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This can be a thought-provoking discussion for students.
Euthanasia
One of the more controversial issues related to aging and the health problems that often accompany
it is the issue of euthanasia. Dr. Jack Kervorkian’s active euthanasia efforts eventually resulted in
his being jailed, but brought a lot of controversy, and publicity to this issue. You might ask students
how they feel about this issue. Is active euthanasia ever justified? If so, under what circumstances?
What moral issues does active euthanasia raise? What potential abuses could result from legalized
active euthanasia? What about the “slippery slope” argument that once we begin allowing active
euthanasia in some cases, it becomes easier to begin allowing it for less severe cases, and eventually
becomes just an easy way of getting rid of “inconvenient” elderly people who are a “nuisance”
because of their ill health and discomfort?
While most Americans oppose active euthanasia, because of these potential abuses, the picture is
not as clear when it comes to the issue of passive euthanasia, in which no active steps are taken to
shorten the person’s life, but no efforts are made to keep them alive when the person could be kept
alive with outside help. Some researchers claim that well over 50% of physicians have occasionally
engaged in passive euthanasia. How do students feel about this? How do their feelings about
passive euthanasia differ from their feelings about active euthanasia?
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BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES
Alfred Binet (1857–1911)
Born in Nice, France, Alfred Binet was the only child of a physician father and artist mother.
Following the separation of his parents when he was young, Binet lived with his mother, moving to
Paris when he was 15, and entering law school in 1872. Following receipt of his license to practice
law in 1878, he did not enter into practice and was seemingly not enamored with the profession,
commenting, “As for the law, that is the career of men who have not yet chosen a vocation.” Binet
subsequently began reading psychology at the Bibliotheque Nationale, though he never acquired a
graduate degree in the discipline.
Following several years of “studying” psychology in the library, in 1883 Binet began working at
Charcot’s laboratory at the Salpetriere, one of Paris’s well-known hospitals, only to sever his
relationship with Charcot and his colleagues, following a disagreement in 1890. He joined the staff
at the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne, became its Director three years later,
and remained in that position until his death.
During the 1890s, Binet turned his interests to the goal of understanding and measuring the
individual differences noted in intelligence, studying the relevant works of Galton, Spearman, and
Cattell. In 1907, following the development of a test that would measure individual differences in
cognitive functioning, Binet wrote, “It was under these circumstances that our devoted collaborator,
Dr. Simon, and I formulated a plan for measuring intelligence which we called “a metric scale of
intelligence” (Binet & Simon, 1909/1975).
The scale that Binet and Simon developed had a great deal in common with one of its latter-day
versions, the Stanford-Binet Scale, in that the prototype included tests of “digit span, vocabulary,
reproduction of block designs, paper folding, comprehension, and similarities.” Binet and Simon
revised their scale in 1908 and 1911, expanding the size of the scale and including items making it
more socioeconomically and intellectually diverse. Binet went on to establish an experimental
laboratory school, apparently the first of its kind in Europe, in which he discovered that 5 percent of
children experienced problems in school simply because they could not see the blackboard.
As a man, Binet was described as energetic and inclined to spend most of his time working. His
collaborator, Simon, wrote of him that, “to examine patients with him was always an extreme
pleasure, for he brought to the situation so much imagination.” That seems a fitting tribute for a
man who contributed so much to the assessment and measurement of intelligence.
Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
Until his death in 1980 at the age of 84, Jean Piaget retreated to his cabin in the Alps each summer,
where he spent most of his days analyzing the mass of research data generated over the past year at
his Center of Genetic Epistemology. During long walks along the mountain trails, he mulled over
the latest experimental results and, in the crisp evenings, he formulated his conclusions. With the
approach of fall, he descended from the mountain with the manuscript for a book and several
journal articles in his hand. This time-honored procedure of careful observation followed by
seclusion for thought and synthesis enabled him to become one of the more prolific if not the most
famous psychologist of the century.
