Motivation and emotions: What guides our behavior?

Abstract

In the first part of Chapter 7, physiological and psychological needs are identified as sources of motivation for our behavior. Physiological needs include those of hunger, thirst, and sex, while psychological needs are discussed under the instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, incentive, achievement, and humanistic theories. Culture is demonstrated to have an effect on the expression and suppression of needs. In the second part of the chapter, the neuroscience as well as various theories of emotion are covered. The last section of this chapter delves into the cultural universality of emotions and recent research that emphasizes the significance of emotional diversity, introducing a concept called “emodiversity.” Motivation, emotion, and behavior are shown to be interactive and interdependent.