Motives and Mechanisms

by Rom Harré

Author	: Rom Harré
Publisher	: Routledge
Total Pages	: 174
Release	: 2015-09-16
Genre	: Psychology
ISBN	: 1317364163

GET BOOK

As the first introductory statement of the ‘new psychology’, Motives and Mechanisms, originally published in 1985, aims to bring the study of human action to the forefront of the subject. Like any science, the practice of psychology is very much influenced by the hidden assumptions of its practitioners. The argument put forward in this important text shows how these assumptions can be brought out by comparing psychology with the natural sciences and with common-sense understanding. In pursuing the integration of traditional research methods with a new style of investigation, the basic principle is that social structures and mental structures are in reciprocal relation with one another because each is involved in the creation of the other. By adopting this principle social structures become the basis for research into the cognitive and emotional organization of mind. The authors devote two key chapters to the central question that underlies this stance: are human actions and human actors’ products of internal processes, such as those described by Freud, or of external social forces, of the kind described by Mead?

The Physiological Mechanisms of Motivation

by D.W. Pfaff

Author	: D.W. Pfaff
Publisher	: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages	: 481
Release	: 2012-12-06
Genre	: Nature
ISBN	: 1461256925

GET BOOK

To scientists engaged in research on the cellular mechanisms in the mammalian brain, concepts of "motivation" seem to be a logical neces sity, even if they are not fashionable. Immersed in the detailed, time consuming research required to deal with mammalian nerve cells, we usually pay scant attention to the more global brain -behavior questions that have arisen from decades of biological and psychological studies. We felt it was time to confront these issues-namely, how far has neuro biological investigation come in uncovering mechanisms by which moti vational signals influence behavior? At Rockefeller University, we have recently held a course on this subject. We restricted our treatment to those motivational systems most tractable to physiological approaches, and invited scientists skilled in both behavioral issues and physiological techniques to participate. This volume results from that course. The deans and administration at Rockefeller University provided much help in planning the course, and the staff of Springer-Verlag assisted in planning the book. Gabriele Zummer helped organize both the course and the processing of book chapters. They all deserve our thanks. December 1981 Donald W. Pfaff Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior Rockefeller University Contents Part One: Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1 Donald W. Pfaff Motivational Concepts: Definitions and Distinctions . . . . . . . . . . 3 Motivation: A Brief Review of Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Reinforcement, Reward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Incentive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Arousal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Motivation Is a Unitary Behavioral Concept with Multiple Neurophysiological Mechanisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Chapter 2 Alan N.

Behavioral Neuroscience of Motivation

by Eleanor H. Simpson

Author	: Eleanor H. Simpson
Publisher	: Springer
Total Pages	: 584
Release	: 2016-05-11
Genre	: Medical
ISBN	: 3319269356

GET BOOK

This volume covers the current status of research in the neurobiology of motivated behaviors in humans and other animals in healthy condition. This includes consideration of the psychological processes that drive motivated behavior and the anatomical, electrophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms which drive these processes and regulate behavioural output. The volume also includes chapters on pathological disturbances in motivation including apathy, or motivational deficit as well as addictions, the pathological misdirection of motivated behavior. As with the chapters on healthy motivational processes, the chapters on disease provide a comprehensive up to date review of the neurobiological abnormalities that underlie motivation, as determined by studies of patient populations as well as animal models of disease. The book closes with a section on recent developments in treatments for motivational disorders.

The Psychology of Learning and Motivation

by Brian H. Ross

Author	: Brian H. Ross
Publisher	: Academic Press
Total Pages	: 300
Release	: 2006-04-28
Genre	: Education
ISBN	: 0125433468

GET BOOK

Discusses the concepts of category learning, prototypes, prospective memory, event memory, memory models, and musical prosody. This work is intended for researchers and academics in cognitive science.

The Psychology of Action

by Peter M. Gollwitzer

Author	: Peter M. Gollwitzer
Publisher	: Guilford Press
Total Pages	: 706
Release	: 1996-01-01
Genre	: Psychology
ISBN	: 9781572300323

GET BOOK

Moving beyond the traditional, and unproductive, rivalry between the fields of motivation and cognition, this book integrates the two domains to shed new light on the control of goal-directed action. Renowned social and motivational psychologists present concise formulations of the latest research programs which are effectively mapping the territory, providing new findings, and suggesting innovative strategies for future research. Ideally structured for classroom use, this book will effectively familiarize readers with important theories in the psychology of action.

Drive

by Donald W. Pfaff

Author	: Donald W. Pfaff
Publisher	: MIT Press
Total Pages	: 346
Release	: 1999
Genre	: Libido
ISBN	: 9780262661478

GET BOOK

What arouses an animal or human from an inactive, nonresponsive state to a condition of activity and responsiveness? What are the biological mechanisms for this change? In this book Donald W. Pfaff focuses on a reproductive behavior typical of many female animals. Sensory stimuli from the male trigger responses in a well-defined circuit of nerve cells. At the top of the circuit, certain nerve cells receive and retain sex hormones such as estrogens and progesterone. As a result, specific genes in these nerve cells are turned on at specific times, affecting in turn the rest of the neural circuit and causing a state of sexual responsiveness. According to Pfaff, the biological bases for the most primitive human drives are largely explained by mechanisms uncovered in animal brains that have not changed in their fundamental properties over millions of years of evolution. Focusing on a single instinctive behavior, in this case the sex drive, is an important step toward understanding the biological reasons for the change from unmotivated to motivated animal behavior.

Social Motivation

by Joseph P. Forgas

Author	: Joseph P. Forgas
Publisher	: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages	: 414
Release	: 2005
Genre	: Psychology
ISBN	: 9780521832540

GET BOOK

Sample Text

Psychology of Learning and Motivation

by Brian H. Ross

Author	: Brian H. Ross
Publisher	: Elsevier
Total Pages	: 385
Release	: 2002-06-18
Genre	: Psychology
ISBN	: 0080522742

GET BOOK

The Psychology of Learning and Motivation publishes empirical and theoretical contributions in cognitive and experimental psychology, ranging from classical and instrumental conditioning to complex learning and problem solving. Each chapter provides a thoughtful integration of a body of work. Volume 41 includes in its coverage chapters on multimedia learning, brain imaging, and memory, among others.

Perceived Control, Motivation, & Coping

by Ellen A. Skinner

Author	: Ellen A. Skinner
Publisher	: SAGE Publications
Total Pages	: 233
Release	: 1995-02-08
Genre	: Psychology
ISBN	: 1452246742

GET BOOK

At every point in the life span, individual differences in a sense of control are strong predictors of motivation, coping, success, and failure in a wide range of life domains. What are the origins of these individual differences, how do they develop, and what are the mechanisms by which they exert such influence on psychological functioning? This book draws on theories and research covering key control constructs, including self-efficacy, learned helplessness, locus of control, and attribution theory. Ellen A. Skinner discusses such issues as the origins of control in social interactions; environmental features that promote or undermine control; developmental change in the mechanisms by which experiences of control have their effects on action; and the implications for intervening into the competence system, including interventions for people in uncontrollable circumstances. Written at a level appropriate for upper-division undergraduates, the book can serve as a supplement to the social and personality development course as well as a core text for motivation, educational psychology, or clinical courses at the graduate level. This book won′t be the first one on the topic, but it will be the first one that professionals and graduate students turn to whenever they want a definitive opinion on complex questions of control or an idea for cutting-edge research on the topic of motivation, coping, and control.