UNIT 2 DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION AND

EMOTION 
Structure 
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Definition and Meaning of Motivation
2.2.1 Characteristics of Motivation
2.2.2 Categories of Motives

2.3 Theories of Motivation

2.3.1 Biological Explanation: Instinct Theory
2.3.2 Drive Reduction Theory
2.3.3 Arousal Theory
2.3.4 Incentive Theory
2.3.5 Rotter’s Expectancy Value Theory
2.3.6 Psychological Explanations of Motivation
2.3.7 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

2.4 Types of Motivation

2.4.1 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

2.5 Definition and Meaning of Emotion

2.5.1 Elements of Emotion
2.5.2 Characteristics of Emotion
2.5.3 Theories of Emotion
2.5.4 Non-Verbal Expression of Emotion

2.6 Emotion and Feeling

2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Unit End Questions
2.9 Suggested Readings

2.0 INTRODUCTION
Motivation is defined as an inner state of need or desire. That state of desire creates
a movement or activity towards satisfying that desire. It depends to some degree
upon whether we look at the internal forces, or the resultant external behaviours.
Motivation is present in every life function. Simple acts such as eating are motivated
by hunger. Education is motivated by desire for knowledge.
Emotion is associated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and
motivation. An affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or
the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of
consciousness.  
This unit will define motivation and emotion. We would discuss the meaning of
motivation and emotion in an individual’s life. We will present the categories of
motives, theories of motivation and types of motivation. There will be a discussion
18 on intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. This is followed by a section on emotions. We
define and describe emotions and its characteristic features. We then differentiate De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
between emotions and feelings.

2.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
 Define motivation;
 Describe the characteristics of motivation;
 Elucidate the theories of motivation;
 Explain the types of motivation;
 Define and conceptualise emotions;
 Describe the characteristics of emotions; and
 Differentiate between emotions and feelings.

2.2 DEFINITION AND MEANING OF MOTIVATION

Motivation refers to complex reactions consisting of:
1) physiological responses such as changes in blood pressure and heart rate;
2) the subjective feelings we describe as happiness, anger, sorrow, disgust and so
on; and
3) expressive reactions that reflect these internal states, such as changes in facial
expression or posture.
Motivation is simply the reason for an action and that which gives purpose and
direction to behaviour. Motivation is “WHAT drives you” to behave in a certain way
or to take a particular action. It is your WHY.
Do you know the definition of motivation? More importantly, do you know why you
need to know?
The definition of motivation is to give reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that
causes a specific action or certain behaviour. Motivation is present in every life
function.
Simple acts such as eating are motivated by hunger.
Education is motivated by desire for knowledge.
Motivators can be anything from reward to coercion.
Motivation is defined as communicating to an internal force that actuates a behavioural
pattern, thought process, action or reaction. Negative forces or positive forces can
act as actuators.
In general it could include but is not limited to the use of words, circumstances,
situations, and external and internal forces.

2.2.1 Characteristics of Motivation

There are many theories and labels that serve as sub tittles to the definition of
motivation. For example: “I will give you a candy bar if you clean your room.” This
is an example of reward motivation. 19
Introduction Motivation is an important element of self understanding, it is helpful to know your
reasons for those life paths which you choose to follow. Many people know motivation
as the driving force behind an action.
Motivation is the way you interact with the world, in fact your whole reason for doing
anything is determined by what motivates you. It is why you do something.
The state of motivation is in fact a time of being motivated. The definition of this
simply means having an incentive to do something, maybe to go somewhere, maybe
even to improve ourselves as a person. Incentives create motivation. There are a
number of ways you can describe the definition of motivation. For example, motivation
is something that encourages.
Therefore the definition of motivation can include things such as encouragement,
stimulation and inspiration. These things are all definitions of motivation. Another
known definition of motivation is: something that creates a given response. Or a
further definition of motivation is a basis used for an action or decision to be made.
Motivation deals with the question as to why we do what we do. The answer to
this is that we do what we do because of our instincts, drives, arousal or excitement,
incentives of goals, achievement, for power, affiliation or friendship and for self
fulfillment. Psychologists define motivation as the internal and external factors that
cause and direct behaviour. As a psychological concept, “motive” is proposed as
a unifying link between stimuli and behaviour.

