Question

MCAT Psychology Tutorial: Motivation

Answer 1

\({\bf{Motivation:}}\) the factors that influence one's behavior as the result of changes in one's environment and internal thoughts

\({\bf{Factors:}}\)
- instinct (unconscious biological influences)
- arousal: one's baseline energy level, changes in behavior are meant to either increase or decrease one's arousal
> too low arousal, one might act to psych themselves up in healthy or unhealthy ways
> too high arousal, starts to interfere with normal functioning, one might seek to calm oneself down
- drives: the urge to reduce one's arousal and meet a biological/psychological/etc. need
- socio-cultural: need to be accepted by others

\({\bf{Theories:}}\)
- drive-reduction: humans are motivated to maintain equilibrium
- incentive: humans are motivated by reward
- need-based: humans are motivated to satisfy their psychological/biological needs
- cognitive-based: humans are motivated by ideas/thoughts

\({\bf{Addiction:}}\)
- adaptive activity: gives the body the right level of dopamine
- compulsive activity: gives the body a flood of dopamine

certain behaviors/substances like food activate dopamine receptors
- when the behavior/substance is ceased --> dopamine levels decrease --> causes withdrawal --> the individual repeats the behavior to increase the dopamine level --> over time the body develops a tolerance for dopamine and requires higher levels of the behavior/substance to trigger the same response
- evidence of incentive theory and drive-reduction theory in addiction

Answer 2

Anyway, that's the end of my tutorial, I hope it was a helpful resource. Source material is the 2nd Edition Barron's Prep book for the new MCAT