Read Chapter 4
Summarize the chapter. What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter? Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now? How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation? What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
Chapter Four started by explaining the different forms of needs that every person contains; those needs are: physiological, psychological, and social. After explaining those, the chapter explained the concept of ‘Drive’, which the book states is ‘an underlying unconscious biological need’. Later on in the chapter, one of the key concepts it explained was the ‘Model of Need-Drive Behavior Sequence’, which is a cyclical pattern beginning with a satiated state and the process that an individual goes through until they get back to that stage.
I thought the most interesting part from the chapter was the paragraph explaining how cognitive controls do not feature a negative feedback system, meaning that in the example that the book gives, of someone dieting, that a person is highly vulnerable to binge eat when situational events interfere with cognitive inhibitions. The only concept from the chapter that I am a little unclear on right now is, in certain situations, where is the line drawn between the concepts of ‘Set Point’ and ‘Settling Point’, because to me they seem very similar in concept; so I suppose that I am a little unsure of the exact differences between the two.
I believe that Physiology and physiology reactions can best be explained by the ‘Model of Need-Drive Behavior Sequence’ in that if a person is in a satiated state physiologically, then that means they are not thirsty, hungry, etc. Or that their bodies are completely nourished. However, that satiated state is only short-lived, as throughout the course of a day a person gradually becomes physiologically deprived. As this happens, and as the deprivation becomes more and more severe, the need for them to replenish increases. As the need grows, it eventually becomes more motivating to be addressed than many other motivators. Once a person replenishes their body, they complete the cyclical pattern and return to a satiated state. Physiological mechanisms are determined by physiological needs, such as water, and psychological drive, such as appetite. On the other hand brain mechanisms are determined by specific brain structures, such as the hypothalamus, and by biochemical agents, such as neurotransmitters and hormones.
Summary of Chapter 4.
Chapter 4 discusses the physiological needs of thirst, hunger, and sex. There are certain things that the body needs to keep itself healthy and happy to avoid damage. Even though this chapter only discusses physiological needs, there are actually three kinds of needs: physiological, psychological, and social. Each of these contribute to the well being of the body and therefore need to be monitored. When a need is not met, the body focuses on that need and creates a drive to fix it. There is a continuous cycle of needs, drives, and homeostasis which occur. Homeostasis occurs when the body has its need filled and the negative feedback system kicks in to stop the behavior. Thirst, hunger, and sex are all controlled by the biological systems of the body as well as extraorganismic mechanisms from the environment.
The most interesting thing learned in Chapter 4.
I was really interested in the research on leptin to try and find ways to suppress appetite for obesity. The whole hunger process is amazing and I didn’t realize there were so many factors involved with satisfying the hunger need. The cold temperatures stimulating hunger, and the fact that 10% of food still remains in the stomach even though you feel starved are all beneficial to understand.
Are there concepts or ideas still unclear?
Water in the intracellular and extracellular cells, which creates osmometric or volumetric thirst, was a little out of my anatomy realm.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
The body is a fragile system and can be harmed when certain needs are not met. When these deficiencies occur, such as lack of water, the body becomes motivated to fix these deficiencies to prevent death. Therefore, motivation is created when physiological needs are not met.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms from brain mechanisms?
Let’s say I am thirsty. This thirst creates a physiological need in the body. This is what sends a signal to the brain structures to say “drink something”. The two go hand in hand most of the time, but the difference is that we can ignore our brain signals, but not the physiological needs. I can refuse to drink and make my brain cues go away (for a while), but I will never stop the physiological need and return to homeostasis until I drink something.
In chapter 4 the author talks about the physiological needs that we all possess and those include: hunger, thirst and sex. He then talks about how these needs must be addressed in order to keep our mind and body working at its most optimal efficiency. Going along with earlier information he talks about the need-drive behavior sequence that explains these needs as cyclical in manner. When we have a need for food our mind and body gets signals that tell us we need to eat. When this need is addressed our mind and body no longer have the desire to eat and therefore will not have the physiological need to eat again until our bodies run out of the needed nutrients that we receive from food. This is a never ending process that we will go through throughout our entire lifetime.
Some of the most interesting things from this chapter included: the myth of drinking eight glasses of water per day. There is no scientific evidence that follows this train of thought. This surprises me because that is all that I’ve heard since I was a young child. Another thing that I found extremely interesting was the differing models that explain male and female sex drive. For males this can be explained by using the triphasic sexual response cycle. In short this means men’s sex drive mostly comes from desire, arousal and orgasm. This is relatively simple compared to the more complex female sex drive cycle. Females’ typically follow a more relationship and intimacy-based model. To quickly sum this cycle up, I will briefly mention the different “stages” of this cycle. It begins with the need for intimacy; at this point women are seeking out and becoming open to sexual stimuli. Biological and psychological factors affect the processing of those stimuli, ultimately leading to sexual arousal and whether the desire for continued sexual arousal is appropriate or not. And if the desire to continue is present, more sexual arousal and pleasure will ultimately lead to enhanced intimacy between partners.
Physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation in a need-desire basis. Just as the model of need-drive behavior sequences states; if you are hungry-you eat, but if you are not hungry-you will have no desire to eat until your body becomes nutrient deprived and at that point you will be motivated to eat. Brain mechanisms and physiological mechanisms are similar and that they can sometimes have the same goal but the underlying difference is that brain mechanism can be ignored or tricked into thinking the need has been addressed in the short-term, whereas physiological mechanisms/needs cannot. If you are thirsty and in dire need of water your physiological mechanisms will constantly send signals that you need to drink water or your body will shut down and often times your body does begin to shut down until the need is met.
Chapter 4 is specifically about the physiological needs humans require which include thirst, hunger, and sex. However, there are three kinds of needs that need to be met in order for the human body to keep itself in an overall state of good health: physiological needs, psychological needs, and social needs. If physiological needs are left unmet, the potential for life-threatening emergencies rises.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
One thing that I found interesting was the research suggesting that the specific ‘stop system’ for the mouth was related to the number of swallows taken during drinking. It may be the number of swallows, not necessarily the amount of liquid, that makes someone stop drinking. Something else that was quite interesting was the idea that humans should drink eight glasses of water a day is not supported by scientific evidence. I remember always being told to drink at least eight glasses of water to stay healthy while I was growing up. The fact that cold temperatures stimulate hunger was also interesting. I waitressed for three years and I now I kind of understand maybe why my boss always wanted to keep the air on all the time. Also, there is little or no research supporting the idea that weight lose produces health benefits (pg 94)—I found this quite interesting. I would think that losing weight after being obese would produce health benefits, but maybe I’m reading this wrong… Another section I found interesting was the study of facial metrics. For women’s faces, neonatal features (e.g., large eyes, small nose, small chin) are most related to physical attractiveness. For men’s faces, sexual maturity features (e.g., thick eyebrows, prominent chin length) are most related to physical attractiveness.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
One concept I don’t quite understand is set points vs settling points.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
Due to the fact that the human body can be damaged, motives develop from physiological needs to avoid damage (e.g., tissue damage specifically) and to maintain our desired resources of hunger, thirst, and sex. Our bodies want us to maintain a certain level of homeostasis and if not, our body will stimulate certain physiological and brain mechanisms that will hopefully cause us to engage in behavior which will balance our bodies out again.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
From what I understand, it’s much more difficult, if not impossible, to ignore physiological needs which comes from our body stimulating certain physiological mechanisms compared to ignoring brain cues stimulated by certain brain mechanisms.
Chapter four describes the link between physiology and motivation. It essentially outlines the many ways that our bodily needs influence our behavior. In order to keep our bodies in well-working order, we must meet these physiological needs. These needs include thirst, hunger, and sex. Each of these things has a delicate balance in which we can’t have too little or too much. Thankfully, our body has a mechanism known as homeostasis which can monitor levels and help us stay on a healthy path. I have a pretty good understanding of the material after reading this chapter. There wasn’t any concept or term that I didn’t understand.
