09 Emotion and Motivation

For many Americans, the 2008 Olympics will best be remembered for the superhuman feats of swimmer Michael Phelps, who took home eight gold medals—the most ever held by an athlete in a single Games.

What are the components of emotion and motivation?

• Emotions are made up of three distinct but related parts: physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and cognitive experience.
• We are motivated by both dispositional forces (internal states and drives) and situational forces (external stimuli).

What are the dominant theories of emotion and motivation?

• Theories of emotion are the James-Lange theory (physiological response precedes cognition), Cannon-Bard theory (physiology and cognition are simultaneous), Schachter-Singer two-factor theory (perception along with physiological response produces emotion), cognitive- appraisal theory (cognitive evaluation follows physiological response to produce emotion), and Plutchik’s emotion wheel (eight primary emotions combine to form more complex emotions).
• Theories of motivation are drive-reduction theory (actions are motivated by a drive to reduce physiological need), social-learning theory (actions are motivated by the expectation of achieving goals), and central state theory (drives are created by neural systems).

How do we explain the emotions of fear, anger, and happiness?

• Fear protects us by initiating a flight-and-fight response. Controlled mostly by the amygdala, it is partially learned and partially innate.
• Anger is a universal emotion, but its expression is culturally specific.
• Happiness tends to be temporary, makes people helpful, depends on our sense of success relative to others, and does not depend on money.

How do we understand hunger, sleep, sexuality, belonging, and work?

• Hunger depends on stomach contractions, glucose levels, hypothalamic secretions of orexin, and the gustatory sense.
• Sleep protects us from predators and restores our minds and bodies.
• The levels of testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones in our bodies influence our sex drives.
• A feeling of belonging maximizes survival, and its absence resembles physical pain.
• People find intrinsically rewarding work to be most satisfying.