Motivation

and
Emotion
LECTURE III
Imagine that you're walking down the street, and
suddenly some guy runs past and pushes you.
Your first reaction is anger ("What a hooligan!" you think).
But then you turn around and see that an angry dog is
chasing the poor guy.
So, your anger turns to sympathy and compassion. Now
you understand why he was running without paying
attention to surroundings.
Or you can see that this guy is trying to stop a child a
child who was standing on the road. Then you will even
try to help him.
Motivation –
psychological factors that cause, guide, support,
and
stop behavior.
It's not about WHAT we want to do, but WHY we want
to do it.
In general, we can say that motivation is the process of satisfying
a need. Needs are the source from which motivated behavior
arises. There are physical needs such as thirst and hunger and
psychological needs such as need for communication, need for
belonging, cognitive need, aesthetic need, need for achievement,
etc.
Someone might seem more focused on gaining power and recognition
than on love. But if you look closer, this person isn’t’ just seeking
power – he is really looking for love and acceptance. He believes that
he can gain love and acceptance through power and recognition.

Also, sometimes people are willing to face great hardships or even die
for higher values. To address this, Maslow suggests that how well a
person copes with a lack of basic needs depends on how fully those
needs were met earlier in life. People who have had their basic needs
met, especially in childhood, develop a strong, healthy character.
These people are not afraid of failure or rejection, stand up for the
truth, even if it's difficult, and are capable of deep love and friendship
that can endure challenges.
 What do you think is the connection
between success and motivation?
Is it true that highly motivated people
achieve more success?
Yerkes-Dodson Law
There was an experiment conducted by Yerkes and Dodson.
They set up a task for a mice – to choose between two
pathways in a maze. One of the paths led to a food (reward)
and another – to an electric shock (punishment). They
manipulated the intensity of the shock to see how it influenced
the mice's learning and decision-making. The more intense the
shock, the more motivated the mouse is to find the right path.
Yerkes-Dodson Law: findings
Low motivation: When the shock was very mild, the mice didn't feel much
pressure to avoid the wrong path. As a result, they learned the task more
slowly and made more mistakes.

Medium motivation: When the shock was moderate, the mice learned
quickly. They were motivated enough to avoid the wrong path but not
overwhelmed by stress, so their performance improved.

High motivation: When the shock was too strong, the mice became highly
anxious and stressed. Their performance worsened, and they made more
mistakes because they were too overwhelmed to learn effectively.
Yerkes-Dodson Law: findings
So, it’s mean that:
When people are not motivated, they are too relaxed or uninterested, their
performance tends to be low because they lack focus or energy.
When people experience medium level of motivation, their stress level is
also optimal, not interfering, but helping to be alert, focused, and productive,
leading to their best performance.
When people are too motivated, they also experience high stress and
anxiety, so their performance starts to drop because the person may feel
overwhelmed, making it harder to concentrate or perform tasks effectively.
Yerkes-Dodson Law: in practice
The Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that performance are highest when arousal
and related motivation is at an optimal level – not too low or too high. This
balance helps individuals stay driven and productive.

A student with too little challenge may not be motivated to study, while a
student facing too much pressure may feel anxious and struggle. Finding the
right balance of challenge can keep the student motivated and improve
learning outcomes.

Employees may perform better when they are moderately challenged, as

they are motivated to meet goals without feeling overwhelmed. Too little
challenge leads to boredom, while too much pressure can cause burnout.
Motivation in
Freud’s theory
Human behavior is primarily driven by unconscious
forces, particularly instincts and desires.

Freud proposed two main types of instincts that

motivate human behavior:

Eros (Life Instinct): survival, pleasure, creativity. It

includes basic needs like hunger, thirst, and sex, as
well as social needs like love and connection.

Thanatos (Death Instinct): aggression, destruction,

the desire for rest or non-existence. It includes self-
destruction or risky behavior, which balances the life
instinct.
Defense mechanism – sublimation.

Sublimation is the process where sexual

drives are transformed into socially
acceptable behaviors and productive actions.

Sexual energy that cannot be expressed

directly is redirected into other forms of
activity, such as art, science, sports, or social
work.

