【Psychology and Life】Chapter 11 — Main Points
* All the following abstractions are excerpted from <Psychology and Life>, Richard J. Gerrig & Philip G. Zimbardo, 19th edition
Chapter 11 — Motivation.
— Understanding Motivation
Motivation is a dynamic concept used to describe the processes directing behavior.
Motivational analysis helps explain how biological and behavioral processes are related and why people pursue goals despite obstacles and adversity.
Drive theory conceptualizes motivation as tension reduction.
People are also motivated by incentives, external stimuli that are not related to physiological needs.
Instinct theory suggests that motivation often relies on innate stereotypical responses.
Social and cognitive psychologists emphasize the individual's perception of, interpretation of, and reaction to a situation.
Abraham Maslow suggested that human needs can be organized hierarchically.
Although real human motivation is more complex, Maslow's theory provides a useful framework for summarizing motivational forces.
— Eating
The body has a number of mechanisms to regulate the initiation and cessation of eating.
Cultural norms have an impact on what and how much people eat.
If individuals become restrained eaters, their diets may result in weight gain rather than weight loss.
Eating disorders are life-threatening illnesses that may arise from genetic factors, misperceptions of body image and cultural pressures.
— Sexual Behaviors
From an evolutionary perspective, sex is the mechanism for producing offspring.
In animals, the sex drive is largely controlled by hormones.
The work of Masters and Johnson provided the first hard data on the sexual response cycles of men and women.
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that much of human sexual behavior reflects different mating strategies for men and women.
Sexual scripts define culturally appropriate forms of sexual behavior.
Homosexuality and heterosexuality are determined both by genetics and personal and social environments.
— Motivation for Personal Achievement
People have varying needs for achievement. Motivation for achievement is influenced by how people interpret success and failure.
Two attributional styles, optimism and pessimism, lead to different attitudes toward achievement and influence motivation.
Organizational psychologists study human motivation in work settings.