2.2.2 Categories of Motives

Motives can be divided into four categories, viz., biological, emotional, cognitive and
social.
i) Biological motives: Biological motives include hunger, thirst, the pursuit of
pleasure, and the avoidance of pain. An early attempt to specify how these
motives affect animal behaviour was the ambitious theory of Clark Hull. Hull
tried to explain all human and animal motivation using mathematical formulas.
Hull borrowed from the concept of homeostasis or biological regulation. His
assumption that biological motives followed the pattern of homeostasis is reflected
in modern concepts such as the set-point for fat regulation.
ii) Emotional motives: Things like having the desire to know that you can always
have someone to talk to and share things with. To be able to open up to others
and communicate. Emotional motives imply the selection of goals according
to personal or subjective criteria
iii) Cognitive motives: Influence of implicit motivation on both basic and complex
cognitive processes in the stages of attention and encoding as well as rehearsal,
organisation, and retrieval. Data from narrative essays as well as experimentally
controlled studies demonstrate that individual differences in implicit motives have
an influence on each step of learning and memory processes. Implicit motives
influence the cognitive processing of motive-related information to facilitate desired
affective end states.
iv) Social motives: Social motives are when people do or give things because
they feel they have a sense of responsibility to their community. People with
social motives may have endured racial discrimination, poverty or may want to
live in a selfless way. The five social motives are:
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1) Belonging: People are motivated to affiliate and bond with each other. De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion

2) Understanding: to belong, people are motivated to create an accurate-enough

shared social understanding.
3) Controlling: People are motivated to feel competitive and effective in their
dealings with the animate and inanimate environment.
4) Enhancing Self: Hoping that other will see you as socially worthy fits the core
social motive of enhancing self.
5) Trusting: Viewing the world as benevolent enables people to participate in
many group activities without undue suspicion or vigilance.
Self Assessment Questions
1) Define motivation and bring out the mean ing of motivation.
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2) What are the characteristics of motivation?
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3) What are the various categories of motives?
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2.3 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

2.3.1 Biological Explanations: Instinct Theory
Some of the first theories of motivation attributed behaviour to instincts, in born
patterns of behaviour.
One scheme from the 1920’s listed the following instincts in humans:

acquisitiveness escape mating rivalry submission

cleanliness fear modesty secretiveness sympathy
combativeness food-seeking parental love self-assertion
constructiveness hunting play shyness
curiosity jealousy repulsion sociability
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Introduction The complexity and variety of behaviour along with the undeniable role of learning
and other environmental factors were taken as arguments against instinct theory.
A more useful definition emerged in the 1950’s: An instinct is an adaptive pattern of
behaviour formed by an interaction of genetics and ordinary developmental processes.
An instinct is not invariant, but is widespread and similar among members of a
species.
Culture and learning are often cited as alternatives to instinct, but they are not. If we
do not define instinct as behaviour which excludes learning or memory, we may just
as easily possess instincts that allow humans to learn and form culture. Primary
reinforcers can be thought of as instinctively reinforcing.

