User:Gajah/E-portfolio

Week 1: Introduction
I am an undergraduate student at the University of Canberra (UC) studying psychology, welcome to my electronic journal. The e-journal is an assessment task for the Unit Motivation and Emotion in Semester 2, 2010. In addition to the assessment, the e-journal is an informal record of my learning journey for the unit which will be populated week by week. It is also a vehicle for sharing my personal experiences throughout the semester with my fellow students at UC and other wikiversity users. The prescribed text for the unit is John Reeve's (2009) Understanding Motivation and Emotion. With regard to the content of the e-journal, my intent is to provide readers with a snap shot of the prescribed text and summation of the lectures combined with my personal insight. As such the posts will be written in the first person, however referencing will be in accordance with the APA format. I hope my e-journal is useful to you and that you enjoy reading my future entries. Regards, Gajah

Chapter 1: Introduction

Reeve opens the chapter with why the study of motivation is so important, namely it's interesting and it has purpose. He suggests that from a scientific perspective two fundamental questions must be answered :

1 What causes behaviour? and

2 Why does behaviour vary in its intensity?

These questions also provided the framework for the in-class lecture in week 1. Reeve (2009) defines motivation as those processes that give behaviour its energy and direction. Motives are sourced either internally from needs, cognitions and emotions or from external events. Motivation is expressed in ways; behaviour, engagement, brain activations and through self report. Behaviour expresses the presence, intensity and quality of emotion (Reeve, 2009, p11). Engagement refers to the behavioral intensity, emotional quality and personal investment in another person's involvement during an activity (Reeve, 2009, p11). Brain activation coupled with physiology refers to the brains initiation of fast acting neurotransmitters and the release of the slow acting hormones (Reeve, 2009). Self-report is simply an individuals ability to record one's motivation (Reeve, 2009).In addition, motives direct attention and prepare action which is one of the eight themes of motivation. The eight themes of motivation are as follows:

1 Adaptation. Motives and emotions enable an individual to adapt to the environment. As the environment is often changing and unpredictable our motives and emotions need to be flexible enough to meet these demands (Reeve, 2009).

2 Directs attention and prepares action. Motives gain our attention in order for us to focus on one major event at a time, for example the sensation of thirst is a cue to fulfill a physiological need. The body is then prepared for action, to continue with the thirst example the body is preparing to access fluid to achieve satiety.

3 Motives vary over time. Although motives are constant, they vary in intensity over time and as such affect our behaviour accordingly. For example thirst will be stronger on a hot summers day while exercising than compare to a sedentary activity in winter.

4. Different types. Humans are motivationally complex (Reeve, 2009, p17).

5. Approach and avoidance. Humans have an innate need to adopt both approach and avoidance traits. Approach tendencies are generally regarded as pleasant experiences for example joy, hope and desire (Reeve, 2009). Conversely, avoidance tendencies are generally aversive in nature such as pain, fear and pressure (Reeve, 2009). Interestingly avoidance tendencies are usually stronger motives as the are associated with removing one self from harm.

6 Peoples wants. The study of motivation has identified what human beings want or crave. Research has identified that many motives are universal and that some are influenced by culture (Reeve, 2009).

7 Supportive conditions. In order to flourish, motives require a supportive environment or social context. Within this filed of study, researchers focus on four main areas; education, work, sport and exercise, and therapy (Reeve, 2009).

8 Sound theory. Theories provide a conceptual framework for interpreting behavioural observations, and they function as intellectual bridges to link motivational questions and problems to satisfy answers and solutions (Reeve, 2009, p21).

Personal Insight

''I have completed my first summation of the Chapter 1 from the Reeve Text book. It has been quite arduous and extremely time consuming, I have severely underestimated how time consuming this would be. I am currently up to date with the assigned readings, which I must admit is a first for me yet I am way behind the eight ball with regard to my e-journal entries. I suspect that the reason for taking so long to date is my low level of competence with the wiki format. Nevertheless I shall crack on, as Plato said 'in order to play the flute, one must play the flute'. Although it was my intent to summarise the text book chapters, I consider my first attempt to be too lengthy and I will need to add other resource material to the academic content. What I have learned from the first lecture is that motivation is not a simple process. There is a dynamic interplay between cognitive and physiological functions and the environment in which we live. Additionally, motives are generally always present yet vary in their intensity and duration.''

