Motivation and Emotion
This domain covers why behaviour is initiated and sustained, and how emotions are generated and labelled. Expect theory-matching questions and applied scenarios on arousal and appraisal.
Motivation
- Drive reduction (Hull): a biological need creates a drive, and behaviour restores homeostasis.
- Arousal theory: Yerkes-Dodson inverted U; moderate arousal is optimal, lower for complex tasks.
- Maslow: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualisation.
- McClelland: need for achievement, affiliation and power.
- Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation; the overjustification effect.
Emotion
- James-Lange: bodily changes come first, and emotion follows.
- Cannon-Bard: arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously.
- Schachter-Singer two-factor: arousal plus a cognitive label produces emotion.
- Lazarus: cognitive appraisal.
- Ekman: basic emotions include happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust.
Worked example
A student's heart pounds before an exam and they label the arousal as excitement rather than fear. Reasoning: two-factor theory, because the same arousal with a different cognitive label yields a different emotion.
Traps
- James-Lange and Cannon-Bard are often reversed.
- Yerkes-Dodson is an inverted U, not a straight line.
- Maslow's hierarchy is a model, not a strict empirical law.
- Intrinsic motivation can be undermined by excessive external reward.