Human Motivation Final Exam 2023/ 80
Questions and Answers/ Graded A+
Hedonism - -Motivated to obtain pleasure; avoidance of pain
Hedonic theories emphasize the idea that cues or stimuli have motivational properties
because they have become associated with positive or negative experiences
-Troland - -Believed that the nervous system was especially tuned to pleasurable and
aversive events
Classification of for Stimulation
-Beneception - -Occurs when pleasant feelings are aroused by stimuli- erotic stimuli,
sweet tastes, some pleasant smells, low intensities of salt and sour, and some visceral
responses
-Nociception - -Occurs as the result of stimuli that arouse unpleasant feelings- pain,
bitter taste, intense salt, intense sour, nauseating or repugnant smells, cold, excessive
heat, hunger, thirst, and some visceral
-Neutraception - -Exists when stimuli cause neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings -
Vision, audition, cutaneous touch, and kinesthesis
-Young's Hedonic Theory - -Hedonic Continuum
Negative (avoidant) <Indifferent> Positive (approach)
The affective processes represented by this continuum have three properties
Sign
Approach behavior (+) vs. Avoidance behavior (-)
Intensity
Preference test given to determine affective intensity- in a two-choice situation, the
chosen substance is considered to be hedonically more intense than the nonchosen one
Duration
Some hedonic processes may last only as long as the sensory stimulation; others linger
-Preference Test - -Given to determine affective intensity- in a two-choice situation, the
chosen substance is considered to be hedonically more intense than the nonchosen one
, -Sensory Stimulation and The Hedonic Continumm - -Sensory stimuli provide info to
an organism about the conditions of its external and internal environment.
Affective processes, as represented by the hedonic continuum, convey little info other
than whether something is pleasant or unpleasant and, in choice situations, "better
than" or "worse than"
Young (1956)- Affective info is biologically primitive and are of a different order than the
more sophisticated discriminations we are capable of making from sensory information
the Hedonic continuum is not equivalent to sensory stimulation
Ex. As sugar water becomes more concentrated, we tend to prefer it over less
concentrated sugar solutions. However, when comparing distilled water and salty water,
Young found that his participants initially preferred the salty water. As the salt solution
increased in concentration, the preference changed to the distilled water
Therefore we cannot assume that changes in sensory intensity will initiate similar
changes in hedonic affect.
-Pathological Pain States - -Pain Receptors
Pain normally occurs when the body is injured. Occasionally, the pain can often seem
out of proportion to the size of the injury
Phantom Limb Pain- Excruciating pain may be experienced even though the body part
has been amputated. In these cases, pain does not seem adaptive and may, in face,
interfere with more adaptive behaviors
Melzack and Wall (1965)
Prior to their research, pain was thought to result from pain receptors sending their
messages along specific pain fibers to the brain.
However, the perception of pain was more variable and modifiable than originally
thought
There is no simple and direct relationship between the severity of an injury and the
amount of pain experienced
Even pathological pain states such as causalgia (a burning pain that is sometimes caused
by a partial lesion of a peripheral nerve), peripheral neuralgia (which can occur
following a peripheral nerve infection), and phantom limb pain are often
UNSUCCESSFULLY treated by surgical lesions of either the central or peripheral
nervous system.
if the experience of pain was simply the result of the stimulation of pain receptors, then
"disconnection" surgery should abolish the pain... but they often don't
-The Gate Theory of Pain - -Melzack and Wall (1965)
, Higher brain processes control the experience of pain
A modulating system within the spinal cord influences how much pain information
reaches the brain.
Basically, we have a neurological "gate" in our spinal cord
***Video***
-Berlyne - -Argued that exploratory activity has the function of altering the stimulus we
receive rather than causing any changes to bodily tissues
Novelty and uncertainty motivate us by increasing the arousal level of the organism
We attempt to maintain an optimal level of arousal. If stimulation drops too low (as in
boredom), we become motivated to increase our level of arousal. If our arousal level is
too high, we are motivated to lower it.
Thus novel or surprising stimuli will usually motivate us because they provide small
changes in arousal that are usually pleasant (leading to optimal levels)
-Novelty, Curiosity, and Exploratory Behavior - -External stimuli can serve to motivate
behavior directly
Terms used to describe the motive state generated by external stimuli include
Curiosity
Exploratory drive
Manipulations motives
Stimulus hunger
Need for stimulation
Cofer & Appley (1964) noted that studies on sensory stimulation and motivation could
be grouped into studies indicating that behaviors are released by stimulation.
-Behaviors Released by Stimulation - -Harlow- External stimuli are important in
motivation behavior—much of human behavior is motivated by nonhomeostatic
mechanisms.
Gave monkeys mechanical puzzles that could be disassembled.
Group 1: no reward for solving the puzzle
Group 2: given food
Result: Delivery of food disrupted the performance on the puzzles and the rewarded
group lost interest in the puzzle sooner than the nonrewarded group. The nonrewarded
group's behavior was maintained by a motive to manipulate or explore the puzzle.
