CH 13: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Motivation is fundamental because without motivation we would not have impulses or desires to accomplish anything. There are several theories of motivation because it is really not known where motivation truly comes from. There are biological needs and psychological needs as well. These are important for survival and our everyday life.

             A motive is a stimulus that moves a person to act in a certain way to accomplish a specific goal. A need is a condition in which we require something we do not have. Drives are forces that motivate an organism to take action. There are several theories of motivation. One can see the instinct theory where behavior patterns are passed on genetically from generation to generation. There is also the drive reduction theory which states that one experiences a drive coming form a need as an unpleasant tension and do anything to reduce that tension. There is also the humanistic theory suggests that one is motivated by conscious desire of self growth. The sociocultural theory states that certain drives are inborn but the ways we satisfy them are learned from our culture.

            The biological needs are those like the requiring of food, water or sleep. Focusing on the hunger drives, three organs focus on this drive these include the mouth, the stomach, and hypothalamus.  The mouth sends certain signals that come from the sensation of chewing that satisfy the hunger drive. When the hunger drive is strong,  the stomach contracts. The hypothalamus has two parts fundamental for the hunger drive. These are the (LH) and the (VMH). The (LH) is the start eating center. The (VMH) is the stop eating center.

            Psychological needs are also quite important.  We naturally desire sensory stimulation and do not like sensory depravation. There are also certain people that have high achievement motivation that meet high personal standards. There are two types of goals. The performance goals which are those specific goals like gaining a college admission. There are also learning goal which is driven simply by learning. There are rewards such as intrinsic rewards like self fulfilment and extrinsic rewards like good grades. The development of the achievement motivation is highly influenced by our parents. Balance is also under a psychological need. There are theories that follow this such as the cognitive consistency. Here one acts the way one believes one should act. Also the  balance theory that one should organize their opinions and share them with people who also share these same opinions. The cognitive dissonance theory states that people are motivated to reduce imbalance.  Finally, another psychological need is affiliation or being a part of something bigger than oneself. One way how this can be reflected is by making friends.

            Emotions are also important because they affect the way we act think and certain drives as well. An interesting fact is that emotions are universal.

            Motivation is only theory driven. However it is quite interesting because we know it is there. Without it we would have no ambitions or no drives to do anything at all. It is seen how motivation is seen both physically and psychologically. What would be of the world it there was no motivation? There would be no significant thing because nobody would be motivated to do anything.

Consists of motivational logos and a motivational slogan as well. 

REFLECTION CH 11: ADOLESCENCE

Another presentation that I really enjoyed was the one regarding adolescence. The main reason I enjoyed this presentation was because I was able to make a lot of insights about the topic, perhaps because I have lived it and still am.

            The presentation itself was good. It was concise and provided adequate information. It was easy to learn the information because it was portrayed in a very simple way.  It followed most of the rubric. It had the power point presentation which provided the respective information. The interaction with the classmates was not as active but the presentation was informative. The handouts were emailed. I cannot recall ever had playing the game but this may have been because we ran out of time.

            I really enjoyed the information. This is because I was able to make a lot of insights and connections with previous experiences. For example, I remember when my voice started to change and my voice cracked in the middle of a presentation or so.  I also remembered the first time I realized I had a weird formed mustache. All of these were changes caused by the hormonal changes. I have also seen how the relationship with my parents have obviously changed but has not separated as the presentation suggested that most of the times happened.

            Overall I liked this presentation because I learned the content really easily because of the concise way explained and because I was able to do several connections and insights with previous experiences.

A SHAMEFUL EXPERIENCE WHERE ONE CRACKS VOICE IN PUBLIC DUE TO PUBERTY.

REFLECTION ON CHAPTER 14: THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

            I really enjoyed Luis’ presentation because I did not know much of the topics being exposed by him. This topic would be the theories of personality. He made a great presentation and much was learned from it.

            Luis followed the rubric adequately. He had the powerpoint done which was complete with the most important ideas expressed. When presented many of the classmates said he was rushing through it but I believe his pace was good. He also showed the insights he had. He was also interactive with the classmates keeping the environment active. He also sent the handouts and finally also created the game. He seemed ticked off at certain points but it was understood because many times he was interrupted in the middle of  the presentation by lack of respect from the classmates. The game was quite fun and interactive as well.

            The information provided was great. He offered several theories provided by many psychologists such as Gordon, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Carl Jung, Karen Horney, or even Erik Erikson. I also learned of several terms such as Id, Ego, and Superego. For example according to Freud, ego stands for reason and good sense. I also learned enough about the stages of development such as the oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency, and genital stage. I believe that what interested me the most in this presentation was Sigmund Freud’s theories and ideas.

            Overall the presentation was great and as I previously mentioned I liked the topics. This may have been because I had little understanding of them and this presentation updated my knowledge. One can also identify oneself personality with this lesson which is fascinating. It was a very rich presentation.  

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONALITIES SEEN. 

