Read Chapter 11.
What does it mean to be moved into action? What are the main sources of motivation? How does learning about motivation from a scientific perspective change how you view your own motivation (or lack thereof) tendencies? How has your understanding of motivation changed since reading this chapter?
From your reading, which topic(s) are most interesting to you?
What was the most surprising or memorable thing you learned about in this reading?
Provide a list of psychological terms that you used in your comment at the bottom of your post.
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Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html
Persistence
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http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/how-many-basic-skills-do-you-have
Being moved into action, or motivation to do something, is directly related to the rewards, avoidance of negative results, or good feelings that will result from that action, otherwise there won’t be motivation to do something. To be motivated means that you are willing to undergo something that may or may not be strenuous or uncomfortable, in order to achieve a benefit in the end. The main sources of motivation are hunger, sex, and affiliation or achievement. When I read that these were the primary motivators of human nature, I can honestly say that I was not at all surprised. People in general are motivated by these three things, and I think if you can think of any one thing you want out of life, you could probably motivate yourself to do it if rewarded with one of these three motivators. And, in general, I think people will strive to achieve their goals if they have enough motivation.
Learning about motivation from a scientific perspective means for me that I have a better knowledge of what motivates me. As a college student who is under constant stress (and whose ultimate reward, graduation, is at least three years away), it is hard to believe that I can be motivated to do anything at this point in the semester. But, here I am, writing a paper, so we know it’s possible. I would say that I am probably motivated to do big things by my own personal ambition. The only motivation I have for spending thousands to get an education is the promise of a better, more fulfilling job in the future. For smaller things, my primary motivation is probably food (a bad habit, most likely). For example, I’ll often make myself wait to eat dinner until I have finished a portion of my homework, because it motivates me to actually get stuff done. Hell, I’m using that method now.
My understanding of motivation has changed because now that I understand it better, I can exploit it. If I want to get something done, I can promise myself a reward after I’ve done it, and then I will assuredly finish my project. The most interesting part of this chapter for me was by far (although this whole chapter has been my favorite so far, it was very fun to read) the small section on the bodyweight set point. I, like many women, have tried to diet and never found much success. I have always attributed this to lack of motivation or willpower, but this theory makes me feel a little better about dieting failures, because it may not have been entirely my fault. I have no doubt that I’ll continue my crusade to be healthier, but at least this way I will know that there are some things that are out of my control. I am even more excited to use this to encourage my mom and brother, who are really REALLY trying to eat healthy right now and can get discouraged. Now I can encourage them!
motivation
rewards
benefit
hunger
sex
affiliation
achievement
bodyweight set point
willpower
theory
Being moved into action, or being motivated, is doing something because of your own personal motives. Motives are your personal needs and desires that direct your behaviors and the reasons that you do things. The book sites many theories as to why people feel motivated and they all play a part in guiding behavior. Instinct theory says that the inborn behavioral tendencies are what cause us to become motivated. Drive-reduction theory says that our need to maintain equilibrium in our bodies is what causes motivation. Arousal theory says that motivation comes from a need for a certain level of arousal that depends on the task. Finally, we can be either intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to do something. The difference between these is whether doing something offers a direct reward or if there are outside incentives that make us do the behavior. All of these theories offer various explanations for why people behave in the way they do and all explain certain things that we are motivated to do. This was very interesting to me because I am just beginning to understand why some people are so motivated to do things like run, become rich, have lots of sex, or to party as much as they can. In the past I’ve had a hard time understanding people who aren’t as motivated to finish their schoolwork ahead of time as I am. I now realize that perhaps those people don’t experience as much extrinsic motivation from doing schoolwork in a timely matter as I do. This really helps me to understand where my roommate and other notorious procrastinators come from.