This can motivate individuals to engage in

creative or productive work, through which
they fulfill their repressed desires.
Motivation in
Gestalt Psychology
Kurt Lewin understood behavior as a function of both the
person and their environment. Lewin viewed motivation as
arising from the dynamic interaction of internal needs and
external forces within a person’s “life space” — the
psychological environment that influences behavior.

Kurt Lewin suggested that when the balance between the

subject (internal needs) and the situation (external forces)
is disturbed, a person experiences a state of tension, which
the subject tries to reduce by taking certain actions. He
called this tension a "quasi-need". A quasi-need can be
defined as an intention to perform some purposeful action.
In a study by M. Ovsyankina (1928), the idea was tested that people will keep
trying to complete a task they started until they succeed, meaning their inner
tension won’t go away until the task is done. In the experiment, participants
were given 20 tasks. They finished half of them, but the researcher interrupted
them during the other half. The researcher then left the tasks on the table and
secretly observed whether the participants would go back to the interrupted
ones. It turned out that they were much more likely to resume the tasks they
hadn’t finished. This suggests that the motivation to complete a task remains
strong until it’s finished.

In another similar set of experiments by B. Zeigarnik, it was found that people

remembered the details of unfinished tasks better than completed ones.
Kurt Lewin's school of thought explored why people choose tasks of different difficulty
levels. Some aim for the best results, taking risks, while others prefer safer, more
certain outcomes. This is known as the "level of aspirations."

It's not the actual success that matters most, but how a person feels about the
difference between their expected and actual results. For example, a "good" grade
might be a big win for one student but a disappointment for another with higher
expectations.

Experiments showed that the level of aspirations is flexible and changes with success or
failure. For example, in a task-solving game where problems have difficulty levels from
1 to 10, a person may start cautiously but, after some success, will try harder problems.
If they fail, they may lower their ambitions. If they succeed, they will aim higher next
time.

These findings help us understand how past experiences—whether success or failure—

affect a person’s future goals and motivation.
Motivation in
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive theories of motivation suggest that people aim to keep their
thoughts and behaviors in harmony.

For example, Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory (1956)

says that people feel uncomfortable when their actions or beliefs
conflict. This discomfort (dissonance) motivates them to reduce the
conflict and restore harmony.
Imagine a smoker who knows that smoking is harmful
but struggles to quit. According to Festinger, the
smoker can deal with this conflict in three ways:

Change behavior: Quit smoking or smoke less and

believe the harm is reduced.
Add new thoughts: Think of people who smoked and
stayed healthy.
Justify smoking: Convince themselves that smoking
reduces stress or that a cure for lung cancer will soon
be found.
Cognitive dissonance also explains how people justify behaviors
imposed from outside. During the Vietnam War, American soldiers
forced to eat unfamiliar foods like frogs eventually convinced
themselves that "frogs taste good and are healthy." Even after the
war, many continued to enjoy such food, leading to the rise of
Vietnamese cuisine in the U.S.
Motivation in Behaviorism
Behaviorism focuses almost completely on what can be directly seen or
heard about a person’s behavior. So, behaviorists think of motivation not as
something “inside” a person driving the behavior, but as equivalent to the
person’s outward behaviors.

The most common version of the behavioral perspective on motivation is the

theory of operant conditioning associated with B. F. Skinner.

Operant conditioning is a (learning) process through which behaviors are

modified by their consequences – reward or punishment.
Imagine that a student learns by operant
conditioning to answer questions during class
discussions: each time the student answers a
question, the teacher praises (the praise is a
reward) this behavior. In addition to thinking
of this situation as behavioral learning,
however, you can also think of it in terms of
motivation: the likelihood of the student
answering questions (the motivation) is
increasing because of the teacher’s praise
(the motivator).
Reinforcement:

• Positive Reinforcement: This involves adding a pleasant stimulus to increase

a behavior. For example, giving a child a cookie for doing their homework
motivate them to keep doing it.

• Negative Reinforcement: This involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to

increase a behavior. For instance, a child had to eat soup for lunch after
school all the time and his mother promises him that if he gets good grades,
he won't be able to stop eating this soup.