Chapter 2: Motivation in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives


 * Philosophical origins. The Greeks have been acknowledged as the founders of motivational study through the work of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The Greeks hypothesised the theory of dualism, the body and the mind as separate entities (Reeve, 2009). The French philosopher Descartes added to dualism by distinguishing between passive and active aspects of motivation. Descartes considered the will to be the strongest motivational force (Reeve, 2009).


 * Grand Theories. The grand theories eventually replaced the ancient philosophical ideals. The first grand theory was Descartes study of the will, followed by Darwin's instinct and finally drive theory was introduced.

+ Will: Descartes felt that an understanding of the will would naturally lead to the identification of motives. However, this theory unravelled many complexities, will alone is not enough to identify or explain an indiidual's motivation.

+ Instinct: Darwin's achievement was that 'his motivation concept could explain what the ancient philosopher's and Descartes could not, namely where the motivational force came from in the first place' (Reeve, 2009, p28). Darwin hypothesised that instincts expressed themselves as inherited bodily reflexes when in the presence of a stimulus (Reeve, 2009).

+ Drive: This theory arose from a functional biology, one that understood that the function of behaviour was to service bodily needs. Drive acted to restore a set point within the body, it is reactionary to internal deficits, such as thirst drives the need to drink and hunger drives the need to eat (Reeve, 2009). Drive theory was hypothesised by Freud in 1915 but the most renowned theory was created by Hull in (1943). Hull's major point that hadn't been suggested previously was that motivation could be predicted before it occurred (Reeve, 2009).


 * Mini theories. These theories limit their attention to specific motivational phenomenon, such as achievement motivation theory and flow theory (Reeve, 2009). A table of mini theories is illustrated.


 * Contemporary Era. The study of motivation is currently regarded as a phenomenon that is connected to all fields of contemporary psychology (Reeve, 2009).

Personal Insight

''The history of the study of motivation is closely aligned to the study of psychology which highlights to me the importance of motivation as a disipline. As with most theories or fields of study, the topic of motivation has risen and fallen in accordance with support from the extant scientific community. Although the grand theories of motivation are intuitive I was nonetheless surprised to see that Instinct theory was coined by Darwin- although retrospectively this does make sense.''

Week 2: How to use Wikiversity
Personal Insight ''I found this lecture quite difficult to follow as there was a lot of technical information specific to wikiversity which I am not familiar with. Indeed, I am quite intimidated with all of the assessment tasks due to their technical content. I am a mature age student and have minimal experience with the internet and using syntax for websites such as wiki. I will definitely have to revise this lecture on-line. The cynic in me is screaming that I should be focusing my learning on the topic of Motivation and Emotion, not wasting my energy on learning to use different aspects of the world wide web. However, if I approach these assessments with an outlook from the dicipline of positive psychology the tasks are obviously challenging and will provide me with the opportunity to enhance my wider learning. In all honesty my personal position is in between the cynic and +ve psych approaches. Although I am somewhat apprehensive about the assessment pieces, I am excited that they are outside of the stock standard assessment template of an essay and exams. Thus as students we can get creative with the tasks and hopefully this will alleviate the tedium of standard assessments. Only time will tell.''

Week 3: The Brain & Physiological Needs
Chapter 3: The Motivated and Emotional Brain

The brain generates cravings, needs, desires, pleasure, and the full range of emotions, as such all motivational and emotional states involve brain participation (Reeve, 2009). In addition to responding to internal stimuli, the brain is also affected by the external environment.


 * Three principles. The three principles that guides motivational and emotional research involving the brain are as follows:

+ Specific brain structures generate specific motivations. Different brain structures, when stimulated give sire to specific motivational states (Reeve, 2009).

+ Biochemical agents stimulate specific brain structures. Neurotransmitters are the 'quick' communication messengers of the nervous system and hormones are the 'slow' communication messengers within the endocrine system (Reeve, 2009).

+ Day to day events stir biochemical agents into action. Biochemical agents stimulate the brain and generate psychological experiences. Hunger as an example is triggered by the ghrelin hormone, conversely the leptin hormone decreases hunger when the body is satiated (Reeve, 2009).


