User:Tink22

About Me
Hello my name is Mara and I'm a student studying the subject Motivation and Emotion. As a requiremnt for this course I'm required to document my learnings throughout the sememster in an E-Portfolio blog on Wikiversity. I invite you to read through my weekly blogs to gain a brief overview on this subject.

Motivation

 * The drive and energy that urges an individual towards a particular goal through behavior.
 * Our textbook describes 'to be motivated' means to be moved into action.
 * The relationship between motivation and behavior or action occurs either by internal motives or environmental incentives (Reeve, 2009).


 * Sources Involuntary vs Voluntary behavior- Involuntary is explained as when a response follows the stimulus immediately. Voluntary behavior however, is when the response occurs immediately after or in delay. Energy for behavior is another source which suggest to act, think and behave implies that a person has energy to do so. Either environmental or internal stimuli can release an individuals energy (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).

Important themes which I found interesting in motivation

 * 1) Motives affect behavior by directing particular attention
 * 2) Motivation includes both an approach and an avoidance; approach describes the pull of a particular motivation and avoidance is described as having the push away tendencies.
 * 3) Motivation study can reveal the context of human nature and studies can be done either experimentally or in a natural setting. Deckers, (2005) describes experimental study as the manipulation of motivational variables to determine its effects on any behaviors. However, there are some things that are unethical to study in an experimental condition (like depriving someone of food)and that's when research in a natural setting is more useful/ethical-the existing motivational variable occur naturally.
 * 4) Motivation needs supportive conditions to thrive (Reeve, 2009).

Brief history of motivation
The lecture and text explains the aspects of will, instinct and drive as the initial perspectives of Motivation and there are many theorists in which have contributed to its theories. This section highlights a few theorists in which shaped how we view the concepts of motivation.


 * Ancient philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C) described four different types of causes as being efficient(triggers of behavior), final (aim of motivated behavior), formal (integration of the theory of motivation into models, hypothesis and diagrams) and material (physiological reasons) and if we assume that motivation involves causing change or inducing behavior then it would be noted that Aristotle was the first theorist in the study of motivation (Reeve, 2009).


 * Hedonism is a principle of motivation which was studied by Greek philosophers nearly 2,400 years ago and is defined as the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain (which describe the current notion of the push and pull theory of motivation.) (Deckers, 2006)


 * Sigmund Freud wrote about hedonism, instincts and unconscious motivation:
 * -Instincts: is the internal stimulus that induces a specific pattern of behavior in species.
 * -Unconscious Motivation: explains the role of awareness. It is the motives which have entered the conscious state from the unconscious pleasures and thoughts (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).


 * Charles Darwin played a huge part in the linking of evolution and motivation. In his study of mammals he defined the theory of selection, which describes how certain traits are selected for the environment and are aids in survival. In an example Deckers, (2005) describes that cheetahs need to be fast in obtaining their food and this motivation for food has enabled the cheetah to adapt the trait of high speed in the pursuit to satisfy their need of hunger.


 * Drive concept Woodworth in 1918 described a drive as being what has induced a person to do something and a mechanism as referring to how we do something.
 * The concept of drive(Woodworth, 1918) along with needs(Murray, 1938) and instincts(McDougall, 1908) all refer to motivation as energy waiting to be released (Reeve, 2009).
 * Warden (1931)- Incentive drive link- Motivation involves both internal and environmental factors and this concept refers to drives and incentives as matching up to produce a motivation.


 * Field theory- according to Lewin (1936) human action takes place within a human's life space (meaning their internal and external environment.) Psychological force= Valence of a goal/ Psychological distance between the goal and person.

(Reeve, 2009)

The Brain in Motivation
In week three we covered the the brain and physiological needs in relation to motivational behavior.

The Brain is typically divided into three parts
 * The Thinking Brain - what it is doing
 * The Motivated Brain - whether you want to do it
 * The Emotional Brain - what your mood is while doing it (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).

This table is derived from Reeve, (2009) and shows which section of the brain represents a particular function of a motivational or emotional stimulus.