CH 11: ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is relatively a new term that flourished during the Western societies before the 1900’s. When one is going through the process of adolescence, there are certain factors that are quite important. Adolescence is characterized by the physical development, social development, and identity formation. Adolescence is a challenging stage where one undergoes several processes both physically and mentally where several challenges may take place.

            One of the characteristics of adolescence is the physical development. Here one goes under an adolescence growth spurt. An adolescence growth spurt is a growth that lasts approximately 2 to 3 years where one grows 8 to 12 inches in height. Girls begin this growth spurt before boys. The growth spurt can occur first in the feet and hands before arms and legs. Adolescents may feel awkward because of this. Also, when one is in the adolescent stage, one goes through puberty. These are the developmental changes that lead to the ability to reproduce. Reproductive organs change and develop. Here, there are primary sex characteristics present. These include characteristics that are directly involved in reproduction and secondary sex characteristics that are not directly involved in reproduction. These characteristics are ones such as growing of hair in certain parts, the deepening of voice in men, and the rounding of hips and breasts of the women. These changes are due to hormone levels.  Men produce more testosterone and women more estrogen. Of course certain people mature earlier or later than others do.

            According to scientists, these hormonal levels affect their activity levels, mood swings, and aggressive tendencies. When one is an adolescent the relationship with the parents undergoes redefinition. Teenagers want to be independent from parents which can lead to certain conflicts. Wanting freedom can lead to less time with parents or family and more time with friends. Teenagers tend to interact more with their mother than they do with their father.  In this stage there is an increase in importance of friends. Having friends means more than just having people to spend time with. Teens usually choose friends who are similar to themselves in several aspects. Adolescents not only have friends but belong to one or more groups called cliques and crowds. Also many people begin dating in their teenage years.  The reason they date is because it may help them prepare for more serious relationships in later life.Relationships amongst younger adolescents are casual and short but in later n adolescence relationships become more stable and committed.

                        Adolescents have challenging situations. Many times these can be seen in eating disorders. These disorders include anorexia or a self-starving condition, and bulimia which is eating followed up by forced vomiting. These affect young women mostly due to societal pressures of beauty and perfection. Also the risk of substance abuse and drugs affect several teens to solve their issues or simply to experiment.

            As seen previously the adolescence stage is not a simple one. It is complicated known for several changes both physically and mentally.  This may be due to hormonal changes.  Adolescents are highly influential, curious, and fragile in a way. This is what makes adolescence such a complex stage, which is why a denomination was made for these ranges of years covered by the adolescence.  

Adolescent have the risk of consuming drugs. 

CH 9: INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is the ability to learn from experiences, think rationally, and deal effectively with others. One may be intelligent and not know a lot. One can be more intelligent in certain areas and less intelligent in other areas.  There are several ways of measuring intelligence. Also, there are several ranges of intelligence depending on how smart one is. Several factor influence intelligence as well.  

There are several theories about what exactly makes up intelligence.  The first theory is the Spearman’s Two Factor Theory. According to this theory intelligent behaviors have a common pattern also known as the general intelligence. This general intelligence represents reason and problem solving abilities. However, there are also particular abilities which are known as the specific intelligence. Thurstone’s Theory of Primary Mental Abilities suggests that eight factors or primary mental abilities make up intelligence. These include the visual spatial ability, perceptual speed, numeric ability, verbal meaning, memory, word fluency, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning. On the other hand Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences suggests that there are several different kinds of intelligence such as the linguistic, logical mathematical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory states that intelligence includes analytic, creative, and practical abilities and that these work together. There is also the emotional intelligence which includes self awareness, mood management, self-motivation, impulse control, and people skills.

            Intelligence can be measured in several ways. The Stanford-Binet Scale is a test to measure intelligence. This test yielded a score called mental age. This is not the same as chronological age. The version used today of this test is called the IQ or intellectual quotient. In the IQ the mental age is divided by the chronological age and multiplied by 100.  Another intelligence measurer is The Wechsler Scales.  This consists of subtests and each measures a different intellectual skill. In the end it reveals strengths and weaknesses and intellectual functioning. Intelligence tests must be reliable and valid. These tests are not perfect. There are several factors that can influence the score you get in an Iq for example. Without considering this, intelligence test are highly effective and useful.

            The test mentioned before help identify differences in intelligence.  With these tests one can identify if one has intellectual difficulties like mental retardation. One has mental retardation when the IQ is below 70. Retardation has several levels.  There is mild retardation, moderate retardation, severe retardation, and profound retardation. Retardation can be caused by accidents that cause brain damage during childbirth, by pregnant women who abuse of drugs or alcohol. There can also be genetic disorders. On the other hand there are gifted people who have an IQ over 130.  It is believed that motivation and creativity help breed a gifted person.

            Intelligence can be seen in many ways and forms. It can be measured through several processes. All this intelligence can be influenced by biological and environmental factors. It is because of intelligence that we are capable of understanding our surroundings and our everyday life. Intelligence is something fundamental.  

As we can see here, one of the most known gifted person.