Class notes
Psych 111 Motivation and Emotion Notes
- Course
- Psych 111
- Institution
- State University Of New York - Binghamton
This is a comprehensive and detailed note motivation and emotion for psych 111. *Essential Study Material!!
[Show more]
Content preview
Chapter Objectives:● To provide a framework for understanding how basic emotional processes are
used to guide behavior in an adaptive manner, emphasizing historical views of
emotional processes.
● To describe motivation (why we do what we do) and its conflicts from the basic
biological needs (hunger, thirst, sex) to uniquely human motivational issues
(achievement, needs, etc).
Brief Lecture Outline:
I. Emotion
● Emotion: positive or negative affective states
● Consist of cognitive, physiological and behavioral reactions to events that have
relevance to our goals
● Emotions are responses , while motivations are stimuli to action
A. Adaptive function of emotions
● Adaptive function of Emotions (Fredrickson, 1998)
○ Negative emotions narrow attention, enabling a response to threat
through increased physiological activation
○ Positive emotions broaden thinking and behavior, enabling exploration
and skill learning
B. Emotions as a social communication
● They provide observable information about internal states and influence other’
behavior toward us
C. Emotions: eliciting stimuli
● Biological Factors: We come equipped to respond to stimuli that may have
evolutionary significance
● Learning: Previous experiences can affect current emotional experiences
D. The nature of emotions: four common features of emotions
● 1. Emotions are responses to eliciting stimuli
● 2. Emotions involve cognitive appraisal
● 3. Bodies respond physiologically
● 4. Emotions include behavioral tendencies (expressive and instrumental
behaviors)
E. The appraisal process
● Appraisals relate to what we think is desirable (or not)
● Unique appraisal processes cause individuals to have different emotional
reactions to the same situation
● Appraisals can influence emotional experiences differently across cultures
F. Psychological process of happiness
● Downward comparison promotes increased satisfaction, while upward
comparison promotes dissatisfaction
○ Feel good, do good Phenomenon: people are more likely to help others
, when they feel good
○ Adaptation level principle: our conceptualization of happiness or
satisfaction is relative to our previous experiences
○ Relative deprivation principle: happiness by our past experiences AND
relative to others attachments
G. Physiological components of emotions
● (LeDoux, 1996)
● Thalamus sends sensory input along two independent neural pathways
○ One directly to the amygdala→ emotional and behavioral
reaction
○ One to the cerebral cortex → conscious interpretation
○ Affective Neuroscience
H. Evolution and emotional expression
● Evidence for innate fundamental emotional patterns
○ The expression of certain emotions is similar across a variety of cultures
○ Children blind from birth express basic emotions as sighted children do
I. Facial feedback hypothesis
○ Muscular feedback to the brain plays a key role in emotional experience
J. Culture and emotions
● Emotional display rules elicit different emotional reactions to the same event
○ Ex: “A-ok” symbol
● Universal facial expressions
○ Disgust, Anger, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, Surprise
● What makes a person happy?
○ Researchers have found that happy people tend to: have high self
esteem, be optimistic and outgoing, have a satisfying marriage or other
lover relationship, sleep well, exercise
○ However, other factors that seem UNRELATED to happiness include:
age, race, gender (women are more often depressed but also have more
joyful), education level, having vs not having children
K. Theories of emotion
● James-Lange: Feel afraid because pulse is racing(underlying physiological
stimuli is driving the emotional state)
● Cannon-Bard: Thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex and the
autonomic nervous system
● Schachter's Two Factor Theory: look to external cues to decide what to feel
● Evolutionary Theories: innate reactions with little cognitive interpretation
II. Motivation
A. General Overview: definition, sources
● A process that influences the direction, persistence, and vigor of goal-directed
behavior
○ Adaptive significance: we are motivated to engage in behavior that
promotes survival advantages
● Sources of motivation
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller anyiamgeorge19. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $9.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
72042 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now