IX. Motivation and Emotion

Motivation and Emotion (6-8%)

Generate examples of human behavior that illustrate each theory of motivation and contrast primary and secondary motives, using hunger, thirst, pain, sex, and aggression. Discuss the role of environmental cues in triggering certain behaviors such as hunger, and the neural and hormonal mechanisms involved in differing motivational states such as aggression. You could use a clip from a film like Alive, a true story of plane crash survivors having to decide whether they should eat their dead to survive, to illustrate motivation. Students should also consider human behavior when motives are in conflict, as is illustrated in Aron Ralston’s book Between a Rock and a Hard Place in which he describes amputating his own arm to free himself from an 800-pound boulder. Discuss the various theories, such as James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, Schachter–Singer, and opponent-process (color), that provide differing explanations of the link between physiology and our experienced emotions. Focus on the concept of arousal and its relationship to task performance and examine the role of stress and how it affects health.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Identify and apply basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of humans and other animals (e.g., instincts, incentives, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation).

• Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives, and homeostasis and drive reduction theory.

• Compare and contrast motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal theory, general adaptation theory), including the strengths and weaknesses of each.

• Describe classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating, sex, social)

• Discuss theories of stress and the effects of stress on psychological and physical well-being.

• Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, Schachter two-factor theory).

• Describe how cultural influences shape emotional expression, including variations in body language.

• Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g., William James, Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow, Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).

Essential Questions:

In what ways are humans motivated to behave?

What methods of motivation are more effective than others?

How can one increase his or her motivation to behave in various ways?

What is the role of hunger in motivating behavior?

How do maladaptive eating patterns affect behavior?

What role do emotions play in behavior?

How do cognitions affect emotions?

• Discuss the similarities of instinct and drive theories.

• Discuss the difference between drive theory and homeostasis.

• Explain the reasons why intrinsic motivation is more beneficial than extrinsic motivation.

• Determine how psychologists measure achievement motivation.