 * The Brain. The brain can be viewed in two ways, firstly through a surgical procedure ante or post mortem and secondly through the use of technological aids such as a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).


 * Approach Vs Avoidance. The structures within the brain are geared to initiate either approach or avoidance tendencies. An example of an approach oriented structure is the hypothalamus which signals pleasurable feelings associated with feeding, drinking and mating. An example of an avoidance oriented structure is the amygdala which is responsible for detecting and reacting to danger (Reeve, 2009).


 * Neurotransmitters & Hormones. Neurotransmitters act as chemical messengers within the CNS by enabling neurons to communicate with one another. There are four motivationally relevant neurotransmitter pathways; dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphin. Three hormones are integral to motivation and emotion; cortisol, testosterone and oxytocin. Cortisol is regarded as the stress hormone, testosterone is associated with high sexual motivation and oxytocin is kn own as the bonding hormone and promotes nurturing and support (Reeve, 2009).

Personal Insight

Chapter 4: Physiological Needs


 * Need. A need is any condition within a person (or animal) that is essential and necessary for life, growth and well-being. Motivational states therefore provide the impetus to act before damage occurs to the psychological and bodily well being (Reeve, 2009). Needs are divided into physiological, psychological and social needs (Reeve, 2009).


 * Regulation. According to Hull's drive theory, physiological deprivations and deficits such as a lack of sleep, thirst and hunger create biological needs which in turn energises an individual into action (Reeve, 2009). Psyhcological drive is monitored by a seven stage cyclical pattern; need, drive, homeostasis, negative feedback, inputs/outputs, intraorganismic mechanisms and extraorganismic mechanisms.

+ Physiological need describes a deficient biological condition.

+ Psychological drive is the conscious manifestation of an underlying unconscious biological need.

+ homeostasis is the body's ability to maintain a steady state of equilibrium or set point.

+ Negative feedback refers to homeostasis' physiological stop system. Drive activates behaviour, negative feedback stops it.

+ Inputs and outputs. Drive arises from a series of sources (inputs) and motivates a number of different goal-directed behaviours (outputs).

+ Intraorganismic mechanisms include all of the biological regulatory systems within a person that act in concert to activate, maintain and terminate the physiological needs that underlie drive.

+ Extraorganismic mechanisms include all of the environmental influences that play a part in the activating, maintaining and terminating psychological drive.


 * Thirst. About 2/3 of our bodies comprise water. When our water volume drops by 2% we feel thirsty and when we drop by 3% we become dehydrated. Thirst arises from intracellular and extracellular fluid loss. Thirst satiety is activated following the negative feedback system as previously mentioned, it comprises the mouth, stomach and cells (reeve, 2009).


 * Hunger. Hunger is more complex than thirst but follows a 'depletion-replenishment' model. Appetite is influenced by short-term and long-term needs. Short-term appetite is triggered by blood glucose level and long-term appetite is monitored by stored energy in the body (Reeve, 2009).


 * Sex. In lower animals, sex or mating is triggered by the female's ovulation cycle and the production of pheromones. Human sexual behaviour is also influenced but not determined by hormones namely testosterone and estrogen. Generally, men and women experience and react to sexual desire very differently. In men, the correlation between physiological arousal and psychological arousal is high. Conversely, the correlation in women is low as their sexual desire is responsive to emotional intimacy and other relationship factors (Reeve, 2009).

Personal Insight

Tutorial 1:
Following the initial welcome and introduction from James we conducted some 'ice breaker' activities which were fun and refreshing. Motivation: directs and guides behaviour.
 * Tutorial One was quite an interesting session and was very different to the average tutorial I have experienced at UC.
 * The class was divided up into small groups of three to four participants, I was teamed up with Salbo, S.Emp and MO. Each member was tasked with defining motivation and emotion. I kept my definitions quite short thus adhering to the principle of parsimony as follows:

Emotion: intense feelings that are short lived. Motivation: Gives energy to direct behaviour.
 * As a group we shared our personal definitions and formed two hybrid definitions from a team consensus as follows:

Emotion: Feelings that affect a persons behaviour that are intense and short lived.
 * The group definitions from the class are at (link to be added).


