Motivation & Emotion: Structured Study Notes for Psychology Students

Motivation

Definition and Importance

Motivation refers to the physiological and psychological processes underlying the initiation of behaviors that direct organisms toward specific goals. It is essential for survival as it contributes to homeostasis, maintaining internal stability.

• Drive: A biological trigger indicating deprivation, prompting us to seek what is needed (e.g., hunger, thirst).

• Incentives: External stimuli that help reduce drives (e.g., water, sex).

Forms of Motives

Motives can be diverse, ranging from satisfying basic needs to seeking social connections.

• Example: Drinking when thirsty (drive reduction).

• Example: Seeking companionship when lonely (social motive).

Key Point: Behaviors are initiated to complete goal-directed actions.

Physiological Aspects of Hunger

Role of the Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus detects changes in blood glucose and acts as an on/off switch for hunger:

• Lateral hypothalamus: Initiates eating ("go" signal).

• Ventromedial hypothalamus: Stops eating ("stop" signal).

• Injury to the hypothalamus can radically alter eating behavior.

Hormonal Regulation

• Ghrelin: Increases appetite; levels drop after gastric bypass surgery.

• Leptin: Produced by fat cells, signals satiety, and reduces hunger.

• Insulin: Secreted by the pancreas, regulates satiety and food intake.

Ozempic (GLP-1 Agonist)

• Mimics/enhances GLP-1 hormone, which regulates blood sugar and appetite.

• GLP-1 receptors reduce hunger signals, leading to prolonged satiety.

• Reduces cravings by dampening the brain's response to food cues.

• Slows gastric emptying.

Food and Reward

Brain's Reward System

Fat receptors on the tongue stimulate the cingulate cortex, linking food taste and texture with reward.

• Highly palatable foods trigger dopamine release, reinforcing eating behaviors.

Eating and Cognition

Portion Control and Unit Bias

• People use portion sizes to determine when to stop eating.

• Unit bias: Tendency to assume the unit of sale or portion is the appropriate amount to consume.

Portion Sizes Over Time

Portion sizes have increased significantly, contributing to overeating.

Year	Soft Drink Size (oz)
1955	6.5
1970	12
1980	16
1990	20

Eating and the Social Context

Social Factors Influencing Eating

• Social facilitation: Eating more in the presence of others.

• Impression management: Eating less to manage others' perceptions.

• Modeling: Eating whatever others eat.

Other Social/Environmental Factors

• Culturally learned preferences and habits (e.g., comfort foods, stress-eating).

• Social norms and societal rules.

• Food-related cues (appearance, odor, effort required).

• Stress: Heightened arousal/negative emotion can lead to overeating.

Culture & Food

Philadelphia vs. Paris (Rozin et al., 2003)

• Portion sizes in Philadelphia are 25% larger than in Paris.

• Mean item sizes (e.g., candy bars) are 41% bigger in Philadelphia.

• Americans spend less time eating and are 3x more likely to be obese than the French.

Eating in Italy

• Limited take-out options; eating is a social activity.

• Social norm to stop and enjoy coffee/meals.

• Weekly markets focus on seasonal foods.

Obesity: Causes and Trends

Factors Contributing to Obesity

• Abundance of low-cost, high-fat meals.

• Habit of eating on the run.

• Rise in energy-saving devices (cars, remotes).

• Types of leisure activities (more time spent indoors).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Levels of Needs

• Physiological: Basic survival needs (food, water, air).

• Safety: Security and protection.

• Love/Belonging: Relationships and social connections.

• Esteem: Respect and self-worth.

• Self-actualization: Achieving one's potential.

Belongingness & Love Needs

The Need to Belong

• Basic human need, similar to nourishment and protection.

• Motivation to maintain warm, affectionate relationships.

• Permanence of relationships matters more than frequency of interactions.

Belonging, Loneliness & Health

• Social connectedness predicts better physical and mental health.

• Loneliness is a major risk factor, linked to hypertension, weakened immunity, and elevated stress hormones.

• Loneliness predicts life expectancy as strongly as smoking.

Technology & Belongingness

• Technology can foster global communities but may isolate people from local ties.

Love

Types of Love

• Passionate love: Physical and emotional longing, sexual desire, powerful cravings, "honeymoon stage."

• Compassionate love: Tenderness, affection, commitment, enduring partnership.

Emotions

Understanding Emotional Experiences

• Mental states or feelings associated with evaluation of experiences.

• Involves arousal, facial/body changes, brain activation, cognitive appraisals, and tendencies toward action.

• Shaped by cultural rules.

Components of Emotion

• Cognitive: Subjective conscious experience.

• Physiological: Bodily arousal.

• Behavioural: Overt expressions.

Functions of Emotions

• Prepare us for action.

• Shape future behavior (reinforcement or punishment).

• Help us interact effectively with others (signals to observers).

Labelling Emotions

• Basic emotions: happiness, anger, fear, sadness, disgust.

• Cultural differences in emotion descriptions (e.g., schadenfreude, hagaii, musu).

Emotional Expression is Innate

• Darwin: Emotional expression shaped by evolution.

• Major expressions are universal ("primary colours" of emotion).

• Child development: Social smiles, twin studies, cross-cultural similarities.

Primary Emotions (Paul Ekman)

• Pioneering work on facial expressions.

• Six basic emotions recognized worldwide: fear, anger, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise.

• Biologically hardwired, not learned.

Microexpressions

• Occur in a fraction of a second.

• May reveal concealed emotions; debated in literature.

• Faked emotional expressions are often asymmetrical.

Facial Cues to Deception

• Liar's stereotype: gaze aversion, raised eyebrows, pursed lips.

Culture & Emotions

• Cultural display rules influence how emotions are expressed (e.g., Japan vs. US).

Theories of Emotion

Overview

• Relationship between physical responses and subjective feelings.

• Bottom-up (physical sensation to appraisal) vs. top-down (appraisal to physical sensation).

James-Lange Theory

• Body reacts first, emotion follows.

• Bodily events interpreted by brain as emotional experiences.

Cannon-Bard Theory

• Body and emotion occur together, simultaneously.

• Thalamus transmits signals to amygdala and autonomic nervous system.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

• Emotions arise from physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation (labeling).

• General arousal leads to assessment, resulting in subjective feelings.

Application Example: Capilano Bridge Study

• Physical arousal (fear) can be misattributed as sexual attraction.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

• Facial muscles send messages to the brain about emotion being expressed.

• Mixed evidence for this hypothesis (Strack et al., 1988; Wagenmakers et al., 2016).

Botox & Reading Emotions

• Botox paralyzes facial muscles, impairs ability to identify emotions.

• Research: Botox-treated participants performed worse than filler group at emotion recognition.

Theory of Constructed Emotion (Lisa Feldman Barrett)

• Emotions are concepts constructed by our brains.

• Interpretation of bodily sensations depends on previous experiences and cultural context.

• Example: Two guests at a wedding may experience different emotions based on cultural background.

Additional info: These notes expand on the original slides and handwritten content, providing definitions, examples, and structured explanations suitable for exam preparation in a college-level psychology course.