Motivation

What gets things going??

Lecture Notes February 6, 2007We will first finish our discussion of last week of the brain from the "top down" perspective that began with the early work on phrenology and progressed toward developing a more realistic view of how major areas of the brain are involved in the control of behavior and cognition. We will also complete our discussion of some of the major organizing principles by which the brain controls behavior and interprets the world.

Specific topics remaining for the nervous system include:

*Limbic system*Pleasure and aggression*Split brain work *Neuroplasticity and reorganization

Given time, after concluding the discussion of these major organizing principles of the nervous system, we will begin our discussion of the causes or factors that "move us" or underlie or energize our behavior, namely,our motivations. We will consider (or at least start on) the following issues:

*The major functions of motivation (activation of the organism and directing it toward a goal) *A typology of motivations—the major types and an interesting idea about how they relate to one another *Goal conflict and what happens when it occurs *The evolution of the adaptive mechanism of homeostatic control and how control systems operate.*A basic model of the functioning of primary (physiological) drives, how they fit into the above model, and why they are so important and adaptive

Motivation: Characteristics

• Story-• Activation + Goal orientation

Typology of Motivations

• Primary and Secondary Drives• Pyramid of needs (Maslow)

Yerkes Dodson: Activation (Cockroaches & Quarterbacks!)

• Good/bad pool players: audience size 4• Zajonc: Mere exposure (cockroaches!)• Home field advantage-world series!

Primary Drive: Basic Model

• Claude Bernard: Mileau Interior & Evol.• Walter Cannon & body wisdom (salt ex)• Homeostasis & negative feedback• Dual outputs• Instinct & reflexes vs. motivation &

learning (flexitility/adaptability)

Input

Output:Physiol/Motivtional

Negative feedback loop

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Setpoint

Thirst & Hunger

• Thirst: Two systems of regulation• Hunger: More complex

– First the basic mechanism