The brains responses are activated via a number of neurotransmitters, which send signals to various parts of the brain and activate certain responses. These responses are carried along what is known as the neurotransmitter pathway via a cluster of neurons that communicate with one another. There are four main pathways of neurotransmitters, these are:(Reeve, 2009)


 * Dopamine
 * Serotonin
 * Norepinephrine
 * Endorphin

This was my first tutorial for this subject and as an icebreaker the class started by arranging the participants in a series of different groupings. This activity aimed to introduce the participants to each other and also to the tutor, I found this activity very refreshing compared to the normal icebreakers in tutorials and it also enabled to make some friends within my tutorial. The grouping topics are listed below:
 * 1) Thumb-size
 * 2) How long you've been at UC
 * 3) Favorite fast food
 * 4) Who you voted for
 * 5) How you've been feeling (emotionally) today

The theory component of this class focused on the definition of emotion and motivation:

My own definition of motivation: The drive and energy that pushes an individual towards a particular goal My own definition of emotion: Onset of feeling which are influenced by mood, however i preferred the text book definition which described emotion as the Psychological and Physiological state that influences feeling, thought and behaviors.

Class definitions of motivation included: The drive and energy that urges/pushes an individual towards a particular goal through behaviour.Gives energy to direct behaviour.Processes that give behaviour direction and energy. Energy and direction to behave in a goal-directed way. Energy to direct or focus on a task, eliciting a behaviour.

Class definitions of Emotion included: The feelings an individual experiences in response to cognition's, thoughts, physiological influences and external stimuli. Feelings that affect a person's behaviour; emotions are intense and short. Cognitive thoughts and feelings that are descriptive in nature. Psychological and physiological state that influences thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The chemical reactions within our bodies that are reflected through our behaviors and feelings.

The most important aspect of this tutorial for me was learning about the tools and requirements for my textbook chapter. The wiki cheat was fully explained and I grasped the idea of how to create headings. A structure was also discussed with the class suggesting the main components that should be included in your chapter, some of these points include; Core theories, learning features, relevant research, links to more resources, quizzes and summaries of the main points.

The next tutorial will based on the theory of Needs and Motivation.

Personal Reflection One
In attending the first lecture and tutorial for this subject I would have to say that I'm extremely overwhelmed with the assessment items. I have never created a website, blog or video presentation before and I'm really stressed. I have never had an interest in in studying IT before and I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss the essay/exam assessments. In saying this I'm still really excited about learning the content of this subject and I have found the theories and concepts thus far quite interesting. The way i will be writing my E-Portfolio is in two week blocks after I have attended my scheduled tutorial for that week. There will be three sub sections to each portfolio containing a theory section (which will mainly focus on the tutorial topics of Intro to motivation, needs, self and goals, emotion, Personality and psychological growth), my personal reflection and goals for the subject and finally a section on how my assessment items are coming along. My goals for the next two weeks is to master how to use Wikiversity and start to feel confident in the textbook chapter assessment. I will also like to have a draft mapped out to take along to the next tutorial in week 5.

Assessment Work
Textbook Chapter


 * The topic I have chosen is emotions and facial expressions. Immediately after choosing this subject I wanted to focus on facial expressions in child development and I'm currently seeing if i can obtain enough information to focus solely on that particular subgroup of facial expressions.
 * I'm also trying to find time to have a meeting with my lecturer, James, so he can teach me the ins and outs of creating a web page....ahhhh so scary :D
 * Wikiversity navigation this fortnight has all been about creating my password and user name, reading some of my classmates very insightful blogs and studying the wiki cheat sheet.

Introduction to Needs
(Derived from Decker, 2005)


 * Needs are essential for an individual to lead a healthy life, in growth and in development. A neglect of not satisfying ones needs can result in physiological and psychological damage (Reeve, 2009).
 * Thus, to avoid damage, motivation serves as the force behind our actions designed to fulfill these needs
 * Needs can be categorized as physiological, psychological and social in nature (Reeve, 2009). Psychological needs refer to inherent characteristics of humans, like their mental awareness (when you think about how well you did in an essay or exam). Physiological needs also explain that needs are inherent, and these needs represent the biological desires(waking in up in the morning requires the need of hunger as your body has just gone 8 hours without food and needs fuel for the day)(Coon & Mitterer, 2008). While psychological and physiological needs are inherent, social needs are influenced by an individuals unique environment and a craving towards it (wanting to catch up with friends)

Physiological Needs


These needs are described as the basic human needs for survival and if these requirements are not met the human body can simply not continue to function. The most basic of these physiological needs include breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).