2.3.2 Drive Reduction Theory

We act so as to reduce the push exerted by drives, internal stimuli that represent
biological needs. This is reasonable to the extent that our behaviour helps us to
maintain homeostasis, or a steady biological state. When some internal system is out
of balance, a drive builds up to force behaviour that restores balance. For example,
if you are cold, you put on a sweater or turn up the heat. This explanation suits basic
behaviours related to basic needs, such as food and water.
Still, our behaviour is not always consistent with our drives. You may be hungry right
now, but you’re not eating. Perhaps the biggest hole in this theory is that some
behaviours do not decrease internal tensions, they increase them. Thus the next
theory:

2.3.3 Arousal Theory

Arousal is a term used for a general state of physiological activation. You could think
of it as the extent to which your body and mind are “revved up.” Arousal theory
holds that we act so as to bring about an optimal level of arousal. When we are too
aroused (e.g, hungry) we act to reduce arousal (eg., eat).
When we are not aroused enough (e.g., bored), we act to increase arousal (e.g.,
read a book).
The idea that there is an optimal level of arousal has some support from the
observations underlying the Yerkes-Dodson law. The graph of performance vs arousal
is an inverted U: Performance improves with increased arousal up to a point, then
it drops off. Optimum performance on an easy task occurs at a higher level of
arousal than on a difficult task.
Hence, your ability to do a menial job may actually be improved by having music
on, and so forth. In contrast, a difficult task will require less distraction.

2.3.4 Incentive Theory

Arousal theory focuses on internal stimuli. Incentive theory holds that certain external
stimuli act as incentives, pulling us toward some behaviour. Incentives are pleasing
external stimuli that can serve as goals toward which our behaviour is directed.
Cognitive factors are thought to be important relative to incentives.

2.3.5 Rotter’s Expectancy Value Theory

This theory proposes that a particular stimulus exerts a pull based on its value to us
and our expectation of achieving it through some course of action.
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We evaluate behaviour based on: (1) What we expect the outcome to be and (2) De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
the value we place on that outcome. This theory places cognitive variables between
stimulus and response. Our behaviour is not influenced entirely by the history of
reinforcement (as Skinner proposed). Rather, our expectation of reinforcement guides
us.

2.3.6 Psychological Explanations of Motivation

a) Sensation seeking: Thrill seeking may be a trait (stable, measurable personal
atrribute). Thrill seekers actually are motivated by a desire for new experiences.
They do not necessarily like danger per se, but rather are simply not deterred
by danger. Thrill seekers tend to be independent free thinkers. Thrill seekers
resist authority but are not more antisocial (e.g, criminal).
b) Competence and achievement: People motivated by a need to demonstrate
competence have a desire to be capable and exercise control. Individuals can
be motivated by achievement. Achieving a goal may be an incentive. Achievement-
motivated individuals seek competition or at least comparison interested in
knowing the score. High achievement motivation is correlated with typical success:
money, prestige, good job, etc.
c) Self-efficacy: This is defined by Albert Bandura as the degree to which an
individual perceives himself or herself able to meet the demands of a given
situation. Those with high self-efficacy often have a high motivation to succeed
and are able to pick suitable challenges.

2.3.7 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow synthesized a number of different theories
into a hierarchy of needs. If and only if our needs at a lower level are met, we can
be motivated by higher level needs. Once we are fed, safe, loved, and accomplished,
we strive to be all that we can be. This theory is intuitively appealing, but is difficult
to validate experimentally. Maslow himself admitted that self actualisation is difficult
to achieve, even difficult to define.
Employee motivation and satisfaction: Freedom and control lead to both improved
morale and higher productivity. Employees do best when they:
 have input into decisions that affect them
 are challenged by their work
 are cross trained
 are made responsible and held accountable for their work (though one without
the other can be a problem)
 are applauded for their efforts
 Clearly defined goals that are important and meaningful to employees are most
helpful in improving performance and motivation.
“WHY” is the strong reason for a person to desire something? It is not what the
person desire, but the strong reason that the person desires it. For example, if a
person wants to stop working and go into business for himself here are some
possible explanations:
 The person desires to have his own business
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 His reason to be independent,
Introduction  To have more time for your family
 To have more time to pursue his dreams.
So you see that your WHY often goes beyond the physical objectives themselves.
The person’s why often satisfies a psychological need. That is important. If his reason
for doing something is just material (e.g. to own a Mercedes or have a huge house),
it is unlikely to see him through the difficult times to achieving his dreams.
His WHY has to look beyond the physical? It has to be from deep within. That way
when the going gets tough, his WHY will see him through it because it is a strong,
burning reason? It is a reason that will stand strong in the face of opposition.
If the person’s reason for wanting something is strong enough, then it would motivate
him to do something about it. It would not necessarily require him to know how to
achieve it, pursue it. It has often been said that when a person desires something
strongly enough the whole universe conspires to bring about the circumstances,
people and resources he will need to achieve that purpose.
Negative and positive motivational forces could include coercion, desire, fear, influence
and need. Depending on how coercion, fear and influence are framed, they could be
either negative or positive forces that act as actuators. For instance a fear (negative
force) of bodily injury could be a motivation to implement the use of safety equipment
(positive force).
Self Assessment Questions
1) Elucidate the theories of motivation.
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2) Give the biological theory of motivation and elucidate the instinct theory.
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3) What are drive reduction theory of motivation? Explain.
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4) Describe arousal theory of motivation.
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 De finitio n o f M otiv ation
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5) Present the psychological explanation of motivation.
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2.4 TYPES OF MOTIVATION

