Chapter 7Managing MotivesManaging Motives

and Emotionsand Emotions

Definitions

Motivation--Motivation--A general term referring to

the forces that energize and direct our efforts

toward meaningful goals.

Definitions cont’d

Needs--Needs--Tension states that arouse

us to seek gratification.

Motives--Motives--Goal-directed activities that energize and direct

behavior.

Emotions--Emotions--Complex states of awareness, including bodily

changes, subjective experiences, outward expressions of our experiences, and

behavioral reactions to events.

Definitions cont’d

Chapter OverviewChapter Overview

Understanding EmotionsWhat Are Emotions?Experiencing EmotionsExpressing EmotionsManaging EmotionsSpecial Emotions

Understanding Motivation•Understanding Your Needs•Differences Between You and Others•Everyone’s Basic Needs•Psychosocial Motives•Personal Motivation

Managing Managing MotivesMotives

and and EmotionsEmotions

Chapter SummaryChapter Summary

Understanding Motivation• Understanding Your Needs• Differences Between You and

Others• Everyone’s Basic Needs• Psychosocial Motives• Personal Motives

CHAPTER SUMMARYCHAPTER SUMMARY CONT’D

• What Are Emotions?• Experiencing Emotions• Expressing Emotions• Managing Emotions• Special Emotions

Understanding YourUnderstanding YourNeedsNeeds

Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsMaslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological Needs – food, water, and fresh air

Safety Needs – money, nurturance, and security

Belonging Needs – love,

acceptance, and affection

Esteem Needs – respect, competence, and success

Self-actualizing

needs – maximizing

one’s potential

Differences Between YouDifferences Between Youand Othersand Others

• Maslow’s hierarchy is general.

• …consider your individual personal hierarchy of needs which is affected by…

• birth order

• Motive targets--Motive targets--the people towards whom our attention or motives are directed.

• age

• culture

Everyone’s Basic NeedsEveryone’s Basic Needs• Such needs have a physiological basis.

• But they can be shaped by learning.

• One important learned influence is culture.

• Examples of basic needs include hunger, thirst, and sleep.

• Everyone is thought to have the same basic needs.

Psychosocial MotivesPsychosocial Motives

• These needs are related to our sense of psychological well-being.

• They are less related to survival than are physiological or basic needs.

• Some psychosocial needs are unlearned (e.g. the need for stimulation).

Other psychosocial needs are learned, for example, achievement motivationachievement motivation – the desire to accomplish

or master something difficult or challenging as independently and successfully as possible.

Psychosocial Motives Psychosocial Motives cont’dcont’d

Another psychosocial motive is sensation-seekingsensation-seeking – our tendency to seek out stimulating and novel experiences.

There are wide individual differences in this motive.

Personal MotivationPersonal MotivationThere are several types of personal goals:There are several types of personal goals:• Long-range – goals related to the kind of life you

want to live.• Medium range – goals that cover the next five

years or so.• Short-range – goals set for the next month or so.• Mini-goals – goals set for anywhere from one day

to a month.• Micro-goals – goals that cover the next few

minutes or hours.

Tips for Setting Personal Goals:•The shorter the time span covered, the more control you have over your goals.

•Setting only grandiose goals can lead to little progress and much disappointment.

•Setting realistic but desirable goals is better.•Once you have achieved a goal, set a new goal.

Personal MotivationPersonal Motivation

Understanding EmotionsUnderstanding Emotions

What are emotions?What are emotions?Emotion--A complex state of awareness, including bodily changes, subjective experiences, outward expressions of our experiences, and reactions to

events.

More specificallyMore specifically::• Physiological arousal (bodily

changes): The brain, nervous system, and hormones are involved in emotions.

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• Subjective experiences or feelings: We are aware of our feelings of pleasure or displeasure and liking and disliking.

• Cognitive processes: Memories, expectations, appraisals.

• (Behavioral) reactions: We typically react to emotions by expressing them or by acting on them (e.g., yelling when we are angry).

Experiencing EmotionsExperiencing Emotions

• We often have difficulty identifying others’ as well as our own emotions.

• Why?Why? Because our emotions are frequently in a state of flux.

• Another reason is that we have difficulty finding the right words to express our emotions.

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Models of EmotionsModels of Emotions

• Plutchik’s (2001) model suggests eight primary emotions – joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation.

• Another model (Trierweiler, Eld, & Lischetzke, 2002) implies there are two dimensions to all emotions– Pleasant Unpleasant– Aroused Unaroused

•There is a dispute in psychology about There is a dispute in psychology about how many primary emotions exist and how many primary emotions exist and whether they are found across all cultures.whether they are found across all cultures.

Expressing EmotionsExpressing Emotions• There are individual

differences in emotional expressiveness and in the ability to interpret others’ emotions.

• Age, culture, and gender all play a role in creating these differences.

• Some individuals try to mislead us about their emotions.

Expressing EmotionsExpressing Emotions cont’d

• One way to “read” a face and thus foil a deceiver is via microexpressions--fleeting facial expressions.

• Body postures sometimes “leak” the true emotions of an individual, too. This is known as body leakage.

Managing EmotionsManaging Emotions

One means to ensure accurate communication about your emotions is to use “I messages.”

“I messages” include:• A nonjudgmental description of the other person’s

behavior• A statement about the behavior’s concrete effects

on you• An expression of your feelings about the behavior• A declaration about what you would prefer the

person to do instead

Special EmotionsSpecial Emotions

AnxietyAnxiety• Anxiety serves as an emotional alarm that

warns us of threat or danger.• Test anxiety is common among college

students.• Anxiety appears to have a curvilinear

effect on performance...

Relationship Between Arousal Relationship Between Arousal (Anxiety) and Performance(Anxiety) and Performance

Anger (and hostility)Anger (and hostility)

• Anger involves feelings of displeasure or resentment over mistreatment.

• Scientists have researched whether venting anger or holding it in is better. Most researchers suggest that holding it in is best.

Type A -- The Hostility-Prone Type A -- The Hostility-Prone PersonalityPersonality

• Type AType A individuals are especially prone to hostility as well as competitiveness, impatience, and time-urgency.

• Type As are vintage “workaholics.”• Their hostility makes them prone to heart

attacks.• Type B individuals, on the other hand, are

more easy-going.

Anger ManagementAnger Management

• Parents can teach children anger management.

• Children who are securely attached to their parents are less likely to exhibit anger and aggression.

Limiting exposure to violent media, such as TV, can go a long way toward decreasing violence and aggression in adults and children.

•Research demonstrates that school bullies are depressed, angry; they turn their anger on their victims.

•Physical punishment of bullies and other angry children does NOT reduce anger or violence.

•Physical punishment might worsen children’s aggressive behavior.

The Special Case of School BulliesThe Special Case of School Bullies

JealousyJealousy

A complex emotion that occurs when we fear losing a close relationship with another person or have lost it

already.• … apt to occur in sexual or romantic relationships.Individuals most likely to experience jealousy:

– have low self-esteem– are characterized by high anxiety– hold a negative world view– report low levels of life satisfaction– perceive little personal control over their lives– possess greater sensitivity to threatening social

stimuli

HappinessHappiness• Happiness is related to subjective well-being

(SWB).• SWB includes a preponderance of positive

thoughts and feelings about one’s life.• Happy people possess high self-esteem, a

sense of personal control, and optimism as well as exhibit extroversion

• Both men and women report equal opportunities for happiness.

• Race does NOT predict happiness.• Wealth and happiness are only modestly

correlated.