MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Chapter Outline
Motive and Its Components
Functions of Motives
Origin of Motives
Theories of Motivation
Instinct Theory
Drive Theory
Arousal Theory
Solomons Opponent Process Theory of Acquired Motives
Incentive Theory
Classification of Motives
A. Primary Motives: Biological Needs
Hunger: The Regulation of Food Intake
Thirst: The Regulation of Water Intake
Sexual: Motivation
Drive Reduction
B. Psychological Motives
Stimulus Motivation
Functional Autonomy
Affiliation Motivation
Achievement Motivation
Maslows Hierarchy of Motives
Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Cannon-Bard Theory
Cognitive Theory
Principles of Emotion
Ways to Control Undesirable Emotions
Emotional Intelligence
Improving Your E.Q.

Motivation

Kristine wants to discover the story behind his fathers success in life. Francis would like to find
out why some employees are very enthusiastic in performing their work.
The answer to these questions often involves the concept of motivation. Motivation refers to an
internal state or condition that activates behavior and gives its direction.
Dianne is studying for her test tomorrow. If theres no test, she might be busy calling her friends.
Unmet motives lead to activity rather than inactivity.
The fact that she wanted to pass the test explains why she chose to study instead of doing other
things like calling of her friends.

Motives and Its Components
Psychologists who have analyzed motivation have found that movie has two components, need
and drive. Needs are based on some deficit within the person. The deficit may be physiological or
psychological. In either case, however, the deficit must lie within the person. Drives, on the other hand,
are based on needs and have the added feature of an observable change in behavior. Drives imply
motion of some sort. The person is not considered to be in a drive state until the needs has goaded the
person into action. The term motive refers to drive (an activated need) that is directed toward or away
from the goal. Therefore, the inner deficit (need) pushes the person into action (drive) toward or away
from some particular goal (motive).

Functions of Motives
Motives have three important functions in behavior. First, they energize the person. The
motivated person is active and his activity is maintained at relatively high levels until relevant goals or
rewards are attained. Goal refers to a substance, or object capable of satisfying a need. Aroused motives
will make the individual more alert in general. He will be particularly alert to those stimuli that will
facilitate the satisfaction of the motive. A person who is interested to receive an award is likely to work
hard for it until he achieves his goal.
Motives have a directing function. They determine from many possible behaviors or responses
which are likely to be the most appropriate. This directs a person to organize his ideas around whatever
goal is important to him at the moment. For example, at home, a working mother will be concerned
about her household chores rather than her office concerns. Thus, motives provide the person with cues
directing him to the most appropriate behavior in the situation.
Lastly, motives have a selecting function. Reinforcement, consequences, and feedback
determine which of a number of responses will be selected. A number of responses and ideas are
available in every situation and at each choice. For some of these ideas, interpretations are instrumental
to the achievement of a persons goals.

Origin of Motives
Motives originated from a biological or physiological source or from an environmental influence.
A motive may arise from a biological need such as the need for food or water which drives an individual
to seek food when hungry or drink when thirsty. The tissues of the human body need these food and
water to function continuously. The body will cease to live without sufficient nourishment. The
hormonal substances in the blood which activate certain parts of the nervous system are the other
biological sources.
Motives may also be caused by environmental factors. We react strongly to social acceptance,
so we want friends and organizations. Companies that offer high paying jobs attract employees from
other firms than those that give lower pay.

Theories of Motivation
The five major theories of motivation are the:
Instinct Theory
Drive Theory
Arousal Theory
Opponent Process Theory
Incentive Theory
1. Instinct Theory
People act the way they do because of their instincts. An instinct is an
innate or generally predetermined disposition to behave in a particular way
when confronted with certain stimuli.
Instinctual behavior follows an inborn plan that allows for substantial
flexibility in the course of development. For example, infants have the tendency
to form a strong emotional bond with their biological mother, but an infant can
form a bond with a substitute mother. Instinctual behavior, then, is viewed as
innate or pre-programmed but is subject to modification in the face of
environmental demands.

