What is arousal motivation

The levels that are different for each people are aroused by factors like family, social status, promotions etc. Every work needs motivation, helps, guides etc. The stimulation for getting a job the top result can be the external or internal forces like family, society etc. To explain this phenomenon many number of theories were developed to explain motivation and Arousal Theory of Motivation is one among them. The theory suggests that to improve the efficiency and maintain their output an individual takes necessary steps to increase or decrease the stimulation accordingly.

If the stimulation is too low the person tries to work it through indulging in other activities that can excite him, on the other hand when the stimulation too high the person tries to do activities that can calm his excitement like meditation etc.

The theory claims that the need for increased or decreased state of arousal depends on the individual, to reach the optimum level. The arousal is one of the important aspects needed for attention and information process. One such factor that is considered as most important is emotions that acts a motivating aspect for bringing our certain behaviors like do or die response, sexual activity etc. This level also acts as a base in characterizing every individual as an extrovert or an introvert.

Most students have experienced this need to maintain optimal levels of arousal over the course of their academic career. Think about how much stress students experience toward the end of spring semester—they feel overwhelmed with work and yearn for the rest and relaxation of summer break.

Their arousal level is too high. Generally, by the time fall semester starts, many students are quite happy to return to school. This is an example of how arousal theory works. Traits like impulsivity and sensation-seeking predispose people to engage in certain behaviors. These traits generally develop at a very young age if not prenatally as part of the individual's temperament. Temperament is defined as an individual's basic way of interacting and includes aspects like frustration tolerance i.

All of these factors affect the individual's level of motivation to engage in certain behaviors. Fulfilling the impulse brings about a physiological reward similar to the rat pressing the button. Some individuals are more sensation-seeking in that they have higher motivation to engage in arousing or physiologically stimulating activities. These individuals are more likely to engage in risky behaviors like driving fast , riding roller coasters, and other activities that get their adrenaline pumping.

Likewise, someone who is very impulsive and uninhibited might be very motivated to go buy a car on a moment's notice, as compared with someone who is very inhibited and has difficulty taking action.

Boundless Psychology. Theories of Motivation. Concept Version Learning Objective Explain the relationship between arousal and motivation. Key Points While drive -reduction theory focuses primarily on biological needs as motivators, arousal theory examines the influence of the neurotransmitter dopamine as a motivator in the body.

The reward system in the human body spurs physiological arousal, which motivates individuals to engage in whatever behavior is necessary to relieve their arousal.

Research shows that there tends to be an optimal level of arousal for peak performance; when arousal is very high or very low, performance tends to suffer.

By contrast, the engagement of reactive control is associated with probe-driven reactions and may lead to fewer error rates and shorter reaction times in AY sequences because the subject does not follow the A cue information when the Y probe is presented. Hence, the subject does not actively maintain contextual information about the A cue and responds on the basis of information about the Y probe which leads to a shortened response time for AY sequences in reactive compared to proactive control.

Also, the probe-driven reaction should contribute to more error rates and longer reaction times in the BX sequences. This is related to the fact that the person using reactive control when seeing the X probe is not able to inhibit the learned reaction and change to the less frequent response in the BX sequence.

This occurs even though the B cue appears before the X probe. Also, the slower reaction time in the BX sequence in reactive compared to proactive control mode reflects the time taken to engage contextual information about the B cue following X probe presentation Braver and Cohen, ; Braver et al.

In addition to behavioral measurements, the AX-CPT method provides reliable indicators of proactive and reactive control using event-related brain potentials ERPs; see van Wouwe et al. Based on previous studies of AX-CPT, the proactive mode of control is assumed to be reflected by P3b analyzed for the cue and contingent negative variation CNV analyzed before the probe see Figure 1.

By contrast, reactive control is reflected by N2 and P3a analyzed for the probe see van Wouwe et al. P3b is a positive component that reaches its maximum — ms after stimulus presentation at the Pz electrode Polich, This component has multiple functional correlates including context updating, the memory of task-relevant information and target categorization Polich, Moreover, a larger P3b is associated with greater context updating and utilization of cue information Donchin and Coles, ; Polich, ; Lenartowicz et al.

