Deck 8: Section 1: Emotion and Motivation

Question 1

On your drive home from school one evening, you are stopped at a light. You see in your rearview mirror a car approaching at an alarming rate of speed. Realizing that the car is likely to run into you full force, you experience a number of reactions, both physiological and emotional. Briefly discuss the classic theories of emotion (Cannon-Bard theory, James-Lange theory, two-factor theory) as they relate to this situation.

Answer 1

The answer should indicate that according to the James-Lange theory of emotion, you experience a physiological response (heart pounding in your chest, increased respirations); then you experience the emotion of fear (or terror). More specifically, the stimulus (car behind you) leads to a specific physiological response resulting in the emotion (fear). The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, however, suggests that you see the car approaching quickly (stimulus); then you experience a physiological response and the emotion of fear simultaneously. More specifically, the stimulus (the car behind you) leads to you simultaneously experiencing the physiological response and the emotion, fear. The two-factor theory suggest that you see the car approaching, and you experience a general physiological response that your brain interprets in context to produce the emotion of fear. More specifically, the stimulus (the car behind you) creates general physiological arousal which leads to the experience of fear.

Question 2

List three eating-related problems and briefly describe each. Include gender patterns as appropriate.

Answer 2

The answer should provide the following information: (1) Anorexia nervosa: characterized by an intense fear of being fat, a severe restriction of food intake, and a distorted body image. More women than men 15-19 years old suffer from this disorder; (2) Bulimia nervosa: characterized by binge eating followed by purging. Individuals with this disorder eat large amounts of food at one time and then take laxatives or induce vomiting. They are caught in a cycle: Eating provides comfort for negative emotions, but worry about weight gain makes them feel more negative emotions, such as guilt, leading them to purge; (3) Obesity is the most pervasive eating-related problem in America; overeating is usually the main cause. Obese people have lower self-esteem and lower quality of life than others. They eat to reduce negative emotions (sadness), and they eat out of habit; they may not remember when or how much they ate last.

Question 3

You are a third-grade teacher, and you would like to encourage the children in your class to enjoy reading. Suggest ways that you might use extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to their maximal advantage. Compare the pros and cons of each.

Answer 3

The answer should indicate that extrinsic motivation arranges rewards to reinforce a particular behavior (e.g., reading). For example, you might provide students with gold stars on a reading chart every time they bring back a book they've completed. Perhaps these stars can be exchanged for even bigger rewards once enough stars are accumulated. The danger, of course, is that they may come to resent reading when they are not rewarded for it. However, you can argue that once the children are competent readers, the sheer pleasure of reading will take over and provide the intrinsic motivation they need to continue. Intrinsic motivation is a motivation to take actions that are rewarding in themselves. As a teacher, you might choose books for the children that are about topics they already like; for example, the child who loves horses will be much more interested in reading if the chosen book is a story about a horse. In general, extrinsic motivation is useful to employ when you want to establish a behavior or increase a low-probability behavior. If the children are rarely reading, extrinsic rewards will get them to do so and hopefully foster contact with the intrinsic rewards of reading. Relying solely on intrinsic rewards at this early stage will not work because students simply are not contacting them or have not yet learned to appreciate them. If behavior is already being maintained by intrinsic rewards, it would be counterproductive to try to increase extrinsic motivation for that behavior. Paying avid readers to read will actually decrease the enjoyment associated with reading.

Question 4

Explain Masters and Johnson's research program on the human sexual response cycle. Discuss their findings, noting gender similarities and differences.

Question 5

Describe hormonal factors underlying motivation for sex in adult humans. Briefly summarize gender differences in motivation for sex, and discuss an evolutionary reason that human females differ from other mammals with respect to sexual motivation.

Question 6

A friend has broken up with his girlfriend of two years and is feeling down. How could emotion regulation help him? What are two behavioral and two cognitive strategies he might use to improve his emotional state? What is reappraisal, and how might it work to your friend's advantage?

Question 7

Describe the functions of emotion and how the inability to experience emotion impairs these functions. Describe the hedonic principle of motivation. How might this principle explain the fact that people often subject themselves to painful medical procedures, and forego pleasurable activities for less pleasurable ones?

Question 8

Using the terms homeostasis and drive, describe how motivation historically has been interpreted as analogous to a thermostat.

Question 9

An actress is filming a scene in which her husband is killed in front of her and she has to express emotions of uncontrollable grief. For a few hours after filming the scene, the actress feels sad. Explain why facial feedback might contribute to her feelings of sadness.

Question 10

Briefly sketch Maslow's hierarchy of needs in pyramid form and explain his theory. Which needs are strongest? Which are weakest? Give at least two examples that illustrate this.

Question 11

Your criminal justice class is holding a discussion on the effectiveness of polygraphs vs. human lie detection. Which method, if either, do you favor? Give pros and cons for each. Are humans good at determining whether emotional expressions are sincere? Why or why not? Include some of the features that you can observe in someone's face that might give you a hint (consider morphology, symmetry, duration, and temporal patterning).

Question 12

Describe the two brain pathways of "threat detection." Why is it advantageous to have two pathways instead of just one?

Question 13

Explain how an observer can use facial expression as a cue to discern whether another person is sincere.

Question 14

Explain how multidimensional scaling can be used to map our emotional landscape. Identify the two dimensions, and give an example of an emotion in each resulting quadrant.

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