Psychological Science: Motivation

Theory and research on motives, including hunger, fear, sex drive, and addiction, their influence on behavior, relationship to other psychological processes, and biological correlates. Prerequisites: PSYS 2000 or PSYS 2002; PSYS 2100 or PSYS 2200.

Prereqs enforced by the system: (PSYS 2000 or PSYS 2002) and (PSYS 2100 or PSYS 2200); Junior and Senior standing only PSYS and NEUR majors and minors only PACE students by permission and override.

Motivation study examines all conditions that exist within the person, within the environment and within the culture that explains ‘why we want what we want’ and ‘why we do what we do.’” As a course related to biobehavioral, learning, cognition research, we will examine the complex array of motivational sources that are both internal and external to an individual through a review and evaluation of the most recent research on this topic. This, along with your own process of “self-discovery,” may help you understand what motivates some of your behaviors and not others (although this is not a self-help course). Taken together, the weekly research readings, class presentations and discussions, and the research that you choose to incorporate into this course should provide you with an excellent foundation on the subject of motivation as well as an appreciation for its complexity.

The course requires a sophisticated background in psychology and is, therefore, appropriate for advanced undergraduate students (juniors and seniors) and interested graduate students in psychology, business administration, physical therapy, nutrition and food sciences and other related disciplines. Foundational theories, current published research and methodologies of this significant area of psychology will be reviewed and discussed. Participants in this course are expected to (1) complete all readings, written and presentation requirements within the time allotted, (2) attend class and be an active member in all class discussions, (3) present research as required in a professional manner, and (4) provide support and encouragement to other class members when they are making class presentations. Participants will also have an opportunity to engage in self-directed learning by selecting topics of interest for exploration and enlightenment. Because many students who take this course expect to attend graduate school at some future time, course objectives emphasize the student’s ability to (1) locate and evaluate high quality relevant research from appropriate psychology journals and books, (2) synthesize and critique readings (research articles primarily) in both verbal and written formats using APA format and style, (3) present material in a classroom setting with appropriate aids (e.g., PowerPoint) in different contexts (i.e., formal class presentation, student-led discussions and presentations), and (4) participate actively in all class discussions. Finally, this course is designed to permit “self-discovery” through personal reflection on the readings, discussion of points of interest from source materials to students, and self-selection of material for intensive personal study. Graduate Credit: Graduate students will be required to write a 15-20 page Literature Review paper, with at least 15 sources, following the Literature Review Project Guidelines posted on Brightspace. In addition, graduate students will be required to select a recent (no more than 2 years old) journal article from the primary literature and give a 20-min PowerPoint presentation on it to the class.

This is a seminar course; thus, class attendance and participation are expected. Weekly reflective writing on assigned research readings are important to in-class discussions. There is also a research article critique paper and presentation of current research related to course content and a literature review project both of which are student selected and related to the course topic. All written assignments are expected on time.