I found that facial metrics was interesting. I liked the fact that scientists are trying to figure out what is considered attractive across cultures. It is even more interesting that some of these attractive opinions are similar around the whole world. In a country where media is popping up in every available outlet, I find it somewhat satisfying that beauty ideal has already been innately defined by evolution. As opposed to some magazines trying to sell us products to look better.
This chapter gives us three examples (sex, hunger, and thirst) of physiological needs that motivate us to engage in certain behaviors. I believe these motivations can best be explained by the seven step process known as the need-drive-behavior sequence. It can easily be explained by the example of thirst. As time goes on, a person will lose water and get thirsty. They will continue to get thirstier and thirstier until they have an intensified need to engage in behavior that will decrease the “thirsty drive.” After quenching their Physiological need, the drive to drink is radically reduced. If a person drinks enough water to fulfill the need then they will be in a satisfied state known as satiation.
Physiological mechanisms seem to be directly influenced by our outside. It can be the deprivation of food, water, or some other need. These needs can hardly be ignored. Brain mechanisms, on the other hand, more directly influence by brain structures, chemistry, and internal organs. More or less, it is directly influenced by what is already in the human body. These two mechanisms do work in unison, but they are different. A person can ignore their cognitive cues (at least for a bit). No one can ignore there physiological needs (at least not very long anyways).
Since hunger, thirst, and sex are common drives among every living person, I found this chapter to be very interesting because it pertained to me and how I feel. Chapter 4 discussed where the behaviors of eating, drinking, and having sex come from; bodily organs, hormones, and the brain. In addition, needs (including physiological, psychological, and social) were discussed, as well as the idea of “drive theory” and how it applies to the behaviors we do.
First, our physiological needs are those that begin inside our bodies. For example, when we become hungry or thirsty it is because nutrients is not being received by our cells; the cells communicate with the brain and the brain releases hormones and neurotransmitters that tell us we are hungry/thirsty. Then, our psychological needs tell us we are hungry/thirsty and when we can no longer ignore the hungry feeling, we eat. Our bodies are so complex, there is no getting away from ourselves if we have not drank or eaten in 24 hours.
The most fascinating aspect of this chapter is the concept of extraorganismic mechanisms and intraorganismic mechanisms. Not only because they sound pretty awesome, but also because the fact that our environment as well as our own personal biology can affect what we do is interesting. For example, according to the book, people eat more food than usual if there are people around eating with them! What is motivating them to do this? Not only may they be hungry, and therefore are eating, but also the fact that other people are eating cues them to eat and keep eating even when they are filled. One question I have is: how do extraorganismic mechanisms influence women/men’s self-concept? If people are around other people who don’t eat the food that is sitting around, will that cause them to also not eat (even if they are hungry?)
Overall, I think I am clear on most of the material. In reference to the question about physiology and physiological reactions relating to motivation; I think I kind of covered that previously. Physiology, such as dry cells, require more fluid and send that information to the brain which moves the body to feel thirst until the person drinks water and the cells are satiated again.
Lastly, what differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms is that neurotransmitters affect certain brain structures and physiological mechanisms obtain information strait from the source (e.g. cells, stomach, etc.). There must be some combination of the two, where they work in concert, however the starting point is quite different.
Chapter four discusses the physiological needs of hunger, thirst, and sex. It describes the reaction the body and brain have when experiencing these needs and how it causes a “drive” to adjust and fix the problem, therefore satisfying the need.
This “drive” mentioned above describes how physiology and physiological reactions are related to motivation. A deprivation of any of these physiological needs (food, water, sex), will cause a reaction in the body that will drive us to cure that need. If our body’s amount of water reaches 1% less than what it should be we feel thirsty. This reaction is the body telling us that there is a problem and we then experience the motivation to fix it by getting some water.
One area that could be a little clearer to me is the discussion about how the chemicals in the body regulate our body weight. One section talked about how when we are getting above where our weight should be it sends out leptin to decrease hunger, and vice versa when it is getting below where it should be it sends ghrelin to increase hunger. This I understand, but what I am curious about is how it is so frequent that people become overweight or obese. The chapter goes on to discuss environmental factors that play a very large role in our eating habits, and that part of the chapter was really interesting. In this area, I especially liked the discussion about social eating, and how people react differently to things like depression based on if they are dieting or not. The area that I could like to be clearer is why environment can play such a larger role in our weight regulation than our bodies can. Is there a way to make it so our bodies have more control? I would love to hear about a magic drug that would increase leptin in the system.
Probably the most interesting part to me was the section on attractiveness. I’ve always found it very interesting that there are features that are considered universally attractive. Youthfulness is one of the traits that are seen as attractive pretty much across the board; this includes the wide eyes, clear skin, and a big smile. Sexual maturity is also seen through different features and is seen as attractive; these include high cheek bones or a pronounced chin on a man. Being slender is also seen at attractive because it depicts health. Although, the chapter does not talk a lot about non-western norms in regard to attractiveness; there do seem to be some differences when looking at this cross-culturally. An article I read talks about how perceptions of attractiveness are often associated with resources. The chapter states that in western countries being slim is seen as attractive; this is likely because we have a large amount of resources, and due to the access to those resources it is often more expensive to be healthy. This is not the case in many eastern or third world countries as the resources are much slimmer. Having access to resources such as food and water is more difficult, therefore in many countries being a bit bigger signifies the access to resources making those people seen as more beautiful.
While brain structures certainly do play a role in physiological mechanisms there is a difference in how these work. Brain mechanisms are specifically controlled by parts of the brain, whereas physiological needs are triggered by a need for food, water, or sex. The physiological need takes place, and then the brain assists in sending the appropriate chemicals/hormones or signals that tell the person to satisfy the need. Basically a “drive” is created when the body does not have enough of something it needs. Once the body’s need is met, negative feedback takes place and the body is satiated. Not meeting these physiological needs can lead to serious complications or even death; whereas brain mechanisms often are driven by want and liking; this is not the case for physiological needs- they have to be met.
Chapter four explains the physiological needs of thirst and hungry. It also discusses how a physiological need can lead to psychological and social needs. A need is any condition of a person that is necessary for growth, well-being, and life. If a need isn’t fulfilled, then the body and mind go through a cycle to get the body back to its desired state. Drive is a force that energizes an organism into doing behaviors that service bodily needs. Once a person has something they need to do, their drive helps them reach that goal. There’s a cycle created by Clark Hull that helps explain what organisms go through when they have needs. The cycle is as follows: 1. Satiated state 2. Physiological deprivation develops gradually 3. Prolonged physiological deprivation produces bodily need 4. Need intensifies; gives rise to psychological drive 5. Goal-directed motivated behavior occurs as an attempt to gratify drive 6. Consummatory behavior occurs 7. Drive is reduced.
There are also short-term and long-term regulations involved in taking care of needs. Another need organisms have besides eating or drinking is sex. Although hormones play an important role in sexual motivation, they aren’t the only factor. Other factors include external stimulation and cues, cognitive scripts, sexual schemas, and evolutionary presses. The main focus of the chapter is that our bodily needs greatly influence our behaviors and effect how motivated we become to fulfill physiological needs like hunger, thirst, and sex.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter is how hard the body tries to keep ourselves at a homeostatic level. It makes sense how so many people who diet end up quitting it and gaining back the weight because of all the hormones that are released when the body doesn’t receive enough nutrition from food. It also explains why most people have a certain weight that they also stay at, unless you diet/exercise a lot.
Physiological reactions relate to motivation because there are chemicals being released in our bodies constantly that effect our brain and other parts of the body that influence our behavior. When we’re hungry, several chemicals are released to tell our brain that we need to eat. There are also other chemicals being release while we eat and it also effects what we eat. Although most people don’t realize it, our physiology plays a huge role in why we do the things we do.
