Basic emotion theory:
● Emotions are biologically discrete
● Individual emotions are underpinned by unique neurophysiological activation
● Emotional categories have evolved to be ‘natural’ kinds
● Originates from Paul Ekman’s work on emotional expressions
Constructionist emotion theory:
● Emotions are a way to categorise a series of physchophysiological activations unique
to everyone
● Emotions are made not felt
● Emotional categories haven’t evolved but a flexible categorisation has
● Based on Lisa Feldman-Barratt’s ideas
Traits:
● Tend to be longitudinally stable
● Measured through personality inventories
○ EPQ-R
○ Big 5
○ Dark Triad
● Tells us how a person usually acts
States:
● Fluctuate considerably both within and between people
● Largely influenced by environmental and situational factors
● Strongly predicts how someone will act
● Mediates the relationship between traits and behaviour
Motivation: “An internal state, dynamic rather than stable in nature, that propels action,
directs behaviour, and is orientated toward satisfying both instinctual and cultural needs and
goals.” - Chamarro-Premuzic
- Biological: Physical needs such as food or water create a drive state of hunger or
thirst and the resultant behaviour is eating and drinking.
- Psychodynamic: Sex and aggression instincts, drive to care for something, get a pet
instead of having a child (sublimation). Drives aim to preserve the person from
psychological pain.
- Behaviourism: The previous satisfaction of needs is reinforced or conditioned. We
once ate when we felt hungry, associated eating with reducing hunger, creates a
drive to eat when hungry.
- Trait (arousal theories): Levels of arousal relate to performance with an inverted U
shape. There is a perfect level of arousal and we strive to keep at the top of the
curve.
- Humanism: We are driven to satisfy needs to achieve a level of self-actualisation. We
need to satiate lower needs such as biological needs before social needs.
External motivators: Tend to be more general and unspecific; money, social pressure,
duress, manipulation, coercion, transactions.
Internal motivators: Tend to be more individual and personal; enjoyment, interest,
challenge perseverance, stubbornness, inspiration.
, → Internal motivators are more impactful than external motivators. This is why going from
doing something you enjoy just because you enjoy it (internal motivator) to doing it because
you are being paid or academically assessed for it (external motivator), motivation is usually
hindered.
EXTRA FACT: Money is often called the ultimate extrinsic motivator.
Behavioural economics: An academic discipline which takes a cost-benefit view of human
behaviour as (ir)rational operators.
Mood:
● Extended affect with no reference to particular events or objects
● Tends to have no goal or end point
● Viewed dimensionally
Emotion:
● Short term affect normally as a result of an inducing stimulus
● Tends to be a way to mobilise an organism to deal with a situation
● Viewed dimensionally and categorically
Structure of mood
Positive and negative affect are treated as separate dimensions to form dimensional space.
Different parts of the dimensional space represent mood states.
Tellegen-Watson-Clarke structure of mood: Suggests positive and negative affect isn’t a
bi-polar scale but that there are separate dimensions.
● Emotions are biologically discrete
● Individual emotions are underpinned by unique neurophysiological activation
● Emotional categories have evolved to be ‘natural’ kinds
● Originates from Paul Ekman’s work on emotional expressions
Constructionist emotion theory:
● Emotions are a way to categorise a series of physchophysiological activations unique
to everyone
● Emotions are made not felt
● Emotional categories haven’t evolved but a flexible categorisation has
● Based on Lisa Feldman-Barratt’s ideas
Traits:
● Tend to be longitudinally stable
● Measured through personality inventories
○ EPQ-R
○ Big 5
○ Dark Triad
● Tells us how a person usually acts
States:
● Fluctuate considerably both within and between people
● Largely influenced by environmental and situational factors
● Strongly predicts how someone will act
● Mediates the relationship between traits and behaviour
Motivation: “An internal state, dynamic rather than stable in nature, that propels action,
directs behaviour, and is orientated toward satisfying both instinctual and cultural needs and
goals.” - Chamarro-Premuzic
- Biological: Physical needs such as food or water create a drive state of hunger or
thirst and the resultant behaviour is eating and drinking.
- Psychodynamic: Sex and aggression instincts, drive to care for something, get a pet
instead of having a child (sublimation). Drives aim to preserve the person from
psychological pain.
- Behaviourism: The previous satisfaction of needs is reinforced or conditioned. We
once ate when we felt hungry, associated eating with reducing hunger, creates a
drive to eat when hungry.
- Trait (arousal theories): Levels of arousal relate to performance with an inverted U
shape. There is a perfect level of arousal and we strive to keep at the top of the
curve.
- Humanism: We are driven to satisfy needs to achieve a level of self-actualisation. We
need to satiate lower needs such as biological needs before social needs.
External motivators: Tend to be more general and unspecific; money, social pressure,
duress, manipulation, coercion, transactions.
Internal motivators: Tend to be more individual and personal; enjoyment, interest,
challenge perseverance, stubbornness, inspiration.
, → Internal motivators are more impactful than external motivators. This is why going from
doing something you enjoy just because you enjoy it (internal motivator) to doing it because
you are being paid or academically assessed for it (external motivator), motivation is usually
hindered.
EXTRA FACT: Money is often called the ultimate extrinsic motivator.
Behavioural economics: An academic discipline which takes a cost-benefit view of human
behaviour as (ir)rational operators.
Mood:
● Extended affect with no reference to particular events or objects
● Tends to have no goal or end point
● Viewed dimensionally
Emotion:
● Short term affect normally as a result of an inducing stimulus
● Tends to be a way to mobilise an organism to deal with a situation
● Viewed dimensionally and categorically
Structure of mood
Positive and negative affect are treated as separate dimensions to form dimensional space.
Different parts of the dimensional space represent mood states.
Tellegen-Watson-Clarke structure of mood: Suggests positive and negative affect isn’t a
bi-polar scale but that there are separate dimensions.