The most interesting and surprising section to me was the section on hunger in the brain and the subsequent section on obesity. I learned that damage to the lateral hypothalamus can cause serious undereating and even starvation. On the other hand, the ventromedial region of the hypothalamus can cause serious overeating and obesity when damaged. This was very interesting to me because it shows that different parts of the brain cause feelings of hunger and feelings of fullness. This got me thinking about whether or not obesity could really be a problem in the brain. If this were true, our obesity epidemic would have to be treated completely different. However, in the next section on obesity, my question was quickly answered. The book says right up front that only about one to five percent of all cases of obesity appear to be the result of a biological abnormality that’s unrelated to just overeating. Although the book does say that sometimes obesity can be attributed to genes, it is usually just caused by overeating. This problem is still complicated, but at least we know that it’s a behavioral issue and not a biological one for the most part. I feel that more clear information on this topic should be put out to the public. Perhaps if everyone were to know the exact reasons for obesity and the rumors of biological causes were to be dispelled, then the population would be more likely to recognize what the solution needs to be.
Vocabulary: motivated, motives, instinct theory, drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, intrinsic, extrinsic, lateral hypothalamus, ventromedial region of the hypothalamus, obesity
This chapter was about the concept of being moved into action or in simpler terms to be motivated. The term motivation is, as the book states, “a condition that directs behavior usually toward a goal.” This concept combined with motives, needs or desires, leads me to conclude that the concept of being moved into action is the act of being motivated. Along those lines, there were two main areas in which people are motivated. The first area is biological motives and the second is psychological motives. Overall, motives are the sources of our motivation however; these two broad topics split into more detailed ways that people can be moved into action. The biological motives include things such as hunger or sex. The psychological motives include affiliation and achievement which satisfy a person’s belonging and loving needs from theoretical hierarchical needs.
After reading through this chapter and looking at the biological motives and psychological motives, not only on the surface but on a deeper level, I started to think about the different ways that I am motivated and how I try to go about satisfying the needs mentioned by Maslow. I discovered that there was an explanation for why I always give the upmost attention to my grades and my school work. After reflecting on this, I realized I am a lot more intrinsically motivated than I thought. For me going to college is not always about the piece of paper at the end of the journey but rather the idea of gaining the sense of competence and autonomy going forward. This chapter also gave me a look into why I want to hang out with friends and be affiliated with others.
The topic that was the most interesting to me was probably the psychological motives that I explained above. These really helped me to understand myself better and to give me an indication of why I tend to get lonely and sad when I have not been around people for a bit. Along with this the most memorable thing I learned, besides the psychological motives, would be the theory of multiple motivations which included the five needs that were described at the being of the chapter. These five needs make a lot of sense to be motivators for different behaviors. This does complicate the idea of motivation, however, as we have already seen throughout this class the body and the brain are very complex, so what is to say that motivation is not also a complex process.
One of the things that really caught my attention in the biological motives section of the chapter was the concept of chemical and brain signals being a part of your body determining that you are hungry. The book explained that the chemicals leptin, lipids, and glucose do a lot for helping the brain receive signals that your body is hungry or that it is not. Some of the chemicals I had heard of before so this portion of the chapter really sparked my interest. When the authors wrote about the different tests that they did on mice to determine what regions of the brain were used and how, this was mind blowing to me as well. We know so much about the different parts of our brains yet there is still so much to learn!
Vocabulary: motivation, motives, psychological motives, biological motives, affiliation, achievement, intrinsic motivation, autonomy
People are moved into action, or motivated, by many different factors. Not all people are motivated in the same way either. Motivation, as defined by the textbook, is "a condition that directs behavior usually toward a goal". Motivation results from a combination of several motives, or the needs and desires of an individual. The main sources of motivation are hunger, sex, affiliation, and achievement. The first two sources of motivation are biological in nature and the latter two are psychological. At some point in our lives we will all have motivation, or a lack thereof, for each of these sources. After researching motivation and how it affects people, psychologists have come up with a few theories regarding motivation. These theories include: instinct theory, drive reduction theory, arousal theory, and the incentive theory.