The difference between physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms is that when a physiological reaction takes place, it’s happening due to chemicals such as hormones and neurotransmitters. It also deals with our organs, like our stomach. Brain mechanisms involve parts of the brain such as the temporal lobe or hypothalamus. Although they each have their separate functions, they also interact with each other more than not.
Chapter four is titled Physiological Needs. It begins with describing the different types of needs. Physiological needs are met via our biological systems. Social needs are our own experience within our environment and social context. Psychological needs such as relatedness and competence are inherent in everyone. The chapter then went on to explain how needs, or drives, are met through regulatory systems. There are seven steps to reaching a satiated state: 1. Satiated state, 2. Physiological deprivation develops, 3. Prolonged physiological deprivation produces bodily need, 4. Need intensifies=drive, 5. Goal-directed motivated behavior occurs, 6. Consummatory behavior occurs, 7. Drive is reduced. Next the chapter briefly describes the following terms: Negative feedback, multiple inputs and outputs, intraorganismic mechanisms, and extraorganismic mechanisms. The way I am going to remember what negative feedback means, is that it is saying I should stop eating, and I love food, hence the negative feedback. Multiple inputs are simply the activation of a drive while the output is the behavioral response to the drive. Intraorganismic mechanisms are the regulatory systems in our bodies (brain structures, organs, endocrine systems) that control physiological needs; while extraorganismic mechanisms are environmental cues that activate, terminate, or maintain a drive. Next, food, water, and sex needs and regulation are explained. Here, we read something everyone knew, women are more complicated than men.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was about sexual scripts
Sexual scripts are our own mental representations of this step-by-step process we have that would lead to mating. Everything is included in these scripts from movements, bodily cues, dialogue, and even moods and feelings towards your partner. A women’s script is most likely going to be more emotionally complex than a man’s. I found it very interesting that sexual scripts are coordinated within couples.
Something that confused me was how the prenatal hormonal environment influences adolescent sexual orientation. There was no elaboration about what type of environment or why just adolescent sexual orientation.
The physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation because they basically regulate motivation! If we have any type of need or desire our mind and body figures out some way, any way, to satisfy it.
Physiologically mechanisms and brain mechanisms relate and work together in a plethora of ways. They are almost like nature and nurture. Physiological needs are satisfied through a seven step process through which our body sends signals to our brain for us to commit to an action to reduce the drive and return to homeostasis. The two mechanisms differ in that if my brain is telling me to eat, I do not have to eat, but I cannot force the drive, the feeling of hunger, to go away.
Chapter 4 is about the physiological (bodily) needs of food, thirst and sex. As time passes a cyclical process of (seven) need-driven-behaviors are based on intraorganismic influences. The intraorganismic influences are within the brain, endocrine system and the organs they influence the brain’s cognitive and environmental influences.
I was surprised at the complex physiological regulation of hunger and the thirst mechanisms based on intracellular and extracellular deficits which regulate motivation. Cellular deficits activate the motivational drive to the hypothalamus which releases hormones into the blood that then informs the kidney to reserve water. This causes a trigger to the frontal lobes of the brain where it is said that a motivational urge to drink becomes consciously known. That is a lot of internal unconscious physiological processing before I am aware of being thirsty.
I once heard that a woman once drank so much water in a contest that she died but reading about cell hydration triggering negative feedback that stops us from drinking ourselves to death, I have an understanding of how that happened. I do have to wonder how this individual could consciously ignore feeling so full without throwing up.
It is confusing to me how interactive and reactive the brain, endocrine system and the organs of the intraorganismic mechanisms include all biological regulating by activating, maintaining , and terminating physiological needs that turn right around and describe a biological need. I have not been able to keep it all straight but the reactionary and interactive aspects seem to overlap within various bodily systems and to know that the hunger regulation has greater complexities presents an overwhelming challenge to understand.
Summarize the chapter.
This chapter is about physiological needs. The chapter first discusses needs, and that these are only things that are essential for life, growth, and well-being. It then talks about the need structure, which includes physiological, psychological, and social needs. Physiological needs can lead to bodily harm, because they are things that are essential to humans such as nutrients and water. Slightly different than that is psychological drive, this is not a biological need. An example of this presented in the book was eating due to having an appetite rather than eating because of low blood sugar or shrunken fat cells. Homeostasis, which is important to maintaining equilibrium in the body, is the body’s tendency to maintain a stable internal state. An important part of maintaining homeostasis is negative feedback, which is the opposite of drive. If causes a behavior to stop. A drive can be motivated by different inputs and different outputs can be used to produce a satisfying result. There are also intraorganismic and extraorganismic mechanisms that affect needs. Intraorganismic mechanisms are biological systems within the person, and extraorganismic mechanisms are environmental factors. The chapter then goes into detail about thirst, hunger, and sex and why all of these are physiological needs.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
The part that was most interesting to me in this chapter was about facial metrics in the section about sex. There are three categories that are looked at for attractiveness. Neonatal features are features that are present in babies such as large eyes and a small nose. Sexual maturity features include prominent cheek bones for females and thick facial hair for men. Expressive features include a wide smile and high set eyebrows. I found it interesting that this much research goes into determining who is attractive and how they are able to study this.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
The concepts that were most unclear to me were set points and settling points.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
Physiological needs cause strong motivation. If I haven’t eaten in several days, I am going to be so motivated to eat that my other motivations will not seem to matter. Physiological reactions cause hormones to be released to increase the need for these items. We have to make sure are physiological needs are fulfilled in order to have motivation to do anything else.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
It seems like brain mechanisms are persistent but not as urgent as physiological mechanisms. Physiological needs are important for life, growth, and well-being. However, brain mechanisms seem to be more desires and wants. Also, brain mechanisms have a strong impact on emotions by releasing neurotransmitters, and physiological mechanisms do not have this.
Chapter 4 is concerned with the physiological needs of the human body. As defined by the book a need is any condition within a person that is essential and necessary for life, growth, and well-being. Other human needs include psychological needs and social needs, but this chapter exclusively deals with physiological needs for maintaining life such as thirst, hunger and sex. There are many factors that can affect our needs such as intra- and extraorganismic mechanisms. Intraorganismic mechanisms are the biological regulatory systems within the body and extraorganismic mechanisms are all of the environmental influences around us. The mechanisms that influence thirst activation, satiety and environmental factors are discussed. Similar aspects are discussed for hunger with the addition of short-term and long-term appetite, models of hunger regulation and theories of restraint and set points. The section on sex is shorter but describes why we need to have sex, reproduction, and what determines a good mate. Facial metrics is the process of how we measure someone’s face to determine whether they are attractive or not. Sexual scripts and sexual orientation are also discussed.
There were several areas within the reading that I found interesting as I thought about the material. A footnote in the hunger section reported that animals will instinctively eat food that contains nutrients that are missing or have been removed from their diet. This fascinates me on many levels when you consider this in terms of human beings and their diets. It is safe to say that there is easy access to food in the U.S. and that a large portion of the population is overweight. A reason for this is that people are eating unhealthy/fatty but good tasting food while becoming less active. It is interesting to think that somehow most peoples drive to eat good tasting fattier foods is overpowering there need to eat more nutritious foods which they are probably missing in their diet. I would like to learn more about how this physiological need for nutrients can be largely overpowered by other motivating factors for humans. I really liked the cognitively regulated eating section of this chapter. The idea that to overcome weight gain requires a certain amount of cognitive control over physiological ones, yet these cognitive controls don’t have the same negative feedback systems as the physiological system. Our physiological needs and reactions are our bodies’ way of trying to maintain our bodies at a cellular or unconscious level. When certain areas of our body are deficient or injured, this is manifested into psychological drive which in turn can motivate us to act or behave in a manner that will reduce our drive or achieve our goal.
