Deck 8: Section 1: Motivation and Emotion

Question 1

Define motivation, and describe the three characteristics associated with motivation, providing an original example of each characteristic.

Answer 1

The answer should include the following information: (Students' examples will vary.) Motivation is defined as the biological, emotional, cognitive, or social forces that activate and direct behavior. The three basic characteristics of motivation include activation, persistence, and intensity. Activation is the initiation or production of behavior, so the students' examples might include someone making a decision to begin a project. Persistence is a continued effort or determination to achieve a goal despite obstacles, so students' examples might include someone undergoing a hardship but pressing forward to reach their goals. Intensity is the greater vigor of responding that usually accompanies motivated behavior, so students' examples here might include someone who begins to give a project their all as they get closer to reaching their goal.

Question 2

Identify the basic emotions, and compare individualistic and collectivist cultures in terms of the dimensions of emotions.

Answer 2

The answer should include the following information: The most commonly cited basic emotions are fear, disgust, surprise, happiness, anger, and sadness. These emotions are thought to be universal, biologically-determined, and the products of evolution. People in all cultures experience these basic emotions and generally agree on their subjective experience and meaning. Across cultures emotions are most commonly classified according to two dimensions: (a) the degree to which the emotion is pleasant or unpleasant, and (b) the level or activation or arousal associated with the emotion. In Japanese culture, a collectivist culture, a third category exists called interpersonal engagement. This category reflects the idea that some emotions result from your connections and interactions with other people. This is consistent with the notion that social context is a more important part of private emotional experience in collectivist cultures (Asian countries), as compared to individualistic cultures (North American, European).

Question 3

Define leptin, insulin, and neuropeptide Y, and compare the mechanisms by which they act as long-term signals to regulate body weight.

Answer 3

The answer should include the following information: Our fat cells produce leptin, a hormone that signals the hypothalamus, regulating hunger and eating behavior. When fat stores increase, blood levels of leptin also rise, resulting in brain signals to reduce food intake, which causes fat stores to reduce over time. When fat cells shrink, leptin levels in the blood decrease, and this triggers eating behavior. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a neurotransmitter that is found in the hypothalamus and other areas of the brain. NPY stimulates eating and slows metabolism, promoting weight gain. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas in direct proportion to the amount of body fat. Insulin receptors are located in the same hypothalamic areas as leptin receptors, and increased brain levels of insulin are associated with a reduction in eating and body weight.

Question 4

Provide evidence to support the idea that humans may be evolutionarily programmed to overeat when food is abundant.

Question 5

Brian was caught robbing a bank. Use at least three of the following motivational theories to explain why Brian may have robbed the bank: (a) drive theories, (b) incentive theory, (c) instinct theory, (d) arousal theory, and/or (e) humanistic theory.

Question 6

Summarize the results and implications of the study investigating the change in dopamine response elicited by a rich chocolate milkshake in women who had gained weight since the previous brain scan.

Question 7

Define glucose, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin, and compare the mechanisms by which they act as short-term signals in regulating eating behavior.

Question 8

Define homeostasis and outline the role it plays in drive theories of motivation.

Question 9

Ron is a hungry man. Today he is visiting his favorite restaurant where he plans to consume a steak dinner. Ron leads an active lifestyle. For instance, on most days Ron goes hiking in the woods for a prolonged period of time without bringing any food supplies. Describe how the following terms relate to Ron's hunger, satiety, and energy balance: leptin, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin.

Question 10

Discuss how individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in achievement motivation.

Question 11

List four factors that contribute to people becoming overweight, and generate an original example for each factor from real life.

Question 12

Rosa and Nancy are women in their mid-fifties. They have been friends since they were children. Over time, they've noticed some differences in their body weight. Rosa has a tendency to be underweight (her BMI is consistently a 17) even though she eats a normal healthy diet and exercises moderately. Nancy was normal weight for most of her early life, gained weight in her thirties, and since then has found it very difficult to modify her weight from this new, larger value. Define basal metabolic rate and set-point theory and describe how these concepts apply to the situations of Rosa and Nancy.

Question 13

Contrast competence motivation and achievement motivation, and give an original, real-life example of each.

Question 14

How do genes and environmental factors interact in the development of obesity?

Question 15

Describe Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation, and list the qualities that characterize self-actualized people.

Question 16

Describe how arousal theory accounts for motivation and the qualities that characterize people who are sensation seekers.

Question 17

Describe the role of the sympathetic nervous system, including the physiological signs of the fight-or-flight response, in the experience of intense emotions.

Question 18

Describe the relationship between dopamine receptor density and the reinforcing effects of pleasurable stimuli, such as addictive drugs. How does this phenomenon compare with the results of the PET scan study (described in the Focus on Neuroscience box), which investigated differences in the number of dopamine receptors in normal weight and obese individuals?

Question 19

Describe how classical conditioning and operant conditioning motivate eating behavior.

Question 20

Taking the evolutionary perspective, describe how emotions might help people adapt to their environment. In your answer, note how Charles Darwin viewed the functions of emotional displays in both humans and nonhuman animals.

Question 21

Describe what a polygraph measures. List some problems with using a polygraph to detect lies, and describe the reading of microexpressions as an alternate method of detecting deception

Question 22

What is anthropomorphism? What evidence suggests that elephants experience emotion?

Question 23

How does the two-factor theory differ from the cognitive appraisal theory in terms of explanation of emotion?

Question 24

Ann wants to achieve the goal of completing a marathon. Outline how she could create and use goal intentions and implementation intentions to help achieve that goal.

Question 25

Explain the James-Lange theory of emotion, and discuss four lines of evidence against this approach to explaining emotion.

Question 26

Describe the two brain pathways involved in triggering fear, how they differ, and their evolutionary significance.

Question 27

Define self-efficacy, and list some characteristics of individuals who have high and low self-efficacy. Identify different ways to strengthen your sense of self-efficacy.

Question 28

Explain the James-Lange theory of emotion, and describe three lines of evidence in support of this approach to explaining emotion.

Question 29

Lindsey is so overjoyed when her team wins the state championship that she leaps into the air and screams. Describe how the James-Lange and two-factor theories of emotion would each explain Lindsey's experience of emotion.

Question 30

Give evidence supporting the idea that facial expressions of basic emotions are innate, and explain how facial expressions are affected by cultural display rules.