Spring 1998 - Psychology 3216 - Motivation & Emotion - Dr. Burton


Kozlowksi (New Academic Building) 383 - M, W 2:30-3:45
Office hours: M 12:30-2:00, Th 9-12 or by appointment

There will be three exams. There will also be a research paper and possibly a take-home essay that together will count as a quarter of the grade.

There is one required text:

Mook, D. G. (1996). Motivation: The Organization of Action (2rd ed.) New York: Norton.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the semester, the student should

  • Be able to define motivation and to summarize and critique the major schools of thought on the sources of motivation,
  • Be able to explain and criticize the various standards used by theorists to resolve nature/nurture issues,
  • Be familiar with the terminology of motivation research,
  • Be able to apply the different schools of thoughts to the specific question of the role of emotion,
  • Be able to conduct library research and to discuss theoretical questions in the field of motivation.
    SYLLABUS:

    1. Approaches to the psychology of motivation. (ch. 1)
    Motivation in the psychological context.
    Four ambitious oversimplifications of motivation. (ch. 2)
    Categorizing motives.
    Motivation and emotion.
    2. Regulation motives.
    Hunger and thirst (ch. 3)
    Temperature regulation
    Others
    3. Ethological or "Bribe" motives.
    Sex (ch. 4)
    Aggression (ch. 4)
    Parental behavior
    The "bribe machinery" and addiction
    Pain
    4. Information motives
    Arousal and alertness(ch. 6)
    Stress
    Curiosity and exploration
    Emotions as information
    5. Engineered motives. Acquired motivations(ch. 7)
    Rewards(ch. 8)
    6. Cognitive motives. Goals and decisions (ch. 9-10)
    Motivation and cognition (ch. 11)
    Social Motivation (ch. 13)
    Life goals (ch. 14)
    7. Mystery motives. Sleep and dreams
    Play
    Music and humor