2.4.1 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
These forces can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic is when the force comes
from within oneself. Extrinsic is when the external forces, positive or negative, produce
a behavioural change.
Definition of Motivation of the Extrinsic Kind
Extrinsic motivation would include circumstances, situations, rewards or punishment,
both tangible and intangible that participation in results in an external benefit.
Tangible benefits could include monetary reward or a prize. Intangible could include
things like adoration, recognition, and praise.
Definition of Motivation of the Intrinsic Kind
Intrinsic motivation would include involvement in behavioural pattern, thought process,
action, activity or reaction for its own sake and without an obvious external incentive
for doing so. A hobby is an example.
If a person is desirous of mastering public speaking for the sake of mastery and not
any reward, then it may be said that the person has experienced intrinsic motivation.
In addition to forces that produce an actuation, there is a need to have the ability
to fulfill the motivation.
For example, a paraplegic may have the desire to get out of a wheelchair and walk,
but lacks the ability.
Definition of Motivation of the Neural Kind
Neuro-linguistic Programming is another way of accessing the mental actuator which
helps the person change the way they think resulting in changed behaviour.
Essentially, Neuro-linguistic Programming actuates a behaviour through a change in
the mental process. It could be considered a biological change as it involves creating
a new thought process complete with new neural synaptic connections. It yields the
same result as other motivations only by a different means.
It is an intrinsic form of change. Unlike other motivations, it could be likened to
running a new program rather than putting a patch or removing a virus on an existing
mental program our brains run on.
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Introduction
Self Assessment Questions
1) “Motivation is your WHY”. Discuss with examples.
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2) What is the definition of motivation of the neural kind?
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3) Differentiate between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation?
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2.5 DEFINITION AND MEANING OF EMOTION

Can you imagine a life without emotions- without joy, anger, sorrow, or fear? What
would such an existence be like? A would life be without any feelings?
Emotion is a reaction consisting of subjective cognitive states, physiological reactions
and expressive behaviours. They involve three major components:
(1) physiological changes within our bodies-shifts in heart rate, blood pressure and
so on; (2) subjective cognitive states, that is, the personal experience we label as
emotions; and (3) expressive behaviours that is outward signs of these internal
reactions.
Emotion is associated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and
motivation. Emotions can be considered as thoughts that you can not identify. For
instance when you feel something, it must be that you are thinking about something
unconsciously. We feel them in our bodies as tingles, hot spots and muscular tension.
There are cognitive aspects, but the physical sensation is what makes them really
different.
Emotions are partly derived from feelings. A model of consciousness can be used to
explain this derivation. Consciousness has three modes or parts, viz., will, mind and
feeling.
Consciousness is the totality of the person, whilst mind is only one feature of it.
However, this model has an innovative feature: the three modes are separate, but
they interlock by the production of desires and emotions.
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Like so many psychological phenomena, emotion is easily recognised but hard to De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
define. Most theories hold that emotion is a syndrome, a complex entity with many
components

