Motivation refers to a process within a person that influences them to move toward a goal and away from unpleasant situations (Kosslyn & Rosenberg, 2010). Humans are motivated by many different sources such as biological factors – the need for food, water or sex, emotional factors – panic, love or hatred which can influence behavior, cognitive behaviors – an individual’s perceptions of the world, beliefs about themselves and expectations about others, social factors – reactions from family, friends and other sociocultural forces like social media and lastly, intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Kosslyn & Rosenberg, 2010). Prominent theories of motivation such as Clark Hull’s Drive reduction theory, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Incentive …show more content…
Just like hunger, sexual drive increases in times of deprivation and people can inhibit the drive to a certain extent when necessary (Kalat, 1996). However, sexual motivation does differ from hunger motivation in some ways. People do not need to be around food to feel hungry, but many people need a partner to feel sexual arousal. People eat in public but have sexual activities in private. Ultimately, hunger and sex both serve as important biological functions that people do not typically think about during the acts themselves (Kalat, 1996). Humans have evolved mechanisms that make them enjoy eating because it keeps them alive (Kalat, 1996). Similarly, humans have evolved mechanisms that make sex enjoyable and encourage …show more content…
Hunger motivation refers to the drive that pushes humans to eat as a means to satisfy hunger and maintain homeostasis in the body (Pastorino & Portillo, 2013). The brain obviously plays a significant role in an individual’s eating behavior. It receives and processes signals from the rest of the human body such as the stomach, intestines and cells to regulate hunger, eating and satiation (Pastorino & Portillo, 2013).
The two brain mechanisms that carry out these functions are the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) (Pastorino & Portillo, 2013).The LH and VMH can be seen as the on and off switch to hunger. LH signals hunger and if this part is destroyed, the result would be the loss of appetite (Pastorino & Portillo, 2013). On the other hand, VMH depresses hunger and if this part is destroyed, it will cause an increased amount of insulin to be released into the bloodstream, producing great hunger and increase in appetite, resulting in obesity (Pastorino & Portillo,
Cooper, P. J. & Steere, J. (I 993). The Effects of Eating of Dietary Restraint, Anxiety, and Hunger. Intemational Journal of Eating Disorders, 13, 211-219.
Scientists examined the centuries-old “sin” of gluttony and sloth with several experiments studying genes that prove we are prone to certain behaviors, low serotonin levels that increase the prevalence towards self-pity and lack of motivation towards physical activity, and a lack of leptin secretions that fail to suppress ones appetite often resulting in excessive overeating. However, there are others that strongly believe that we have a choice over gluttonous and slothful behavior and that staying clear of sugars and simple carbohydrates as a result of making healthier food choices will also increase in one’s energy levels.
Ziauddeen and Fletcher in this article discuss the concept of food addiction from a clinical and neuroscientific perspective. They argue that the evidence in food addiction is limited and that further research must be done in order to fully validate the concept. Despite the uncertainty, food addiction has influenced the neurobiological models of obesity and developing debates about formulation of the public health policy. Ziauddeen and Fletch also debate that because there are so many possibly pathways leading to obesity, it is unlikely that food addiction is the most effective cause. Even with their caution, they also propose there are many arguments saying many aspects of eating in obesity are “addictive.”
The author trusts that all humans have some level of motivation as long as they exist. In turn, there are several well-known classic approaches that consider motivation such as instinct, drive reduction, arousal, incentive, and humanistic approaches. It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe all in detail, but a brief synopsis of each follows: (1) Instinct approach theorists suggest that humans have many diverse instincts that are biologically determined and cause innate patterns of behaviors such as reproducing, territorial protection, curiosity, acquisition, and fight, flight or freeze to name a few (McDougall, 1908). (2) Drive-reduction theory proposes that individuals have needs that are essential for survival and this need cause a tension to act called a drive. These drives entail primary drives for physical needs such as water and food, and acquired drives realized through conditioning or experience such as the need for income or social acceptance; whereas, one must meet the need to reduce the drive to return to a state of homeostasis (Hull, 1943). (3) Theorists who support an Arousal approach believe that humans are motivated by stimulation and people develop an optimal level of stimulus tension; whereas, task performances may suffer if the level is too high such as severe test anxiety or even too low such as boredom
The author trusts that all humans have some level of motivation as long as they exist. In turn, there are several well-known classic approaches that consider motivation such as instinct, drive reduction, arousal, incentive, and humanistic approaches. It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe all in detail, but a brief synopsis of each follows: (1) Instinct approach theorists suggest that humans have many diverse instincts that are biologically determined and cause innate patterns of behaviors such as reproducing, territorial protection, curiosity, acquisition, and fight, flight or freeze to name a few (McDougall, 1908). (2) Drive-reduction theory proposes that individuals have needs that are essential for survival and this need cause a tension to act called a drive. These drives entail the primary drives for physical needs (water and food) and the acquired drives learned through experience or conditioning (need for money or social approval); whereas, one must meet the need to return to a state of homeostasis (Hull, 1943). (3) Theorists who support an Arousal approach believe that humans are motivated by stimulation and people develop an optimal level of stimulus tension; whereas, task performances may suffer if the level is too high such as severe test anxiety or even too low such as boredom (Teigen, 1994). (4) Incentive
Eating has taken its toll on people who live in the United States. One of the largest problems that people have is deciding how much to eat and what is healthy to eat. It was determined in the 1930s-1940s that the brain has a tremendous impact in controlling our eating habits. The main part of the brain, which controls this, is the hypothalamus. Basically, the hypothalamus measures different levels through out the body, especially in the stomach, to determine if our body needs food, which causes the sensation of hunger.
