Bhsv 215 - Motivation and Emotion

Amanda Rutherford

3/21/2018

BHSV215

Professor Vigdor

Final Assignment

There are several explanations of motivation and emotion that I have learned throughout this course. To give a brief description of motivation and emotion; motivation is simply the willingness to perform an action. There are two different types of motivation. These are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the inner drive that we all have to do something challenging or exciting for ourselves. Extrinsic motivations are the outside motivators that we are presented with on a daily basis. For example, a pay check from work or studying to get that good grade. Emotions on the other hand are not as simple to explain. (Guatam, 2012)

        Emotions are difficult to study because everyone interoperates them differently. Emotions are the feelings that are experiences and the facial expressions, resulting behavior, and even neural activity in the brain. It has also been discovered that emotions arise only as a result of some sort f outside stimuli. It has also been documented that there are six basic emotions that are shared along the cultures of the world. These six emotions are anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. (Guatam, 2012)

        The biology of motivation can be looked at from several different angles. A few of the different angles include addiction, evolution, stress, and arousal. Starting with addiction, individuals who look towards drugs or alcohol to deal with pain or stress can become addicted and begin to seek out that pleasure more often leading to motivation. The evolution of motivation is both nature and nurture in effect. Between the individual’s DNA and the environment that they are in, the chances of them becoming addicted can spike at any given time. Also if the individual is under an unusual amount of stress they could seek out drugs to ease the stress and racing mind. If the individual also suffers from anxiety or depression it is likely that they will seek out illegal drugs to help settle the effects of both disorders. (board, 2018)

        A perfect example of the psychology of motivation includes achievement, power, and cognition. When someone is motivated to achieve a goal that they have set for themselves, typically they will do what it takes to complete that goal. There are anticipations of both success and failure in completing this goal. The motivation for power is caused by an individual’s want to be in charge or influence other people. Finally, cognition is an individual’s ability to understand their experiences and surroundings. (Board, 2018)

        Goals setting can be defined as the attempt to set goals to be accomplished over time. Goal setting is also a great way to motivate employees or teammates towards the same deadline. Understanding what motivates people and having the ability to read the emotions of your teammates can make it easier to complete said goals. With a simple gesture or kind word, an individual can change someone’s entire day. (Clear, 2018)

        Finally, some applications of all of the previous topics within the workplace; or in my case, family life. With the knowledge that has been gained within this class, it is easier to understand different aspects of the people I live with. For example, being able to understand my boyfriend’s drive and the nature of his work ethic has made it easier for me to be understanding to him working all the over time he can get. He is defiantly extrinsically motivated.