Therefore, P3b amplitude may reflect enhanced proactive control van Wouwe et al. CNV is a slow, surface-negative electrical brain wave occurring in the interval between the presentation of a warning stimulus e.

The CNV component is recorded from the frontal and central electrodes and it is assumed to represent multiple functional correlates including preparing the motor response Loveless and Sanford, , activation of the attention network Fan et al. Moreover, a more negative CNV is related to a greater preparatory process for the motor response, particularly where that preparation is preceded by a prior cue that a response is to be prepared Ruchkin et al.

This may indicate that greater involvement of proactive control is related to more effective task preparation and a larger CNV amplitude. Regarding the reactive control components, the N2 component is a negative component that reaches its maximum — ms after a conflict situation Folstein and Van Petten, Its source of generation is in the medial frontal cortex but is more likely to be in the ACC; Nieuwenhuis et al.

The N2 component is usually associated with the monitoring of conflicts relating to the inhibition of incorrect response tendencies caused by either the processing of irrelevant stimuli or choice in the face of competing alternatives Van Veen and Carter, ; Nieuwenhuis et al.

Therefore, it is expected to occur with AY sequences. Larger amplitudes of N2 may reflect stronger conflict detection and may thus be associated with the efficient reactive control.

Conversely, P3a is a positive frontoparietal scalp potential with its maximum occurring — ms after probe presentation. This component reaches a maximum at the FCz electrode Beste et al. The P3a component may be associated with conflict resolution and response inhibition Bekker et al.

It is connected with the activity of the ACC Volpe et al. Therefore, larger amplitudes of P3a may reflect enhanced reactive control. It is also expected that its amplitude will be largest for AY sequences as in the case of the N2 component.

Concluding, the greater significance of the cues in the proactive control, as opposed to the reactive control, would be expected to elicit a larger cue-related P3b component. Also, the greater expectation of the probe after cue in proactive mode would be expected to elicit a larger CNV compared to the CNV in the reactive control. The greater significance of the probe in the reactive control would be expected to elicit a larger probe-related N2 and probe-related P3a amplitudes here than in the proactive control for AY sequences.

Figure 1. The results of research conducted on the DMC framework Braver et al. For example, Dreisbach showed that compared with pictures eliciting neutral and negative affect, those eliciting positive affect reduced error rates in AY trials and increased error rates and reaction times in the BX condition in an AX-CPT.

Similarly, van Wouwe et al. Decreases in error rates in the AY condition may be linked with reduced maintenance of the A cue, which would lead to incorrect preparation for displays of the Y probe. This may result in lower response conflict when the Y probe appears, which may suggest a decrease in proactive control Braver, By contrast, Chiew and Braver showed increased error rates in AY and decreased error rates in all other sequences in a positive affect block compared with a neutral one.

This may indicate the reinforcement of proactive control Braver, In addition to exploring valence, studies have also examined two other dimensions of affect: arousal and approach motivation see Gable and Harmon-Jones, ; Demanet et al. Arousal is one of the independent affect dimensions defined as a mental activity that can be described along a single dimension ranging from sleep to excitement among other things, in response to a stimulus Mehrabian and Russell, ; Russell and Barrett, On the other hand, approach motivation is defined as the impulse to go toward stimuli Lang and Bradley, ; Gable and Harmon-Jones, Arousal is a state of physiological alertness and readiness for action in response to the emergence of an affective stimulus, whereas approach motivation is associated with the action of a person to an affective stimulus Gable and Harmon-Jones, , For example, if a person sees a beautiful landscape, such an affective stimulus could generate a low level of arousal but a high motivation to approach it.

Furthermore, arousal and approach motivation are connected with different nervous systems. A great deal of recent research suggests that the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system LC-NE is associated with general arousal Aston-Jones and Cohen, However, in the case of the approach motivation dimension of positive affect, recent research hypothesizes that the dopamine DA system may have a key role in the relationship between motivation and cognitive control Aarts et al. As regards arousal, it has been shown that low-arousal positive affect reduces cue usage and proactive control, but that high-arousal positive affect increases this type of control.

Regarding approach motivation, it has been observed that low-approach motivated positive affect is associated with decreased proactive control and high-approach motivated positive affect enhances proactive control. Specifically, Liu and Xu showed that error rates were higher in AY sequences and lower in BX sequences in a high-approach motivated positive picture group than in a neutral one.