Taking a closer look at just one of these theories does not fully explain why someone is motivated to do something. In fact, there are numerous examples of many of these theories combining in order to drive motivation. To understand how the theories could potentially work together however, we must understand them individually first. Instinct theory states that behaviors originate from a set of behavioral blueprints or instincts. It is inborn and can be activated by particular environmental stimuli. An example of this is something such as eating. It happens as a result of feeling hungry which naturally occurs within the human brain. Drive reduction theory is motivation that originates from biological needs to maintain the body in a state of balance or equilibrium. An example of this theory is the body's response to heat such as sweating. Arousal theory states that behavior is motivated by the need to achieve optimum levels of arousal. The book provides the ever so popular example of celebrity gossip. Even though we have no connection to these famous people, we feel the need to know all about their lives and it gives us a little guilty pleasure. Incentive theory states that behavior is motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic incentives. The theory argues that there are primary and secondary incentives. An example of a primary incentive from the incentive theory is eating your favorite food even though you are not hungry. Even if you don't feel hungry for that food, you may still be motivated to eat it because it tastes good.
I was very interested in reading about the topics of eating, weight, and how motivation can affect each one. Before reading this chapter I knew about the idea of a body weight set point so that didn't come as a surprise to me. One thing that I knew about but not in its entirety was the eating disorder of bulimia. I had always thought that it was simply about purging. I never realized that it also involves inducing diarrhea and intensive exercise. Reading about how motivation impacts those with eating disorders was significant to me because I have had multiple friends struggle with these issues. It felt good reading about and trying to understand the impacts this can have on peoples' lives, especially when it hits so close to home.
Vocabulary Terms: motivation, motives, hunger, sex, affiliation, achievement, instinct theory, drive reduction theory, arousal theory, incentive theory, bulimia, body weight set point
People are moved into action, or motivated, by many different factors. Not all people are motivated in the same way either. Motivation, as defined by the textbook, is "a condition that directs behavior usually toward a goal". Motivation results from a combination of several motives, or the needs and desires of an individual. The main sources of motivation are hunger, sex, affiliation, and achievement. The first two sources of motivation are biological in nature and the latter two are psychological. At some point in our lives we will all have motivation, or a lack thereof, for each of these sources. After researching motivation and how it affects people, psychologists have come up with a few theories regarding motivation. These theories include: instinct theory, drive reduction theory, arousal theory, and the incentive theory.
Taking a closer look at just one of these theories does not fully explain why someone is motivated to do something. In fact, there are numerous examples of many of these theories combining in order to drive motivation. To understand how the theories could potentially work together however, we must understand them individually first. Instinct theory states that behaviors originate from a set of behavioral blueprints or instincts. It is inborn and can be activated by particular environmental stimuli. An example of this is something such as eating. It happens as a result of feeling hungry which naturally occurs within the human brain. Drive reduction theory is motivation that originates from biological needs to maintain the body in a state of balance or equilibrium. An example of this theory is the body's response to heat such as sweating. Arousal theory states that behavior is motivated by the need to achieve optimum levels of arousal. The book provides the ever so popular example of celebrity gossip. Even though we have no connection to these famous people, we feel the need to know all about their lives and it gives us a little guilty pleasure. Incentive theory states that behavior is motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic incentives. The theory argues that there are primary and secondary incentives. An example of a primary incentive from the incentive theory is eating your favorite food even though you are not hungry. Even if you don't feel hungry for that food, you may still be motivated to eat it because it tastes good.
I was very interested in reading about the topics of eating, weight, and how motivation can affect each one. Before reading this chapter I knew about the idea of a body weight set point so that didn't come as a surprise to me. One thing that I knew about but not in its entirety was the eating disorder of bulimia. I had always thought that it was simply about purging. I never realized that it also involves inducing diarrhea and intensive exercise. Reading about how motivation impacts those with eating disorders was significant to me because I have had multiple friends struggle with these issues. It felt good reading about and trying to understand the impacts this can have on peoples' lives, especially when it hits so close to home.
Vocabulary Terms: motivation, motives, hunger, sex, affiliation, achievement, instinct theory, drive reduction theory, arousal theory, incentive theory, bulimia, body weight set point
When you are motivated, you are moved to take action. Motives are needs or desires that direct the action the body is moved to take. Scientists haven’t been able to completely agree on what causes behaviors. Some behaviors are due to internal motives. One example of these is innate instincts, such as the motivation to be with other people and to satisfy your hunger. Another theory, the Drive-Reduction Theory, suggests that humans are motivated by a desire to maintain homeostasis, or a state of equilibrium. Our levels of arousal and satisfaction also can move us into action. Some behaviors give satisfaction simply by performing them- these have intrinsic motivation. Some behaviors, called extrinsically motivated behaviors, are caused by external motivations, also known as incentives.
