Chapter 9 – Motivation And Emotion Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Psychology

Question 1. Explain the concept of motivation.

 Answer:The term motivation is derived from the Latin word ‘movere’ referring to movement of activity. Thus it pushes an individual (organism) into activity.
It can be used to explain drives, needs, goals and incentives… Any behaviour is goal driven, demand persistent and often preferred or is in favour of one goal over the other.
It is individuals internal force which energises and directs the behaviour.

Question 2. What are the biological bases of hunger and thirst needs?

Answer:Hunger:
The stimuli of hunger include stomach contractions, which signify that the stomach is empty.
A low concentration of glucose in the blood
A low level of protein and the amount of fats stored in the body.
The liver also responds to the lack of bodily fuel by sending nerve impulses to the brain.
The aroma, taste or appearance of food may also result in a desire to eat.
They all in combination act with external factors (such as taste, colour by observing other’s eating, and the smell of food, etc.) to the help one understands that she/he is hungry.
Thirst:When we are deprived of water for a period of several hours, the mouth and throat become dry, which leads to dehydration of body tissues.
Drinking water is necessary to wet a dry mouth.
The processes within the body itself control thirst and drinking of water.
Water must get into the tissues sufficiently to remove the dryness of mouth and throat.
Motivation to drink water is mainly triggered by the conditions of the body.
Loss of water from cells and reduction of blood volume.
When Water is lost by bodily fluids, water leaves the interior of the cells. The anterior hypothalamus contains nerve cells called ‘osmoreceptors’, which generate nerve impulses in case of cell dehydration. These nerve impulses act as a signal for thirst and drinking.
Ist View:
The mechanism which explains the intake of water is responsible for stopping the
intake of water.
IInd View:
The role of stimuli resulting from the intake of water in the stomach have something to do with stopping of drinking water.
The precise physiological mechanisms underlying the thirst drive are yet to be understood.

Question 3. How do the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power influence the behaviour of adolescents ? Explain with examples.

Answer:Needs for achievement:
It energies and directs behaviour as well as influences the perception of situations.
During the formative years of social development, children acquire achievement motivation. They learn it from their parents, other role models, and socio-cultural influences.
We are social being.We maintain some form of relationship with others. Nobody likes to remain alone all the time. Formation of group is an important feature of human life. It involves motivation for social contact.
Need for affiliation seeking other human beings and wanting to be close to them both physically and psychologically is called affiliation. It involves motivation for social contact.
It is aroused when individuals feel threatened or helpless and also when they are happy. People high on this need are motivated to seek the company of others and to maintain friendly relationships with other people.
Need for poweris an ability of a person to produce intended effects on the behaviour and emotions of another person. The various goals of power motivation are to influence, control, persuade, lead and charm others.

Question 4.What is the basic idea behind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Explain with suitable examples.

Answer:Abraham Maslow, a humanist psychologist proposed a hierarchy of needs in which human needs are arranged in a sequence from primitive to human. They are interrelated in the sense that when one need is fulfilled, the next one takes on the mind. At the lowest level are the physiological needs followed by the other higher level needs as given below:

1. Physiological needs:These are needs which are basic for survival.They include such as hunger, thirst.
2. Safety needs:The need to be free from any possible threat-both real and imaginary. It is of both physical and psychological nature.
3. Belongingness:Needs to belong, to affiliate, to love and to be loved by others. One can’t live alone and needs other’s company.
4. Esteem needs:Individual strives for the need for self-esteem to develop a sense of self worth once his belongingness needs are fulfilled.
5. Self-actualisation:It means to attain the fullest developments of one’s potential.
Such people are self-aware, socially responsible, creative, spontaneous, open to novelty and change, has a sense of humour and capacity for deep interpersonal relationships.

Question 5. Does physiological arousal precede or follow an emotional experience? Explain.

Answer:
William James and Carl Lange argued that the perception about bodily changes, like rapid breathing, a pounding heart and running legs following an event, – brings forth emotional arousal.
This theory of emotion holds that body’s reaction to a stimulus produces emotional reaction.
The theory suggests that environmental stimuli elicit physiological responses from viscera (the internal organs like heart and lungs), which in turn, are associated with muscle movement.
James-Lange theory argues that your perception about your bodily changes, like rapid breathing, a pounding heart, and running legs, following an event, brings forth emotional arousal.
The theory can be expressed in the following hierarchy:

Canon and Bard contradicted to the James-Lange theory.
According to this theory, felt emotion and the bodily reaction in emotion are independent of each other; both get triggered simultaneously.
This theory of emotion holds that bodily changes and the experience of emotion occurs simultaneously.
Theory claims that the entire process of emotion is governed by thalamus.
Thalamus conveys the information simultaneously to the cerebral cortex and to the skeletal muscles and sympathetic nervous system.
The cerebral cortex then determines the nature of the perceived stimulus. By referring to the past experiences. This determines the subjective experience of emotion. Simultaneously the sympathetic nervous system and the muscles provide physiological arousal and prepare the individual to take action.
Following diagram shows the CANNON-BARD theory of emotion:

As proposed by the theory we first perceive potential emotion-producing situation which leads to activity in the lower brain region such as the hypothalamus which in turn sends output in two directions:
(a)To internal body organs, external muscles to produce bodily expressions
(b)To cerebral cortex where the pattern of discharge from the lower brain areas is perceived as felt emotion.

Question 6. Is it important to consciously interpret and label emotions in order to explain them? Discuss giving Suitable examples.

Answer:Schacter-Singer theory:In 1970, the American psychologists Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer, while adopting an eclectic approach to both the earlier theories of emotion, introduced a new theory named Cognitive theory of emotion.
They suggested that our physical arousal together withour perception and judgement of situation (cognition)jointly determine which emotions we feel.
In other words, our emotional arousal depends on both physiological changes and the cognitive or mental on both physiological changes and the cognitive or mental interpretation of those changes. One cannot work without the other.
The necessary detection and explanation for an emotional state always rests with the interpretation of situation. Since this interpretation is purely a subject of cognitive functioning, the cognitive factors are said to be the potent determiners of our emotional states.
The views expressed by Schachter and Singer was also supported by Magda Arnold by stating that cognitive processes control how we interpret our feelings and how we act on them. She used the term Cognitive Appraisal for the identification and interpretation of emotion provoking stimuli.
A third element, in understanding the relationship between physical reactions and emotional experience aroused on account of the perception of an emotion provoking stimulus.
Cognitive theory helped us to learn that the emotional experience and physiological changes through which we pass are determined by the way we interpret a situation through the cognitive element of our behaviour in the form of our previous knowledge and our interpretation of the present situation directly affect our emotional experience.

Question 7. How does culture influence the expression of emotions?

Answer:Emotional expression involves posture, facial expression, actions, words and even silence.
Cultural similarities in the facial expression of emotions such as anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness etc. have been observed. It must however, be noted that facial expression can, in some cases, be also misleading.
The display rules that regulate emotional expression and emotional vocabulary do vary across cultures.
It has been found that children would cry when distressed, shake their heads when defiant and smile when happy.
Despite similarities in expressions of certain basic emotions, cultures do vary in why and how they express emotions.

Question 8. Why is it important to manage negative emotion? Suggest ways to manage negative emotions.

Answer:

It is important to control negative emotions in order to ensure an effective social functioning. Positive emotions should be enhanced. We can reduce/manage negative emotions in the following manner.
Negative emotions like fear, anxiety, disgust are such emotions if allowed to prevail for a long time, they are likely to have adverse effects on our well¬being. Anxious individuals find it difficult to concentrate. They are not able to take decisions. Depression impairs individuals ability to think rationally, feel realistically and work effectively.
Following tips prove useful to manage negative emotion effectively The following tips prove useful for achieving the desire balance of emotion:
1. Enhance self-awareness:Try to get insight into your own emotions and this makes you understand them in a better way. Knowing about your capabilities and limitation helps.
2. Appraise the situation objectively:An evaluation of situation and gaining insight into it determines the level and direction of emotion.
3. Self monitoring:A periodic evaluation of past accomplishments, emotional and physical states and other positive experiences enhance faith in yourself and leads to contentment.
4. Self-modeling:Analyzing past performances and the positive aspects attached to it provides with inspiration and motivation to perform better next time.
5. Perceptual reorganization and cognitive rest-ructuring:Changing old patterns and following new positive ones. Restructure your thoughts to enhance positively and eliminate negative thoughts.
6. Be creative:Take up some hobby or develop and interest in something creative and innovative. Create fun for yourself by pursuing such activity of interest.
7. Develop and nurture good relationship:One who shares good interpersonal relationship with others never feel alone and disheartened.
8. Empathy:Looking at other’s situation as it was your own. Understanding others well help you in understanding your own self in a better way. It adds meaning to your life.
9. Participation in community services:this can prove to be very effective in creating a balance of emotion in your life.