 * Motivation. Deckers (2010) describes Motivation as an internal disposition that pushes an individual toward some desired end. Reeve (2009) states that the study of Motivation concerns those processes that give behaviour its energy and direction.
 * The key elements from the aforementioned informal and formal definitions of motivation are: energy, direction and behaviour.


 * Emotion. Deckers (2010) suggests that Emotions are a functional reaction to a stimulus event or change. Reeve (2009) describes Emotions as short-lived feeling-arousal-purposive-expressive phenomena that help us adapt to opportunities and challenges.
 * The key elements of emotion are: feelings, short-lived, reactions.


 * Personal Interests. My personal interest within the field of psychology is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with a particular focus on War Veterans and their Families. My text book chapter topic is The Affect of Anxiety on Emotion. The main motivators in my life are family; namely my partner, my children and my parents and brother, and being the best person I can be. I also commit a lot of my time to physical fitness and general well being. The main emotions in my life at the moment are love, happiness and unfortunately at times disappointment. My personal goals for this unit is to become familiar and comfortable with using wikiversity and to gain a D grade this semester.

Week 4: Psychological & Social Needs
Chapter 6: Psychological Needs

Humans in general, place themselves in environments that support and nurture their psychological needs, then positive emotions, optimal experience and healthy development follow.


 * Psychological needs. When an activity involves our psychological needs, we feel interest. Additionally, when an activity satisfies our psychological needs we feel enjoyment. The organismic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness provide people with a natural motivation for learning, growing and development. Thus enabling an individual to effectively interact with the environment (Reeve, 2009).


 * Autonomy. Human beings inherently want the freedom to construct our own goals and the freedom to make our own decisions. Reeve (2009) defines autonomy as the psychological need to experience self-direction and personal endorsement in the initiation and regulation of one's behaviour. Autonomy is influenced by an internal Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC), Volition and Choice over One's Actions. PLOC is related to the source of an individual's motivation whether internal or external. Volition refers to an unpressured willingness to engage in an activity. Choice is with regard to decision making flexibility.


 * Competence. Everyone wants to be competent at chosen activities such as work, sport and in relationships. Competence is the psychological need to be effective in interactions with the environment, and it reflects the desire to exercise one's capacities and skills and, in doing so, to seek out and master optimal challenges (Reeve, 2009). The elements that promote competence are optimal challenge, clear and helpful structure and high failure tolerance (Reeve, 2009).

+ Optimal challenge. When challenge matches skill, concentration, involvement and enjoyment rise. If challenges and skills are perfectly matched, flow is achieved. Flow is regarded as a state of concentration that involves a holistic absorption and deep involvement in an activity. It is important to note that if an activity is too difficult or too easy, flow cannot be achieved (reeve, 2009).

+ Structure. Structure is defined as the amount and clarity of information about what the environment expects the person to do to achieve desired outcomes (Reeve, 2009).

+ Failure tolerance. When attempting to achieve optimal challenge or flow, failure is just as likely as achieving success. Therefore, individuals must have a high level of failure tolerance if attempting to achieve flow, especially on a regular basis (Reeve, 2009).


 * Relatedness. We all have a need for relatedness, whether it is with friends or family members, groups, organisations or communities. In short, we need to belong and as such we have a need for relatedness. Relatedness is defined by Reeve (2009) as 'the psychological need to establish close emotional bonds and attachments with other people, and it reflects the desire to be emotionally connected to and interpersonally involved in warm relationships'. Interaction with others is the primary condition that involves the relatedness need, at least to the extent that those interactions will promise the possibility of warmth, care and mutual concern. To be satisfying, a social bond needs to be characterised by the perception that the other person (1) cares about my welfare, and (2) likes me. When it comes to relatedness and relationships, quality is more important than quantity (Reeve, 2009).

Personal Insight

Chapter 7: Social Needs

As discussed in Chapter 4 during week three, a need is any condition within a person that is essential and necessary for life, growth and well-being.