-Hebb - -Moderate changes in arousal are reinforcing because we become habituated to
the familiar, we will approach new stimulus situation
If the new stimulation is too arousing, however, we will withdraw from the situation
Questions and Answers/ Graded A+
Hedonism - -Motivated to obtain pleasure; avoidance of pain
Hedonic theories emphasize the idea that cues or stimuli have motivational properties
because they have become associated with positive or negative experiences
-Troland - -Believed that the nervous system was especially tuned to pleasurable and
aversive events
Classification of for Stimulation
-Beneception - -Occurs when pleasant feelings are aroused by stimuli- erotic stimuli,
sweet tastes, some pleasant smells, low intensities of salt and sour, and some visceral
responses
-Nociception - -Occurs as the result of stimuli that arouse unpleasant feelings- pain,
bitter taste, intense salt, intense sour, nauseating or repugnant smells, cold, excessive
heat, hunger, thirst, and some visceral
-Neutraception - -Exists when stimuli cause neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings -
Vision, audition, cutaneous touch, and kinesthesis
-Young's Hedonic Theory - -Hedonic Continuum
Negative (avoidant) <Indifferent> Positive (approach)
The affective processes represented by this continuum have three properties
Sign
Approach behavior (+) vs. Avoidance behavior (-)
Intensity
Preference test given to determine affective intensity- in a two-choice situation, the
chosen substance is considered to be hedonically more intense than the nonchosen one
Duration
Some hedonic processes may last only as long as the sensory stimulation; others linger
-Preference Test - -Given to determine affective intensity- in a two-choice situation, the
chosen substance is considered to be hedonically more intense than the nonchosen one
, -Sensory Stimulation and The Hedonic Continumm - -Sensory stimuli provide info to
an organism about the conditions of its external and internal environment.
Affective processes, as represented by the hedonic continuum, convey little info other
than whether something is pleasant or unpleasant and, in choice situations, "better
than" or "worse than"
Young (1956)- Affective info is biologically primitive and are of a different order than the
more sophisticated discriminations we are capable of making from sensory information
the Hedonic continuum is not equivalent to sensory stimulation
Ex. As sugar water becomes more concentrated, we tend to prefer it over less
concentrated sugar solutions. However, when comparing distilled water and salty water,
Young found that his participants initially preferred the salty water. As the salt solution
increased in concentration, the preference changed to the distilled water
Therefore we cannot assume that changes in sensory intensity will initiate similar
changes in hedonic affect.
-Pathological Pain States - -Pain Receptors
Pain normally occurs when the body is injured. Occasionally, the pain can often seem
out of proportion to the size of the injury
Phantom Limb Pain- Excruciating pain may be experienced even though the body part
has been amputated. In these cases, pain does not seem adaptive and may, in face,
interfere with more adaptive behaviors
Melzack and Wall (1965)
Prior to their research, pain was thought to result from pain receptors sending their
messages along specific pain fibers to the brain.
However, the perception of pain was more variable and modifiable than originally
thought
There is no simple and direct relationship between the severity of an injury and the
amount of pain experienced
Even pathological pain states such as causalgia (a burning pain that is sometimes caused
by a partial lesion of a peripheral nerve), peripheral neuralgia (which can occur
following a peripheral nerve infection), and phantom limb pain are often
UNSUCCESSFULLY treated by surgical lesions of either the central or peripheral
nervous system.
if the experience of pain was simply the result of the stimulation of pain receptors, then
"disconnection" surgery should abolish the pain... but they often don't
-The Gate Theory of Pain - -Melzack and Wall (1965)
, Higher brain processes control the experience of pain
A modulating system within the spinal cord influences how much pain information
reaches the brain.
Basically, we have a neurological "gate" in our spinal cord
***Video***
-Berlyne - -Argued that exploratory activity has the function of altering the stimulus we
receive rather than causing any changes to bodily tissues
Novelty and uncertainty motivate us by increasing the arousal level of the organism
We attempt to maintain an optimal level of arousal. If stimulation drops too low (as in
boredom), we become motivated to increase our level of arousal. If our arousal level is
too high, we are motivated to lower it.
Thus novel or surprising stimuli will usually motivate us because they provide small
changes in arousal that are usually pleasant (leading to optimal levels)
-Novelty, Curiosity, and Exploratory Behavior - -External stimuli can serve to motivate
behavior directly
Terms used to describe the motive state generated by external stimuli include
Curiosity
Exploratory drive
Manipulations motives
Stimulus hunger
Need for stimulation
Cofer & Appley (1964) noted that studies on sensory stimulation and motivation could
be grouped into studies indicating that behaviors are released by stimulation.
-Behaviors Released by Stimulation - -Harlow- External stimuli are important in
motivation behavior—much of human behavior is motivated by nonhomeostatic
mechanisms.
Gave monkeys mechanical puzzles that could be disassembled.
Group 1: no reward for solving the puzzle
Group 2: given food
Result: Delivery of food disrupted the performance on the puzzles and the rewarded
group lost interest in the puzzle sooner than the nonrewarded group. The nonrewarded
group's behavior was maintained by a motive to manipulate or explore the puzzle.
-Hebb - -Moderate changes in arousal are reinforcing because we become habituated to
the familiar, we will approach new stimulus situation
If the new stimulation is too arousing, however, we will withdraw from the situation
