Motivation

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Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal.
Motivation may be extrinsic, intrinsic, or both.
Drive reduction theories of motivation suggest that people act in order to reduce needs and maintain a constant physiological state.
Abraham Maslow proposed that there is a hierarchy of needs and that people pay attention to higher needs only when lower ones are satisfied.
Needs may be innate or learned. Learned needs are determined by values. Both innate and learned needs are influenced by society and culture.

A genetically influenced set point may allow people to keep their weight constant.
The lateral hypothalamus and the ventromedial andparaventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus play key roles in regulating hunger.
The digestive system and hormones such as insulin and leptin also regulate hunger.
Environmental influences on hunger include availability of foods,preferences, habits, memory, stress, andcultural attitudes.

Alfred Kinsey was one of the first people to give a modern account of human sexuality.
William Masters and Virginia Johnson described the human sexual response.
The sexual response cycle has four phases: excitement,plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
Testosterone increases sex drive, and sexual activity increases testosterone.
Psychological influences on sex drive include internal and external erotic stimuli, desires, and cultural context.
Researchers have found that there are some gender differences in sexual behavior and partner choice. Both evolutionary and sociocultural explanations can account for these differences.
Estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality vary, and the causes of homosexuality remain unclear.
Researchers have suggested that biological factors including hormone levels, genes, prenatal environment, and brain anatomy could influence sexual orientation.
Psychologists have proposed several theories about how environment might influence homosexuality, but research has failed to support these theories.

Researchers often use the thematic apperception test (TAT) to measure the need for achievement.
People who have a high achievement motivation tend to be persistent and hardworking. They are able to delay gratification to meet long-term goals, and they tend to choose careers that allow them to compete with others.
People achieve the most when they have high expectations of success,incentives that reward competence, control over tasks,opportunities to achieve, and effective goals.
Goals are most effective when they are specific, moderately difficult, and framed in terms of what must be done rather than what must be avoided.