 * Thirst: thirst is the consciously experienced motivational state that readies the person to perform behaviors necessary to replenish a water deficit.
 * Hunger: hunger and eating involve a complex regulatory system of both short-term and long-term regulation.
 * Sex: sexual motivation rises and falls in response to a host of factors, including hormones, external stimulation, external cues (facial metrics), cognitive scripts, sexual schema, and evolutionary process (Reeve, 2009).

Abraham Maslow (1970) constructed a hierarchy of needs which contained five levels of the basic needs. The five human motivational needs are arranged by ascending order of importance, with lower/first need likely to be acted upon primarily before the other needs are addressed. The five ascending needs are (1) physiological, (2) safety, (3) social, (4) esteem, and (5) self-actualization (This can be seen in Diagram One). Maslow purposed the notion that Once a need has been satisfied, the next level emerges as a motivator. Beyond these needs, higher levels of needs can exist and these include needs for understanding, aesthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs (Reeve, 2009).

Psychological and Social needs
The Lecture describes psychological needs as an inherent source of motivation that generates the desire to interact with the environment. Psychological needs aim to enhance personal growth, social development and psychological well-being. Deckers, (2005) suggest that psychological needs are created through deprivation of a particular incentive and have a known underlying physiology. For this reason these needs are preexisting and remain unactivated until aroused by an appropriate stimulus.

The self determination theory describes three main components of psychological needs as being Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness:


 * 1) Autonomy the psychological need to experience self-direction and personal endorsement in the initiation and regulation of one’s behavior.
 * 2) Competence A psychological need to be effective in interactions with the environment. It seems that competence is something that we all desire and Reeve (2009) suggests that we desire competence within school, work, in relationships, and during recreation and sports.
 * 3) Relatedness Is essentially known as social belonging. It is a psychological need to establish close emotional bonds and attachments with other people. This is something we all want, and certainly something that I can relate to (Reeve, 2009).

Socials Needs is a acquired psychological process that grows out of an individuals socialization history, which activates emotional responses to a particular need incentive. According to the lecture there are four main examples of this including;


 * 1) Achievement- doing something well to show personal competence.
 * 2) Affiliation- opportunity to please others
 * 3) Intimacy- warmth and security of a relationship
 * 4) Power- having impact towards or over others.


 * The tutorial started with an in depth look into the definition of needs and one of the main points which was made throughout the class was that needs are innate in nature and aren't particularly learned human components.


 * Maslows hierarchy of needs was discussed next and it was interesting to hear that the model was never based on empirical research and that the system isn't really culturally constructed. In textbook and lecture notes about the model I understood that all the physiological states need to be accepted before continuing to the next tier, however this is not the case at all.
 * The tutorial then focused on labeling particular neural structures on a picture of the brain. My partner and I struggled in identifying some of the features especially the septal area (curvy bit at the top, which is the pleasure center of the brain.)

Dopamine: Generates good feelings associated with reward. Dopamine is released when anticipating future pleasant events, release decreases when events unfold worse than they were expected to, release continues if things go well and finally the release increases when things go better than expected. Serotonin: Influences mood and emotion Norepinephrine: Regulates arousal and alertness Endorphin: Inhibits pain, anxiety and fear by generating good feelings to counter these negative feelings (Reeve, 2009, p. 63)
 * The motivational role for the key Neurotransmitters were also identified:


 * The role of the Physiological, Psychological and social needs were briefly mentioned and when addressing the social needs I came across some definitions I haven't read. Quasi-needs is defined as the more short-lived needs which include situational induced wants, such as an immediate need for money, a need for self- esteem when rejected, or a need for an umbrella when it rains. Another interesting point made when discussing social needs is that the need is considered to be socially created (trained through family and culture).