2.5.1 Elements of Emotion

Emotions have these elements:
 physiological responses (autonomic nervous system)
 cognitive events
 sensory input
 behavioural correlates, e.g., expressions of emotion

2.5.2 Characteristics of Emotion

Emotions have certain characteristics:
 temporary or transitory
 valence or quality: we feel good or bad
 to some degree passive: we don’t directly choose how we feel
 experience: we know what emotions feel like
 learning
Psychological theories suggest that emotions:
 prepare us for action (e.g., fear preps us to run)
 shape behaviour (perhaps emotion can be reinforcing)
 regulate social interaction and facilitate communication (as we shall see below,
emotions are probably inseparable from the communication of emotion)

2.5.3 Theories of Emotion

i) James-Lange theory: A visceral experience (gut reaction) is labeled as an
emotional state. We have some autonomic reaction to stimuli. We observe these
physical sensations and label them as feelings. This theory is a start but has
many problems:
 The visceral response may not occur quickly enough to account for sudden
emotions.
 Some visceral responses are not interpreted as emotions.
ii) Cannon-Bard theory: When presented with a stimulus, the thalamus activates
both a physiological reaction and an emotional response. (Remember that the
thalamus is a crossroads for sensory pathways). The thalamus simultaneously
signals the autonomic nervous system and the cerebral cortex. But: The rest of
the limbic system, particularly the hypothalamus and amygdala are now known
to play a role in emotional responses. Physiological response and emotional
reaction may not be simultaneous.
iii) Schachter-Singer theory (the “two factor theory” or cognitive-arousal
theory): This is the theoretical basis of canned laughter. A stimulus causes 27
Introduction physiological arousal. This is considered in light of environmental and social
cues. The arousal is then interpreted as an emotional state based on the cues.
In other words, the environment, particularly the behaviour of other people, is
used to explain the physiological state. Events significant to one’s own well-
being are particularly important in determining emotional response. Emotions
can occur without physiological arousal. Physiological factors alone (e.g, drug
states) can cause emotions.
iv) Lazarus’ cognitive meditational theory: This theory is an extension of
Schacter-Singer theory. Cognitive appraisal of a situation is of primary importance
in emotional states. The emotional state strongly influences the cognitive appraisal.
More recently, cognitive scientists have proposed that there may be different
components to our response to stimuli, but it is not productive to segregate them into
cognitive vs. emotional categories.