Unreasonable food consumption and its relation to obesity and binge eating illustrate clinical and public health worries. A large amount of the research has found a variety of similarities in between excess food consumption and addiction. In humans, obesity and addiction have been both linked down to neural markers. Finally, many of behavioral indicators of addiction also appear to be common in problema...
Stress, lack of time, boredom, and peer pressure can all lead to mindless eating. In other words, eating regardless of hunger and not really tasting or enjoying the food.
What is motivation? According to text, motivation is defined as a set of factors that activate, direct, and maintain behavior, usually toward a certain goal. Motivation is the energy that makes us do things: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied so that we have inspiration to complete the mission. These needs vary from person to person as everybody has their individual needs to motivate themselves. Depending on how motivated we are, it may further determine the effort we put into our work and therefore increase the standard of the productivity. There have been a wide variety of theories about motivation developed over the years. Several are drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, psychosocial (both incentive and cognitive) theory, and Maslow’s H...
Calories found in sugary drinks and fried foods are often referred to as “empty calories.” This type of calorie is broken down at an excessive rate and causes blood sugar levels to spike. The body then sends out hunger signals causing one to eat mor...
When one thinks of what families do for each other, they will most likely think of care. More specifically they think of the care that a parent has for their child. Parents have to meet certain “needs” for the child in order for the its healthy survival. Children must be fed and clothed. Parents must also watch over the safety of and be the friends of the children. Cheering on in good times and making their child the best it can be are also responsibilities of parents. The family metaphor is used when describing the Human Relations method of management. In this the management of a company is seen as the parents and the employees are seen as the children. Employees, as seen as the children also have certain needs as well. These needs are very similar.
With a fuller and clearer picture of the bodily systems, and how they respond to food, we see that overeating and obesity is not only about self-control; it has turned into a complex physiological problem. There is a cycle: a cue triggers a dopamine fueled urge. The dopamine then leads us to eat more food. Eating food leads to the release of opioid, and the production of dopamine and opioids both stimulate further eating. “Cues ensure that we will work hard to obtain the reward” (Kessler, 2009, p.54 ), but the desire for reward is causing overeating and obesity problems.
Considering the fact sixty-two percent of people watch television every day, most people don’t realize how advertising commercials use Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to sell products. They use this to sell products because Maslow’s needs come in five levels and describe the things that each person wants to achieve in life. The levels start with the Physiological needs which are the basic needs such as food and water. The second level is safety this level deal with things such as employment, security of the body and more. The third level is Love/Belonging and deals with friendship and family. The fourth level is Esteem needs and appeals to people’s confidence, achievement, and others things. The final level every person wants to achieve
Theories of motivation consists two parts. Content and process motivation theories. Content motivation theories focuses mainly on people needs and explains why people have different needs at different times. Content theories of motivation treated as a need or desire, to act for the sake of promoting a certain goal. One most prominent theorist Abraham Maslow (1943) proposed the hierarchy of needs. It states that all the needs of the people can be divided into five categories, aligned incentive effect in descending order: (psychological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization needs). Psychological are the basic needs to survive, e.g. food, clothes, shelter, warmth, sleep, etc. Safety are the needs like security, stability, freedom from fear, etc. Social needs are the feelings of belongingness, acceptance, being part