Unconscious motivation

Welcome to Psychology 102

Motivation & Emotion

Dr James NeillCentre for Applied PsychologyUniversity of Canberra2016

Unconscious motivation

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Wednesday 19 October, 2016, 13:30-15:30, 12B27124-6665 Motivation and Emotion / GCentre for Applied PsychologyFaculty of HealthUniversity of CanberraBruce, ACT 2601, Australiaph: +61 2 6201 [email protected]://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Motivation_and_emotion

Unconscious motivation

Reading:Reeve (2015)
Ch 16(pp. 466-495)

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Outline Unconscious motivation

Based on Reeve (2015, p. 466)

Psychodynamic perspectivePsychoanalytic psychodynamic

Dual-instinct theory

Drive wish?

Contemporary psychodynamic theory

The unconsciousFreudian unconscious

Adaptive unconscious

Implicit motivation

Priming

PsychodynamicsRepression

Suppression

Do the Id & Ego actually exist?

Ego psychologyEgo development

Ego defense

Ego strength

Object relations theory

Criticisms

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Psychoanalytic psychodynamic

Based on Reeve (2015, pp. 468-470)

Psychoanalytic: Refers to the traditional Freudian approach to unconscious which includes Dual-instinct theory (Eros and Thanatos)

Psychodynamic: More general study of unconscious psychological processes (e.g., prejudice, depression, thought suppression, defense mechanisms), without necessarily subscribing to Freudian tradition

This lecture is about psychodynamic unconscious motivation, but starts with a historical perspective.

Freudian psychodynamic
structural model

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Freud's dual-instinct theory


ErosInstinct for life

ThanatosInstincts for death

instincts for: sex

nurturance

affiliation

etc.

instincts for: aggression toward self (self-criticism, depression)

aggression toward others (anger, prejudice) etc.

Psychoanalysis c. 1930Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eros_bobbin_Louvre_CA1798.jpg

Eros and Thanatos are greek words.Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eros_bobbin_Louvre_CA1798.jpgImage author: Painter of London D 12Image license: Public domain

Freud's drive theory

Source of drive

Impetus of drive

Object of drive

Aim of drive

Bodily deficit(unconscious)

Intensity of psychologicaldiscomfort increases
and creates anxiety

Seek object inenvironment
capableof satisfyingbodily deficit

Satisfactionby removing thebodily deficit

Based on Reeve (2015, Ch 2: Motivation in historical and contemporary perspectives pp. 33-34)

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Drive wish


However, unlike hunger and thirst, neither sex nor aggression conform to a such a physiological model of drive

Drive theory evolved into a wish model - a discrepancy theory - i.e., motivation arises from a mismatch between present state and ideal state

Contemporary psychoanalysts:propose that psychological wishes, not instinctual drives, regulate and direct behaviour

focus on helping people recognise, improve upon, or avoid problematic interpersonal relationships

Contemporary psychodynamic perspective


1. The unconscious Much of mental life is unconscious.2. PsychodynamicsMental processes operate in parallel with one another.3. Ego developmentHealthy development involves moving from an immature, socially dependent personality to one that is more mature and interdependent with others.4. Object Relations TheoryMental representations of self and other form in childhood that guide the persons later social motivations and relationships.

Contemporary views on the unconscious


AdaptiveunconsciousImplicit motivation

Freudian unconscious Sets goals, makes judgements,and initiates action.Automatically appraises the environment.Automatically attends to emotionally linked environmental events.

Priming


Procedure that invokes an implicit response following exposure outside conscious awareness

Activate mental representation of a behaviour outside of awareness, preparing a person to enact behaviour consistent with that mental representation.

Psychological priming
Bang goes the theory

Video: (~6 mins)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRAKt0GakJM

How your unconscious mind rules your behaviour

Leonard Mlodinow at TEDxReset 2013
Video: (~15 mins)https://youtu.be/vcJm-y7UnLY?t=165

Psychodynamics


The clashing of psychological forces

The mind is an arena,
a sort of tumbling-ground for the struggle of antagonistic impulses.
- Freud, 1917

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Psychodynamics


The clashing of psychological forces

IdeaDesireExcitationCathexis
(sexual desire)

Counter-ideaRepressionInhibitionAnti-cathexis
(guilt)

Ego

Id

Unconscious
counter-will Conscious volition
(Will)

Illustration of psychodynamics:
Repression


Repression is the central concept of psychodynamics (Freud, 1917).

The unconscious is seen as an overcrowded apartment where motivations reside, wanting to come into the public world.

But repression is the security guard turning down most motivations' requests to enter the public world.

Repression is the process of forgetting by ways that are unconscious, unintentional, and automatic.

Repression is Egos counterforce to the Ids demanding desires.

