Session 4

• Biological theories of motivation focus on the importance of biological and physiological processes that determine behaviour
• Drive Reduction Theory of Motivation

  1. Homeostasis

  2. Drives

  3. Biological need leads to drive

  4. Goal directed behavior

  5. Need satisfied, homeostasis restored
• Homeostasis


  The maintenance of relatively stable internal physiological conditions (as body temperature or the pH of blood) in higher animals under fluctuating environmental conditions
• Drive


  A state of arousal or tension triggered by an individual's physiological or biological needs
• Primary drives


  Biological, innate drives required for survival such as hunger, thirst, desire for sex
• Secondary drives


  Not necessary for survival and often linked to social or identity factors such as desire for wealth, success, social approval, fear. Drives learnt by conditioning
• Lack of homeostasis


  Leads to drive, which motivates action to restore homeostasis
• Motivated behaviours that reduce drives are repeated by individuals
• Habits and behaviours are developed through the drive reduction cycle and use of rewards/incentives
• Criticisms of Drive Reduction Theory

  • Lacks generalizability
  • Does not account for secondary reinforcers
  • Does not explain behaviours that do not reduce drives
• Instinct


  Innate patterns and goal-directed behaviours which occur in response to certain stimuli
• Instinctive behaviours in animals

  • Dog shaking after getting wet
  • Sea turtle seeking ocean after hatching
  • Bird migrating before winter
• Instinctive behaviours in humans

  • Rooting reflex
  • Suckling reflex
  • Moro reflex
  • Babkin reflex
• William McDougall's Instinct Theory

  Instincts are composed of cognitive (perception), affective (emotion), and conative (behaviour) elements
• Instinctive behaviours identified by McDougall

  • Parental care
  • Combat
  • Curiosity
  • Food seeking
  • Repulsion
  • Escape
  • Gregariousness
  • Sympathy
  • Self-assertion
  • Submission
  • Mating
  • Appeal
  • Constructiveness
  • Laughter
  • Comfort
  • Sleep
  • Migration
• McDougall stated that striving towards a goal is the purposiveness of instinctive behaviour
• Fundamental components of behaviour

  • Cognitions
  • Behavior
  • Emotions
• Instinct Theory of Motivation


  William McDougall's theory that every behaviour consists of thoughts about goals, emotions aroused, and striving towards the goal
• Example of instinctive behaviour


  • When hungry, having thoughts about food, feeling excited/happy, and persistently striving to obtain and eat food
• Purposiveness of instinctive behaviour


  McDougall's view that instinctive behaviour is directed at a particular goal
• Example of identifying an instinct

  • Observing a monkey actively trying to play with a puzzle made of blocks indicates the instinct of curiosity
• Ways instincts can change

  1. Activated by ideas of objects, not just external objects

  2. Movements can be modified

  3. Several instincts can blend

  4. Become focused on certain objects
• Sigmund Freud's Instinct Theory of Motivation

  Belief that human behaviour is driven by two biological instincts: Eros (life instinct) and Thanatos (death/aggression instinct)
• Catharsis


  The process of releasing instinctual energy, also referred to as the cleansing of guilt
• William James' Instinct Theory of Motivation


  Saw instincts as something that remained, survived and adapted through natural selection. Provided a list of human instincts.
• Instinctive behaviour


  Occurs automatically in the appropriate conditions and without knowledge of the end or goal
• Criticisms of the Instinct Theory
• Optimal Arousal Theory of Motivation

  Environmental factors influence brain's arousal level, and we engage in actions to attain an optimal arousal level
• Optimal arousal


  The ideal arousal level that allows us to perform at our best, not too low or too high
• Arousal level is too low


  We engage in activities to increase arousal
• Arousal level is too high


  We engage in relaxation methods to decrease arousal
• Yerkes-Dodson Law


  Performance increases with arousal up to an optimal level, then declines with further increases in arousal
• Easy tasks


  Performance remains favorable as high arousal is maintained
• Difficult tasks


  Performance declines once a certain arousal level is reached
• Dopamine


  The neurotransmitter that regulates pleasure, reward, and motivation
• Dopamine levels


  Signal how valuable achieving a reward is, influencing the effort invested in a goal
• Mesolimbic Pathway


  The pathway taken by dopamine for motivation, originating in the middle of the brain
• Nucleus Accumbens


  A stop in the mesolimbic pathway where increased dopamine signals for predicting rewards
• Research on dopamine and motivation
• Drive Reduction Theory


  Explains why people get motivated to go to work in order to reduce the drive of needing money/resources