I think that it is hard to completely separate the physiological and brain mechanisms because they are very important in the functioning of the body as a whole. Chapter 3 focused on explaining the areas of the brain that motivate us and cause us to feel emotion, and the neurotransmitters and hormones that are necessary to have these effects. It is important to know this information when we read about physiological needs that are derived from a deficiency or excess of chemicals in our body. These needs lead to our brain sending out neurotransmitters and hormones to regulate and bring our bodies back into a homeostatic state.
Chapter 4 is all about the needs and drives, it mostly focuses on 3 main points- thirst, hungry and sex. When you lose about 2% of your body’s water you start to feel thirsty and look for something to drink, when your body losses about 3% you become very thirsty. Therefore, your need is water and your drive is finding water. This part in the chapter also states that most people don’t like the taste of water, simply because is it tasteless! The taste that gets most people’s attention is sweetness, sour and bitter taste is on the low side. The bad thing about drinking sweet drinks this that people tend to over drink. Hunger is caused when glucose in the blood is low; this sends a message to the brain saying “Hey, I’m hungry!” Interesting fact about eating, those who eat alone consume less food then those who eat in groups.
In this chapter I found a lot of new and interesting things. The only bad thing was I keep reading about different things in the chapter that I forgot some of the early interesting stuff. This chapter was just full of all kinds of information and I did enjoy reading this one. In the thirst part of the chapter I didn’t know that you could loss some of your body’s water by bleeding. I also thought the studies with the animals were interesting as well. The hunger part I found to be the most interesting out of the whole chapter. I always thought that when your stomach becomes empty that’s when you started to feel hungry, not when your blood glucose is down. Also that people tend to eat more when there is a variety of food and when they’re in groups. I figured when eating alone a person would eat more (that way no one can call you out about pigging out).
This chapter was pretty clear. The one thing that was unclear to me was the set points and the settling points.
Physiological reactions are there to make sure or body is getting what it needs. It makes sure we get the food and water that or body is craving and it also makes sure we do not over drink or eat. It’s kind of like a switch, when the body needs water the swatches turns on. When the body has taken in enough water the switch turns off telling us we are full.
The physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms are similar in way. They both give out warnings that you need food or water. The brain will send out that you are thirsty. The physiological reactions sort of tell you that you are thirsty. You’re more bond to listen to the physiological reactions then you are the brain.
Chapter four focuses on the physiological needs that drive our behavior. When describing needs in humans, there are three types that affect motivation: physiological, psychological and social. When one experiences a physiological need, such as food deprivation, it is creating a biological need. This biological need and the behavior itself are separated by a step known as 'drive'. This refers to the psychological processes that respond to our physiological needs that lead to the behavior. While physiological need and psychological drive cause behavior, negative feedback elicits behavior to stop. The systems associated with this process lets the body know when it is satiated and does not need to continue with the behavior. The book gives a very helpful diagram that acts as an overview of the complex process that elicits our behavior. One example the authors use is thirst. Our bodies are made up of 2/3 water. When that number drops 2-3%, the body gets thirsty or even dehydrated. This is the physiological need. At some point while drinking, negative feedback kicks in because of satiation and we stop. Sometimes, environmental influences like taste make us drink too much, or stop the behavior entirely.
The most interesting part of the chapter for me was the section on sexual motivation. We see sex all around us and at times, it almost seems like a cultural trait rather than a biological one. Hormones in our bodies such as estrogen and testosterone drive this behavior. Along with these, unconscious drives such as facial metrics occur that elicit our sexual motivation. I was also interested in the evolutionary aspect of sex, and the different preferences that men and women have when looking or a mate. For instance, men tend to prefer a younger woman while women tend to prefer an older man. Women tend to prefer a man that has resources such as money and a steady job more than men do.
I found the concept of set and settling points a little confusing. After reading the short section, I was unclear on the theories that this concept was based around. How does this relate to negative feedback?
Much of the behavior we emit from day to day is the result of psychological drive and physiological needs. Food, water and sex are three physiological needs that our body needs in order to remain in homeostasis. Our motivation to achieve these things isn't always conscious. Our bodies need them to survive and if they are deprived of any of them, the brain mechanisms, or psychological drives are activated and we interact with our environment in order to satisfy these needs. The motivation to drink, eat or have sex is driven by physiological needs within our bodies.
While physiological and brain mechanisms work together to drive our behavior, they have different functions in doing so. Physiological needs put the body in a particular state, such as thirst or hunger. The body then reacts naturally in order to meet these needs. The brain plays a role in this by activating the psychological mechanisms that drive behavior.
Chapter 4 discusses our three basic physiological needs. Those needs are hunger, thirst, and sex. When these needs aren’t met in can cause damage to our bodies physically, mentally, and socially. People often times try to self-regulate their bodies and control their eating and drinking but this can only lead to damaging effects. Our basic needs are what drives our motives and signals our bodies to do what is healthiest for it.
The most interesting thing I learned in the chapter is about facial metrics. Every person has their own “type” but studies found that everyone looks for the same features like status(strength), happiness, and youthfulness. It also concluded that men and women both find thinness to be an attractive feature. Women are more attractive if they have large eyes, small noses, and a small chin. Men on the other hand are found to be more attractive with thick eyebrows and prominent chin length.
One topic that I found to be unclear was Set point or settling points. I think the author is trying to get across that every body has a set body weight and certain drives that it needs to maintain to be the healthiest but the wording makes this topic confusing.
Physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation because our physiological needs are the ones that drive our motivations. We have certain sexual, hunger, and thirst drives that need to be fulfilled and our bodies send us signals that intrinsically drive our every action. Self-regulation can interfere with this process and be damaging to our bodies and overall well-being.
How physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms differ are that brain mechanisms control more than just the physiological needs. It controls emotions, hunger, sex, thirst, as well as sending out signals that can lead the body to fulfill those needs. It also controls memories and every process of the body.
Chapter 4 talks about physiological needs of the human being. The book starts out talking about needs. A need is any condition within the person that is essential and necessary for life, growth, and well-being. Well-being is maintained when needs are met in a person’s life. Regulation of the needs someone has is talked about. One of the first most basic needs that is talked about is thirst. Being thirsty is a way the body is trying to tell us that we are being deprived of liquids in our body. We also have a mechanism in our body that tells us when we no longer are thirsty and need to stop drinking whatever we are drinking. The next part talked about is hunger. Hunger is also a need, like thirst. When we are hungry it is because our body is lacking certain nutrients. There are also other factors that influence hunger. It was found that when we are in social settings where there is food and where others are eating the food, we actually are more likely to eat more and longer than if we were alone. Our appetites also depend on our moods. When we are sad or depressed we will either eat less food or binge eat, depending on the individual. The same is true when we are mad or happy. The next need talked about is sex and the attraction to other people. The book talks about how there was a study done on people’s facial characteristics. In this study a group of people were individually asked to identify who they thought were attractive out of a group of people. The study found that most everyone were attracted to the same facial characteristics in the people viewed. The book also talked about what drove males and females to want to have sexual encounters with others. The studies found that males are more attracted to the looks of females and females are more attracted to a males ability to be more than just sex friends. The book also says that people who are alike tend to drift towards each other. For example if a male is in a high position in society he tends to look for females who are good looking and vice versa.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter is that people who are more alike tend to be attracted to each other. You always hear that opposites attract. In my eyes I have always picked guys who have been opposite than me, but when thinking about it they may be more like me then I thought.
Physiological and psychological reactions relate to motivation in a number of ways. The hormones that our brains produce influence what may motivate us. Gender also influences what may or may not influence us. When we don’t have enough nutrients in our body we will get the feeling of hunger or thirst.
The two are related to each other, but there is one main thing that differentiates the two from each other. We can ignore our brain mechanisms, but we can’t ignore our physiological mechanisms.
A “need” is defined as any condition within a person that is essential and necessary for life, growth, and well-being. Chapter Four mainly talked about three main physiological needs of every human being: hunger, thirst, and sex. Physiological needs are only one of three needs we each have; the other two are psychological and social.