 * Acquired needs. Because of repeated emotional experiences, we acquire preferences for particular situations, hobbies and careers that involve and satisfy the social needs we acquire and value. Acquired needs are divided into two categories; quasi needs and social needs. Quasi needs are situationally induced wants and desires that are not regarded as full needs in the same sense as the aforementioned physiological, psychological and social needs. However, they do represent true needs in some fashion. They can dominate the consciousness and originate from situation demands and pressures. Additionally, they are deficiency-oriented and are therefore reactive. Conversley, social needs are acquired through experience, development and socialisation. They are NOT set at an early age, indeed they emerge and change over time. Social needs arise and activate emotional and behavioural behaviour potential when need satisfying incentives appear. They are mostly reactive in nature and therefore lie dormant within us until a need incentive is encountered. Thus the social need is brought to our attention in terms of thinking, feeling and behaving (Reeve, 2009).

(Reeve, 2009).
 * Achievement. The need for achievement is the desire to do well relative to a standard of excellence. A standard of excellence is any challenge to a person's sense of competence that ends with an objective outcome of success versus failure. When facing standards of excellence peoples emotional and behavioural reactions vary. Those high in the need for achievement respond with approach oriented emotions and behaviours whereas those low in the need for achievement react with avoidant emotions and behaviours. From this point of view, the need for achievement may be regarded as a double edge sword (Reeve, 2009). We all experience standards of excellence as a two-edged sword: Partly because we feel excitement and hope and anticipate the pride of a job well done; partly we feel anxiety and fear and anticipate the shame of possible humiliation. The need for achievement is derived from the difficulty of the task, competition, and entrepreneurship. Two theories dominate the understanding of achievement motivation; Atkinsons Model of Achievement Behaviour and a contemporary view that centres on a cognitive approach

+ Atkinson's Theory features four variables: achievement behaviour and it's three predictors- need for achievement, probability of success and incentive for success.

++ Dynamics of Action Model. In his dynamics of action model, achievement behaviour occurs within a stream of ongoing behaviour which is determined by three factors, instigation, inhibition and consummation. Instigation refers to causing a rise in approach tendencies and occurs by confronting environmental stimuli associated with past reward. Converselt, inhibition causes a rise in avoidant tendencies and occurs by confronting environmental stimuli associated with past punishment. Consummation refers to the fact that performing an activity brings about its own cessation. Achiement behaviour is regarded as something that is constantly changing, therefore it is viewed as dynamic, not static (Reeve, 2009).

+ The Contemporary approach to achievement motivation involves achievement goals. Contemporary researchers have become increasingly interested in why a person displays achievement behaviour. Integration. A robust model has been achieved by incorporating Atkingson's model and the contemporary theory. The integrated approach negates the deficiencies of the two previous models.


 * Affiliation and intimacy. The contemporary view of affiliation strivings recognises two facets: the need for approval and the need for intimacy. From a positive perspective affilliation is regarded as a willingness to experience a warm, close and communicative exchange with another person (intimacy). Conversely, the negative aspects include the anxious need to establish, maintain and restore interpersonal relations (affiliation). The principle condition that involves the need for affiliation is the deprivation from social interaction and the need for intimacy expresses itself as a growth oriented motive. When afraid, people desire to affiliate for emotional support and to see how others handle the emotions they feel from the fear object. During face-to-face interactions, high intimacy need persons laugh, smile and make eye contact more than do low intimacy need people. Because it is a deficit oriented motive, the need affiliation, when satisfied brings out emotions of relief rather than joy (Reeve, 2009).


 * Power. 'People high in the need for power desire to have impact, control and influence over another person, group, or the world at large'(Winter, 1973 as cited in Reeve, 2009). Impact allows power-needing individuals to establish power. Control allows the maintainance of power and influence enables an individual to expand or restore power. Conditions that involve and satisfy the need for power are leadership, aggressiveness, influential occupations and prestige possessions (Reeve, 2009).

+ Leadership and relationships. People high in the need for power seek recognition in groups and find ways for making themselves visible to others, apparently in an effort to establish influence. In selecting their friends and coworkers, power striving individuals generally prefer others who are in a position to be led.

+ Aggressiveness. Aggression is one means of both involving and satisfying power needs. However, overt aggression is generally considered a more within society and as such this need is regularly directed inward. The agressiveness release often occurs during drinking binges, where the alcohol is often blamed for the behaviour.

+ Influential occupations. People high in the need for power are attracted to occupations such as business executives, teachers, psychologist, journalists, clergy and international diplomats. Therefore, people can involve and satisfy their power strivings through the job they choose.