2.5.4 Non-Verbal Expression of Emotion

Humans have many means of expressing their emotional state, without using words.
1) facial expressions
2) eye movements and eye contact
3) posture
4) non-verbal vocalisations
5) tone of voice
6) non-word sounds
Facial expressions appear to be innate. People everywhere show six basic emotions
in their faces: happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, and disgust.
The facial feed back hypothesis holds that facial expressions may be crucial to the
experience of an emotional state, and may even cause emotional reactions.
Mind has two aspects, intelligence and intellect. Intelligence links to will and to
feeling, and intellect is the source of abstraction. The former expresses the activity
of the mind, whilst the latter is an indication of the degree of maturity of the mind.
Mind is the key to consciousness. Mind is the ‘cement’ that keeps all aspects of
consciousness together.
Will, or will power, is a pure striving, an undirected effort. When will is united with
mind, it generates desire. Desire is the activity of will directed into a mental concept.
The concept governs the use of will. The concept directs the will.
For example, will plus the concept ‘social status’ gives rise to the desire to achieve
social status. (Will+ ‘Social Status’= desire to achieve social status).
Will plus the concept ‘fame’ gives rise to the desire for fame. (Will + ‘Fame’=
desire for fame).
Without the presence of desire it is very difficult to sustain the use of will; if a person
tries to renounce desire then he / she is quite likely to become lethargic.
When feeling is united with mind, it generates emotion. Emotion is the activity of
feeling directed into a mental concept. The feeling energises a conceptual response
to a stimulus.
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Feelings are primarily either pleasant or unpleasant; rarely are they neutral. Hence De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
there are two possible conceptual responses to any stimulus, which in turn leads to
two possible emotional responses.
For example, feeling plus the concept ‘domination’ gives rise to the emotions of
anger and fear (feeling + domination=anger and fear) :
Anger arises because the pleasant feeling makes domination of other people acceptable
to me, whereas the unpleasant feeling makes fear arise when I become subject to
domination by other people.
Another example: feeling plus the concept ‘identity’ gives rise to the emotions of
love and hate (feeling+ identity=love and hate).
Here the pleasant feeling makes a social identity acceptable to me, since I am the
same as everyone else: identity produces love. The unpleasant feeling makes me
reject a social identity and I prefer to be different and have an individual identity.
When there is a difference it produces hate.
Self Assessment Questions
1) Define emotions and bring out the importance of emotions.
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2) What elements constitute emotions? Explain in detail.
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3) What are the characteristics of emotions?
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4) What is non-verbal expression of emotions?
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5) Put forward the various theories of emotions.
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Introduction
2.6 EMOTION AND FEELING
Emotion is more similar to conscious thought than feelings are to conscious thought.
Although emotion and feeling can be described as unconscious thought, one of them
is going to be more similar to conscious thought. Feelings are more like sensations,
when you touch something you get a feeling.
Therefore feelings are faster than emotions and thought, because when you touch
something there is a slight delay before you can think of something about it (thought),
or feel something deeply about it (emotion).
Emotion is therefore just unconscious thought. Actually it would better be described
as unconscious feeling (so a feeling is like a conscious emotion because you can
“feel” it better and easier but emotion is a deeper, more unconscious experience
similar to unconscious thought, but emotions are also more similar to conscious
thought because thought is a deep experience while feelings are intense or shallow,
but not deep).
Emotion can be “any strong feeling”. From that description many conclusions can be
drawn. Basic (or primary) emotions can be made up of secondary emotions like love
can contain feelings or emotions of lust, love and longing.
Feelings can be described in more detail than emotions because you can have a
specific feeling for anything, each feeling is unique and might not have a name. For
instance, if you are upset by one person that might have its own feeling because that
person upsets you in a certain way. That feeling does not have a defined name
because it is your personal feeling.
The feeling may also be an emotion, say anger. “Upset” is probably too weak to be
an emotion, but that doesn’t mean that it is not strong like emotions. Cold is also just
a feeling. There is a large overlap between how feelings feel and how emotions feel,
they are similar in nature. So there are only a few defined emotions, but there are
an infinite number ways of feeling things.
You can have a “small” emotion of hate and you could say that you have the feeling
hate then, if it is large you could say you are being emotional about hate, or are
experiencing the emotion hate. You can have the same emotion of hate in different
situations, but each time the feeling is going to be at least slightly different.
You can recognise any feeling that is what makes it a feeling. If you are sad that is
a feeling, but if you are depressed that is not a feeling it is more like an emotion.
You can not identify why you are depressed but you can usually identify why you
are sad.
Feelings are more immediate, if something happens or is happening, it is going to
result in a feeling. However, if something happened a long time ago, you are going
to think about it unconsciously and that is going to bring up unconscious feelings. So
emotions are unconscious feelings that are the result of mostly unconscious thoughts.
Feeling is defined as something you can identify. Also, you can not identify the
unconscious thought that caused the unconscious feeling, but you can identify the
unconscious feeling itself, that is emotion.
Another aspect of unconscious thought, emotion, or unconscious feeling (all three are
the same) is that it tends to be mixed into the rest of your system because it is
30 unconscious. If it was conscious then it remains as an individual feeling, but in its
unconscious form you confuse it with the other emotions and feelings and it affects De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
your entire system. Therefore most of what people are feeling is just a mix of feelings
that their mind cannot separate out individually. That is the difference between
sadness and depression. While depression lowers the person’s mood and affects
all his feelings and emotions, sadness is just what the individual feeling. So the
reason that the depression affects all other feelings is because the person can no
longer recognise the individual sad emotions that caused it. The feelings become
mixed. If someone can identify the reason they are sad then they become no longer
depressed, just sad.
That is why an initial event might make someone sad, and then that sadness would