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
The section that I found most interesting was when it talked about the differences between what men and women are attracted to. In this section, the book talked about the “waist-to-hip ratio”. This is a scale that women use when rating if a male is attractive or not. The WHR is calculated by finding the narrowest circumference of the male’s waist and dividing it by the widest circumference of his hips. The slimmer the WHR, the more attractive women will find him. I thought this was really interesting. Of course, most of this “calculating” is probably done without really thinking about it, but it’s really interesting to think about. Another thing this section talked about, was the “facial metrics”, which is the study of people’s judgments of the attractiveness of facial characteristics. This was interesting to me as well because, although many people have opinions on who is attractive and who isn’t, the book breaks down each feature (eyes, nose, etc) and explains why or why it isn’t attractive.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear about right now?
The only thing that I was a little unclear about right now, is the multiple inputs/multiple outputs thing and the intraorganismic/extraorganismic mechanisms. I understand that there are both internal and external “drives” that have an impact on our physiological needs, but this chapter didn’t seem to cover a lot about that.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
As I said before, our body has certain physiological needs that need to be met. When this does not happen, such as lack of water or food, our body is then motivated to fix these problems so we can continue living. So, our body’s physiological reaction to hunger or thirst is to eat or drink something; and it may release hormones/chemicals which tell us we are hungry or thirsty or are lacking nutrients. This is what then motivates us to eat or drink something.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (chap. 3)?
The brain mechanisms (in chapter 3) talk more about the different brain structures/functions and how they relate to motivation. Certain brain structures release hormones/chemicals which in turn motivate you to do certain things (eat, drink, etc). Physiological mechanisms relate to the three main needs every human has: hunger, thirst, and sex. If these needs are not being met, then our bodies find ways to motivate us until these needs are satisfied. This deals more with internal and external drives everyone has to make certain, basic needs.
Chapter four covers needs and drives and how we control those needs and drives. The three needs talked about are physiological, psychological, and social. These needs create motives which are also discussed. A big part of this chapter is regulation of drives. The chapter also describes thirst, hunger, and sex as motivational states and explains the underlying needs of these states. Lastly, the chapter touches on failure to self-regulate.
I found the model of hunger regulation very interesting. I have looked at certain self-regulation studies concerning eating before in Health Psych. Environmental influences of eating include availability of variety and food availability in general (large portion sizes). I t also may depend on the company you are in. People eat more in groups than alone. A study in the chapter showed this using ice-cream. The variables were number of flavors and if the person eating was alone or in a group. The results show people ate more ice-cream if they were in a group and when they were alone with 3 flavors as opposed to 1 but the people in the group who had a choice of flavors did not eat more than those in a group who had one flavor. I was surprised that plate and utensil size weren’t discussed in this section. Research has shown that when people eat off of smaller (full) plates with smaller utensils the feel more satisfied than people eating off of larger (not full) plates even though the portion sizes in the experiments was the same.
Another part of the chapter I found interesting was the section on sex. This section was interesting to me, not so much because of the information, but the wording of this section does not seem very politically correct. I understand the points but they are expressed in poor ways. At least the end of the section does acknowledge that this information is sexist. I still think the information and studies are kind of shallow because they don’t talk about the real possible underlying reason except for evolution and even that is not fully explained. I think the only reason I understood that section is because I know about it from other classes. I’m also surprised that the book only included evolutionary explanations for sex. Hunger and what we are hungry for is greatly influenced by our evolutionary background. For example, we like high fat, rich foods because we used to need them for energy to survive.
One thing I don’t understand is the comprehensive model of hunger regulation when I look at it from the figure on page 91. This is confusing and hard for me to figure out because it’s not very linear at all. It’s also kind of hard for me to grasp the concept of homeostasis. The table helps but maybe I just need a specific example or something.
Physiology and psychology are both related to motivation. Needs are physiological deficiency of something in the body and produce motivation to satisfy that need. If the need is not met, it could be dangerous and life-threatening. Drives are psychological and happen when an unconscious need becomes conscious. These also motivate and are important for survival.
This chapter is different from chapter 3 because this chapter talks about the body as opposed to the brain. They are related though. The brain has to tell the body what to do. So essentially, we are covering the same material, just at a different stage in the processes. It is necessary to study the brain to know how the signals for the physiological processes reach affect the body.
Summarize the Chapter –
Chapter 4 is about the physiological needs of the human body and the drive it produces to fulfill them. The body has three main physiological needs; thirst, hunger, sex. The body produces a biological reaction known as drive to motivate the individual to fulfill these needs. The rest of the chapter goes on to summarize the specific bodily functions associated with each physiological need.
What was the most interesting thing that I learned in this Chapter –
The most interesting thing that I learned in this chapter was the drive theory. When I think of drive I think of cognitive thought process that pushes an individual to go after their goals or desires on a daily basis. The chapter defines drive as a theoretical term used to depict the psychological discomfort stemming from the underlying and persistent biological deficit. The definitions don’t exactly match but the chapter’s definition does help to understand where drive originates from. The question that I have is would the cognitive thought process that I outlined above still be considered drive? If the goals that you have are to help you eat, drink, and have sex wouldn’t this still be considered part of drive?
Were their Ideas or Concepts you are unclear on right now?
Other than what I listed above the chapter does a good job of thoroughly explaining the ideas and concepts over the needs of thirst, hunger, and sex.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
Physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation by prioritizing your motivation. Physiology and physiological reactions make sure that eating, staying hydrated, having sex, and whatever it takes to fulfill these needs are at the top of an individual’s motivations. Everything else that a person is normally motivated to do is put aside for the physiological needs.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms?
The difference between physiological and brain mechanisms is that physiological needs can’t be ignored and you have no control of them. Brain mechanisms can be manipulated and controlled by one self and physiological mechanisms and needs cannot. It is impossible to eat and drink as till your body can’t take it anymore but convince your body you are still starving. You can however set off false warnings in your hippocampus by convincing yourself that the situation isn’t safe and secure.
Summarize the chapter.
Chapter 4 talks about physiological needs, like hunger, thirst and sex. It tells us that in order to maintain a healthy life we need to meet and maintain these needs, and we need to keep meeting them throughout our life using the psychological drive cycle. This cycle is there to ensure we don't eat or drink forever/not at all and then become unhealthy.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was the "fat thermostat" which determines the number of fat cells per person and every "fat thermostat" is different for each person.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
The book does a very good job at describing and explaining what they are talking about. However, it because hard to follow since they use several complex and unfamiliar words.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
They relate to motivation because they motivate us and constantly motivate us.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
Physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms have many things in common but they vary in the fact that you don't always have to do what your brain says. If you are hungry you can choose to ignore that but ignore it for to long and you become unhealthy. If you are looking for something to eat and your brain tells you to get a candy bar you can say not a get an apple instead so you satisfy you physiological need.
Chapter four was about physiological needs. It started talking about needs "which is a condition within a person that is essential and necessary for life, growth, and well-being." The chaper spoke of types of needs and the need structure including physiological, psychological, and social. This chapter deals with physiological the examples it lists are thirst, hunger, and sex.
Next the chapter spoke about fundamentals of regulation. It talks about physiological needs with the biological theory called drive theory. There is a process called need-drive-behavior, the sequence is physiological need, psychological drive and behavioral action.
The chapter next spoke of thirst, which arises because we as human beings are constantly losing water. We have two thrists in physiological regulation they are: osmometric thirst and volumetric thirst. Osmometric thirst is primarly what activates thirst. Thirst satiety is due to negative feedback system. The book also regards tasts as the most important environmental influence for drinking.
The second physiological need is hunger. Hunger does not follow the depletaion-repletion model as closely as water and is much more complicated. Various models are needed to understand hunger. One hypothesis to hunger is the based on glucose or blood sugar levels. The stomach remains more full after a high calorie meal than a low calorie meal.
