Aron Ralston – cut off own arm
while trapped in canyon (127 Hours)
•What factors may have motivated
his actions?
Motivation
AP Psych
Myers, Ch. 12
Motivation

a need or desire that
energizes and directs
behavior
Instinct
theory
Maslow’s
Hierarchy
of Needs
Drivereduction
theory
Motivation
Arousal
theory
Incentive
theory
Instinct Theory

Behaviors are motivated by
instincts



a complex behavior that is
rigidly patterned throughout a
species and is unlearned
Evolutionary theory on
motivation
Genes predispose speciestypical behavior



Rooting reflex
Fight/flight
Reproduction
Drive-Reduction Theory


physiological need  an aroused tension state (a drive) 
motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
Desire to maintain homeostasis


Constant, balanced internal state
Pushed by needs, pulled by incentives

Environmental stimuli that motivate behavior
Incentive Theory

Motivation stems from external stimuli
(incentives)



You may not be hungry, but the smell
of cupcakes from the kitchen motivates
you to eat one.
You study hard in school to get A’s,
because if you get all A’s this year, your
parents will buy you a car.
Explains why we can be motivated
to act even when there isn’t a
biological need or drive.
Arousal Theory

Too little or too much
stimulation can motivate
people to find an optimum
state of arousal



Ex: curiosity-driven
behaviors
“optimum” level varies
between individuals
Yerkes-Dodson law –
increased levels of arousal
will improve performance,
but only until the optimal
level is reached, then
performance begins to
suffer.

“optimal” level varies
between tasks and
individuals.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Prioritized pyramid of human needs that motivate behaviors


beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be
satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs
become active.
Not universal set but a basic framework for motivation
Critics
•too rigid, some behaviors are
motivated by multiple needs
•some needs can eclipse others
depending on the individual
•some needs are left out
Tier 3: Needing to Belong

Humans are social animals  need connections to other
people. Why?






Evolution
Happiness
Social acceptance
Power of relationships
Pain of ostracism
Health
Quiz Yourself

Need is to _________ as
drive is to _________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Motivation; incentive
Instinct; incentive
Thirst; basal metabolic
rate
Food; hunger
According to Maslow,
esteem needs must be
met before one is
prompted to satisfy…

a.
b.
c.
d.
Safety needs
Self-actualization needs
Belongingness needs
Physiological needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy

In groups, complete…


Worksheet – Identify the tier.
What Maslow Misses


Article excerpt
Questions
HUNGER
“Hunger is the most urgent form of poverty.”
– Alliance to End Hunger, 2002
Starving for Science

Ancel Keys (1950)


36 male volunteers
Fed half of the required
food to maintain weight for
6 months




Conservation of energy
Rapid weight loss to 25%
below starting weight
Obsession with food
Lost interest in anything that
was not food
The Physiology of Hunger

Cannon and Washburn (1912)



swallowed a balloon to measure stomach contractions
the stomach contracts when the body feels hunger pangs
Hunger can persist even without a stomach… what else
triggers hunger?
Body Chemistry and Hunger

Glucose




Blood sugar that provides the major source of energy to body tissues
Low = hunger
Monitored in the brain using signals sent from organs
Appetite hormones



Insulin – regulates glucose
Ghrelin – hunger producing
Leptin – metabolism increasing
The Brain and Hunger

Hypothalamus largely controls and monitors
hunger.
Lateral
hypothalamus
(Bring)
Lower-mid
hypothalamus
(Depress)
Stimulation
Over-eating
No eating
Damage
No eating
Over-eating
Body Chemistry and the Brain

Set point

the point at which an individual’s
“weight thermostat” is supposedly set




Predisposed by heredity (adoption
and twin studies)
Range of 10% of weight
Can be reset, but difficult (why
dieting often fails)
Basal metabolic rate

the body’s resting rate of energy
exposure


Less food intake – lower
More food intake – higher
The Psychology of Hunger


We remember our last meal and anticipate our next.
Taste preferences





Genetic and universal for sweet and salty
Conditioned
Cultural traditions
Naturally avoid unfamiliar foods (evolutionary)
Adaptive
Eating Disorders


When psychological factors take
precedence over physiological needs and
homeostatic pressures
Anorexia nervosa


An eating disorder in which a normal-weight
person (usually an adolescent female) diets
and becomes significantly (15% or more)
underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to
starve.
Bulimia nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by episodes
of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods,
followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or
excessive exercise.
Eating Disorders

Possible causes for eating disorders

Nurture






Possible childhood sexual abuse
Familial traditions of weight emphasis,
competition, and achievement
Unrealistic idea of ideal gender identities
Cultural expectations across time  poor
body images
Media – fashion, ads, toys, supermodels,
celebrities
Nature