Each human has a hierarchy of needs. This can be thought of as a pyramid, with basic needs towards the bottom and higher-level needs at the top. You need to satisfy your physiological needs, for example, before you can work on your safety needs. These needs also move one to take action.
Motivation can either be biological or psychological. One of the most basic biological needs is to satisfy hunger. When your body is hungry, parts of it send signals to the brain, such as the stomach. The brain also receives signals from chemicals produced in digestion of food. The hypothalamus deals with eating, and the lateral hypothalamus deals with regulation of hunger. External factors can also affect how hungry you are. You may have a motive to keep eating, even if you aren’t hungry. People have also been known to eat less when they are alone than when they are with others.
Another biological need is sex. Though sex was intended for reproductive purposes, most humans have sex with no intention of procreating, but because it satisfies their needs and gives t pleasure.
Humans are also motivated by psychological incentives. We have a basic need of affiliation, to fit in and feel accepted by other humans. We also are motivated by achievement. The self-determination theory states that we get meaning of life and our purpose from things like autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
I have a completely new understanding of motivation after reading this chapter. As I read each source for motivation, I thought of things that I try to accomplish and realized they all could be traced back to a basic biological or psychological need. When I have no motivation to do something, it’s because I am valuing some other motivation more.
I was interested most in the sections on obesity and eating disorders. I’ve always been fascinated by that, and it was interesting to find out what goes on in the brain to cause those problems. I was surprised to learn just how driven we are by basic biological needs such as hunger and sex. I realized that a lot of the things I do are driven by such seemingly basic needs.
Terms: motivation, motives, instincts, homeostasis, intrinsic motivation, extrinsically motivated, incentives, lateral hypothalamus, self-determination
To be motivated is to be encouraged to do something and to direct behavior. Motivation is what moves us into action through the use of rewards. Rewards can vary from something that is essential to our survival, something that makes us happy, or something that we want. These rewards vary depending on the theory of motivation; for the instinct and Drive reduction theories, the reward is usually biological (food, water, social interaction, ect.). With the arousal theory, we are motivated by doing what makes us happy. And the incentive theory usually involves either an internal or external incentive to keep us motivated. And finally, the hierarchy theory suggests that basic survival needs must be met before other needs.
After reading this chapter, I don’t think my motivational tendencies have changed, but now I am able to understand and recognize the factors that motivate me and the different theories of motivation that could affect me. I have noticed that I use a version of the hierarchy of needs theory when I am doing work. It may not be the exactly the same as the one in the book, but I use the basic idea to organize my priorities. I also use the Incentive theory (primarily extrinsic motivation) when I am doing homework. I usually try and give myself x minutes or pages to work and then x minutes of T.V. or solitaire or something else that I do for fun. I also use self-determination to motivate me to do well in school. Before a test, I try to make sure I can use the skills being tested on my own, and maybe even try and teach these skills to a friend to show that I truly understand the material and can use it all by myself.
The topic that interested me most was the section on the different theories of motivation. I always like reading about different theories and try to fit those theories into my everyday life to see how I react to them and to see if and different theories are better for me than others.
The most memorable part of the reading for me was the short section on social stigmas against obesity. I was specifically surprised by the study that mentioned that obese people were less likely to get a job and even that a normal weight person associating with an obese person was less likely to get a job.
Motivation
Instinct
Extrinsic motivation
Self-determination
To be moved into action is to be motivated, this is related to the rewards, avoidance of negative results, and good feelings one gets from an action. Motives are needs or desires that direct the action the body is moved on. Motivation is either biological or psychological. The main sources of motivation are hunger, sex, and affiliation or achievement. Learning about the primary motivators of human nature was interesting to me. People in general being motivated by these three things, one of these you actually have to survive off of and another just seems to be nice when a person realizes that they have reached their goal in something.