Piaget has been widely known in this country only since the translation of his works in the 1960s,
but in Europe he was recognized as an expert in the field of cognitive development in the 1930s. As
a 10-year-old child in 1906, he published his notes on the habits of the albino sparrow he observed
near his home in Switzerland. At the age of 16, he was recommended for a curator’s position at the
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natural history museum in Geneva, but declined in favor of continuing his education. He studied
natural science at the University of Neuchatel, obtaining his doctorate at the age of 21. His readings
in philosophy stimulated an intense interest in epistemology, the study of how humans acquire
knowledge. Convinced that cognitive development had a genetic basis, Piaget decided that the best
approach to studying it would be through its behavioral and biological components. Psychology
appeared, to Piaget, to be the discipline that best incorporated this approach.
Piaget sought training in several distinguished European psychology laboratories and universities,
gaining his first major breakthrough into the understanding of chronological stages of growth
while working at Alfred Binet’s laboratory school in Paris. While designing and administering
intelligence tests to French children, he became intrigued with the characteristic wrong answers
that many of the children gave to his questions. In pursuing these wrong answers, he came to the
realization that the children were employing a process of thought and interpretation that was
decidedly different in nature from that employed by adults. Mindful of the concept of evolution
from his training as a biologist, Piaget proposed that mental development also evolves and that the
intellect passes through several stages of growth.
The theory of cognitive development Piaget was formulating centered on the stages of growth in
early childhood, thus it seemed natural to him to observe his own three children, as they grew from
infancy to preadolescence. His careful experiments and conclusions based on these observations,
published in journal articles and then in book form, brought him immediate recognition in Europe.
While Piaget then expanded his experiments to encompass a much larger group of subjects, his
approach to research was not altered. He observed, asked questions, uncovered new and sometimes
puzzling facts, and attempted to integrate his findings with what was presently known.
Eventually, he formed a theory from the whole enterprise of explaining his observations. Piaget has
been criticized for disregarding the traditional methods of scientific inquiry. He almost never
/> designed experiments to support preliminary hypotheses, and did not rely heavily on hard
statistical data for the conclusions he reached. To his credit, Piaget responded with good humor to
scholarly attacks on his work, claiming that if he were to begin with a rigid plan and hypothesis, he
would be forced to ignore the fascinating phenomena falling outside of such narrow constraints.
He insisted on his freedom to look for the new and the unexpected. Even in his eighties, he
continued to ask questions, to probe, and to integrate. The disciplines of both cognitive and
developmental psychology benefited enormously from Piaget’s curiosity about how the child comes
to understand the world and his or her place in it.
Harry Harlow (1905–1981)
Harry Harlow received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1930. He subsequently joined the
faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where he remained until 1974, when he left to become a
research professor at the University of Arizona. While at Wisconsin, Harlow established the highly
regarded Primate Laboratory, where he conducted much of his celebrated research on learning,
affective, and social development in monkeys. He is best known for his research on social isolation
and the importance of the mother–infant relationship in the development of healthy, psychosocial
behavior. He was elected President of the American Psychological Association in 1958.
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TIMELINE
Yea Event
r
1883 G. Stanley Hall published The Contents of Children’s Minds, one of the earlier
American studies on child development.
1893 Hall founded the National Association for the Study of Childhood, one year after
founding the American Psychological Association.
1895 James Baldwin, whose views influenced those of Piaget, published Mental
Development in the Child and the Race.
1914–
1918
World War I was fought.
1920 James Watson and Rosilie Raynor published the results of their “Little Albert”
study.
1921 Lewis Terman initiated the first large-scale longitudinal study of child
development, focusing on the gifted child.
1925 Arnold Gesell began publishing his studies on normal growth in preschool
children. A few years later, Gesell began using motion pictures to analyze child
behavior.
1929 The Great Depression began in America.
1950 Erik Erikson published Childhood and Society, highlighting the importance of
> cultural considerations in child rearing.
1950 Jean Piaget published The Psychology of Intelligence, one of his many books on
cognitive development of children.
19501953
The Korean War was fought.
1957 Sidney Bijou published the first research concerning the application of behavioral
principles.
1958 Harry Harlow published his first research on social attachment in infant rhesus
monkeys.
1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
1969 Lawrence Kohlberg published Stages in the Development of Moral Thought and
Action, outlining his theory of moral development.
1969 Humans first landed on the moon.
1969 K. Warner Scliaie, among others, organized the first major American conference
on life span developmental psychology. Nine years later in 1978, the first journal
of the topic, Lifespan Development and Behavior, was published.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READINGS
Baumrind, D. (1978). Parental Disciplinary Patterns and Social Competence in Children. Youth and
Society, 9, 239–276. Contains a description of each of the three patterns of parenting styles:
authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Somewhat dated in that new parenting styles are
evolving, but still highly relevant in parenting research.