Genetics – identical twins are more likely
than fraternal twins or siblings to share an
eating disorder
Diathesis-stress model
Behaviors are a result of both biological
(nature) factors and life experiences
(nurture).
Quiz Yourself
In an attempt to lose
some of the weight she
gained from binge eating,
Melissa uses laxatives
and exercises until she is
exhausted. Melissa most
clearly demonstrates
symptoms of…

a.
b.
c.
d.
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
A possible tumor near the
hypothalmus
Hypermetabolism

The ____________ in
the brain has been found
to be influential in the
regulation of hunger.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Pons
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Frontal lobe
Sexual Motivation
“Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place.”
-Billy Crystal
The Kinsey Reports

Alfred Kinsey (1948, 1953) – surveyed
Americans (well-educated white urbanites) on
their sexual preferences and activities




Most men and women reported having premarital
sex
Most women and virtually all men reported having
masturbated
Women who reported masturbating to orgasm
before marriage seldom had difficulties experiencing
orgasm after marriage
Enormously varied sexual behaviors
The Sexual Response Cycle

The four stages of sexual
responding (similar in males
and females)


Refractory period – a resting
period after orgasm, during which a
man cannot achieve another
orgasm.
Sexual disorder – a
problem that consistently
impairs sexual arousal or
functioning

Can be treated with
behavioral therapy or
medication
Hormones and Sexual Behavior

Estrogen


Sex hormone secreted in greater amounts by females
Testosterone



most important of the male sex hormones
Greater in males
Manufactured in the testes of males, after castration males
lose much of their sexual interest
The Psychology of Sex

Result of a desire, not a need.
External Stimuli
•Men and women can be
aroused equally  different
parts of the brain
•Repeated exposure can
desensitize sexual activities
Imagined Stimuli
•Fantasies and dreams can
arouse men and women
•Men (gay/straight) fantasize
about sex more than women
Adolescent Sexuality



Puberty and sexual maturation
Varies with culture and time
Teen pregnancy in 20th century
America  why no contraception use?





Ignorance
Guilt
Minimal communication about birth
control
Alcohol use
Mass media portrayals of unprotected sex
Adolescent Sexuality

Sexually Transmitted Infections



2/3 new infections in people under 25
Confusion/ignorance about condoms
Several predictors of teen sexual restraint:




High intelligence
Religiosity
Father presence
Participation in service learning programs
Sexual Orientation

An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own
sex (homosexual) or the other sex (heterosexual)


All cultures in all times have been predominantly heterosexual 
evolutionary?
Homosexuality





3-4% of men and 1-2% of women identify as homosexual
(anonymous self reporting)
Face cultural, societal, and political backlash  higher rates of
depression and risk of suicide
Neither willfully chosen or willfully changed
Women’s sexuality seems to be more fluid and changeable than
men’s
APA dropped homosexuality from its list of “mental illnesses” in
1973
Origins of Sexual Orientation


Not psychologically caused.
More common in some populations but unclear why 
more focus on biological factors of homosexuality

Cross-sections of the hypothalamus from homosexual
and heterosexual males and females (blind study) 
reliably larger cell cluster in heterosexual males than in
females and homosexual males

Not surprising that there are brain differences between
homosexual and heterosexual people however
questions remain… When? How?
Genes and Sexual Orientation

Evidence to suggest genetic influence on
sexual orientation




Why does homosexuality exist from an
evolutionary perspective?



Runs in families
Identical twins are more likely than fraternal
twins to share the same sexual orientation.
Sexual attraction in fruit flies has been
manipulated through gene experimentation
Genes can remain present in kin
Maternal genetics?
General consensus that NATURE not
nurture contributes to homosexuality.
Motivation at Work
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology


The application of psychological concepts and methods to
optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Personnel psychology – a subfield of I/O psychology that
focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training,
appraisal and development

Organizational psychology – a subfield of I/O psychology
that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction
and productivity and facilitates organizational change
Flow – a completely involved, focused state of
consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and
time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills.
Quiz Yourself

Which of the following is
FALSE concerning sexual
orientation?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Virtually all cultures in all
times have been
predominantly heterosexual.
The environmental factors
that influence sexual
orientation are presently
unknown.
Homosexuality rates are
higher than average among
the identical twin brothers of
homosexuals.
With the help of a therapist,
most people find it easy to
change their sexual
orientation.

Which of the following is
FALSE concerning the sexual
response cycle?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It is experienced in the same
order for men and women.
The refractory period is much
shorter in females than in
males.
The refractory period begins
at the end of the resolution
phase.
The correct order of phases
is excitement, plateau, orgasm,
and resolution.