Learning about motivation from a scientific perspective brought me to a better understanding as to what seems to motivate me. I always seem to be making lists of what needs to be done whether it is something small or a rather long process. Knowing that when I finish it I can cross it off my list is a wonderful feeling for me while knowing that I one less thing to do is very satisfying. My understanding of motivation has changed a bit because I now understand and recognize the factors that motivate me and know how I can use it to my advantage, but I do not think that my motivational tendencies have changed at all.
The topic that was really surprising to me was in the psychological motives section of the chapter. This really helped me to understand better why I get lonely when I have not been around people for a bit and feel the need to have sound, like music, around me.
A memorable thing for me was reading the biological motives section with the concept of chemical and brain signals being a part of your body determining that you are hungry. I remember reading this somewhere before, but I remember that these signals can also send false signals too. I did not know about the body weight set point. Learning more about eating disorders is always something that I want to get more information on. Knowing the impact of motivation with these eating disorders is significant to me because I have friends that have these disorders and knowing more so that I can be there for them is always helpful for me. Knowing the impacts on people with these disorders lives, is very helpful especially when it hits so close to me. The different theories of motivation was also something that was memorable. I liked reading the different theories and trying to figure out if they fit into my daily life or not, and figuring how I react to them, and then see if using others theories are better than others.
Vocabulary: motivation, motive, body weight set point
Motivation comes from within. To be motivated is to have something inside of you that makes you want or need to do something. In other words you are moved into action. Motivation is understood in a combination of four ways. Instincts, which are natural born knowledges of the world around us, so we eat and drink and breathe instinctually because we need to stay alive. Drive Reduction theory says that we want to keep our environments and bodies as constant as possible so we do things to correct changes that we don’t like. Arousal theory argues that motivation comes from liking the feeling that you get from doing a certain activity and Incentive theory says that we are motivated by the rewards or outcomes of our actions. None of these four theories are perfect so we need an understanding of all of them to get a concept of why we are motivated to do things. My motivation seems to come from outcomes and arousal. The things that I am most motivated to do are the things that I feel accomplished after finishing or the things that make me feel excited and happy in the moment such as snowboarding and rock climbing. Before this chapter however, I had never thought of motivation as the driving factor for things like eating. I only associated motivation with my lack of desire to do homework or my want to practice my guitar. It never occurred to me that I was “motivated” to eat, I never put together that being hungry was a motivation.
I was very interested in reading about the arousal theory of motivation. I don’t know if I would consider myself a “thrill junky” but from the outside looking in, my activities of choice might group me with those people. I love to snowboard and skateboard, I love climbing, jumping on trampolines and slacklining, all activities that have an element of danger in them. I’ve always wanted to go skydiving and I consider myself someone who loves trying new things. So for me, reading about how different activities warrant different levels of arousal. I am obviously a person who needs high levels of arousal to not be bored so I am motivated to participate in activities that give me that rush of excitement. I don’t particularly enjoy reading for leisure or other forms of entertainment that are less exciting most likely because they don’t provide me with enough stimulation.
I will always remember how much sex is a factor of motivation. When I turned the page of my textbook and saw that the section on sex went on for almost a dozen pages, I had to laugh. I know about sex being a motivator for certain behaviors but I never could have imagined the wide range of behaviors that are motivated by sex even indirectly.
Motivation
Instincts
Drive Reduction
Arousal
Incentive
Factor
Behaviors
Motivation is what moves people to action. The main sources of motivation are hunger and sex, which are biological, and affiliation and achievement, which are psychological. These categories contain motives, or needs and desires, that must be fulfilled in order for a person to be comfortable and happy. Some of these needs, such as the need for food, fall at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Some, like the sense of achievement, fall at the top under the category of self-actualization needs. There are several theories as to how these motives are put into action. Instinct theory is the belief that we react and behave according to instincts we were born with. Drive reduction theory comes from the need to maintain bodily equilibrium. Arousal theory comes from the need to stimulate the senses. Incentive theory stems from the pursuit of a reward, and the hierarchy of needs theory states that needs lower on the pyramid must be fulfilled first. Often, when a person is motivated to do something, it is due to a combination of these theories, so no single one can be proven definitely true.