Bee, H. (1994). Lifespan Development. New York: Harper Collins. Presents a comprehensive overview
of research and theory on development across the life span.
Bigner, J. J. (1994). Individual and Family Development: A Lifespan Interdisciplinary Perspective.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. A comprehensive womb-to-tomb text that details physical,
emotional, and cognitive developmental issues across the life span.
Carstensen, L., & Turk-Charles, S. (1994). The Salience of Emotion across the Adult Life Span. Psychology
& Aging, 9(2), 259–264. Presents research that shows emotionality does not diminish as one ages,
and, in fact, may increase as we grow older.
Cox, M. V. (1991). The Child’s Point of View, 2nd Edition. New York: Narvester Heartsheaf. An
investigation of development of awareness in children, challenging notions that they are
“inferior adults,” and demonstrating their sophisticated level of awareness of others’ beliefs and
feelings.
Csikszentimihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1984). Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years.
New York: Basic Books. Although an older text, this volume provides an excellent report of day
to day adolescent life, complete with research that records adolescent thoughts and activities at
all hours of the day and night.
Cutler, N., Gottfries, C., & Siegfried, K. (Eds.). (1995). Alzheimer’s Disease: Clinical and Treatment
Perspectives. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.
Flavell, J. (1963). The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand. Includes
a presentation of Piaget’s theoretical systems, such as the concepts of assimilation and
accommodation, grouping, equilibrium and their various roles within Ws schema of
developmental stages. Offers a critical evaluation, both methodologically and in the light of
related research by others, of Piaget’s system and work.
Flavell, J. (1996). Piaget’s Legacy. Psychological Science, 7(4), 200–203. Presents 11 contributions by
Piaget to the field of cognitive development to explain what is known and thought about
concerning his theories of cognitive development.
Flavell, J., Miller, P., & Miller, S. (1993). Cognitive Development (3rd ed). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, Inc. An interesting introduction to human cognitive development. Appeals to
individuals from diverse backgrounds, and, in keeping with trends in the field, devotes much
attention to current theories and research.
Fried, S. B. (1988). Learning Activities for Understanding Aging. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 160–162.
Detailed instructions on 5 activities usable in conjunction with lectures on aging.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory In Practice. New York: Basic Books. Provides an
excellent overview of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Brings together work on the
subject in one convenient book.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press. A classic exploring the differences in the way that men and women
think. An alternative to Kohlberg and seminal in its own right as the first true criticism of
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Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Ginsburg, H., & Opper, S. (1998). Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development. 3rd Edition. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Provides examples of Piagetian cognitive tasks that are easily adapted to
lectures on cognitive development.
Hanin, I., Mitsuo, Y., & Fisher, A. (Eds.). (1995). Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: Recent
Developments. New York: Plenum Press.
Henry, C., & Ulijaszek, S. (Eds.). (1996). Long-Term Consequences of Early Environment: Growth,
Development, and the Lifespan Developmental Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lawton, M., & Salthouse, T. (Eds.). (1998). Essential Papers on the Psychology of Aging. New York:
New York University Press.
Lerner, R., & Galambos, N. (1998). Adolescent Development. Challenges and Opportunities for Research,
Programs, and Policies. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 413–446. Discusses the basic challenges
and opportunities facing both adolescents and the psychologists who study them.
Levine, M., & Levine, A. (1992). Helping Children: A Social History. New York: Oxford University
Press. A narrative of how our American society addresses children’s issues, from the formation
of the foster care system to the Gary Schools Project and Ben Lindsey’s formation of the juvenile
courts system. An excellent resource for the history of children’s issues.
Muuss, R. E. (1990). Adolescent Behavior and Society: A Book of Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill. A
collection of essays addressing the various cognitive, behavioral, and sexual aspects of
adolescent development.
Parke, R., Ornstein, P., Rieser, J., & Zahn-Waxier, C. (1994). A Century of Developmental Psychology.
Washington: American Psychological Association. Highlights the contributions of the most
important developmental psychologists in the field. Traces the theoretical and empirical changes
in developmental psychology over the past 100 years.