2. Drive Theory
Clark Hull (1943) believed that organisms are motivated to eliminate or
reduce bodily tension. Drive is the term used to define the state of tension that
occurs when a need is not met. Hull believed that drives motivate organisms to
reduce tension. Organisms with high state of arousal are motivated to engage in
the process of drive reduction, a set of behaviors designed to reduce or
eliminate bodily tension.
Drive theory states that the potential level of any response is a joint
function of the response habit, strength, and the persons level of drive. High
drive facilitates performance on simple or over-learned tasks but hampers on
performance on complex or novel ones.

3. Arousal Theory
Arousal theory, which arouse partly as an alternative to drive theory,
stipulates that a moderate level of stimulation is reinforcing. An increase in the
level of tensions or excitement is referred to as arousal. The theory proposes
that moderate level of stimulation is the most pleasant and that both higher and
lower levels are relatively aversive. Some contemporary examples of activities
that suggest a need to increase arousal are roller rides, sky diving, and horror
movies.

4. Solomons Opponent Process Theory of Acquired Motives
Richard Solomon provides intriguing answer to some questions with his
opponent process theory of motivation. He explains that a state of positive
feeling is followed by a contrasting negative feeling, and vice versa; and any
feeling, either positive or negative, that is experienced in succession loses some
of its intensity. People who are involved in activities like karate fighting or
parachute jumping may experience a negative feeling such as fear or state of
shock in his first attempt which is soon followed by a contrasting positive state
of euphoria. The shift from negative fear to positive euphoria makes a person
smile and talk excitedly about the jump. This reinforces the act of jumping. This
means that as the fear is reduced, the amount of euphoria produced afterwards
becomes even stronger. Solomons theory explains that not only is the negative
state diminished due to repetition; the individual likewise gets hooked by the
contrasting shifts to increasing more intense levels of positive feeling.

5. Incentive Theory
External goals motivate organisms to perform certain actions. The
external stimuli in the environment that pull the organisms in certain
directions are called incentives.
The basic assumption of incentive theory is that if a desirable goal can
be anticipated following the completion of a particular action, the organism is
motivated to perform that action.
Anticipation of undesirable goal - something aversive or unpleasant
motivates the organism not to perform the action. Thus, incentive theorists
focus on the environment, rather than on the internal state of organism and ask
what induces organisms to act or what inhibits their action.
Each of the five theories offers a unique perspective, a different way of
looking at the reasons for motivated behavior.
Classification of Motives
A. Primary Motives: Biological Needs
Many human motives stem from the need for things to keep an organism alive
and are necessary for survival. We consider these as primary motives, also known as
physiological motives. Primary motives are those directly related to the normal body
functions such as need for air, food, water, excretion of waste, rest and sleep,
protection from heat and cold, avoidance of pain and so on. Sexual motive is also
considered to be a primary motive because the species would not be able to reproduce
if the sexual motive is not satisfied.
Most of the primary drives are based on the bodys need to maintain a certain
level of essential life elements like adequate sugar in the blood to nourish the cells,
sufficient water in the body. These critical levels are regulated by the homeostatic
mechanism. These internal mechanisms sense imbalances in the body and stimulate
actions that restore the proper balance. For instance, when the water level in body cells
falls below a safe level, a signal is sent to the kidneys to reabsorb additional water from
the urine. At the same time, a signal is sent to the brain that leads the person to seek
out and drink liquids. Similar homeostatic mechanisms are involved in hunger and in the
maintenance of body temperature.
I. Hunger: The Regulation of Food Intake
Hunger is believed to be caused by rhythmic contractions of the empty stomach.
The strength of hunger drive can be measured by discovering how much resistance a
human or animal will endure to overcome it.
Contrary to most belief, it is the hypothalamus which is the biological control
center for hunger, not the rumbling stomach. This small forebrain structure is involved
in the regulation of a number of motives and emotions. Hunger is regulated by two
systems. One is the feeding system that initiates eating when food is needed. The
second is the satiety consumed. The two separate parts of the hypothalamus play a role
in these two hunger control systems. Destruction in any part of the hypothalamus
eliminates the homeostatic signal to stop eating which may result to overeating.