+ Prestige possessions. People high in the need for power surround themsleves with status symbols such as a luxury cars, latest electronic 'gadgets', clothing and expensive homes (Revve, 2009).

Personal Insight

Week 5: Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation & Goal Setting
Chapter 5: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations


 * Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the inherent propensity to engage one's interests and to exercise one's capacities and, in doing so to seek out and master optimal challenges. When people are intrinsically motivated they act out of interest, or for the fun of it such as exercise or sport. The activity allows the person to feel free (autonomy), effective (competence) or emotionally close (relatedness). Intrinsic motivation has additional benefits such as promoting persistence, creativity, higher learning and well-being (Reeve, 2009). Extrinsic motivation arises from environmental incentives and consequences such as food, money, praise and trophies. Therefore, extrinsic motivation arises from some consequence that is separate from the activity itself. It is considered to be a behavioural contract: 'do this' and you will 'get...'. It is also referred to as a 'what's in it for me' type of motivation. On the surface, the behaviours of these two motivators appear to be the same, the difference between the is the source of the motivation (Reeve, 2009).


 * External regulation of motivation. Extrinsic motivation is influenced by operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is defined as 'the process by which a person learns how to operate effectively within an environment'. The individual learns what to do in order to receive a reward or incentive and what to avoid in terms of punishment. An incentive is an environmental event that attracts or repels a person toward or away from initiating a particular course of action, therefore incentives precede behaviour. A punisher is any environmental stimulus that when presented, decreases the future probability of the undesired behaviour, for example yelling at a child when they go near a hot stove. A punisher follows behaviour. Incentives and rewards can be positive or negative, a positive reinforcer when presented increases behaviour, whereas a negative reinforcer when removed also increases the desired behaviour. The positive and negative elements should not be viewed as good or bad but regarded as adding or subtracting the reinforcer (Reeve, 2009).


 * Hidden costs of reward. There are detrimental affects of extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators are known to decrease intrinsic motivation and also to hinder the process and quality of learning. However, external regulation is not always bad or counter-productive when applied in specific ways. For example, research indicates that the detrimental affects can be reduced by using unexpected verbal praise and to limit the use of extrinsic motivators (Reeve, 2009).


 * Cognitive evaluation theory. The main reason behind the use of extrinsic motivators is to shape, influence or control another person's behaviour. However, they also provide a means of feedback to the individual acknowledging their efficiency or competence. Cognitive evaluation theory asserts that all external events have both a controlling aspect and an informational aspect. The theory presumes that people have psychological needs for autonomy and competence. Therefore, any external event such as money, praise or grades can be administered in a controlling or informational way. Praise for example can be delivered in either a controlling manner or informationally, 'you did an excellent job' or 'you did an excellent job because you ..'. The main point is that it is not the praise per se but the way it is delivered. Competition is a means where an individual can observe improvement in their own ability or by acknowledging their competence in relation to others (Reeve, 2009).


 * Types of extrinsic motivation. There are four types of external regulation which appear on a motivation continuum, namely external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation and integrated regulation. External regulation has an external PLOC and is usually preceded by an external prompt such as external rewards or punishments. Introjected regulation a minimal external PLOC and is monitored by self-control, ego and internal rewards and punishments. Identified regulation has a minimal internal PLOC and is determined by conscious valuing and personal importance. Integrated regulation has a predominantly internal PLOC and is associated with congruence between the task and the self (Reeve, 2009).


 * Building interest and motivating others. The problem with using expected and tangible rewards is that they yield only compliance, low quality learning, minimal functioning and a dependence on further external regulation. The difficulty is finding ways to motivate others to complete uninteresting tasks. Researchers have discovered that by informing others of the task with a verbal purpose statement adds value to the activity. As such engagement in the activity is created and the individual is able to internalise the outcome. Building interest in an activity enhances attention, effort and learning. Interest is regarded in two forms, situational interest and individual interest. Situational interest is triggered by by appealing external events and exists as a short-term attraction to an activity. Individual interest is more stable and develops over time as an enduring personal disposition. The greater an individual's knowledge of an activity or task attention, effort and performance are increased, therefore quality learning is very important with regard to motivating others and building interest (Reeve, 2009).