Punishment:

• Positive Punishment: This adds an unpleasant consequence to decrease a

behavior. For example, giving a child extra chores for misbehaving aims to
reduce that misbehavior.

• Negative Punishment: This removes a pleasant stimulus to decrease a

behavior. For example, taking away a video game for not doing homework is
meant to discourage that behavior.
 There are a lot of motivation theories but
motivation phenomenon still remains complex.

For example, anorexia nervosa. People with

anorexia consciously refuse food in order to be
as thin as possible.

What motivates them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20bEecBRgFU
Freud’s theory: Anorexia nervosa can be seen as a manifestation of the death instinct,
where the individual engages in self-destructive behaviors that lead to severe physical
harm.

Levin’s theory: People with anorexia may have conflict between their personal factors
(self-esteem, body image, etc.) and environment (media and model standards, family
that places a high value on appearance, friends that promote dieting, etc.)

Festinger’s theory: People with anorexia may experience cognitive dissonance – I have
to stop eating to be thin but not eating can cause health problems. To solve this inner
conflict they can believe that food is a word, it only harms. Strong people know how to
control their hunger. There are studies that fasting even helps. A thin body is a healthy
body.

Behaviorism: Every time a person with anorexia sees fewer numbers on the scale, a thin
body in the mirror, good photos that get a lot of likes, comments such as ‘’you look like
a model!’’ it encourages him or her to eat less and be thinner.
Internal and external motivation refer to the different sources of motivation that drive a
person's actions.

Internal motivation is driven by personal satisfaction, curiosity, or the desire to fulfill

one's own interests and values. The activity itself is rewarding without any external
reinforcement.
For example, a student studies hard since he is interested in subject.

External motivation comes from external factors such as rewards, recognition, or

avoiding punishment. The individual is motivated by external consequences rather than
the inherent enjoyment of the task.
For example, a student studies hard to get good grades or a reward from parents.
An employee works overtime to receive a bonus or avoid getting reprimanded.

Usually internal motivation is seen as more sustainable in the long term, as it relies on
personal fulfillment, whereas external motivation can be effective in the short term but
may diminish if the external rewards or pressures are removed.
“I am surrounded by everything that can make life happy and
attractive, but I am unable to enjoy or feel it... All the functions and
actions of my life are preserved, but they are deprived of the
corresponding feeling and satisfaction from them. When my feet are
cold, I warm them, but I do not feel the pleasure of the warmth. I
recognize the taste of food, but I eat without any pleasure. My
children are growing up beautiful and healthy - everyone tells me so,
I myself see it - but I do not have the delight and inner satisfaction
that I should experience. Music has lost all its charm for me, but I
loved it so tenderly. My daughter plays (musical instrument) very
well,
It was but to me it is just
a self-description by anoise.”
patient suffering from an emotional disorder shared by
W. James in his article ‘’What is emotion?’’ in 1884.
In the 1970s, Ted Bundy broke into the apartment of a
female student, knocked her unconscious, assaulted her,
and killed her. He repeated this crime over 30 times
across the U.S. Bundy admitted to keeping some victims
alive for hours or days and kept photos and skulls of them.

He felt no guilt or shame and was proud of his

actions. Even during his trial, where he faced the death
penalty, he appeared cheerful and acted unconcerned,
choosing to represent himself, wanting to be the "star of
the show."

People like Bundy are often diagnosed with antisocial

personality disorder, also called psychopathy. They are
seen as "cold-blooded" because they lack the deep
emotional responses most people have, especially
empathy for others. However, they are not entirely
emotionless. Their emotions are shallow and short-lived,
often just basic responses to immediate needs.
In general, emotions and motives* are closely related. Emotions can activate
and direct behavior in the same way that basic motives do. They may also
accompany motivated behavior: sex, for example, is not only a powerful
motive but also a potential source of joy or guilt. Despite their similarities, we
need to distinguish between motives and emotions:

Emotions are typically triggered from the outside, whereas motives are more
often activated from within.

Motive is usually elicited by a specific need, but an emotion can be elicited

by a wide variety of stimuli (think of all the different things that can make
you angry or happy).