II. Thirst: The Regulation of Water Intake
Just as we must control the intake of food to survive, we must also regulate the
intake of water. Like hunger, the drink system and a stop drink system key mechanisms
are regulated in the hypothalamus. The control centers for thirst occupy much of the
same space as the centers for hunger but they operate separately by using different
neurotransmitter substances (Lahey, 1989).
The hypothalamus uses three principal cues in regulating drinking: mouth
dryness, loss of water by cell, and reduction in blood volume.
When total body fluids decreases by even one or two percent or when
dehydration occurs, certain specialized cells in the center of the hypothalamus send
messages to correct the situation. They chemically signal the pituitary gland, which is
located just below the hypothalamic drink center, to secrete antidiuretic hormone
(ADH) into the bloodstream. When ADH reaches the kidneys, it causes them to conserve
water in the body by reabsorbing it from the urine. Simultaneously, a message of thirst
is sent to the cerebral cortex which initiates a searching for drinking liquids.

III. Sexual Motivation
Human and animals that depend on sexual reproduction would soon be extinct
without a sexual motive. While hunger, thirst, and other primary motives are necessary
for the survival of the individual, sexual motivation a primary motive is essential to
the survival of the species. The same basic biological mechanisms are involved in sexual
motivation in all mammals; but, the biological controls that govern sexual behavior are
less significant in human than most of the animals.
Centers in the hypothalamus and related brain structures function In initiating
sexual behavior. If surgically destroyed, sexual behavior may be initiated in the presence
of provocative stimuli. Another system that is composed of hypothalamic and related
brain centers serves as inhibitors of sexual behavior. If these areas are destroyed,
animals become hypersexual, that is, they engage in unusual and unstrained amounts of
sexual behavior.

IV. Drive Reduction
Biological need is said to create an uncomfortable psychological and/or
physiological condition or state called drive. This drive compels us to act in a way that
reduces the biological need and restores homeostasis. Thus, the drive directly activates
and directs our behavior.
The concept of drive reduction holds the view that motives are based on the
bodys need to restore homeostasis when its biological needs are unmet. The concept
successfully explains motives such as hunger and thirst. An imbalance in our body
tissues is clearly reduced when we drink or eat. However, there are other phenomena
that cannot be easily explained by this concept.
Although primary motives are based on biological survival needs, psychological
factors are involved in these motives as well. External stimuli such as the sight of a
highly preferred food can act as incentive that activated eating or drinking even when
the individual is satiated. Learning also influences what, when, and how much we eat
and drink.


B. Psychological Motives
Psychological motives are not directly related to the biological survival of the individual.
They are needs in the sense that individuals happiness and well-being depend on these
motives. Some psychological motives are innate, while others seem to be entirely learned.
Though psychological needs are as powerful as physiological needs, often they are more subtle
and less easily identified such as needs for approval, affection, affiliation, achievement, power,
prestige and so on.


I. Stimulus Motivation
What will you do if your friends are in complete silence? Have you ever spent
your whole Saturday writing a term paper and then felt you had to get up and take a
walk or talk to someone just for sheer diversion? Most people get bored easily if
there is little overall stimulation or if the stimulation is unchanging. People and
other animals have an apparently inborn motive to seek stimulation. If you watch an
infant play with his crib toys, you will see that in a few minutes he will be motivated
to manipulate, investigate and generally shake his whole environment.

II. Functional Autonomy
Personality theorist, Gordon Allport, has proposed a theory of motivation called
functional autonomy. His theory tells us the many human motives that arise when a
means to an end becomes an end in itself.
Suppose a young girl practices on her piano only if her mother gives her an ice
cream cone. Playing the piano is thus dependent on the primary reinforcer which is
the ice cream. Then one day, the girl begins to play not for the ice cream but for the
sheer joy of creating beautiful music. The motive for playing the piano comes to
function autonomously and is no longer dependent on any earlier goal, or on any
external goal. Someday perhaps, the girl will play her piano on stage.


