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Why study Motivation?

Why study Motivation?. The WHY of behavior. Central to Psychology. See a behavior Looting in New Orleans Why did they do that? Hungry? Taking advantage of situation? Investigate the causes for action. Investigating a crime. Example: young lady found murdered Means Opportunity

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Why study Motivation?

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  1. Why study Motivation? The WHY of behavior.

  2. Central to Psychology • See a behavior • Looting in New Orleans • Why did they do that? • Hungry? • Taking advantage of situation? • Investigate the causes for action.

  3. Investigating a crime. Example: young lady found murdered • Means • Opportunity • Motive

  4. Means • How was the murder committed? • Killed with a golf club • Blow strong enough to be lethal

  5. Opportunity • Suspect in the same location. • No alibi. • Eye witness who saw the suspect at location. • Red and white Ferrari

  6. Motive • Why? • Not just an accident • Money • Jealousy • Revenge • Secret

  7. Why is motive so important? • What do you think?

  8. Another example: • Why might a person experiment with psychoactive drugs?

  9. Possible reasons for drug use • Interest • Risk taking • Peer influence • Change of Mood • Enjoyment

  10. Intervention • How should we help them stop? • Just tell them to not to do it. • Problem with just say no? • Doesn’t deal with underlying reason • Offer alternatives • Reward for doing alternatives.

  11. Possible alternatives for drug use • Interest • Risk taking • Peer influence • Change of Mood • Enjoyment

  12. For those who become addicted • Drugs rule their lives. • Lose motivation for other activities. • Choices narrow. • Loss of family, job, home. • Yet some reach a turning point. • Decide to quit.

  13. Filling the void • Loss of addiction leaves huge void. • Must fill the void in order to feel whole. • Fellowship of others: AA, CA, GA • Spirituality • “AA not about staying sober. It’s about finding a new way to live.” • Addiction and Grace

  14. Define Motivation • Study of those processes that give behavior its energy and direction. • Energy: strength to start and complete task • Direction: purpose, aimed at achieving goal

  15. Elements • Motivation based on • Internal needs • Thoughts and emotions And • External events

  16. Organizing Motivation Motivation External events

  17. Fire fighter rescues girl • Internal motives • Needs • Thoughts • Emotions • External events

  18. Internal Needs • Biological needs: Essential to sustain life (food, water) • Psychological needs Achievement, mastery • Social needs Belonging to groups

  19. Cognitive Needs • Mental events (thoughts) • Beliefs and expectations • Ways of evaluating failures and successes • Example: Do well on first test. Good study habits or luck?

  20. Emotions • Provide the fuel for action • Emote: brings about actions • Best plans of little use unless you carry them out. • Emotional intelligence: knowing yourself and other people

  21. External events • Provide the reason for motivation • Incentives for action • Incentive are useful help direct behavior • Allow us to direct the behavior of others

  22. Training our puppy • New puppy grabs my pencil and chews it to bits. • I offer dog treat. • He drops pencil. • Puppy gets idea. • Grabs anything in reach and brings it to me. • Puppy blackmail.

  23. Measuring motivation • Often wonder if people are really motivated to complete a task. • Working hard or hardly working? • Set goals for people. • How do we know they’re working to reach those goals along the way? • Seek outward measure that we can agree upon.

  24. Three measurement categories • Behavior expressions: overtly observable • Physiological measures: polygraph • Self report: ask ‘em

  25. Seven behavior expressions of motivation Example: send kids out to clear snow • Effort: exertion big scoops? • Latency: delay before starting now or “in a little while”? • Choice: chose one thing over another shoveling or snow men?

  26. Behavior expressions (cont) • Persistence: stay with task finish job? • Probability of response: take advantage of every opportunity shovel before you even ask (WOW) • Facial expressions (pleasure or anger) • Bodily gestures (fist or high fives)

  27. Another example: exercising • Effort • Latency • Persistence • Choice • Probability of response • Facial expressions • Bodily gestures

  28. Physiological measures • Measure emotion • Polygraph • Stress response • Heart rate, sweat, respiration • Indicate an emotional response • Blood pressure • Pupil size

  29. Response of Pupil • Pupil dilates if interested in something or someone • Pupil constricts if you are not. • Lighting conditions must be constant.

  30. Self report • Use surveys to assess motivational and emotion states. • Many instruments available. • Many have not been standardized. • Not diagnostic tests • Self assessments

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