Seeing motivation placed into only a few categories and simplified down is really interesting to me. It makes me question how out of the infinite number of actions I could take in a day, it all boils down to about four categories. It makes me question why my motivation is so completely low on some days and at an all-time high on others. Lately, it’s gotten to that point in the semester where I need it to be high, but it’s been a lot of low days. I think I need to reevaluate some of my motives as far as their origin and how best to fill my needs based on the different theories and their sources.
I was really surprised by the section on gender identity and how it differs from person to person. I’ve been aware of transgender people of course, more so than ever after Caitlyn Jenner came out as trans. I’ve always thought of it as a discrepancy between a person’s self-perception and their physical body, but I never really stopped to wonder where it originated from. It was interesting to me how that shift can so easily occur in some humans but not others. I was also surprised by the little snippet on intersex people, and how they’re often surgically modified as a child to be one gender or the other, but often it’s not the gender they identify as.
Motivation, motives, incentives, psychological motives, biological motives, affiliation, achievement.
Being moved into action is in simplest terms motivation or being motivated toward action. Motivation is regularly described in the book as different states or conditions that are both biological and environmental that drive that drive and direct our behaviors. Motivation is very complex and has been theorized to come from multiple different sources. The main theories about the source of motivation of both animals and humans are Instinct, Drive-Reduction, Arousal, Incentive, and Hierarchy of Needs Theories. As the name implies, Instinct theory is a theory where motivation is derived from instincts that are inborn being activated when environmental stimuli comes along. This theory is especially relevant when it comes to newborns and the reflexes they are born with such as a grasping reflex when something is brushed against their hand. Drive-Reduction theory states that motivation originates from a need to keep the body in homeostasis or a constant state of equilibrium. The best example of this theory in action is when a person is hot they tend to sweat and drink cool water to maintain a good balance in body temperature. The next theory is Arousal theory which dictates that behavior is based on achieving optimal levels of arousal while engaged in the action. This is best described through the action of sex or quenching curiosity through gossip. Incentive theory is based on motivation through intrinsic and/or extrinsic rewards or punishments that are obtained through the action. This is shown through the everyday bodily reaction, hunger. We are intrinsically motivated to quench hunger through the consumption of food to fulfill our hunger needs. The last one is the Hierarchy of Needs theory that is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. This gives more of an order to motivation by showing that when different motives compete, survival needs come first and then as a person completes the rest of these needs, they end up eventually fulfilling the final and most high level of needs such as belonging and self-actualization. This is displayed through the basic fact that regularly if we can fulfill needs such as a roof over our heads, we don’t feel as safe, not allowing us to gain a sense of belonging or support. These scientific approaches to motivation have allowed me to realize and comprehend more of why and how I am motivated to do homework, seek friendships, and form connections with others. This especially opened my eyes to the evolutionary side of motivation.
One topic that I thought was surprising that I never knew until reading this chapter was about the causes of homosexuality. I never knew that it was caused primarily by biological factors within the womb and in the brain. I never knew that they had even found a solid cause for homosexual behavior. I also thought it was interesting to read about the general motivation behind everyday actions and how they are described. I also never knew that eating disorders and sexual dysfunction disorders had to do with motivation of any form.
Terms: eating disorders, homosexuality, motivation, self-actualization, Hierarchy of Needs, intrinsic, extrinsic, Arousal theory, Drive-Reduction theory, Instinct theory, Incentive theory, inborn
To be moved into action, or to be motivated to do something, is to work towards a goal driven by motives. Motives are the needs or desires that push you to accomplish the goal. There are several different theories that help explain motivation and what really drives people to accomplish things. More often than not, someone’s motivation is a combination of many of these theories. The instinct theory suggests that we do things because inborn behavioral tendencies are activated by stimuli in our environment. Some inborn tendencies, such as eating, are critical for our survival and the motivation to complete this task is present from birth. The drive-reduction theory suggest that motivations stems from biological needs to maintain homeostasis in the body, or a state of equilibrium. When that equilibrium is shifted, the motivation to fix it arises. Another theory of motivation is the arousal theory. This idea suggest that we are motivated to do things to keep our arousal at optimum levels. Connected to this idea is the incentive theory, suggesting that some behaviors are intrinsically motivating are some are extrinsically motivating. Intrinsic is when the desire to do something comes from the simply the satisfaction that is part of doing it. Extrinsic is when there is an outside factor motivating an action. A very large extrinsic motivator is money because of the great rewards that it can provide. Motivation is also obviously connected to brain activity and different areas of the brain. Opiates and dopamine are two very highly involved neurochemicals in the process of motivation.
