PSY230H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Heart Rate, Neuroticism, Frontal Lobe
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Published on 10 Nov 2016
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Lecture 16: Conscious and Unconscious Motives
Thursday, November 10, 2016
1:45 PM
Conscious and Unconscious Motives
o Impulses vs willpower
o Repressive coping
Iclicker question:
o Which BF dimensions do you think is most strongly related to will-power?
Conscientiousness
Key Concept
o Key concept:
Willpower, volition, impulse-control
o Everyday traits words related to will-power:
Strong-minded, headstrong, deliberate, controlled, powerful, strong, determined, tenacious,
resolute, unwavering, firm, untiring, persistent, relentless, unrelenting, assertive, forceful,
dedicated, fanatic, stubborn
o Definition:
Maintain focus on a conscious goal (intention)
Shield it from distraction by impulses
Overcome obstacles in the pursuit of the goal
What is the differences between unconscious and conscious influences of beh?
o Unconscious motives are influences by salient stimuli in the immediate env (short-term
perspective)
o Conscious influences require active retrieval of long-term goals from mem (long-term perspective)
o "Willpower is just another name for the idea of choosing according to long-term outcomes rather
than short-term ones" (Damasio, 1994)
The Delay of Gratification Paradigm
o 4-yrs old children learn to play a game
o Shown marshmallows
o If they wait for 20 mins, they will get 2 marshmallows
If they can't wait, they can ring the bell, and get 1 marshmallow
o Does delay of gratification at age 4 predict life outcomes?
o 10-yrs after the original "delay of gratification" studies, rents were asked to rate the pers of their
adolescent children
Children who delayed gratification longer were
More academically competent
More socially competent
More verbally fluent, rational and attentive
More planful
Better able to deal w/ frustration and stress
o Correlations between delay times and SAT scores 10 yrs later
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Conclusion
Will-power shows temporal stability
Will-power is related to adjustment + academic performance in school
o Method
Ss
69 high school students (age 16)
24 problem students (guidance counselors' evaluations
35 students were non-problem students
Procedure
Choice between $7 now and $10 in one week
1/2 took $7 now
Measures
Grades (scale 0-100)
Self-reported problem behs (smoking, drinking, MJ)
Self-report Rosenberg's self-esteem scale
Problem student (%)
Grades (0-100)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com