III. Affiliation Motivation
Human beings are social creatures. People enjoy being with their friends. They
tend to feel lonely when they are left alone. Given the opportunity, we generally
prefer to be with other people. In this sense, it can be said that people have a
motive for affiliation. This is the need to be with other people and to have personal
relationships.
People are on different levels of this motive. Individuals who are high in the
need for affiliation tend to prefer being with others rather than satisfying other
motives. For example, when asked to perform a task with a partner, individuals who
are high in the need for affiliation but low in the need for achievement, choose to
work with a friend, regardless of how competent the friend is. In contrasts,
individuals who are low in need of affiliation, but high in need for achievement,
choose the partner that they believe is most competent.

IV. Achievement Motivation
Achievement motivation, abbreviated as n Ach (need to achieve), is the
psychological need for success in school, sports, occupation, and other competitive
situations. Individuals who are high in n Ach tend to choose challenging activities
and generally experience little anxiety or fear of failure. And when success is
achieved, the individual enjoys the fruits of his or her efforts more than an average
person.
Individuals with high n Ach often succeed. But n Ach brings its share of
problems as well. High achievers must learn to balance the demands of hard
success oriented work with the need for leisure, family, and friends. On the other
hand, individuals low in n Ach are not interested in achieving status or material
success and are happy to spend their time and energy in other ways. Some
individuals greatly fear failure and tend to avoid competitive occupations.
Several researchers have shown that not only is the fear of failure common but
so is the fear of success. Individuals are said to fear success if they are overly
concerned about the pressures and responsibilities that are associated with
success or are concerned that success would lead to their rejection by others. Fear
of success was found to be common among women than men. Researchers felt
that it was related to the passive, noncompetitive roles that women have been
expected to assume in our society.
David McClelland and his associates, in their series of studies, concluded that
successful decision-makers share certain characteristics. They compete with a
standard of excellence in mind, take moderate risks, and make good use of
concrete feedback. These three (3) characteristics form what the authors called
achievement syndrome. People who excel in a variety of fields demonstrate the
motivational characteristics. In addition, it was also discovered in McClellands
series of studies that motivational patterns can be shaped through a series of
games that produce achievement syndrome. The research was able to show the
influence of learning on n Ach.


Maslows Hierarchy of Motives
Abraham Maslow has put forward an interesting theory about our many motives. According to
Maslow, our motives are organized in a hierarchy arranged from the most basic to the personal and
advanced. If lower needs in the hierarchy are not met for the most part, then the higher motives will not
operate. Higher needs lie dormant until the individual has the chance to immediately satisfy pressing
lower needs like hunger, thirst, and safety. When the lower needs are met, other motives like
developing relationships with others, achieving a positive self-esteem, and producing crafts or art or
realizing ones full potential become important to the individual.

At the most basic levels are physiological or biological needs. Maslow contends that
until these needs are at least partially satisfied, the individual will not be concerned with the
needs of the next level, those safety and security.

The Maslow needs hierarchy is as follows:
1. Physiological or Biological needs: food, drink, sex and so on
2. Safety/Security needs: order, protection, shelter and family stability
3. Love and Belongingness: affection, group affiliation, and personal acceptance
4. Esteem needs: self-respect, reputation, and social status
5. Intellectual needs: knowledge, truth, education
6. Aesthetic needs: arts, harmony, appreciation and value of nature
7. Self-Actualization: self-fulfillment, achievement of personal goals and transcending
beyond oneself
Maslows hierarchy of motives helps to explain such things as why starving people are not
particularly interested in the political and economic situation of the government. This theory also helps
us to understand why a person would give up a prestigious career to try to save a marriage with a much-
love spouse and children. Higher motives become important when lower motives are met.