Pinker, S. (1989). Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure. Cambridge: MIT
Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1990). Metaphors of Mind: Conceptions of the Nature of Intelligence. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. An overview of human intelligence from the combined, rather than
individualistic, perspectives of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
Turner, J., & Helms, D. (1995). Lifespan Development (5th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College
Publishers. An introduction to life span development that focuses on seven essential themes.
These themes are the interrelatedness of aging processes, theoretical perspectives on life span
development, the interaction of heredity and environment, epigenetics, continuity and
discontinuity, active and reactive models of development, and gender issues.
Van Hasselt, V., & Hersen, M. (1992). Handbook of Social Development. A Lifespan Perspective. New
York, Plenum Press. Investigates the process of social development from a life span perspective.
Covers all stages of life from the crib to old age. An excellent reference.
Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and Language. Revised and edited by A. Kozulin. Cambridge: MIT
Press. A 1986 revision of the original volume, this text helps balance the various trends of
thought on the connections between psychology and language.
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DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY
PROGRAM 4: THE RESPONSIVE BRAIN
Overview
How the brain controls behavior and, conversely, how behavior and environment influence the
brain’s structure and functioning.
Key Issues
The effect of human touch on the growth of premature babies, the effect of the mother’s touch on
the growth of rats, psychosocial Dwarfism, the effect of stress on memory and learning in rats,
how behavior modifies the physiology of the African Cichlid fish, and the effects of social
status on the health of baboons
Interviews
Tiffany Field explains the benefits of touch on the cognitive and motor development of
premature babies.
Saul Shanberg underscores the importance of contact by the mother in the process of growth
and development in rats.
Michael Meaney examines the effects of stress on memory and learning in rats.
Russ Fernald examines the effects of behavior on the physiology of the brain and the effects of
the brain on behavior in African Cichlid fish.
Robert Salopsky discusses the direct effects of social status on the health of wild baboons.
Archival Demonstrations
Effects of change in social status on sexual reactions and growth of fish. (18:09)
Effects of social status on hormones and behavior in wild baboons. (21:56)
Demonstrations
Effects of physical stimulation on growth of brain, body, and health of rats. (6:27)
Relationship between early stimulation and adult resistance to stress-induced decline in
memory of rats. (12:52)
PROGRAM 5: THE DEVELOPING CHILD
Overview
The nature versus nurture debate, and how developmental psychologists study the
contributions of both heredity and environment to the development of children.
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Key Issues
Nature versus nurture debate, volume perception in children, infant’s understanding of object
permanence, symbol understanding of young children, depth perception in babies on the
“visual cliff,” inherited behavioral differences among preschool children, and genetically shy
monkeys.
Demonstrations
Steve Suomi examines how overly nurturing foster mothers may alter the introverted behavior
of individual monkeys.
Archival Demonstrations
Richard Walk and Eleanor Gibson developed the visual cliff in 1960 to study the development
of depth perception and the emotion of fear in children.
Interviews
Dr. Baillargeon observes the infant’s understanding of physical and spatial qualities, such as
object permanence.
Dr. Judy DeLoache studies how children understand symbols.
Steven Suomi studies the upbringing and behavior of genetically shy monkeys.
Psychologist Jean Piaget asks children of varying ages to assess the volume of liquid in a short,
wide glass after it is poured into a taller, thinner glass. Responses vary with the age of the
child.
Psychologist Jerome Kagan observes inherited behavioral differences between timid and bold
children. (21:37).
Experimental Re-Creation
Development of the principle of object permanence at a very young age.
PROGRAM 6: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Overview
The development of language and how psychologists hope to discover truths about the human
mind, society, and culture by studying how children use language in social communication.
Key Issues
Biological basis of language acquisition and development, the role of social interaction in
language development, universal adaptability in language development, grammar acquisition,
and the rules of conversation.
Demonstrations
The role of parent–child interaction in language development.
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Unique patterns of speech sounds made by mothers to their infants.
Interviews
Psychologist Jean Berko-Gleason explains the role of social interaction in language
development.
Anne Fernald examines how pre-verbal children interpret the melodies, intonations, and tones
of mothers of various languages.
Psychologist Dan Slobin discusses how children invent their own system of grammar and
syntax regardless of the adult grammatical patterns that they hear around them.
