lower the level of arousal that can be tolerated before performance deteriorates.

drive State of tension or arousal that motivates behavior.

drive-reduction theory States that motivated behavior is aimed at reducing a state of bodily tension or arousal and returning the organism to homeostasis.

homeostasis State of balance and stability in which the organism functions effectively.

primary drives Unlearned drive, such as hunger, that are based on a physiological state.

secondary drives Learned drives, such as ambition, that are not based on a physiological state.

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Motivation and Emotion 261

Zuckerman, 2005). In general, high sensation seekers, compared to low sensation seekers, are more likely to

• prefer dangerous sports (Diehm & Armatas, 2004; Eachus, 2004; Zuckerman, 2007b); • choose vocations that involve an element of risk and excitement (Zuckerman, 2006); • smoke, drink heavily, gamble, and use illicit drugs (D’Silva, Grant-Harrington,

Palmgreen, Donohew, & Pugzles-Lorch, 2001; Gurpegui et al., 2007; Nower, Derevensky, & Gupta, 2004);

• engage in unsafe driving (S. L. Pedersen & McCarthy, 2008; Thiffault & Bergeron, 2003); • have more sexual partners and engage in more varied and dangerous sexual activities

(Berg, 2008: Cohen, 2008); and

• be classified in school as delinquent or hyperactive (though not more aggressive) (Ang & Woo, 2003; Modecki, 2008).

Figure 8–1 The Yerkes–Dodson law. A certain amount of arousal is needed to perform most tasks, but a very high level of arousal interferes with the performance of complicated activities. That is, the level of arousal that can be tolerated is higher for a simple task than for a complex one. Source: After Hebb, 1955.

Low arousal High arousal

Optimal performance

Low

High SIMPLE TASK

Q ua

lit y

of p

er fo

rm an

ce

Low arousal High arousal Low

High COMPLEX TASK

Q ua

lit y

of p

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rm an

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Optimal performance

intrinsic motivation A desire to perform a behavior that stems from the enjoyment derived from the behavior itself.

extrinsic motivation A desire to perform a behavior to obtain an external reward or avoid punishment.

Nature–Nurture The Evolutionary Basis of Arousal Seeking Some evolutionary theorists argue that sensation seeking may have an evolutionary basis. For example, Cosmides and Tooby (2000) propose that risk-taking behavior may have played an important adaptive role for our ancestors by providing them with opportunities to develop successful strategies to deal with potentially dangerous situations. Those who took risks, and who were thereby better equipped to cope with danger and turmoil in their environment, improved their social status and sexual competitiveness more than those who did not (Ermer, Cosmides & Tooby, 2008). ■

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Some psychologists further distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation provided by an activity itself. Children climb trees, finger paint, and play games for no other reason than the fun they get from the activity itself. In the same way, adults may solve crossword puzzles, play a musical instrument, or tinker in a workshop largely for the enjoyment they get from the activity. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that derives from the consequences of an activity. For example, a child may do chores not because he enjoys them but because doing so earns an allowance, and an adult who plays a musical instrument may do so to earn some extra money.

Whether behavior is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated can have important conse- quences (Deci & Ryan, 2008). For example, if parents offer a reward to their young daughter for writing to her grandparents, the likelihood of her writing to them when rewards are no

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hierarchy of needs A theory of motivation advanced by Maslow holding that higher order motives involving social and personal growth only emerge after lower level motives related to survival have been satisfied.

The same activity might be motivated intrinsically, just for the pleasure of doing it, or extrinsically, by rewards unrelated to the activity itself.

longer available may actually decrease. One analysis of some 128 studies that examined the effect of extrinsic rewards on the behavior of children, adolescents, and adults found that when extrinsic rewards are offered for a behavior, intrinsic motivation and sense of personal responsibility for that behavior are likely to decrease, at least for a short time (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999, 2001). However, unexpected (as opposed to contrac- tual) rewards do not necessarily reduce intrinsic moti- vation, and positive feedback (including praise) may actually increase intrinsic motivation (Chance, 1992; Deci et al., 1999; Reiss, 2005).

