Emotion & Motivation Practice Questions

This video covers 10 practice multiple choice questions on emotion & motivation and includes theories of emotion, drives, hunger, motivational conflicts, and more. I hope this can help you to review your knowledge and understanding, let me know if you have any suggestions for future practice and review videos! Get a free PDF with the questions and answers here: Emotion … Read More

Motivation & Goal-Setting

In this last video on motivation I consider the relationship between motivation and the goals that we set for ourselves. I discuss the importance of setting self–concordant goals which are intrinsically motivated and then discuss strategies for achieving goals. In order to maintain motivation for the specific behaviors that need to be done in order to achieve a goal, it … Read More

Conscious & Unconscious, Approach & Avoidance Motivations

In this video I discuss how motivations may be conscious or unconscious influences on behavior. I describe some of the unconscious motivations proposed by Henry Murray and David McClelland and how external conditions may activate motivations. Next I describe the distinction between approach and avoidance motivations and how these may conflict with one another, either in approach–approach conflict, avoidance–avoidance conflict, … Read More

Delay of Gratification & Ironic Effects of Punishment

In this video I introduce the concept of delay of gratification and the famous Marshmallow Test. Mischel, Shoda, and Rodriguez found that the ability to delay gratification at age 4 was associated with higher social competence, coping skills, and even SAT scores later in life. Next I consider ironic effects of punishment including the idea that different levels of threats … Read More

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivations

In this video I explain the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and then discuss the overjustification effect demonstrated in a study by Mark Lepper, David Greene, and Richard Nisbett in 1973. Then I consider how the overjustification effect may relate to work in fields like art, music, or athletics and how it may also influence the intrinsic motivation of … Read More

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

In this video I describe one way of organizing the many other motivations that we face: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow proposed that motivations could be categorized and then those categories could be arranged into a hierarchy of importance, meaning that lower-order motivations needed to be met before dealing with higher-order needs. Maslow’s hierarchy begins with physiological needs, followed … Read More

Masters & Johnson’s Human Sexual Response Cycle

In this video I briefly describe the work of William Masters and Virginia Johnson in identifying 4 distinct phases of the human sexual response cycle: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Like these videos? Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see future videos! Have questions or topics you’d like to see covered in a future video? Let me know … Read More

Sexual Motivation

In this video I introduce the basics of sexual motivation and briefly describe hormones involved. Next I discuss some important differences between humans and other species when it comes to sexual motivation, including estrus and hidden fertility. I explain how these may help us to understand certain behaviors and jealousy in relationships. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to … Read More

Understanding Obesity

In this video I consider evolutionary explanations for the modern struggle with obesity. I describe how obesity is defined using the calculation of body mass index or BMI and consider potential problems with this simple calculation. I also discuss set point theory, energy expenditure, and the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945 and its possible role in gene expression and incidence … Read More

Introduction to Eating Disorders

In this video I introduce 3 eating disorders: bulimia nervosa, binge–eating disorder, and anorexia nervosa. I briefly describe the symptoms of these disorders and how they may arise from complex interactions of biological factors like genes or hormones and environmental factors like stress, the family environment, and social & occupational pressures. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see … Read More