Assessment work
These two weeks have been very productive for me in working on my textbook chapter. Most of my time has gone into reading many journal articles and textbooks on emotion and facial expressions and with much considerations have decided on main points in which I will focus. There will be three main components in my chapter consisting of a history, theories & hypothesis and also main types of expressions section. I'm also currently researching another section idea of facial expressions and disabilities.

At the beginning of week four the navigation through the wikiversity website is still something I'm finding extremely challenging but after watching a few instructional videos and reading many 'how to' links on the site I'm slowly realizing the processes.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation describes the inherent desire to engage one interests and to exercise and develop ones capabilities, For an example "I am doing this because I find it enjoyable!". The desires are formed with no apparent external influence, however they can be supported through the environment and/or relationships. There are many benefits of having high levels of intrinsic motivation and based of Reeve, (2009) the main advantages include persistence, an increased level of creativity, higher conceptual understanding and quality of learning and also increased well-being and optimal functioning.

Extrinsic motivation is an environmentally created reason to engage in an action or activity (example= "Do this so i can get a that"). An external regulation of a motivation is the result of specific benefits which include incentives (environmental events that attract or repel a person), consequences (are the positive reinforcers or negative punishments) and also rewards (an offering of achievement from the motivation.)(Reeve, 2009).

Please watch this youtube video which gives an overview of the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation- [Youtube Video]

Goals and Goal Setting
Goal-setting and goal striving involve the planning, the setting of a goal, the strive towards that particular goal and finally the creation of a goal. Plans & discrepancy explains an individuals need create a goal and according to the lecture this is due to an unappreciated present state (persons current state) and need for the ideal state (how the person wishes life was going). There are two types of discrepancy in which create a sense of wanting to change and are labeled as 'reduction' and 'creation'. Reduction is based on detecting feedback that underlies plans and corrective motivation, whereas creation discrepancy is based on a system in which a person aims to look forward and sets a future higher goal (Reeve, 2009).


 * A goal is something a person is trying to accomplish or achieve, it is the incentive of an outcome required for an ideal state. (One of the main components of a goal is in performance. Setting a goal in performance either directs or energizes behavior which aims to enhance ones performance.) (Deckers, 2006)


 * The use of the tool of feedback in the setting and striving for a goal is the single most important predictor of achievement, however although the tool is powerful it can harmful if the feedback is negative (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).

Goal processes


 * 1) Goal acceptance: include the perceived difficulty, participation and extrinsic incentives of the goal.
 * 2) Goal choice: is based around the ability, self efficacy, past performance and incentive's of an individual.
 * 3) Long term or short term goals: describes the time frame of specific goals.

Personal Control Beliefs and the Idea of Self
In the next week of this course our lecture and readings focused on personal control beliefs, the self and its striving.

Motivation to exercise personal control describes the assumptions and understanding that people desire to have control over there environment so they can make more positive outcomes than negative ones. The prediction of an individual exercising personal control is based on their belief that they can influence results favorably. The strength of an individual's personal control is linked to their experiences on the achievement of personal control. There are two expectancies in which predict the likelihood of personal control and include efficacy and outcome expectancy. Efficacy expectancy describe ones ability in enacting there required or needed behaviour in order to cope effectively with a particular situation. Outcome expectancy on the other hand is the expectation that one's behavior will produce positive and prevent negative outcomes (Reeve, 2009).

Self-efficacy

According to Burger, (2008) Self efficacy is referred to ones belief and judgment that they can complete a specific task required. It predicts the motivational balance between wanting to try something and the doubtfulness and anxiety of not succeeding. The opposite of self-efficacy is self-doubt which effects an individuals effective thinking and decision making which can lead to anxiety and tension.

Sources of self efficacy:

- Enactive Mastery Experience or Personal Behaviour History: whether they have done it before.

- Vicarious Experience: watching someone else perform the same task before you do it (watching a classmate present a speech to the class with no adverse affects increases your self efficacy to complete the same task).

- Verbal Persuasion: Someone else convincing you that you can perform the task (Verbal encouragement).

- Physiological State: what state you are in can effect how confident you feel about performing a task.