A Hierarchy of Motives Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow (1954) arranged motives in a hierarchy, from lower to higher. The lower motives spring from physiological needs

that must be satisfied. As we move higher in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the motives have more subtle origins: the desire to live as safely as possible, to connect meaningfully with other human beings, and to make the best possible impression on others. Maslow believed that the highest motive in the hierarchy is self-actualization—the drive to realize one’s full potential. Maslow’s hierarchy of motives is illustrated in Figure 8–2.

According to Maslow’s theory, higher motives emerge only after the more basic ones have been largely satisfied: A person who is starving doesn’t care what people think of her table manners.

Maslow’s model offers an appealing way to organize a wide range of motives into a coherent structure. But recent research challenges the universality of his views. In many societies, people live on the very edge of survival, yet they form strong and meaningful social ties and possess a firm sense of self-esteem (E. Hoffman, 2008; Wubbolding, 2005). As a result of such research findings, many psychologists now view Maslow’s model with a measure of skepticism although it continues to be a convenient way to think of the wide range of human motives.

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Figure 8–2 A pyramid representing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. From bottom to top, the stages correspond to how fundamental the motive is for survival and how early it appears in both the evolution of the species and the development of the individual. According to Maslow, the more basic needs must largely be satisfied before higher motives can emerge. Source: From Motivation and Personality by Abraham H. Maslow. Copyright © 1970. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Self-actualization needs

Esteem needs

Belongingness needs

Safety needs

Physiological needs

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Motivation and Emotion 263

We have reviewed some basic concepts about motivation. With these concepts in mind, we now turn our attention to specific motives.

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S • Identify the areas of the brain that are

involved in hunger and describe the role of glucose, leptin, and ghrelin in determining a biological need for food. Distinguish between the biological need for food and the experience of hunger (including the role of incentives).

• List the symptoms that are used to diagnose anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, muscle dysmorphia, and obesity. Describe the people who are most likely to develop these disorders and the most likely causes of them.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Match the following terms with the appropriate definition.

1. ___ drive 2. ___ drive reduction

3. ___ homeostasis

4. ___ self-actualization

5. ___ intrinsic motivation

6. ___ extrinsic motivation

a. The drive to realize one’s full potential b. state of balance in which the organism

functions effectively c. theory that motivated behavior is focused

on reducing bodily tension d. tending to perform behavior to receive

some external reward or avoid punishment e. state of tension brought on by biological

needs f. motivation arising from behavior itself

Answers:1. e.2. c.3. b.4. a.5. f.6. d.

APPLY YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1. You are home alone and have nothing to do. You find yourself walking around. You look for something to read, but nothing seems quite right. Then you check to see if anything interesting is on TV, but again nothing seems worth watching. Finally, you decide to go jogging. This kind of motivated behavior that increases the state of arousal is a problem for

a. the instinct theory of motivation. b. any theory of motivation. c. the drive-reduction theory of motivation. d. the Yerkes–Dodson law.

2. While you are working on a complex task, your boss stops by your desk and says, “You’ve only got 10 more minutes to finish that up. It’s really important that it be done right. I know you can do it and I’m depending on you.” When you complain that he’s making you nervous and your performance will suffer, he replies, “I’m just trying to motivate you.” Which of the following does your boss apparently not understand?

a. drive-reduction theory b. homeostasis c. extrinsic motivation d. the Yerkes–Dodson law

Answers:1. c.2. d.

HUNGER AND THIRST Why do people usually get hungry at mealtime?

When you are hungry, you eat. If you don’t eat, your need for food will increase but your hunger will come and go. Moreover, shortly after lunch when you have no need for further food, if you pass a bakery and smell the baked goods, you may crave a donut or a scone. In other words, the psychological state of hunger is not the same as the biological need for food, although that need often sets the psychological state in motion.

