class 19. motivation and emotion what’s the difference? confusing because they usually occur...

CLASS 19

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

What’s the difference?

Confusing because they usually occur together

Emotion the subjective experience of a physiological

reaction to a stimulus e.g. anxiety, excitement, disgust, love

Motivation: activates a goal-directed behavior hunger, thirst, sex, escape, money, power not necessarily conscious

Q: Function of motivation ? A: For survival:

Organisms need to initiate adaptive behaviors

Forces to push them in right direction cars & computers can’t do it

VARIETIES OF MOTIVATION

How many and what is their origin?

Freud – just two Learning theory – reward & punishment Humanistic theory not clear – except

Maslow Instincts – too many with no organization

DARWIN’S EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

•Organizes and explains motivation

•Motivations maximize reproduction of the species

Mechanism of evolution

Sexual reproduction variation Environmental pressures and mate-

competition

Some survive Namely, those who suit new circumstances

Floods Famine War

Creates Diverse Species

Many niches in ecosystem

Each niche selects for different traits

Yields great diversity between species

It all happens automatically

Evolutionary Psychology

Not just physical differences are selected

Also behavior and thinking

Our species shows specific psychological tendencies

E.g., specific fears and desires

Who survived?

The fittest ?–not strength or speed but intelligence

The best reproducers ? Must show cross-sex attraction

Effective reproducers Must also enjoy nurturance Adaptive qualities depend on gender

Individual Differences

Not emphasized in evolutionary theory 3 possibilities

1. Natural variation around ideal mean ?

2. Mutations ?

3. Polymorphisms ?

Gender differences

Predictable from evolutionary theory because males and females have different reproductive agendas

Most sex differences are small Except with regard to:

physical aggression reproductive preferences

Those show large differences

Different species? Different planets?

Clark & Hatfield (1989)

Students approached by opposite-sex stranger

1. Date ? yes = 50% of males

50% of females

2. Have sex ?yes = 75% of males

0% of females

Let me count the ways

Casual sex vs. commitment

Sex vs. relationship focus

Entertainment choice

Interest in nurturance

Which theory ?

EP predicts all these differences should occur in every human society

Other theories do not