Linguist Noam Chomsky examines how a child acquires the ability to produce sophisticated
sentence structures.
PROGRAM 18: MATURING AND AGING
Overview
What really happens, physically and psychologically, as we age, and how society reacts to the
last stages of life.
Key Issues
Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, societal treatment of the elderly, mid-life
crisis, modifying biological and psychological effects of aging, the elderly and sexuality, the
effects of media on the perception of the elderly, and the elderly’s ability to learn.
Demonstrations
Similarities among aged rabbits and human beings in the classic conditioning of the eyelid
response.
Archival Demonstrations
Journalist Pat Moore dresses as an elderly woman and walks the streets to demonstrate
prejudice against the aged.
Interviews
Dr. Daniel Levinson examines the life cycle as divided into four eras of development:
childhood, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood.
Diane Woodruf-Pak examines parallels between aged rabbits and aged human beings in their
underlying brain circuits.
Sherry Willis examines new educational training methods that help the elderly function more
effectively.
B. F. Skinner discusses how he has remained active and able in his field.
Werner Schaie examines the physical and psychological qualities the aged share.
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Erik Erikson examines the identity crisis he experienced as a newcomer to the United States.
Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development are examined.
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FILMS AND VIDEOS
Baby Talk (1984). IU (MG), 49 minutes
Examines modern research into child language development. Explores fetal and infant responses to
speech, the innateness of language ability in humans, the relationship between cognition and
language, the overgeneralization of syntactic rules by young children, and the processes by which
infants and young children interpret adult speech to build a grammar. Contains interviews with
Jerome Bruner, Noam Chomsky, Dan Slobin, Peter Eimns, Catherine Snow, Jean Berko-Gleason,
Andrew Malzoff, and Eve Clark. The interviews make this film worthwhile.
Child Language: Learning without Teaching (1981). IU (DAVSN), 20 minutes
Follows the development of children’s language acquisition from infancy through early childhood.
Introduces one of the most involved learning processes a child encounters: mastering the complex
system of meanings, grammatical rules, and sounds called language. Shows many of the problems
children face while learning to communicate. Gives examples of misunderstandings that can occur
between a child and an adult because of differing interpretations of words and sentences.
The Mind: Development (1988). HARR, 24 minutes
Traces the development of neurons and glial cells in fetal brain development. Portrays experiments
designed to track the beginning of memory and children’s ability to categorize. Discusses the
maturational milestones of developing a sense of self and moral development.
Piaget’s Developmental Theory: Classification (1975). POLY, 20 minutes
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, with emphasis on adapting to parenthood. Shows how
the expectations for the arrival of the first baby may differ from the reality of sleepless nights, crying
infants, etc. The adaptation required is still on point for new parents.
Coping with Serious Illness (1980). TLF, 25 to 33 minutes
A series that documents the last years of Joan Robinson, a woman dying of cancer.
Episode 1: Facing Death
Deals with the issue of terminal illness and facing death. The Robinsons are shown going
through the painful process of realizing that Joan is going to die. Psychiatrists, doctors, and
others experienced in dealing with the dying discuss the current knowledge of facing death
and the various choices the ill and their families need to make: whether to die at home, in a
hospital, or in a hospice for the terminally ill.
Episode 2: Finance
Examines ways of coping with the financial aspects of being seriously ill. Lawyers and
consumer advocates discuss patients’ rights and legal issues.
Episode 3: Pain
Shows approaches to coping with both pain and the fear of pain. Explains the effects of
suffering on the personality, the differences between types of pain, and methods available for
treating pain.
Episode 4: Relationships and Stress
The Robinson family and friends address the changing relationships with family, friends, and
medical personnel. Discusses how serious illness materially changes relationships, and coping
with the emotions and strain, following diagnosis of a serious illness.
Episode 5: Sexuality
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Deals with the difficult issue of sexuality and the need for loving at critical times as well as
during times of little stress. Interviews with the Robinsons and testimony from other men and
women illustrate the difficulties married couples face dealing with this issue. Experts discuss
ways of showing and receiving physical expressions of love while coping with illness.
Euthanasia: Murder or Mercy (1985). CHUK, 30 minutes
A look at a current social problem: the control of dying and a patient’s right to die. With the advent
of Jack Kevorkian’s position, this film may be more relevant than ever.