later lead into a depression, is because you forget why you originally got sad. You
might not consciously forget, but unconsciously you do.
That is, it feels like you forget, the desire to get revenge on whatever caused the
sadness fades away. When that happens it is like you “forgetting” what caused it. You
may also consciously forget but what matters is how much you care about that
sadness. It might be that consciously understanding why you are depressed or sad
changes how much you care about your sadness, however. That would therefore
change the emotion/feeling of sadness.
The more you care about the sadness/depression, the more like a feeling it becomes
and less like an emotion. That is because the difference between feelings and emotions
is that feelings are easier to identify (because you can “feel” them easier).
Anger as an emotion takes more energy to maintain, so if someone is punched or
something, they are only likely to be mad for a brief period of time, but the sadness
that it incurred might last for a much longer time.
That sadness is only going to be recognisable to the person punched for a brief
period of time as attributable to the person who did the punching, after that the
sadness would sink into their system like a miniature depression. Affecting the other
parts of their system like a depression.
In review, both feelings and emotions are composed of unconscious thoughts, but
feelings are easier to identify than emotions. Feelings are faster than emotions in
terms of response (the response time of the feeling, how fast it responds to real
world stimulation) and it takes someone less time to recognise feelings because they
are faster.
Feelings are closer to sensory stimulation, if you touch something, you feel it and that
is a fast reaction. You care about the feeling so you can separate it out in your head
from the other feelings. “You care” in that sentence could be translated into, the
feeling is intense, so you feel it and can identify it easily. That is different from
consciously understanding why you are depressed or sad. You can consciously
understand why you are depressed or sad, but that might or might not affect the
intensity of that sadness.
If the intensity of the sadness is brought up enough, then you can feel that sadness
and it is not like a depression anymore. It is more like an individual feeling than
something that affects your mood and brings your system down.
Also, if you clearly enough understand what the sadness is then it is going to remain
a sadness and not affect the rest of your system. That is because the feeling would
get mixed in with the other feelings and start affecting them.
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Introduction The difference between emotion and feeling is that feelings are easier to identify
because they are faster, a feeling is something you are feeling right then. An emotion
might be a deeper experience because it might affect more of you, but that is only
because it is mixed into the rest of your system. That is, a depression affects more
of you than just an isolated feeling of sadness. In other words, people can only have
a few feelings at a time, but they can have many emotions at the same time. Emotions
are mixed in, but to feel something you have to be able to identify what it is, or it
is going to be so intense that you would be able to identify what it is. Emotions just
feel deeper because it is all your feelings being affected at once.
Emotions are greater than feelings and therefore they must have more parts in order
to cause that greater feeling. Feelings are easy to understand because they are
simple, but emotions are harder to understand because they are more complicated.
A moody person would be described as emotional because emotion is a component
of mood. Emotion is something that affects your entire system like a depression does.
A feeling such as sadness is only an individual feeling and can be identified as such.
If something is intense, then it is a feeling, emotions are not intense they are deep.
They are not as intense as feelings but you could call them intense. Feelings are more
intense because that is how we define feelings, if you can feel something then it is
a feeling because, well, you “feel” it. Emotion is just something that affects you, your
mood, how you are, etc. That is why feelings are easier to identify, because they are
more intense. Emotions are deeper, however, when someone becomes emotional
you can’t just snap out of it instantly, it hangs around in your system. That is why
they are probably made up of more parts than feelings are.
Why then do some simple things cause us to become more emotional if emotion is
a deeper experience? That is because the feeling must trigger emotions, the simple
thing is actually a feeling itself, but it triggers emotions. Like how colour can be more
emotional than black and white. It is actually that colour causes more feeling, and we
become emotional then about that feeling. But while you are looking at the colour
it is a feeling which you are feeling, not an emotion. The feeling made you feel good,
however, and that good feeling infects the rest of your feelings and emotions, and
then you become emotional.
In fact, all feelings make someone more emotional. The only difference between
feeling and emotion is that feeling is the immediate feeling you get from something.
It is the thing which you are experiencing currently. Feeling is another word for
current stimulation. You can only feel something that you are either thinking about or
experiencing. Otherwise you aren’t really feeling it, and it is an emotion. That is why
the word feeling is the word feeling, because you can feel it intimately, closely.
Emotion is such a strong feeling that it must be the combination of thoughts and
feelings. By a combination of feeling and thought it means a combination of what it
feels like to have a thought, with the feeling of what it feels like to have a feeling –
It don’t mean the combination of actual verbal thoughts with feelings, but non-verbal
thoughts which are like verbal thoughts in that they are about something, you just
can’t identify what it is all the time because it is non-verbal.
Since thoughts are conscious and unconscious, emotion could be redefined as the
combination of feeling and thought – that you only have emotion when you are
thinking about something, and feeling something at the same time, and the combination
of the two results in individual emotions. There is evidence for this from the facts that
you can only experience one strong emotion at a time, and you can also only think
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about one strong emotion at a time.
That shows how emotions are pulled up by thoughts, or controlled and generated by De finitio n o f M otiv ation
and Emotion
them. It might be that this only applies to strong emotions, but it depends on each
individuals definition of emotion (it might vary), but I don’t think anyone can experience
two strong emotions simultaneously. You can feel it for yourself, try and feel any
combination of the following emotions (strongly) at the same time – anger, fear,
sadness, disgust, surprise, curiosity, acceptance, or joy. You just can’t do it. A slight
feeling of curiosity is exactly that, a feeling and not an emotion. Emotions are stronger
than feelings, and stronger than thoughts, but what are they made of? The only logical
conclusion is that they are made up of thoughts and feelings.