The third physiological need is sex. Sex follows the process of cyclical physiological need to psychological drive. The book also describes that physical attractiveness is the most important external stimulus affecting sexual motivation. The universal characteristics are health, youthfulness and reproductive capacity.
The most interesting thing i read in the chapter is that cold tempatures stimulate hunger and restaurant owners that run their conditioners on full blast. I also did not know that stomach empties itself at 210 cals per hour.
The homeostatic mechanism was a little complicated including intraorganismic mechanizmz and extraorganismic as well as the negative feedback model was a little complex at first.
After reading the section on hunger I could see alot of clear connections of physiological reactions and how it relates to motivation. It was interesting reading the different models and hypothesis about hunger. Some hypothesis and models grant theories and hope for individuals who want to lose weight that it is a possibility. But other models do not such as the set-point theory which believes that we have biologically determined body weight. Therefore there would be less motivation to overweight individuals beliving in the set point theory.
Overall I thought the chapter the was extremely interesting!
Chapter 4 speaks of our physiological needs and drives. It speaks of top three drives that satisfy our needs. These include thirst, hunger, and sex. It speaks of the importance of these and also how important that these things are regulated and controlled. If these needs are not met, then there can be either mental, physical, or social repercussions. The basis of the chapter derives from Clark Hull's theory about drives and how our physiological needs work in a cyclical pattern.
The most interesting thing I had found in the chapter was about facial metrics. This is because it helps predict one's attractiveness to another. The higher the attractiveness, the higher the chances something can happen between the two. The studies conducted were also rather interesting to read as well.
Since the chapter is pretty well written with good explanations and diagrams, there is not too much I am unclear of at this point. Physiology and physiological reactions are important when it comes to speaking of motivation because both have needs that must be satisfies. When we are deprived of something, we become motivated to satisfy it (physiological deficiency). What drives us to do something though is psychological and arises when an unconscious need is made aware.
This chapter differs from chapter 3 because in the previous chapter the structures and mechanisms of the brain were discussed, and in chapter 4 physical, body reactions are talked about. Though the brain tells the body how to react, the two chapters are different because they are talking about two different structures.
Chapter four discusses motivation in terms of physiological needs. Needs are essential for survival and can be categorized in three types; physiological needs, psychological needs, and social needs. There are several processes that interact with each other to create a psychological drive which in turn create biological needs. Your body is continually attempting a state of homeostasis, a balance between the different physiological processes and needs. First your body experiences a deprivation or deficiency, this creates a biological need. The biological needs becomes intensified as time passes which finally creates a psychological drive. This psychological drive creates a motivation to initiate behaviors which satisfy this need/deprivation. Once the need is fulfilled drive decreases and your body enters a state of satiated state or an equilibrium. Negative feedback allows for the body to activate inhibitory response. This feedback realizes that the body has reached its satiated state. Psychological drive is also affected by the individual’s environment. The chapter goes on to talk about sexual drives and how sex orientation is formed.
The concepts from this chapter are easy for me to understand. It takes a couple times reading through to completely distinguish the different processes because they are all closely related. The most interesting concept of the chapter is sexual motivations. The differences found between men and women are interesting. Men’s physiological arousal is directly related the psychological desire, where women do not show the same correlation. They found that women’s vaginal lubrication is not related to their sexual desire. Women’s sexual desire is more related the status of the relationship and level of intimacy. Another part that I found to be interesting was sexual attractiveness drives sexual motivation. Sexual attractiveness is not determined by an individual’s opinion but based on specific features that are found to be attractive to most everyone. In other classes I have learned that research is finding the more symmetry of an individual’s face displays a positive correlation with level of attractiveness. It is very interesting to find that beauty is determined by science.
Physiological deprivations create biological needs which create motivation to satisfy these needs and deprivation. This satisfaction creates a homeostasis, which is ideal because this allows the body to grow and develop.
The physiological mechanisms communicate the deficiency to the brain. Brain mechanisms then interpret messages from the body and environment to make executive decisions on what needs to be done to relieve the discomfort.
Chapter four discusses motivation in terms of physiological needs. Needs are essential for survival and can be categorized in three types; physiological needs, psychological needs, and social needs. There are several processes that interact with each other to create a psychological drive which in turn create biological needs. Your body is continually attempting a state of homeostasis, a balance between the different physiological processes and needs. First your body experiences a deprivation or deficiency, this creates a biological need. The biological needs becomes intensified as time passes which finally creates a psychological drive. This psychological drive creates a motivation to initiate behaviors which satisfy this need/deprivation. Once the need is fulfilled drive decreases and your body enters a state of satiated state or an equilibrium. Negative feedback allows for the body to activate inhibitory response. This feedback realizes that the body has reached its satiated state. Psychological drive is also affected by the individual’s environment. The chapter goes on to talk about sexual drives and how sex orientation is formed.
The concepts from this chapter are easy for me to understand. It takes a couple times reading through to completely distinguish the different processes because they are all closely related. The most interesting concept of the chapter is sexual motivations. The differences found between men and women are interesting. Men’s physiological arousal is directly related the psychological desire, where women do not show the same correlation. They found that women’s vaginal lubrication is not related to their sexual desire. Women’s sexual desire is more related the status of the relationship and level of intimacy. Another part that I found to be interesting was sexual attractiveness drives sexual motivation. Sexual attractiveness is not determined by an individual’s opinion but based on specific features that are found to be attractive to most everyone. In other classes I have learned that research is finding the more symmetry of an individual’s face displays a positive correlation with level of attractiveness. It is very interesting to find that beauty is determined by science.
Physiological deprivations create biological needs which create motivation to satisfy these needs and deprivation. This satisfaction creates a homeostasis, which is ideal because this allows the body to grow and develop.
The physiological mechanisms communicate the deficiency to the brain. Brain mechanisms then interpret messages from the body and environment to make executive decisions on what needs to be done to relieve the discomfort.
Chapter 4 focuses mainly on physiological needs, however, it begins with an introduction to needs in general. Needs are the conditions that are needed in order to continue life and development and also health. If needs are not met then damage can be caused psychologically and to the body itself. Three major types of physiological needs are hunger, thirst and sex.
The reading discussed Clark Hull’s drive theory in which physiological need deficiencies give rise to psychological drives thus motivating one’s behavior to “consume” what is needed to reduce the drive. This is a cyclical pattern.
The regulatory processes for thirst, hunger and sex can be broken down into 7 parts which are physiological needs (when they are unmet can cause life-threatening emergencies), psychological drives (causes us to engage in behavior that reduces our drive), homeostasis (stable balance within the body), negative feedback (the stop system in homeostasis such as waking up when you are not tired anymore), multiple inputs and outputs (drives arise from many sources and motivate many behaviors), intraorganismic influences (biological regulatory systems within the person that activate and terminate physiological needs such as brain structures and body organs) and extraorganismic influences (environmental mechanisms that activate or terminate psychological drives).
Each of the physiological needs discussed in Chapter 4 (hunger, thirst and sex) involve their own regulatory systems. One thing that is important to note is that trying to exert conscious mental control over our physiological needs can be more harmful than helpful. It is often very hard for people to self-regulate their bodies, usually for three major reasons which are that people lack standards or have inconsistencies in their standards, they underestimate the power of motivational force that biological urges can bring when one is not experiencing them at the present moment and also people fail rot monitor what they are doing and often default to pent-up physiological needs.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was the sections on facial metrics. I have never read much on this topic and I found it interesting that men find the neonatal features (large eyes, small noses and small chin) on women the most attractive and women find men’s sexual maturity features (thick eyebrows and prominent chin length) the most attractive.
I am not really unclear on anything in the chapter, each need was discussed in length, however, I found myself mentally questioning the author about what the exact psychological and physiological consequences are if these needs are not met? What if you have this intense motivation to mate yet have no one to mate with? What if there is no food available to satisfy that need? I just wish it would have been more in depth about these topics.
