5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition (42 page)

Opponent-process theory of emotion

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor theory of emotion

Cognitive-appraisal theory of emotion

Stress

Coping

Positive psychology

Charles Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection indicated that individuals best adapted to their environment will be more likely to survive and reproduce, passing their favorable characteristics on to the next generation. As a result, a beneficial trait (one with high adaptive value) tends to become more common in succeeding generations. Eventually almost all individuals in the population will have the beneficial characteristic. Darwin believed that many behaviors were characteristics that could be passed on. William James thought that motivation by instincts was important for human behavior. In the early 1900s, a small group of psychologists led by William McDougall believed all thought and action necessarily resulted from instincts such as curiosity, aggression, and sociability. Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality is based on instincts that motivate sex and aggression.
Instincts
are complex, inherited behavior patterns characteristic of a species. To be considered a true instinct, the behavior must be stereotypical, performed automatically in the same way by all members of a species in response to a specific stimulus. Birds and butterflies flying south to mate, or salmon swimming upstream to mate, are examples of animals carrying out their instincts, also called fixed-action patterns. An example of an instinct was investigated by
ethologist
and animal behaviorist, Konrad Lorenz, who worked with baby geese. These and other birds form an attachment to the first moving object they see or hear soon after birth by following that object, which is usually their mother. This behavior is known as
imprinting.
When Lorenz was the first moving object they saw, the baby birds followed him.

Evolutionary psychologists may work in the field of
sociobiology
, which tries to relate social behaviors to evolutionary biology. For example, they look at evolutionary mating patterns that differ between the two sexes; a male may be motivated to mate with multiple partners to increase the chance of his genes getting into the next generation, while a female might be motivated to mate for life with the male who has the best resources to take care of her and her children.

Psychologists today debate if there are any human behaviors that can be considered true instincts. Is rooting/sucking behavior complex enough to be considered instinctive behavior, or is it merely reflexive? How much of human behavior is instinctive? Psychologists have found it necessary to devise other theories beyond instinct/evolutionary theory to account for human behavior.

According to Clark Hull’s
drive reduction theory
, behavior is motivated by the need to reduce drives such as hunger, thirst, or sex. The
need
is a motivated state caused by a physiological deficit, such as a lack of food or water. This need activates a
drive
, a state of psychological tension induced by a need, which motivates us to eat or drink, for example. Generally, the greater the need, the stronger the drive. Eating food or drinking water
reduces
the need by satisfying our hunger or quenching our thirst, and our body returns to its state of homeostasis.
Homeostasis
is the body’s tendency to maintain an internal steady state of metabolism, to stay in balance.
Metabolism
is the sum total of all chemical processes that occur in our bodies and are necessary to keep us alive. Scientists have identified many of the neural pathways and hormonal interactions associated with biological needs and drives. For example, receptor cells for thirst and hunger are in the hypothalamus. Drive reduction theory accounts well at least to some extent for primary motives such as hunger, thirst, pain, and sex. This biologically based theory does not account as well for secondary motives such as achievement, affiliation, autonomy, curiosity, power, and play that are social in nature.

Primary motives
push
us to satisfy our biologic needs. But we are also
pulled
by environmental factors, which have little to do with biology. An
incentive
is a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior, pulling us toward a goal. Secondary motives, motives we learn to desire, are learned through society’s pull. Getting a 5 on the AP Psychology examination is an incentive that motivates you to read this book.

What explains people’s needs to climb mountains, bungee jump, or ride roller coasters?
Arousal
is the level of alertness, wakefulness, and activation caused by activity in the central nervous system. The optimal level of arousal varies with the person and the activity. The
Yerkes-Dodson
law states that we usually perform most activities best when moderately aroused, and efficiency of performance is usually lower when arousal is either low or high. We tend to perform difficult or newly learned tasks better at a lower level of arousal, but we tend to perform very easy or well-learned tasks at a higher level of arousal. When first learning to drive a car, we will drive best if we are not anxious about our performance. Years later, we may need the radio on while we are driving to keep us aroused for our best performance.

Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow categorized needs then arranged them in order of priority, starting with powerful physiological needs, such as the needs for food and water. His hierarchy is often pictured as a pyramid (
Figure 12.1
). Maslow agreed with Hull that basic biological needs to satisfy hunger and thirst must be met first, followed by our safety needs to feel safe, secure, and stable in a world that is organized and predictable. When our stomachs are growling because we are hungry and homeless, it is unlikely that our greatest motivation will be to get a high grade on a test. When our needs for food, drink, shelter, and safety have been met, we are motivated to meet our belongingness and love needs, to love and be loved, to be accepted by others and considered part of a group, such as a family, and to avoid loneliness and alienation. This need is followed by esteem needs for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; and need for recognition and respect from others. According to Maslow, few people reach the highest levels of
self-actualization
, which is achievement of all of our potentials, and
transcendence
, which is spiritual fulfillment. Although this theory is attractive, we do not always place our highest priority on meeting lower-level needs. Political activists go on hunger strikes, soldiers sacrifice their lives, parents go without food in order to feed their children. Scientific evidence does not support this theory.

Figure 12.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
.

Why do you eat? You eat when you feel hungry because your stomach is contracting or your blood sugar is low, but you also eat because you love the taste of a particular food, and because you are with friends or family who are eating. Our eating behavior is influenced by biological, social, and cultural factors.