Emotions
Emotions give life for its feeling and meaning. They enrich life. Without emotions, things would
be quite a routine and dull. Emotion is a state involving pattern of facial and bodily changes, cognitive
appraisals, subjective feelings, and tendencies toward action. Emotions are positive or negative feelings
generally in reaction to stimuli that are accompanied by physical, psychological arousal and related
behavior.
It is not surprising that in different books, a number of psychologists define emotions in
different ways though leaving some degree as to its definition. Recent books on emotion discuss four (4)
elements:
1. A stimulus situation that provokes the reaction
2. Positively or negatively toned conscious experience that is felt
3. A bodily state of physiological arousal produced and endocrine glands
4. A related behavior that generally accompanies emotions.
Emotion cannot be observed or measured directly. An emotion is inferred from observable
phenomena of three (3) types: reports of experiences, expressive motor behavior, and physiological
activity. Emotional experience is described in terms of adjectives that people use to describe how they
feel: e.g. I am happy,I feel frustrated. Motor behavior is manifested by enlargement of muscles,
stiffening when frightened.
Some emotions are very common. Some psychologists would identify three (3) basic emotions:
love, fear, and anger. On the other hand, Izard (1972), thinks there are nine basic emotions: interest, joy,
surprise, distress, anger, disgust, to be combinations of these basic ones. For example, anxiety is a
mixture of fear with two or more other basic emotions like distress, anger, shame, or guilt.
Plutchik (1984) identified eight (8) basic emotions: fear, anger, joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust,
anticipation, and surprise. These emotions are associated or connected with the behavior pattern of
protection. Likewise, anger is related to the behavior pattern of destruction.
He believes that all other emotions are variations of the basic ones along a dimension of
intensity. Annoyance is a less intense version of anger while rage is its more intense expression.
Though most of us have probably experienced most emotions, psychologists could not agree on
their exact number. How these emotions are combined to create complex emotions has yet to be
studied by scientists and psychologists.
Motivation and emotion are closely related concepts for three (3) reasons:
(1) The arousal of emotions activates behavior as motives do.
When we are angry, we are likely to strike out at the object of our anger or talk
too much.
(2) Motives are accompanied by emotions.
The motive to perform well on a test is accompanied by anxiety because of
pressure.
(3) Emotions typically have motivational properties of their own.
When you are in love, you are motivated to be with your special person.

Theories of Emotion
Three (3) main theories have been proposed to explain
how emotion works.

James-Lange Theory
William James believed that the emotional stimulus is routed (by the sensory relay
center known the thalamus) directly to the hypothalamus, which produces the bodily reaction
(fear or other emotion). The sensations from this bodily reaction are then sent back to the
cortex which produces what we feel is the conscious experience of emotion. According to
James, we cry because we feel sorry, strike because we are angry, tremble because we are
afraid.
A number of years later, Danish psychologist Carl Lange independently proposed the
same theory, known today as the James-Lange theory of emotion. This theory proposes that
conscious emotional experiences are caused by the feedback to the cerebral cortex from
physiological reactions and behavior.







The James-Lange Theory
Stimulus
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Bodily
Reaction
Cortex
Cannon-Bard Theory
Walter Cannon did not just criticize the James-Lange theory. He proposed an alternative
theory of his own. The theory states that the conscious emotional experiences and physiological
reaction and behavior are relatively independent events. The theory was later revised by Philip
Bard and is known as the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion.
Cannon believes that the information from the emotional stimulus goes first to the brain
relay center called thalamus. From there, the information is simultaneously relayed both to the
cerebral cortex, where it produces the emotional experience, and to the hypothalamus and
autonomic nervous system, where it produces the physiological arousal that prepares the
animal or person to fight, run away or react in some other way. To Cannon and Bard, the
conscious emotional experience and physiological arousal are two simultaneous and largely
independent events.