Physiology and physiological reactions are related to motivation because motivation states are what initiates our specific brain structures to take action before damage to the mind and body occur if our needs are not met. Physiological needs provide motives that help us maintain homeostasis and continue growth and development during the lifespan.
Physiological mechanisms are those signal our physiological needs such as hunger, thirst or sex. Brain mechanisms are controlled by brain structures such as they hypothalamus or the amygdala and many others. If I am hungry, eventually my physiological need for food will cause my body to “need” or signal the need for food. As the need increases, my psychological drive will motivate my behavior to include consuming some type of food to satiate my hunger and thus the drive is reduced. Physiological mechanisms are stronger and difficult to ignore. Brain mechanisms can be controlled cognitively to some extent depending on how well you do at self-regulation.
In chapter four, some of the main topics are physiological impulses such as hunger, thirst, and sex. The brain and body need these things in order for a person to satiate these very human impulses. The chemicals and neurons assist in letting the brain know when one is hungry, thirsty, or in need of sex. While each person has different responses to the body's impulse to eat, drink, or have sex, everyone has these same impulses to a certain degree. This chapter overviews how needs, systems, states, and behaviors work together in order to stabilize the way our bodies regulate the way we function.
The information I found most interesting in this chapter is that of homeostasis. I knew it existed previously, but it is better understood now. Our bodies wish to maintain equilibrium, which is why the food limit and food surplus study participants experienced adverse reactions when they did what was asked of them, be it eat much more in order to gain weight or eat much less in order to lose weight. Those who were attempting to lose weight experienced grouchiness and irritability as well as intense hunger. With changing external and internal environments come changes in the body's need for food, sleep, drink, etc. The body always has to balance to account for changing environments. It is remarkable that we are so capable of maintaining equilibrium in the body without thinking about it.
In order to achieve homeostasis, we receive negative feedback from our brain. Such negative feedback includes hunger when food-deprived, drowsiness when sleep-deprived, and thirst when drink-deprived. This makes so much sense it seems redundant to put in a textbook chapter. I suppose the basics must be covered before moving on to more complex things, but this chapter just seems full of no-brainers.
One small thing I found interesting is that drive is psychological and not physiological. Drive is motivational but is not biological. It is not generated out of the body's basic needs but instead out of desires. Physiological mechanisms deal with the body's basic needs, while brain mechanisms deal with the brain's desires and wants.
Chapter four looks deeper into the ideas of hunger, thirst and sex. It looks into what drives our needs for these and how we know when our needs are not being met. First, they look at thirst. Of course, most of us know when we are thirsty but what I found interesting was this idea of thirst intoxication. I won't lie, sometimes I overdue the amount of water I drink but it's usually after exercising. what's important to understand is that we cannot immediately feel satisfied after drinking water, it will take time. But I feel most people understand this idea and do not struggle with the decision. On the other hand, many people do not drink enough water and possible drink too much alcohol or caffeinated drinks. To me, I feel young children are being exposed to way too much caffeine. It is a completely unnecessary drink for them, the last thing they need is more energy. And it has negative effects. I can say that because I had to stop drinking caffeinated drinks because I suffer bad migraines and that is one of my triggers.
Next, the chapter looks into hunger. Now this seems to be more of an issue that Americans struggle to understand. It is absolutely no secret that our generation is becoming all to in touch with obesity. And that is just a sad statement when it is completely avoidable in most cases. As with thirst, hunger takes time to feel satiation from. But the biggest idea brought up in the chapter I liked was the social aspect. Too many times, friends go out to eat and end up sitting there for much longer than needed and eating way more than necessary. I would claim to be the healthiest person by any means but I feel aware of what I eat. And what bothers me the most is the portions you get when you go out to eat. I think with portion control and a healthy social environment, obesity could at least be somewhat avoided.
Finally, the drive for sex was discussed. This was interesting because of how much it varies from males to females. Interestingly, females and males look for different things in each other. While males look for appearance because the female would ultimately give him children. The female would be more likely to look financially, so she can see if he is responsible and reliable.
A lot of what was discussed is the cues our body gives us for what it think we need. If we are thirsty and it is sending us signals telling us we are thirsty, we become inclined to search for water. Our goals for the moment have changed and sometimes it is even hard to focus on other tasks. The brain may send us the signal for what we need but our body, the physiological aspect, is what tells our brain what we need.
Chapter 4 starts out by explaining that there are three different kinds of needs: physiological, psychological, and social. The model of need-drive-behavior sequence was described. This model has a cyclical pattern that involves seven core processes: need, drive, homeostasis (equilibrium), negative feedback (stop system), multiple inputs/outputs, intraorganismic mechanisms (biological regulatory systems), and extraorganismic mechanisms (environmental influences). This chapter focuses on physiological needs and there are three main needs: thirst, hunger, and sex. Thirst is either osmometric or volumetric. It mostly comes from dehydrated cells. Hypothalamus will send hormones to tell kidneys to reserve or release more water. The most important environmental influence is taste (sweet, bitter, sour, salty). Hunger is more complicated than just the "depletion-repletion" model. It involves short-term appetite, which follows the glucostatic hypothesis; long-term energy balance, which follows the lipostatic hypothesis and deals with the set-point theory; and can also be influences by environmental factors, restraint-release situations, and cognitive factors. Sex is influenced by hormones. Males are mostly influenced by androgens or testosterone and females by estrogen. Men have a high correlation between physiological arousal and psychological desire. Men follow the triphasic sexual response cycle; it involves desire --> arousal --> orgasm --> resolution period. Women have a low correlation between arousal and desire. Their desire is highly responsive to relationship factors like emotional intimacy and follows an intimacy-based model. Facial metrics, sexual scripts/schemas, and evolutionary basis of sexual motivation are also discussed.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
The most interesting thing was that men and women follow different models. I was also interested in the section on facial metrics. I find it interesting how people perceive attractiveness. I know it is culturally influenced; however, I didn't know there were three different categories of metrics: neonatal (youthfulness/agreeableness), sexual maturity (strength/status), and expressive features (happiness/openness).
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
One of the concepts that I was unclear about was the restraint-release situations dealing with hunger needs. The description was really "wordy" so it confused me a little bit.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
Physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation because motivation triggers brain structures to release hormones to activate these physiological reactions to satisfy the needs we have.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
Physiological mechanisms stimulate needs and motivation to meet those needs. Brain mechanisms stimulate brain structures that release hormones that activate these physiological structures. Also, physiological mechanisms are easier to cognitively control than brain mechanisms.
The chapter talks about our needs. Specifically Thirst, Hunger, and Sex. It talks in great detail about each of these topics. For thirst, it discusses what causes us to be thirsty, how we know when to stop drinking, and where water goes once it enters your body. How this affects how we feel and our motivation.
Hunger is more complicated than simple thirst. Thirst is something that is a depletion/replacement need. Hunger can be divided into two parts: short term and long term. Short term operates more on the depletion/replacement need while long term is based on energy storage and overall metabolism.
The book discusses why people are attracted to each other and what causes sexual drive. It talks about facial metrics, or why people are attracted to certain facial characteristics.
Finally it talks about what happens when we don't regulate or needs.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
I thought that one of the first things that was talked about in the chapter really stuck with me. It was about our bodies having a predetermined weight and we would naturally return to that weight.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
I am still a little unclear about the setting point or the settling level.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
physiology and physiological reactions are part of the cause on why we do the things that we do. They ultimately drive all of our actions to meet our basic needs.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
physiological mechanisms are voluntary while most brain mechanisms are not. We are usually not conscious about our brain mechanisms.
The chapter talks about our needs. Specifically Thirst, Hunger, and Sex. It talks in great detail about each of these topics. For thirst, it discusses what causes us to be thirsty, how we know when to stop drinking, and where water goes once it enters your body. How this affects how we feel and our motivation.