Illustration of psychodynamics:
Suppression


Thought can't be stopped per se, but it can be suppressed.

Suppression is process of removing a thought from attention by ways that are conscious, intentional, and deliberate.

However, suppression tends to produce rebound effects i.e., even greater occurrence of the unwanted thought (unconscious processes tend to push the thought back into consciousness).

Therefore, it makes more sense, as a suppression strategy, to accept the thought into consciousness.

Do the Id and the Ego actually exist?


Hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens,

Pleasure-unpleasure brain centers.

The limbic system makes for a pretty fair Id:Learning, memory, decision-making, intellectual problem-solving

Executive control center that perceived the world and learns to adapt to it.

The neocortex makes for a pretty fair Ego:Interrelationships show how one structure affects another (e.g., how the amygdala excites and inhibits the neocortex).

Intricately interrelated neural pathways and structures of the limbic system and neocortex

Ego psychology


Ego development

SymbioticImpulsiveSelf-protectiveConformistConscientiousAutonomous(Loevinger, 1976)

Id provides instinctual psychic energy from birth

Ego develops over time through experimentation and learning about what actually works in the real world.

Motivational importance of
ego development


The Ego develops to empower the person to interact more effectively and proactively with its surroundings.

The Ego develops to defend against anxiety.

Ego defense

Based on Figure 14.1, Reeve (2015, pp. 484-487)

Ego Defenses

Reality
anxiety

Moral
anxiety

Id demands

Environmental demands

Superego demands

Extent of anxiety
Extent of ego development

Ego

Neurotic
anxiety

The day-to-day existence of the ego is one of vulnerability, therefore defense mechanisms are used to buffer against overwhelming internal and external demands.

Mature defense mechanisms better life adjustment

Based on Reeve (2015, Figure 16.3, p. 487). Source: From Adaptation to Life (p. 87, by Vaillant, 1977: Little, Brown & Company. Copyright 1977 by George E. Vaillant.

Adaptive defense mechanisms
less depression as a result of life stress

Based on Figure 16.4, Reeve (2015, p. 488)

Ego effectance


Effectancemotivation

Willingness to exerciseemerging and existingskills and capabilities

Inevitableeffects on orchanges in theenvironment

Voluntary attemptsto produce intentional,goal-directedchanges in the environment

When successful, sense of competence increases

Whites model of effectance motivation

Individual's competence in dealing with environmental challenges, demands, and opportunities.

White? (not mentioned on Reeve (2009), p. 410-411?)Sounds similar to Autonomy / Learned Optimish / Locus of Control

Object relations theory


People relate to objects (others) to satisfy their emotional and psychological need for relatedness.

Early representations of relations with caregivers influence subsequent relations with others.

The quality of anyones mental representation of relationships can be characterised by:Unconscious tone: Benevolent vs malevolent

Capacity for emotional involvement: Selfishness/narcissism vs. mutual concern

Mutuality of autonomy with others: Objects perceived as autonomous present no risk to the integrity and autonomy of perceiver

One womans representation of her relationships with men

Based on Reeve (2015, p. 491); Source: From Social Cognition and Object Relations, by D. Westen, 1991, Psychological Bulletin, 109, pp. 429-455. Copyright 1991 by American Psychological Corporation.

Criticisms of the psychodynamic perspective


Many of Freuds concepts are not scientifically testable.Motivational concepts arose from case studies of disturbed individuals.Many points about human motivation and emotion was simply wrong. (e.g., Freuds theory of superego formation; Fisher & Greenberg, 1977)Methods of data collection.Psychoanalytic theory is woeful as a predictive device. Many of Freuds concepts are not scientifically testable.Motivational concepts arose from case studies of disturbed individuals.Many points about human motivation and emotion was simply wrong. (e.g., Freuds theory of superego formation; Fisher & Greenberg, 1977)Methods of data collection.Psychoanalytic theory is woeful as a predictive device.

Summary


Freud: Biologically-based motivation model based on two instinctual drives sex and aggression which supply the body with its physical and mental energy

Contemporary psychoanalysts emphasise psychological wishes (rather than biological drives) and cognitive information processing

Four postulates:Much of mental life is unconscious

Mental processes operate in parallel

Ego development ego maturity

Mental representations in childhood guide adult social motivations

Individual differencesGrowth psychology (Ch 15)

Summary & conclusion (Ch 17)

Upcoming lectures

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References

Freud, S. (1917 [Original work published 1905]). Wit and its relation to the unconscious. Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/279/

Reeve, J. (2009). Understanding motivation and emotion (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Reeve, J. (2015). Understanding motivation and emotion (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Note: Image credits are in the slide notes

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Unconscious motivation