Empowerment involves possessing the ability of actually completing a task, it is the knowing of what is to be done and the belief in finishing the task. Therefore the components of empowerment include skills, knowledge and self-efficacy.

Mastery Beliefs- the extent of perceived control an individual has over attaining desirable outcomes and preventing adverse ones from acquiring.

Ways of Coping

How an individual copes with a situation effects how much mastery they have over outcomes. Some ways are (according to the text and lecture notes):

- approach vs avoidance

- social vs solitary

- proactive vs reactive

- direct vs indirect

- control vs escape

- alloplatic vs autoplastic

- problem focused vs emotion focused

(Reeve, 2009)

Mastery VS Helplessness

This concept suggests that individuals can react to the failure of completing a task in different ways. In the textbook Reeve, (2009) it is noted that there are two main orientations in which reveal this: (Reeve, 2009)

- Mastery Motivational Orientation: this is having a hardy, resistant idea of the self and responding by remaining focused and still aiming for achievement even when their are difficulties and setbacks. They focus on how to overcome the problems that brought on failure.

- Helpless Motivational Orientation: this is having a fragile idea of self and responding to failure by giving up and acting like the situation is out of their control. They focus on why they are failing usually due to thinking they have low ability.

Reactant theory

This theory explains the psychological and behavioral attempt at reestablishing an eliminated freedom and highlights a few main concepts:


 * If an individual believes an outcome is uncontrollable this will arouse the reactant.


 * An individual will fight back and try to gain control over the outcome.


 * If after a number of attempts no control is gained then the individual will fall into a state of learned helplessness (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).

The Self

There are four main topics that need to be looked when discussing the motivational basis of the self and its striving, and these include:

- defining or creating the self: wonder who we are

- relating the self to society: wonder how we want to relate to others

- discovering and developing personal potential: explore what does and does not interest us

- managing or regulating the self: reflect on our capacities (Reeve, 2009).


 * Self Constructs

- Self-esteem: self-worth or self-value

- Self-efficacy: beliefs about one's ability to perform specific tasks

- Self-confidence: belief in one's personal worth and likelihood of succeeding

- Self-concept: nature and organization of beliefs about one's self



This tutorial focused more specifically on some applied aspects of motivation (rather than the previous tutorial which was more of a summary of lecture and reading content).

University Student Motivations: this section of the tutorial looked intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of why we are studying at university. The class mapped out the main underlying motivation for attending university with many reasons being:

- Career/Qualifications - for the degree, so I can get a better job etc. - Self-Exploration/Learning - for the learning, curiosity, knowledge-seeking etc. - Social Opportunities - to meet people, make and explore friendships, enjoy social environment - Altruism - to become better able to help people, help society, help the planet etc. - Social Pressure - expectations of family, friends, society etc

My main motivations for being at University are mainly for self exploration and learning. At this stage of my life i just love to learn new things :)

The idea of a functionalist perspective (Clary & Snyder) on motivation was also discussed within this tutorial. This perspective is something I have not been aware of previously. The perspective suggests that a good match between motivations and outcomes leads to satisfaction and retention, whereas a poor match between motivations and outcomes leads to low satisfaction and risk of drop-out of studies.

Learned optimism and Self constructs were also discussed in the tutorial however I was not able to stay for this section.

Personal Reflection
There was so much to learn these weeks and I struggled to keep up with this subject as I had mid semester exams going on during this time. One aspect i did find really interesting was self-efficacy; surprisingly up until this semester I understood the concept but didn't know what it was labeled. Further reading has enlightened this theory for me and through research I have found out that the theorist Bundura was the person who listed and described the four sources of self efficacy. There is a wide range studies that have been placed on the role of self efficacy on performance and specific tasks and I few that I find most interesting are listed in the links below.

Assessment Work
Not much assessment work has been done over the last two weeks as I will be doing my draft over the mid semester break. However, I have decided not to include a section of about Facial expressions and child development and also disabilities as I will be mentioning them throughout the theories section of my chapter in instead; Unfortunately I couldn't find enough research and theory to describe these two topics.

