Ch. 2 Study Guide: Motivation

Learning Behavior

-Behavior is determined by learning -People engage in behaviors they are not reinforced for, behaviors that receive negative reinforcement or punishment are reduced -Focus on observable behavior

Instinct theories

-Related to Darwin's work in evolution: Even without experience animals adapted to their environments. - Goal directed biological impulses. -Human and animal behavior are governed by the same principles, so behavior can be explained by instincts. -Instincts explain specific behaviors. -Motivation owes it origins to a collection of genetically endowed instincts. -Instincts biased perception, generated emotionality, elicited purposive behavior towards inherent goals. -What were the problems? Circular explanation, not all behaviors can be explained by instincts, cannot be observed or scientifically tested.

What are grand theories?

All encompassing theory that seeks to explain the full range of motivated action--why we eat, drink, work, play, compete, etc. 3: will, instinct, drive

Growth and Mastery Motivation Theories

Humans are active and seek growth...

Mini Theories

Mini theories focused on one aspect of motivation: 1) motivational phenomenon, 2) circumstance that affects motivation, 3) theoretical question

Passive vs. Agentic view of human motivation

Older assumption was that animals were naturally inactive or passive. The role of motivation was to arouse the passive to become active. Agentic view was the people were always getting to and doing something. People were inherently active and always motivated.

Drive Theories

-Drive theory view that behavior was motivated to the extent that it served the needs of the organism and restored a biological homeostasis. -Psychological drive motivates us to engage in behavior -Freud's Drive Theory: believed that all behavior was motivated and that the purpose of behavior was to serve the satisfaction of biologically based bodily needs. More psychological. Drive is seen as an "emergency warning system" that action needed to be taken. Behavior served the body's needs, anxiety (drive) ensured that the need servicing behavior occurred when needed. -Hull's Drive Theory: Drive was a pooled energy source composed of body deficits/disturbances. High/Low motivation could be predicted before it occurred. Habit, not drive, directed behavior. Behavior guiding habits came from learning, and learning was a consequence of reinforcement.Without drive and habit there was no behavior. -Problems: Some motives emerged without any biological need, external sources can motivate behavior not just biological ones, learning occurring without drive reduction.

Need Theories

-People are born with certain needs -Needs can be modified by learning -Murray's Need Theory: Primary and secondary needs -Achievement: Success, accomplishment, and overcoming obstacles. -Affiliation: Spending time with other people.

Assumptions of contemporary motivation research

-People want to master their environments -Humans are active and seek growth -More applied (seeks to address socially relevant questions) -Research in motivation is relevant to every area of psychology -Can be examined from multiple perspectives

Why did psychologists let go of grand theories?

-Too many exceptions -Once concept cannot explain all of human behavior -Theories implied that humans were passive because we were acting to reduce a drive, an instinct, etc. -People would do nothing until a drive/instinct pushed us to do something.

Two principles studied after grand theories were dismissed:

1. Incentive Theories: Sought to explain why people approached positive incentives and why they avoided negative ones. Hedonism states that organisms approach signals of pleasure and avoid signals of pain. People form associations of which environmental objects are gratifying or pain-inflicting. Thorndike's Law of Effect suggested that responses closely followed by satisfaction will become firmly attached to the situation and therefore more likely to reoccur when the situation is repeated. 2. Arousal Theory: A moderate level of arousal coincides with the experience of pleasure and optimal performance, inverted U.