Hunger is more complicated than simple thirst. Thirst is something that is a depletion/replacement need. Hunger can be divided into two parts: short term and long term. Short term operates more on the depletion/replacement need while long term is based on energy storage and overall metabolism.
The book discusses why people are attracted to each other and what causes sexual drive. It talks about facial metrics, or why people are attracted to certain facial characteristics.
Finally it talks about what happens when we don't regulate or needs.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?
I thought that one of the first things that was talked about in the chapter really stuck with me. It was about our bodies having a predetermined weight and we would naturally return to that weight.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?
I am still a little unclear about the setting point or the settling level.
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation?
physiology and physiological reactions are part of the cause on why we do the things that we do. They ultimately drive all of our actions to meet our basic needs.
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)?
physiological mechanisms are voluntary while most brain mechanisms are not. We are usually not conscious about our brain mechanisms.
Everybody has physiological, psychological, and social needs that must be met for the person to continue to live, grow, and have well-being. Physiological needs rise and fall with the times but can become incredibly intense attention-getters if left unattended. Deficiency needs energize a person with tension, frustration, or pain, while growth needs energize with interest and enjoyment.
The body is constantly trying to maintain homeostasis (a stable internal state) and is quite good at it. Needs arise as physiological conditions become deficient. Further deprivation sparks drive (the psychological motivational agent), which leads a person to action that will satisfy the physiological need. As this action occurs, the body produces negative feedback that tells the person, “Stop. I’m satiated.” Each drive can be activated by many different sources (inputs), and there are many different actions and behaviors (outputs) that could work to satisfy the drive.
Physiological needs and psychological drives are influenced by extraorganismic mechanisms (environmental influences including cognitive, environmental, social, and cultural) and intraorganismic mechanisms (biological regulation system including brain structures, bodily organs, and the endocrine system).
When the body is lacking water people become thirsty so that they will drink. Intracellular dehydration is more strongly linked with thirst than extracellular dehydration. People stop drinking due to negative feedback cues provided by the mouth, stomach, cells, kidneys, hypothalamus, and hormones. Water availability, drinking schedules, additives like caffeine and alcohol, and most importantly, taste, all are extraorganismic mechanisms that influence thirst and subsequent behavior.
Hunger has many influences. Physiologically, short-term hunger is related to hormones released according to blood glucose levels, the stomach, liver, and other organs, and processed largely by the lateral (hungry) and ventromedial (satiated) hypothalamus. Amount of fat tissue and number of fat cells are both related to long-term hunger. Environment strongly influences eating behavior, including social and situational pressures, stress, schedule, food availability, smell, and variety of nutrients. Many Americans are obese, and traditional (cognitively regulated) dieting usually loses the competition with the body due to the body’s strong regulatory and preservation systems.
I find it interesting that animals develop a resistance to leptin, the hormone that signals satiety. In addition to this making leptin therapy an ineffective treatment for obesity, it also signals that obese people may have an even more difficult time managing their weight than healthy people. As obese people have chronically overeaten in the past, their bodies would have produced a lot of leptin. If their bodies build up a resistance, obese people may not get the feeling, “Stop. I’m full,” from their bodies. The idea of a set point makes sense to me, but settling points were a little unclear.
The body (physiology) constantly sends signals in the form of hormones to the brain about what it needs. The brain mechanisms take the information they received from the physiological mechanisms and create a drive or motivation towards physiological reactions that will satisfy these needs.
Chapter 4 outlines physiological needs of thirst, hunger, and sex. It also covers the fundamentals of regulation. A need is any condition within the person that is essential and necessary for life, growth, and well-being. Motives arise from physiological needs to avoid tissue damage and to maintain bodily resources. Physiological needs involve biological systems such as neural brain circuits, hormones, and bodily organs. “Drive” is a theoretical term used to depict the psychological discomfort (felt tension and restlessness) stemming from the underlying and persistent biological deficit. Drive energizes the animal into action and directs that activity toward those particular behaviors that are capable of servicing (satisfying) bodily needs. The rise and fall of psychological drive involves seven core processes: need, drive, homeostasis, negative feedback, multiple inputs/multiple outputs, intraorganismic mechanisms and extraorganismic mechansims. Thirst is a strong need because without water replenishment, we would die in two days. There are two types of thirst: osmometric thirst is caused by cellular dehydration and volumetric thirst occurs when extracellular fluid needs replenishment which decreases plasma volume. In contrast to thirst, hunger only loosely follows a “deletion-repletion” model. Two models of hunger are a short-term appetite model based on available energy (blood glucose) and the long-term energy balance model based on stored energy (fat mass). Sexual motivation rises and falls for many reasons based on hormones, external stimulation, facial metrics, cognitive scripts, sexual schemas, and evolutionary presses. Sexual motivations in the male are fairly straight forward (desire-arousal-orgasm) while motivation in women is more complex and revolves around emotional intimacy needs. The most interesting thing to me in this chapter is how one area of the brain or hormone may be responsible for activating a behavior while a completely different mechanism of negative feedback stops it. The most unclear part in this chapter is the mention of a lot of brain centers and hormones without any background info. It would have been nice if this book showed more pictures of the brain and where these specific parts are located. Neglecting physiological needs would lead to bodily harm, so our bodies and brains create a psychological drive that energizes and directs our behavior. For example our low blood sugar may create a drive that causes us to actively seek out food to reduce our hunger. I had a hard time separating the concepts of physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms. They are very closely related. A physiological need can activate a brain mechanism that monitors levels and creates a drive. Chapter 3 dealt more with an environmental event starting a biochemical agent that involved a brain structure and aroused motivation. Chapter 4 dealt more with physiological needs that can’t necessarily be controlled by our conscious brain. When mental states regulate physiological needs, self- regulation occurs. But when biological urges overwhelm mental control, self-regulation failure occurs. Both create a drive and end in motivation.
Chapter 4 explains in the first place what are the physiological needs,as they are important in our lives, its mechanism of regulation and how they arise and disappear. Also we hear of hunger-satiety mechanism and the keys to sexual motivation.
I find it interesting that part of the sexual motivation,for example when people do not know what topic speak they always end up talking about people more attractive.But , is there any scientific relationship that tells us who the most attractive? This chapter tells of the facial metric and how certain facial features universals are the key to the differentiation between a person ugly and a other pretty .
For me they are interesting as there are studies that show facial features that prove that certain facial features are attractive or not anywhere in the world.
Chapter 4 explains in the first place what are the physiological needs,as they are important in our lives, its mechanism of regulation and how they arise and disappear. Also we hear of hunger-satiety mechanism and the keys to sexual motivation.
I find it interesting that part of the sexual motivation,for example when people do not know what topic speak they always end up talking about people more attractive.But , is there any scientific relationship that tells us who the most attractive? This chapter tells of the facial metric and how certain facial features universals are the key to the differentiation between a person ugly and a other pretty .
For me they are interesting as there are studies that show facial features that prove that certain facial features are attractive or not anywhere in the world.
Summarize the chapter.
Multiple variables come into play when dealing with physiological motivatiors such as enviroment and multiple internal triggers such as hormones. People chose mates for various reasons depending on their sex females pick more for social status and financial security and men go for age and attractiveness which makes sense in a bioogical perspective. certain facial features are percived universally to mean certian things and WHR play a role in physical appearnce too.
What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter? I thought it was really interesting about how people overdrink when water is sweet , underdrink when it is bitter and drink when is phusiologically needed when it is tasteless.
Were their concepts or ideas you are unclear on right now?not any right now
How does physiology and physiological reactions relate to motivation? you cant concentrate on intrinsic motivations like learing how to play a guitar when you are extremly thirsty because physiological motivators tend to override many psychological ones Like when it comes to dieting
What differentiates physiological mechanisms and brain mechanisms (from chapter 3)? Brain mechanisms create more of a unconcious motivator maybe something like an unconcious motivatior while physiologcal ones are evident you know when you are thisty and when you are hungry etc..
April 5 freebie