Theory (readings/lecture and tutorial work)
From all my readings I have completed over the last two weeks I would have to conclude that the nature emotion is one of the hardest topics in psychology to define. Its definition is very subjective and open to interpretations (just like our emotions are). In this section I will be answering the following question briefly; What is emotion? What are its causes? and how many emotions are there?



What is emotion
The word emotion includes a wide range of observable behaviors, expressed feelings, and changes in the body state. This diversity in intended meanings of the word emotion make it hard to study. For many of us emotions are very personal states, difficult to define or to identify except in the most obvious instances. Moreover, many aspects of emotion seem unconscious to us. Even simple emotional states appear to be much more complicated than states as hunger and thirst (Lewis, Haviland-Jones & Barrett, 2008).


 * Emotion is a feeling- that is private and subjective.
 * Emotion is a state of psychological arousal- expression or display of distinctive somatic and autonomic responses.
 * Emotions are actions- such as defending or attacking in response to a threat.

What Causes Emotion
The biological and cognitive perspective are both considered as potential causes of emotion. Izard (1989) & Ekman (1992) theorized that the biology lies at the the casual core of emotions and the cognitive perspective is considered an essential for emotion. Both cognitive and biological processes are influenced by a significant event which causes the onset of feelings, social expressiveness, bodily arousal and sense of purpose (Lewis, Haviland-Jones & Barrett, 2008).

How many Emotions are There?
There isn't an exact number in which tell us all the emotions but the biological and cognitive perspective emphasis the different types of emotions. The biological perspective emphasis only the six basic primary emotions (like fear and anger). Cognitive perspective however takes into consideration not only the primary emotions but also the secondary emotion (like confusion, desire and frustration)(Harre & Parrott, 1996). Personally I believe that we have six primary emotions and that all the other emotions stem and branch off from these primary feelings.



Emotions have a Social Function
The social functions of emotions list the importance of expressing these emotions in a social environment. These include:


 * 1) Communicate our feelings with others
 * 2) Influence how others react with us
 * 3) Invite social interaction
 * 4) Create, maintain and dissolve relationships (Harre & Parrott, 1996).

Aspects of Emotions
Three central aspects of emotion include biological, cognitive, and sociocultural aspects. Theories and ideas I found interesting this week includes James-Lange theory, Differential emotion theory and the facial feedback hypothesis. All these theories are apart of explaining the biological aspect of emotion:

James-Lange Theory- Suggests that the body acts uniquely to particular emotions which are all influenced by an environmental or emotional external stimulus. This theory is base for the biological aspect of emotion and all other theories seem to stem from this same concept.

Differential Emotion Theory
 * Unique feeling- Each emotion has its own unique subjective, phenomenological quality.
 * Unique expression- Each emotion has its own unique expression: see also
 * Unique motivation- Each emotion generates a distinctive motivational purpose

Facial Feedback Hypothesis- please see my textbook chapter:[Facial Feedback Hypothesis from my chapter].

Emotional Knowledge- An individuals emotional knowledge is the number of emotions a person can distinguish

Sociocultural Aspects include:
 * 1) Mimicry
 * 2) Feedback
 * 3) Emotional socialization
 * 4) Managing emotions (Harre & Parrott, 1996).

Assessment Work
Textbook Chapter: As of the 25/10 I have now completed a full handwritten draft of my textbook chapter and I'm currently editing it onto the wikiversity site. Coming into the final stages of my chapter I have been experimenting with searching for related pictures and have been practicing placing them onto to my wiki page. While I do believe I am now confident in the Wiki formatting I am unaware of how to make tables and diagrams (which i deem necessary as being included in my chapter to describes theories.) This will be my home work for the next few days and I will probably by meeting with James to see if he can make this process much more simpler for me.

Multimedia: Over the last weeks I have been reviewing the different ways which I could present my media assessment and I have decided to create slides using Microsoft PowerPoint and a voice recording using the program screenr. In deciding this I also had to open a twitter account and sign up to youtube as the presentation requires the video to be published in a public domain. A link will be placed from my wiki textbook chapter when the media presentation is due.

Theory (readings/lecture and tutorial work)
Learning over the past two weeks has been a bit of a re-hash of what I have previously learned throughout my studies in psychology. Therefore, my time this week has mainly gone into the completion of my textbook chapter and multimedia presentation. The theory review for this week will be a very basic overview of the main theories learned over these weeks.