Cognitive Theory
The more contemporary theory of emotion views the cognitive interpretation of
emotional stimuli or events in the outside world and stimuli within the body as the key elements
in emotion. According to this theory, there are two steps in the process of cognitive
interpretation in emotions: (1) the interpretation of stimuli from the environment and (2) the
interpretation of stimuli from the body resulting from autonomic arousal.
The cognitive perspective on the interpretation of emotionally relevant stimuli from the
external world is based on the idea that individuals are not affected by the events but by the
individuals interpretation of these. For example, if you receive a letter, and the return address
says it is from Alex, a suitor who you do not like, and then probably you will feel disgusted. If
however, Alex is a good friend, you would open the letter feeling happy and excited. In this case,
the interpretation of the stimulus, not the stimulus itself, causes the emotional reaction. Thus,
in the cognitive theory of cerebral cortex where it is both interpreted and experienced, then a
message is sent down to the autonomic nervous system that results in physiological arousal.
The second step in the cognitive theory is the interpretation of within-the-body stimuli
resulting from autonomic arousal. This resembles James-Lange theory in emphasizing the
importance of internal bodily stimuli in the experience of emotion, but goes further in
suggesting that cognitive interpretation of these stimuli is more important than stimuli.
The aspect of cognitive theory of emotion was suggested by Stanley Schachter and
Jerome Singer. They believe that emotional arousal is diffused and not specific to the different
emotions. The theory helps to explain why sexual attraction is often mistaken for love, and why
frightened hostages often develop friendly feelings toward their captors if they are treated with
even just a slight amount of respect. Since autonomic sensations produced in emotional
situations are not distinctive, it is easy to misinterpret their meaning.










Cognitive Theory

Stimulus
Thalamus Cortex Hypothalamus
Bodily
Reaction
Principles of Emotion
To understand the nature of emotions and learn how to deal with our own feelings and the
feelings of other, it is important to keep in mind the following principles:
1. Emotional needs express themselves one way or another. Strong
emotional reactions are the results of long standing, frustrated needs.
Violence may occur when emotions spill over. Sexual harassment and
illicit affairs are grounded in unmet needs and emotional suppression.
Emotional tensions and fears can be hidden and then erupt in violence.
2. Anger is an expression of need. There are two kinds of anger. One is the
kind that enables us to strike out new directions and put an end to
manipulative, abusive situations. It is the anger that is manifested when,
in our desire to protest our dignity, we stand up and shout, No, I wont
tolerate it anymore. This is something that propels us into actions.
The second kind of anger is utterly hopeless and despairing. This is the
anger that causes people to kill themselves as well as others when they
feel hopeless.
Our anger must not be manifested in self-destructive ways. It can be
used to help us discover our real needs if we recognize and address the
vulnerabilities that causes the anger.
3. Our feelings and needs are not wrong or bad. Our feelings tell us what we
want and need. Fear tells us we need to be reassured; mistrust tells us we
desire change.
4. Emotions are the gateway to vitality and feeling alive. Unmet emotional
needs are linked not only with violent behavior but also with inappropriate
sexual behavior. Our sexual drives express pent-up emotional needs. When
these needs go unmet, they manifest in an inappropriate sexual conduct.
It is our feelings that determine whether we look forward to daily activities
or want to do something different; whether we contribute our best or
simply meet the basic requirements. Motivation, enthusiasm, inspiration
and hope cannot be attained without tapping emotional energy.
5. We can address emotional issues and still save our true face. Emotion that is
continuously being repressed may continue to surface or be manifested in
inappropriate behaviors. Without control, emotion may continue to break
out in various situations which may affect relationships and work.
Emotional control helps us to:
1. Reduce volatile reactions
2. Create an environment safety
3. Provide the balance necessary for our well-being
4. Ensure the stability of the group
5. Focus on tasks that need to be done
However, completely suppressing our feelings keeps us from being sensitive to:
1. Dealing with work situations that contribute to our well-being
2. Knowing our larger goals and dream
3. Seeing important clues in interaction with others
4. Recognizing unhealthy motives and consequences
5. Appreciating our need for balance and connection

6. Immediate reactions to problem often disguise deeper feelings. Our
emotional response to a problem is often not the same as the deeper
feelings involved. There are four possible responses to the presence of
strong emotions.

a. Running Away. A frequent response to intense feelings is to remove
ourselves from the situation by avoiding others, not talking to them,
acting like they are not there and pretending the event never occurred.
b. Getting Angry. Anger, although it appears direct, is one of the strongest
avoidance functions we have because it keeps us away from our deeper
emotions. Anger frequently masks feelings of being haunted.
c. Denying Importance. When we are hurt, we may attempt to diminish
our strong feelings by rationalizing.
d. Addressing the Situation. Identifying real feelings and then addressing
the situation is the best, but possibly the most difficult way to respond.
Solutions based on surface reactions never satisfy us because they do
not respond to the heart of our concern. True satisfaction comes when
we identify, accept and respond to our deeper needs.