Chapter 8: Goal Setting and Striving


 * Cognitive perspective on motivation. Cognitive sources of motivation focus on an individual's way of thinking and believing. The cognitive process from a motivational perspective is regarded as the causal determinants to action (Reeve, 2009).


 * Plans. People have a mental image of an ideal behaviour, event or object and also have a realistic view of the current state of these elements. When the current state does not meet the ideal state there is incongruity. The incongruity provides a motivational vision of how to remove the incongruity which gives rise to planning. Therefore the incongruity acts as the motivational 'spring into action' (provides energy), and the plan becomes the means of organising our behaviour toward the pursuit of the ideal state (provides direction). The test-operate-test-exit (TOTE) model is the means by which a plan is realised, implemented and adjusted if required. (include a diagram of the TOTE Model) The basic principle is that if the present state after testing is achieved then the individual exits the TOTE model. However, if the current state is not realised in accordance with the visualised state, the plan is amended, tested and implented again. This cycle continues until the current state in congruous with the ideal state. Two types of discrepancies may interfere with the TOTE process Discrepancy reduction provides feedback on how well or how poorly an individual is performing in relation to the plan, it is reactionary in nature. Discrepncy creation is proactive, it is based on a feed-forward process by looking into the future, such as an additional goal or higher goal to the one intended (Reeve, 2009).


 * Goal setting.


 * Goal striving.

Week 9: Nature of Emotion
Nature of Emotion: Five Perennial Questions

1. What is an emotion?

Emotions are defined as 'intense, short-lived subjective feelings that initiate action and influence behaviour' (Solomon, 2002). An initial analysis of this definition identifies three key points, firstly they are intense. Boven, White and Huber (2009) state that current emotions have a stronger impact than emotions which have occurred in the past, the explanation for this is that current emotions are more salient and therefore appear to be stronger in intensity. Secondly emotions are short-lived, lasting up to a maximum of four seconds (Ekman, 1984 as cited in Deckers 2010 & McMakin, Santiago & Shirk, 2009). Finally, emotions guide action and behaviour (Srivastava, McGonigal, Gross, Tamir & John, 2009). Early studies have identified that the core emotions are aligned with specific facial expressions (Ekman & Freisen, 1971; & Ekman & Freisen, 1978). Facial expressions are reported to be innate and are identical around the globe, thus they are not bound by race, religion or culture. Interestingly people who are blind from birth still convey facial expressions in the same manner as individuals with full sight (Fernandez-Dols, Carrera, De Mendoza & Oceja, 2007; & Miyamoto, Ellsworth & Uchida, 2010).

2. What causes an emotion?

Emotion serves as a catalyst to energise motives and thus guide behaviour (Srivastava, McGonigal, Gross, Tamir & John, 2009). In this sense emotions prime 'action readiness'. By way of example, fear energises the fight or flight response in indiviuals. The motivation of fear is to remove oneself from a dangerous situation, the resulting action may result in avoidance, freezing or escaping behaviours. Additionally, the facial expression of sadness signals distress to others and is a non-verbal request for assistance (Trachsel, Gurtner, von Kanel & Grosse Holtforth, 2010).

3. How many emotions are there?

Dr Paul Ekman's early research identified six core emotions: anger, Fear, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise. Ekman hypothesised that the core emotions have evolutionary links which are required for survival. His later research identified the additional emotions of contempt, guilt, shame, interest, embarrassment, awe and excitement (Ekman, 1992). He further increased his findings by classifying sensory emotions, namely relief, wonder, ecstasy and bliss (Ekman, 2003). 'Primary emotions are regarded as innate and are a response to an internal or external stimulus, whereas secondary emotions are defined as "the product of cognitive processing" (Becker & Wachsmuth as cited in Reichardt, Levi & Meyer, 2006, p.31).

4. What good are the emotions?

Emotions serve to initiate action and guide behaviour.

5. What is the difference between emotion and mood?

Moods are differentiated from emotions by intensity and temporal measurement. Moods are less intense than emotions but are longer lasting (Velasquez as cited in Canamero, 1998). Emotions have a short life span of seconds where as moods may last for hours (Ekman, 1984 as cited in Deckers 2010).

Week 14: Summary & Conclusion
Gajah 10:51, 2 September 2010 (UTC)