2.7 LET US SUM UP

Motivation is the activation or energisation of goal-oriented behaviour. Motivation is
said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. Motivation is to give reason, incentive, enthusiasm,
or interest that causes a specific action or certain behaviour. Motivation is present
in every life function. Simple acts such as eating are motivated by hunger. Education
is motivated by desire for knowledge. Motivators can be anything from reward to
coercion.
Emotions are our feelings. We feel them in our bodies as tingles, hot spots and
muscular tension. There are cognitive aspects, but the physical sensation is what
makes them really different. Emotions often lead to coping activities. When we feel
something, we consequently respond to that feeling. This can be both in the immediate
(and often subconscious) response to the feeling and also in the more thoughtful
handling of the aftermath. Where this has been a negative feeling, the response may
range from vigorous justification of our actions to conciliatory apologies and other
‘making up’.

2.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) Define and bring out the meaning of motivation.
2) Discuss the theories of motivation?
3) Elucidate the drive reduction theory and arousal theory of motivation.
4) What is the theory of motivation of Rotter’s? Explain.
5) What are the psychological explanations of motivation?
6) Discuss Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs and relate it to motivation.
7) What are the various types of motivation? Differentiate between the intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation.
8) Define emotions and bring out the characteristic features of emotions.
9) Elucidate the theories of emotion.
10) Discuss the importance and relationship of feelings and emotions.

2.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

Edwards, David C. (1998). Motivation and Emotion: Evolutionary, Physiological,
Cognitive, and Social Influences . Sage Publications, NY.
Reeve, Johnmarshall (2005). Understanding Motivation and emotion. Wiley, John
Wiley and Sons, Inc. NJ
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