The Mind: Aging (1988). HARR, 24 minutes
Attributes the differential effects of aging on cognitive processes to an interaction between genetic
and environmental factors. Depicts experiments conducted to pinpoint the areas of the brain
involved in cognitive deficits. Contradicts the myth that memory deficits are an inevitable part of
aging. Emphasizes that an active, purposeful old age depends on staying physically and mentally
active. Shows research on the biological mechanisms that cause Alzheimer’s disease, and discusses
one possible solution for decreasing the debilitating effects of this disease.
On Death and Dying (1974). FI, 40 minutes
Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross discusses her experiences in helping the terminally ill face death without
fear. She stresses the importance of communicating with them in a way that recognizes their
feelings. Somewhat dated, but the basic issues remain constant.
Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory (1994). Davidson Films
Presents Lev Vygotsky’s early childhood learning theories and demonstrates them in classrooms.
Development, according to Vygotsky, cannot be separated from its social context: it is misleading to
evaluate children only on what they accomplish independently.
The Infant Mind (1992). Insight Media, 30 minutes
Jean Piaget’s stage theories of object permanence and sensory-motor development are explained
and challenged. Research with newborns has revealed that infants possess a basic perception of
cause and effect, number, and object permanence and that memory skills and the capacity to form
concepts are present much earlier than formerly believed.
The Seven Ages of the Brain (1995). Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 58 minutes
Focuses on how a brain grows from a fertilized egg and how our brains change, even after birth,
right up to old age. The establishment of connections between brain cells occurs not only in the
womb, but also after birth. These connections can be modified, or even abolished, in accordance
with certain changes in the environment. Part of the British Royal Institute Lecture series.
Aging Successfully: Psychological Aspects of Growing Old (1998). Davidson Films, 30 minutes
Discusses the concepts developed by the Baltes for assessing the means by which some people cope
better psychologically with old age. Selection, optimization, and compensation are three important
coping strategies to deal with the decline in physical and some mental functions, while developing
wisdom.
Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter (1995). Women Make Movies, 44 minutes
Shows interactions between an Alzheimer’s patient and her daughter. The daughter discusses the
various stages of the disease, how she dealt with each and how she arrived at a positive resolution.
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CHAPTER 12
Motivation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
On completion of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the five functions of motivational concepts
2. Explain the various sources of motivation, including instinctual, emotional, and cognitive
sources
3. Communicate the difference between William James’ and Sigmund Freud’s conception on
instinctual behaviors
4. Describe social learning theory and its relationship to internal and external sources of
attributions
5. Identify the two major eating disorders
6. Explain the different reproductive strategies that may be employed by males and females
7. Describe the four phases of human sexual response for males and females
8. Show an understanding of the concept of need for achievement and discuss how it relates
to motivation
9. Describe the concept of locus of control and its relationship to motivation
10. Explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Understanding Motivation
A. Motivation is the general term for all the processes involved in starting, directing, and
maintaining physical and psychological activities
B. Functions of Motivational Concepts
1. To relate biology to behavior
2. To account for behavioral variability
3. To infer private states from public acts
4. To assign responsibility for actions
5. To explain perseverance despite adversity
C. Sources of Motivation
1. Drives and Incentives
a) Drive is defined in biological terms as energy released from an
organism’s store, the fuel of action
b) Drive Theory was fully developed by Hull, who believed
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Motivation was necessary for learning to occur
(i) Learning is essential for successful adaptation to the
environment
(ii) Tension reduction is reinforcing, but is not sufficient to
explain all types of motivated behavior
(iii) Organisms seek to maintain homeostasis, a state of
equilibrium
c) Behavior can also be motivated by incentives, external stimuli
or rewards that do not relate directly to biological needs
2. Reversal Theory
a) Apter’s reversal theory hypothesizes four pairs of
metamotivational states, states that give rise to distinct
patterns of motivation
(i) Telic–Paratelic: serious vs. playful
(ii) Conformist–Negativistic: compliant vs. rebellious
(iii) Mastery–Sympathy: power-oriented vs. care-oriented
(iv) Autic–Alloic: concern for self vs. concern for others
b) Seeks to explain motivation in terms of reversals from one
state to another
3. Instinctual Behaviors and Learning
a) Instincts are preprogrammed tendencies that are essential for
the survival of their species