Learning about motivation from a scientific perspective has been very eye opening for me. It gave me a great insight into my own motivational tendencies and why they are the way that they are. In high school, I was fairly low motivated student, but was still able to achieve high grades. This was probably because the stakes weren’t that high, and according to Yerkes-Dodson law, this enabled me to still achieve a high performance. However, that has changed since coming to college when the stakes and difficulty levels have increased dramatically. This in turn has caused my motivation to do schoolwork to rise and my motivation to do get good grades to increase as well. Reading this chapter also helped me realize that I am very extrinsically motivated, and even more so in the fact that I avoid negative results. There is very little intrinsic motivation within me, I am more motivated by outside factors such as the fear of receiving a bad grade or being fired from my job. Positive results are motivating to me, but not as much as avoiding negative results.
The most interesting topic in this chapter was the section on sexual orientation. I am a big advocate for LGBT* rights and acceptance and this was a very exciting section for me to read. It was great to see that there is scientific evidence that homosexuals don’t “choose” to be gay, but instead it is biologically based. It seems the biggest argument against rights and acceptance for the LGBT* community is that they chose to be that way and should simply change back. It was refreshing to read in a textbook that this argument is very illegitimate and false.
The most memorable thing I read in this chapter was on eating disorders. As someone who is still in recovery from an eating disorder, it was very interesting to read about how my experience is also related to motivation. Throughout my treatment I was very educated on what eating disorders are and what they symptoms are, but a more complicated topic was what causes them. Reading about a psychological standpoint on motivation behind eating disorders allowed me to learn a lot about my own condition and was very helpful.
Terms: Motivation, motive, instincts, homeostasis, Yerkes-Dodson law, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, homosexual
Motivation is the initiative that drives behavior toward a goal. In other words motivation is what makes you behave the way do in certain circumstances. Our behavior can be powered by several motives whether it is biological or psychological. There are different types of motivations and within these types different sources that act as motivation. For example, sources of biological motivation include hunger and sex while sources of psychological motivation include affiliation and achievement. Prior to reading this chapter, I didn’t know that was different types of motivation, I just figured that it was all under one roof. I understood that motivation was different for everyone but it was interesting to learn about the different theories of motivation that applied to most people. These theories attempt to explain what drives motivation in people. For instance, the instinct theory states that behavior is motivated by instincts. Instincts as defined by the text book are “inborn behavioral tendencies which are activated by stimuli in our environments”. The instinct theory covers the motives that are most basic and critical for survival (eating, drinking), however, it does not cover motives that distinguishes one person from another. This is the reason for the existence of other theories including the drive reduction theory, arousal theory, incentive theory, and the hierarchy of needs. Since every person’s motives are different one theory does not define one person but instead these theories together define a person’s motivation. Since reading this chapter my view on motivation has changed. I now understand how my motivation alters my behavior and am more aware of my behavior because of it.
This chapter focused a lot on the biological motivation of hunger and sex but not much on psychological motivation which to me was more interesting. I wish this chapter could have explained more in depth on psychological motivation since it is the aspect I most struggle in. Despite the lack of depth, I enjoyed learning about self-control within the section of achievement. Perhaps the most memorable thing I read about is the hierarchy of needs. I agree with what this hierarchy is suggesting because as humans we need to satisfy our most basic needs before we can move onto higher needs. It becomes really hard to focus on one’s elf-actualization needs while their need for food and protection is not being met.
Vocabulary: motivation, motive, instinct theory, drive reduction theory, arousal theory, incentive theory, hierarchy of needs