EMOTION AND MOTIVATION

EMOTION AND MOTIVATIONIntroduction

Introduction to Emotion Emotion is a complex phenomenon involving interactions of psychological and physiological influences There is physiological arousal, expressive behavior and conscious experience It is also associated with mood, temperament (innate tendencies like introversion-extroversion), personality and dispositions (habits and tendencies etc) and motivation The consequence of an emotion is manifested behavior, otherwise the behavior will be irrelevant to the emotion.

What is emotion? No consensus on the definition Attempts have led to the use of different terms eg feelings ,expression etc Dess (2010) after a review of descriptive and prescriptive definitions of the term emotion, did not find a consensus His review confirms Duffy’s (1941) position and suggested that “the science of emotion should no longer use emotion as a scientific term. Russell (1991) also shared the same opinion and suggests that emotion be treated as a non-technical term (scientific).

What is emotion? Cont. Izard (1977) has suggested that every definition of emotion reflects the following - The experience or conscious experience of the emotion - The processes that occur in the brain - And observable patterns of emotion particularly in the face Examples of definitions

James (1884) “bodily changes follow directly the perspective of the exciting fact and that our feelings of the same changes as they occur in emotion”. Luzt and White (1986) “are a primary idiom for defining and negotiating social relations of the self in a moral order”. Lazarus (1993) “organized psychophysiological reactions to news about ongoing relationships with the environment”. All the definitions above indicate that emotion has several components (fear anger, love etc), expressed in different ways (facially, verbally, in art and music)

There are also some important terms that have been used in connection with emotion - feelings- subjective experience associated with an emotion - Mood- an emotional state that is general and extended in time - Affect- combines both feelings and mood and can be positive or negative affect. Oatley, Keltner and Jenkins (2006) define emotion as a “multi-responses to challenges or opportunities that are important to the individual’s goals, particularly, social ones”. A working definition

Functions of emotions Dess (2010) identifies four functions of emotions - Directing perception and attention or Orientation function (Oatley et al, 2006) - Organize and motivate behavior eg circulatory, respiratory and muscular systems - Influences learning and memory - Communications – co-ordinates social interactions

Effects of emotion Izard (1977) also provided some effects of emotion - Emotions and the body; chemical and electrical changes - Emotion and cognition; affects learning, memory and thinking - Emotion and action; can facilita

te of hinder performance - Emotion and personality development; nurture component - Emotion and sex; sexual behavior not compatible with some emotions, eg fear and anger - Emotion and marriage and parenthood; affects courtship, selection of partners and parenting styles

Theories of emotion.

A contemporary model of emotion.

Theories of motivation Dess (2010) define motivation as “driving force by which humans achieve their goals”. Graham and Weiner (1996) as “study of why people think and behave as they do”. Petri (1981) defined it as “the forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior”. Kendra (2013) “as the process that initiates, guides and maintain goal-oriented behavior”. Motivation is therefore that energy that moves the human being into action towards a certain goal.

The process is both biological (thirst and hunger), social (need to relate with others), emotional (activation of certain and cognitive (appraisal of events and situations).

Components of motivation Activation – a decision to initiate an action eg learn English, drive a car etc Persistence - is the sustaining of effort toward a goal, overcoming obstacles and even it requires additional investment of time, energy or other resources Intensity – refers to the concentration and vigor that goes into striving towards the goal.

Theories of motivation Researchers have put forward theories to explain motivation The theories are often limited in scope, but help in providing some viewpoints about motivation When put together they help give improve the understanding of motivation

Theories cont Instinct theory people are motivated because they are programed to do so - William James was one of the proponents of the theory - They used seasonal migration to illustrate this in animals, its inborn and not learned - William James listed some instincts as attachment, play, anger, shyness, modesty and love - Failed to describe behavior

Theories cont Incentive Theory of Motivation that people are moved to do things because of external rewards, eg going work because of being paid, doing class assignments for the points that will be given association and reinforcement concepts play an important role.

Theories cont. Drive Theory of Motivation Behavior is initiated to reduce the internal tension or deficits as result of unmet needs eg eating food to reduce tension caused by hunger. Explains behaviors predicated on biological deficits , such as hunger or thirst. Behavior not always motivated by physiological need, eg, people often eat not because they are hungry, may be to please the host

Theories cont Arousal Theory of Motivation Behavior is activated to either decrease or increase levels of arousal. An individual person might smoke a cigarette or watch movie or jog to increase arousal. Alternatively, high levels of arousa

l can be reduce using stress inoculation strategies or read a book. The optimal level of arousal is person and situation specific

Theories cont Humanistic Theory of Motivation Behavior is initiated for cognitive reasons This is illustrated in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs First, people initiate action to meet basic biological needs ( food and shelter) Second is Safety, desire for steady employment, health care, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment. Third, Social needs- the need to belong, friendships, romantic attachments, families meet the need for companionship companionship and acceptance, and engagement in social, community, or religious groups. Esteem needs-these become important when the first three have been met. Includes the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment Self-actualization need – level characterized by self-awareness, concern with personal growth, intent on fulfilling their potential and less concerned about the opinions of others Little support in research, definition of self-actualization

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