*Motive and motivation can be used as synonyms.

Motive is a specific reason, while motivation refers to the overall process or state that
encourages someone to act.
Emotion –
psychological and physiological response triggered by
internal or external events. Emotions are usually
immediate and short-lived.
The emotional sphere traditionally includes not only emotions. but also emotional outburst,
mood, and feelings.

Emotional outburst is a fast and intense emotional process of an explosive nature, leading to
actions that are beyond conscious control, often causing disorganization and disruption. In
law it is usually called as temporary insanity – a legal defense where the defendant claims
they were not in control of their actions due to a temporary mental breakdown.

Feelings are stable emotional formations that relate to a specific object (subject). A feeling
can produce a wide range of more specific emotions. For example, a feeling of love for a
child can, under certain circumstances, cause you to feel tenderness, anxiety, or even anger
(emotions) towards him. Feelings can manifest themselves situationally, but for the most
part they act as forms of a person’s holistic attitude to the world. They are often shaped by
individual experiences and personal narratives.

Mood is a fairly long-lasting emotional state of low intensity that forms the emotional
background for ongoing mental processes.
C. Darwin (1872) spoke about the biological
expediency of emotions. According to some data,
humans are the most emotional among
representatives of the animal world. Thus, it is logical
to assume that the richness of the human emotional
world is useful for the survival and development of
humanity. There are several functions of emotions:

• Evaluation function
• Mobilization function
• Memory function
• Motivating and maintaining activity function
• Communication function
• Etc.
Carroll Ellis Izard was an American research psychologist known for his contributions
to differential emotions theory.

Izard's 1977 theory of emotion identified ten primary and discrete emotions: fear,
anger, shame, contempt, disgust, guilt, distress, interest, surprise, and joy.

Izard postulated that these ten fundamental emotions cannot be reduced to more
basic emotions but can be combined to produce other emotions, just like primary
colors could be combined to create different colors.
 James-Lange theory of emotion
The James-Lange theory of emotion is one of the earliest psychological theories
on emotions. The theory proposed that bodily changes come first and form the
basis of an emotional experience. Thus, emotions are caused by bodily
sensations (you become happier when you smile. you are afraid because you
run, you experience sadness because you cry).

Stimulus → Physiological Response → Emotion:

The process starts with a stimulus (an event or situation). The body reacts to
the stimulus with a physiological response (e.g., increased heart rate, muscle
tension). You then interpret those physical reactions and experience emotion
based on your interpretation.

Critics argue that not all emotions are tied to distinct physiological responses.
For example, anger and fear can have similar bodily reactions.
 Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
This theory argues that emotions and physiological responses to stimuli occur
simultaneously and independently, rather than one causing the other. The
Cannon-Bard theory posits that when an emotionally significant stimulus is
perceived, it triggers both emotional experience (e.g., fear, anger) and
physiological reactions (e.g., increased heart rate, sweating) at the same time.
These processes are independent of each other – emotion does not rely on the
physiological response, and vice versa.

Stimulus → Brain → Emotion + Physiological Response:

When exposed to a stimulus, the brain processes the information and sends
signals simultaneously to create the emotional experience and trigger the
body's physical responses.

Later research found that the brain regions involved in emotion and
physiological response are more complex and emotions may involve more
 Schachter-Singer theory of emotion
This theory adds a cognitive element to how emotions are experienced,
suggesting that emotion is a result of how we interpret or attribute our
physiological arousal based on the situation we are in.
According to this theory, experiencing emotion requires two factors:

1. Physiological arousal: When exposed to an emotionally significant

stimulus, the body experiences a state of arousal (e.g., increased heart rate,
sweating, adrenaline release).
2. Cognitive interpretation: The brain then labels the arousal by interpreting
the context or situation. This interpretation leads to the experience of a
specific emotion.

Stimulus → Physiological Arousal → Cognitive Label → Emotion.

Situatio Cognitive appraisal Emotion Behavioral response
n
event, person’s assessment of affective behavior, actions,
circumstances the personal meaning of state, internal decision
, experience his or her current bodily
circumstances changes,
facial
expressions