Thirst also is stimulated by both internal and external cues. Internally, thirst is controlled by two regulators that monitor the level of fluids inside and outside the cells. But we may also become thirsty just seeing a TV commercial featuring people savoring tall, cool drinks in a lush, tropical setting (W. G. Hall, Arnold, & Myers, 2000; Rowland, 2002).

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Biological and Emotional Factors How can external cues influence our desire to eat?

Early research identified two regions in the hypothalamus that served as a kind of “switch” that turned eating on or off. When one of these centers was stimulated, animals began to eat; and when it was destroyed the animals stopped eating to the point of starvation. When the second region was stimulated, animals stopped eating; when it was destroyed, animals ate to the point of extreme obesity. However, recent studies have challenged this simple “on–off” explanation for the control of eating by showing that a number of other areas of the brain are also involved (Olszewski, Cedernaes, Olsson, Levine, & Schiöth, 2008). For example, research has shown that regions of the cortex and spinal cord play an important role in regulating food intake. Moreover, the connections among brain centers that control hunger are now known to be considerably more complex than were once thought (Blundell & Halford, 1998; Brambilla, Monteleono, & Maj,. 2007; Volkow et al., 2003; Woods, Seeley, Porte, & Schwartz, 1998).

How do these various areas of the brain know when to stimulate hunger? It turns out that the brain monitors the blood levels of glucose (a simple sugar used by the body for energy), fats, carbohydrates, and the hormone insulin. (See Figure 8–3.) Changes in the levels of these substances signal the need for food. In addition, fat cells within our body produce the hormone leptin which travels in the bloodstream and is sensed by the hypo- thalamus. High levels of leptin signal the brain to reduce appetite, or to increase the rate at which fat is burned.

The brain also monitors the amount of food that you have eaten. Specialized cells in the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine sense the volume of food in the diges- tive system. When only a small quantity of food is present, these cells release a hormone called ghrelin into the bloodstream. Ghrelin travels to the brain where it stimulates appetite and focuses our thoughts and imagination on food (Näslund & Hellström, 2007; Schmid et al., 2005).

ghrelin A hormone produced in the stomach and small intestines that increases appetite.

Figure 8–3 Physiological factors regulating appetite and body weight. A variety of chemical messengers interact to stimulate and suppress appetite. Among these are insulin, leptin, and ghrelin.

Hypothalamus The brain monitors

levels of glucose, fats, carbohydrates, and hormones

Ghrelin Released by the empty stomach, this hormone stimulates appetite

Insulin Secreted by the pancreas, this hormone keeps glucose levels balanced

Leptin Fat cells secrete this hormone. High levels signal the brain to reduce appetite or to increase metabolism

Ghrelin

Insulin

Fat

Hypothalamus

Pancreas (behind

stomach)

Stomach

Leptin

glucose A simple sugar used by the body for energy.

leptin A hormone released by fat cells that reduces appetite.

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Motivation and Emotion 265

But, as we noted earlier, the biological need for food is not the only thing that can trigger the experience of hunger. For example, a single night of sleep deprivation can leave one feeling hungry by increasing ghrelin levels and decreasing leptin levels (Schmid, Hallschmid, Jauch- Chara, Born, & Schultes, 2008). Moreover, the mere sight, smell, or thought of food causes an increase in insulin production, which, in turn, lowers glucose levels in the body’s cells, mirroring the body’s response to a physical need for food (Logue, 2000). Thus, the aroma from a nearby restaurant may serve as more than an incentive to eat; it may actually cause the body to react as though there is a real biological need for food. Most Americans eat three meals a day at fairly regular intervals. Numer- ous studies with both humans and animals have shown that regularly eating at particular times during the day leads to the release at those times of the hormones and neurotransmitters that cause hunger (Woods, Schwartz, Baskin, & Seeley, 2000). In other words, we get hun- gry around noon partly because the body “learns” that if it’s noon, it’s time to eat.