Deny the Importance


Run Away STRONG FEELINGS Get Angry


Address the Situation
Reactions to Strong Emotions
7. We must clarify individual needs before solving problems with others. It is
important that we identify our real needs and claim them. We must allow
our reactions and feelings to exist and not judge them. Sometimes we must
deny the existence of emotions such that it becomes more difficult for us. It
would be helpful to simply accept our feelings.
8. We need to express positive feelings and communicate negative ones. Once
feelings are identified, they must be communicated so others may know
them. It is important to express our feelings so they can be heard. Positive
feelings can be expressed spontaneously. When positive feelings are
expressed, we affirm our being alive, our enthusiasm, and our
responsibilities as human beings.
Differences of opinions and conflicting needs may result to negative
feelings. When negative feelings are not communicated, they grow larger
and more intense. The longer they exist without being acknowledged, the
more they work up frenzy internally. Anger denied turns eventually into
rage, suspicious repressed dissolve into mistrust and blame. We must
communicate strong, negative emotions in ways that allow others to feel
safe and not under assault.
The key to communicating negative emotions is careful communications
rather than direct expression.
Some emotions are very common. Anger, love, fear these are the
main strong emotions. There is a mixture of emotions, some are strong
ones, and others are mild. There are those which we feel ordinarily; these
are mild emotions. Annoyance, frustrations, disturbance are examples of
strong emotions. There are also joyful emotions giving us zest of living and a
feeling of satisfaction; and there are emotions of sorrow and sadness.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a general feeling of insecurity, of fear, usually associated with certain
kind of situation either real or imaginary. It can also be a simple feeling of
apprehension that we feel before taking an examination.
In milder forms, it helps us to prepare ourselves for many important
problem situations. It helps us to be concerned about the rights and feelings
of others, stimulates interest in the future and in learning. It also keeps us
from behaving in ways that are essentially immature.
This can be depending on the number of factors which develop into a
very strong feeling of fear. Sometimes when anxiety becomes very strong, it
may prevent us from performing normal routine activities to the extent of
interfering with our performance of tasks. This kind of anxiety can become
very serious, enough to constitute a real problem this may progress into a
form of neurotic behavior.
Anxiety is an inescapable part of everyday life. Learning to cope with
anxiety is a necessary part of growing up. The more we are in panic-anxiety,
the less mature and the more neurotic our behavior becomes. Often, it
helps to discuss our emotion with someone else. It may provide ways to
reduce our anxiety.
Ways to Control Undesirable Emotions
Psychologists have listed suggestions on how to control undesirable emotions.
1. Avoid situations which arouse undesirable emotions.
2. Develop the habit of passing over provoking situations. Learn to prevent strong
emotions so as not to accumulate undesirable emotions.
3. Get more information or knowledge about things which make you afraid, or which
make you worry.
4. Practice, as often as possible, the policy of holding back, or delaying the act of giving
in to an undesirable emotional impulse, such as anger.
5. Acquire understanding and skill in meeting lifes situations and problems. Keep
yourself busy in your education and training because it will help you reduce the
number of situations which make you unnecessarily emotional.
6. Study and practice the art of getting along with people.
7. Form friendships and associate with groups of people. Enjoy happy moments and
laugh. Laughter has a relaxing effect and it aids in reducing tensions. But remember,
there is a definite place and time for laughter in everyday life.

