Psychological Needs

1. Psychological Needs

2. Pt. 1 • I need 1 volunteer, this person will be excused from taking notes today and will get a print out of the information

3. Please read the post from Wired.com and answer the following questions in your notebook, we will be discussing this later in the class period • What is sensory deprivation? • How does sensory deprivation cause hallucinations? • What sorts of things did the participants report seeing? • In your opinion is such a study ethical? Why or why not?

4. Stimulus Motives • Psychological needs motivate us to both increase and decrease stimulus • Stimulus Motives: are sensory stimulation, activity, and exploration and manipulation of the environment • Humans and animals who learn to explore and manipulate their environment are more likely to survive

5. Sensory Deprivation: is the absence of stimulation • Those who go without stimulation experience boredom, hallucinations, and irritability • People naturally seek stimulation • Exploration and manipulation are needed for both comfort with one’s environment and entertainment

6. Achievement Motivation: describes people who are driven to get ahead, to tackle challenging situations, and to meet personal standards of success • Extrinsic Rewards: something external is given for attaining a goal • Grades, money, prizes • Intrinsic Rewards: something internal is earned for attaining a goal • Pride, confidence, knowledge • Children raised in an environment where parents generously give praise and do not criticize low performance are more likely to develop achievement motivation

7. birth order correlates with achievement • In both the United States and China, first-borns do slightly better in school and on intelligence tests • A disproportionate number of National Merit scholars, Rhodes scholars, astronauts chosen for the U.S. space program, and people listed in Who’s Who have been first-borns.

8. Get into groups with classmates of the same birth order • all the 1st borns, all the middle children, all the youngest, and all the only children • Discuss the following questions based on your shared birth order • How did your position affect the way you were raised? • How would you be different in another position? • How does your position continue to affect you today?

9. Adler stated that the first-born “must share the attention of his mother and father with a rival. First-borns feel deeply the arrival of another child, and their sense of deprivation molds their whole style of life.” For them, the best time of life is before the birth of their sibling; as a result, oldest children often “are admirers of the past and pessimistic about the future.” • Middle children are raised in a world in which mother divides her attention among the siblings. These children are often challenged to match the older child’s accomplishments. “He behaves as if he were in a race, as if someone were a step or two in front and he had to hurry to get ahead of him. He is under full steam all the time.” In a very large family, each succeeding child “dethrones” the previous. • However, the youngest is never removed from the “most pampered” position. “A spoiled child can never be independent. He loses courage to succeed by his own effort.” Because the youngest has so many pace-setting models, he or she may be driven to succeed in everything, and because success in all areas is impossible, the youngest may also be prone to discouragement.

10. Pt. 2 • Please read the article Cultural Differences in Sexuality and answer the following questions • How would you feel to enter the society of Inis Beag? • How would you feel to enter the society of Mangaia? • How would you feel to enter the society of Mehinaku? For all 3 of the questions think about how your beliefs and the way you were raised would affect your level of comfort in that society

11. Cognitive Consistency: people think and behave in a way that aligns with their beliefs • Balance Theory: the need to organize one’s perceptions, opinions, and beliefs in a harmonious manner • This plays a large role in developing relationships, we are most likely to have successful relationships with people who share similar values

12. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: people are motivated to have their thoughts and attitudes be consistent with their actions • Inconsistencies cause discomfort and tension • People may often deny a difference between themselves and their partners in order to avoid dissonance

13. Affiliation: is the desire to associate with other people, to make friends and join groups • This is particularly strong during adolescence • In some cases the overwhelming need to affiliate is a sign of anxiety • The desire to affiliate can also lead people to disregard their own beliefs

14. In pairs you will write a short story about what would happen if a person from 1 of the 3 cultures were to be transplanted into 1 of the other cultures • i.e. if someone from Inis Beag suddenly appeared in Mangaia • Think about cognitive consistency and dissonance as well as the need to affiliate