Final Project Post: Motivation

Motivation has different definitions. To be motivated is to be moved to action/behavior or change in action/behavior. A motive is an internal disposition to approach or avoid an incentive. An incentive is an environmental stimulus that attracts or repels. All of these definitions put together defines motivation, but there is much more to it than that. Us as human beings have drives that we are not even necessarily aware of. Evolution is one of the main things that affect motivation and our drives as humans. Emotions affect our motives. For example, getting angry is an adaptation to a blocked goal. There are many sources for our motivation. There are internal sources, such as biological or psychological. There are external sources, such as incentives and goals. All of these things put together motivate different people in different ways.
We covered a lot of different and interesting topics in this course, but if I had to choose one that I liked the best it would have to be addictions and addictive behaviors. This topic was interesting because so many people have addictions and it was personal to be because my father is an alcoholic. It was interesting to see how different addictions affect people and what motivates them to be addicts. In genetics of addiction individuals who are genetically related are more vulnerable to drug experimentation and addiction. For personality, people who are high sensation seekers are more likely to experiment with drugs. People who are impulsive and people who have a low sensitivity to dopamine in their brain have a higher risk of using drugs. There is also gambling addiction, which is when people are not sensitive to negative financial and social consequences and are just after the "high" of winning money. Some people do not have addictive personalities and some people do. Everyone is different and it is sometimes hard to know the reality of addiction, but it is good to be knowledgeable, so that you can prevent yourself from becoming an addict and also help others.
Every topic in this course was related to real life and it was very interesting and informative. I learned a lot in this course and since everything was related to real life this information is something that I am always going to think about when making decisions in my life. For example, why am I choosing this guy as my boyfriend? or Am I not going after this job because I am just afraid of failure? Am I going to college for myself or for my parents? Am I doing volunteer work for intrinsic rewards or external rewards?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
This link is a video on what motivates us at home and in the work place