Motivation: Why Do We Do What We Do? 93
The hunger drive provides an example of how homeostasis works. If your
blood sugar is low, you will feel hungry. You will be motivated to seek food and
eat. If you eat an appropriate amount of food, your blood sugar will gradually
rise to an optimal level. On the other hand, if you happen to overeat, your blood
sugar will rapidly rise to an overly high level. Under these circumstances, your
pancreas will secrete extra insulin, returning your blood sugar from its overly
high level to a lower one. The body’s goal is to maintain blood sugar at an opti-
mal level.
Hormones, secretions of the endocrine glands, also play a role in mediating the
activity of the biological drives. We have already seen in chapter 3 how the hor-
mone melatonin is involved in the regulation of sleep. It was also noted in the same
chapter that the estrogen hormones and testosterone are associated with the sexual
drive.
Biological drives play a significant role in the learning process. Drive reduc-
tion theorystates that when an action pays off in such a way that it reduces the
tension associated with a biological drive in a state of arousal, then that action is
reinforced. It is reinforcing for a hungry rat in an operant conditioning apparatus
to obtain food by pressing a lever. This principle can be readily generalized to
some human behavior. A hunter’s learned actions provide an example. These may
include how to load a particular kind of gun or the skills involved in tracking a
specific animal. If the ultimate goal of a series of actions is food, water, escape
from pain, sexual gratification, or another biological drive, then the drive reduc-
tion principle may operate to shape learned behavior.
(a) Homeostasis is a physiological process characterized by a tendency for biological drives
to maintain themselves at levels of arousal.
(b) Drive reduction theory states than when an action pays off in such a way that it reduces
the tension associated with a biological drive in a state of arousal, then that action is
.
Answers: (a) optimal; (b) reinforced.
General Drives: Looking for New Experiences
General drives, like biological drives, are inborn. Unlike biological drives,
they do not appear to operate on the principle of homeostasis. Three general
drives of particular interest are the curiosity drive, the activity drive, and the
affectional drive.
The curiosity driveurges us to seek novel stimulation, to look for new
experiences. The drive is active in infants. Present an infant with a familiar rattle.
The infant may show a little interest, and then put the rattle aside. Present the
infant with a second, unfamiliar rattle. Interest will be renewed. The renewed