Personality motivation

 * 1) Traits cause people to react differently to different situations
 * 2) Traits also cause people to approach and avoid different situations
 * 3) Traits determine how people react to situations, e.g., positively or negatively
 * 4) Traits determine the choice of situations and the altering of situations, e.g., approach, avoid, or modify situation (Reeve, 2009)


 * There are five main personality traits widely accepted in the literature and there include Neuroticism, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness (Reeve, 2009).

During my research this week I found the Wikipedia page to be very informative on 'The BIG five personality traits' here is a link to the site [Wikipedia-Five personality traits]

Psychodynamic Theory
The Psychodynamic perspective of motivation suggests that “motivation and behaviour emerge from biologically endowed and socially acquired impulses that determine our desires, thoughts, feelings and behaviours” (Reeve, 2009). The psychodynamic approach has emerged from the traditional Freudian Psychoanalytic theory and the dual-instinct theory. Freud’s Dual instinct theory states that are two instincts; the life instinct, and the death instinct. Freud suggested that whilst instinctual drives provide energy for behaviour the ego gives that energy direction.

The contemporary psychodynamic theory is based on four principles (Reeve, 2009);


 * 1) The Unconscious: Much of mental life (thoughts, feelings, and desires) is unconscious
 * 2) Psychodynamics: Mental processes operate in parallel to each other (people commonly want and fear the same thing simultaneously)
 * 3) Ego Development: Healthy development involves moving from an immature socially dependent personality to one that is more mature and interdependent with others
 * 4) Object Relations Theory: Mental representations of self and others form in childhood that guide the person’s later social motivations and relationships (Reeve, 2009) & (Deckers, 2006)

Unconscious motivation
Unconscious motivation plays a prominent role in Sigmund Freud's theories of human behavior. According to Freud and his followers, most human behavior is the result of desires, impulses, and memories that have been repressed into an unconscious state, yet still influence actions. Freud believed that the human mind consists of a tiny, conscious part that is available for direct observation and a much larger subconscious portion that plays an even more important role in determining behavior (Coon & Mitterer, 2008).

Read more: Unconscious Motivation - Freud, Human, Impulses, Plays, Feelings, and Atkinson http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/642/Unconscious-Motivation.html#ixzz15UuZQZKU

Subliminal stimuli are stimuli that are below the threshold for us to consciously notice them. These types of stimuli can have an emotional effect on us but do not necessarily motivate us to the extent that they change our behaviour (Reeve, 2009).

Assessment Work
Textbook: My Textbook chapter is now complete and can be viewed by clicking on this link [Textbook Chapter: Facial Expression]. I believe the chapter is an informative, extensive and entertaining source of information about facial expressions. Diagrams, pictures and tables are used throughout the webpage to better explain and support documented theories and facts. All diagrams and tables were made through Microsoft PowerPoint and then uploaded onto to Wikicommons under the creative commons license 3.0.

Multimedia: Over the last two weeks I have also completed my media presentation. The overview proved to be a struggle to keep within the time limit of 5 minutes, however after many practice recordings I believe I have produced a clear, well-designed and high quality video which highlights the main points of my webpage. Link: [Media Presentation]

Final Reflection
This concludes my study in the subject 'Motivation and Emotions'. I have enjoyed participating in this subject and after much hesitation I came to enjoy all the assessment items and I thank the unit convener for pulling me out of my comfort zone. I have submitted two items of assessment which I am very proud of and believe I have completed to the fullest of my potential. I would like to say that it is the theory of this subject that i have gained most knowledge of but I believe I have gotten more out of doing the assessment. These computer skills which I have learned, I will carry with me for the rest of my years studying. The most valuable lectures for me over the semester was learning about the nature of emotions and its aspects as these lectures related to my textbook chapter of facial expression. I also enjoyed learning about the physiology of the brain and the theory of self efficacy. These topics were also focused in two other subjects I was studying this semester and I found it very validating to have them explained in different ways.

Thank you for following my E-Portfolio! Tink22 signing off :)