Emotions and Health
Research demonstrates the importance of mental and emotional health. Our emotions
have physical, biochemical consequences that affect our ability to resist disease. Some
emotions hurt our health, other emotions strengthen us.
Poor health is associated with stress. On the average, people who have gone through
stressful events get sick more often. Our emotions, not the events, cause stress related
illness. Those who tend to react to situations or changes with fear, anxiety, frustrations, and
helplessness are likely to get sick.
Accordingly, emotions affect our immunity or resistance to disease. Research shows that
the brain can release hormones and other chemicals that affect white blood cells and other
parts of the immune system. Though the chemicals also have other functions, they are a link
between our thoughts and our ability to resist diseases.
For example, when people react to stresses with fear, the brain sends danger message
to the body. Hormones are released to raise blood pressure and prepare muscles for quick
action. The stress hormone are said to depress the disease-resistance system.
Thoughts can cause physical abnormalities such as ulcers, indigestions, nervousness,
and high blood pressure. Thoughts can also depress the immune system which leads to wide
variety of diseases. Experiencing poor health, and how soon, depends on each persons
heredity, environment, diet, and behavior.
Negative emotions can weaken the bodys resistance. It is logical that positive emotions
might strengthen it. People who are in love have more responsive immune systems.
Children grow faster in a loving environment. Men who have loving wives have a marvelous
effect on those who are ill. Positive attitude, fighting spirit, hope, and strong desire to live
help cancer patients to survive and recover.

Emotional Intelligence
The phrase emotional intelligence was coined by Peter Salovey and John Mayer some
years ago to describe qualities like understanding ones own feelings, empathy for the feelings
of others, and the regulation of emotion in a way that enhances living. It was Daniel Goleman
who brought together a decade of behavioral research into how much the mind processes
feelings. He was a responsible for introducing EQ, a term referring to emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is not the opposite of intelligence quotient (IQ). According to
Goleman, some people are blessed with a lot of both, some with little of either. What the
psychologists and other researchers would like to find out is how they complement each other;
how ones ability to handle stress affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use.
EQ has two components, intrapersonal and interpersonal. It is important to enhance
both components. Intrapersonal pertains to inner-oriented ability of the person, e.g. self-
awareness, understanding and managing feelings. On the other hand, interpersonal are those
skills or ability to understand and relate with other people.
In Golemans analysis, self-awareness is perhaps the most crucial ability because it
allows us to exercise some self-control. Some impulses seem to be easier to control than others.
Anger is one of the hardest because of its capacity to provoke the person to act towards another
person or some-sense of being trespassed against. If the person is already aroused or under
stress, the threshold for release is lower, which explains why tempers shorten during a hard day
or when a person is very tired.
Anxiety and worrying can also be useful. They serve as rehearsals for danger. These acts
focus the mind on a problem so it can search efficiently for solutions thus making the individual
more persevering. However, worrying and anxiety tend to block thinking. Over-worrying about
failing increases the likelihood of failing.
One of the most visible emotional skills is the peoples skill, like empathy,
graciousness, and ability to read social situations. We can easily read and feel how others feel
like anger, love, jealousy, gratitude and so on. This skill is innate and can be easily shaped or
acquired through socialization and imitation.
Many people are able to be both intellectually and emotionally mature which lead them
to a happy and successful life. Some people may be the smartest yet they still have to learn and
improve their ability to manage their emotions to be happy and successful.

How to Improve Your EQ
The following may help us improve our EQ.
Self-awareness
Know your strength and limitations
Manage feelings
Overcome fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts
Handle your stress
Personal Responsibility
Be consistent in thought and action
Practice prudence, freedom, and decision-making
Be assertive, know what you want and express it responsibly
Communicate
Have a big heart to listen to others
Be open, learn to disclose one-self and be trustful of others
Empathy
Try to understand others
Learn from their experiences
Cooperate
Get involved; know your roles and how you can help
Participate and resolve conflict fairly
Spiritual Involvement
Direct your focus inward, relate with the Creator
Listen to the voice within
Always reflect and have faith


This chapter defines motivation as a factor that activates behavior and
gives direction to it.
It discusses primary motives and psychological motives. Primary motives
are human motives that stem from the need for things that keep a person alive.
Psychological motives are needs concerning individual happiness and well-
being.
Emotions are positive or negative feelings usually accompanied by behavior
and physiological arousal which are generally reactions to stimulus situation.
Theories that attempt to explain emotions include the James-Lange theory,
Cannon-Bard theory, and the Cognitive theory.
According to psychologists, emotions have an effect on the individuals
health.
The ability to manage and control ones emotion is referred to as emotional
intelligence.