Also, they demonstrated the opposite effect in a low-approach motivated positive picture group than in the a neutral one. More recently, Li et al.

They also demonstrated that probe-related P3a was more positive for low than for high-approach motivated positive affect in an AY sequence. However, no effect of approach motivation was found for the probe-related N2 component Li et al. Positive affect enhances cognitive flexibility in cognitive control and, consequently, impaired maintenance of task-relevant context information and reduced proactive control Goschke and Bolte, However, behavioral and electrophysiological findings have suggested that high-approach as opposed to low-approach motivated positive affect enhances proactive control.

Therefore, previous findings do not provide a coherent explanation of observed differences in the different dimensions of affect. It should be noted that arousal was fully controlled for only in the study by Li et al.

Moreover, the positive affect components arousal and approach motivation have not been compared in any study using the AX-CPT paradigm. Such as comparison could help to understand the discrepancy in studies of the impact of positive affect on cognitive control. Previous studies have demonstrated different neuronal mechanisms relating to arousal and the approach motivation of affect Aston-Jones and Cohen, ; Demanet et al.

Therefore, it can be assumed that arousal and the approach motivation of positive affect can independently influence cognitive control. Therefore, the aim of our study was to identify the specific influence of positive affect on proactive and reactive control, considering not only valence but also arousal and the approach motivation of positive affective stimuli simultaneously. On the basis of theoretical discussions, and in accordance with previous studies, we postulated that with high compared with low approach motivation positive affect would be associated with enhanced proactive control see Liu and Xu, This would be reflected in the modified amplitudes of the P3b and CNV components.

Specifically, we postulated that the P3b amplitude, which is thought to be associated with context updating, would be larger for high- than low-approach motivation. Also, we hypothesize that CNV amplitude, as a functional correlate of preparation for an incoming stimulus would be more negative with high- than low-approach motivation. Considering the Pessoa model, in which high-arousal stimuli are related to reducing task performance because there is competition between affective stimuli and executive control for attention resources, we expected that high compared to low arousal would be associated with the impaired proactive control.

We also hypothesize that both proactive and reactive control would be modified by arousal. Specifically, we postulated a smaller P3b amplitudes and less negative CNV amplitudes with high compared with low arousal. We also hypothesize that N2 amplitudes, which is thought to be associated with conflict monitoring, would be more negative in the high than in the low arousal.

Moreover, we postulated that P3a amplitudes as a functional correlate of conflict resolution will be larger in the high than in the low arousal. To investigate the connection between proactive and reactive control, the electrophysiological method was used, along with high time precision and the AX-CPT paradigm. Considering that individual differences play an important role in modulating affective impact on cognitive control, we used an intra-subject design to control for differences between individuals.

The selection was based on the level of working memory capacity. The level of working memory capacity was calculated similarly to previous studies Redick et al. The participants obtained a mean of All participants had normal or corrected to normal vision and had no known neurological problems. They were informed about the anonymity of the research, and participants gave written consent before the experiment.

This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Ethical Committee of the Institute of Psychology with written informed consent from all participants. All participants gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The AX-CPT is a context processing task particularly applied to examine changes in the use of two types of cognitive control: proactive and reactive control. During AX-CPT trials, participants are shown pairs of letters, the first one being a cue, and the second being a probe.

When exposed to the other sequences, the participant is expected to respond differently e. This frequency is implemented to induce a strong association between the A cue and the X probe in the AX sequence.

The experimental procedure was preceded by a training session, during which the participants practiced the task. At this stage, the participants received feedback on the accuracy of responses. No such information was provided during the experimental trials. Each trial started with the presentation of the picture from the affective picture pool for 1, ms, followed by a blank screen shown for ms. Subsequently, the cue letter was displayed for ms. The interval between the contextual cue onset and the probe onset in each trial was 1, ms.

After this period, the probe was displayed on the screen for ms see Figure 1. Participants had to press a button each time the probe was presented.

In the AX sequence, if the X probe appeared after the A cue, they had to respond with the right button. In other sequences, they had to press the left button. Participants had to press the right button using the right index finger and the left button using the left index finger.

To ensure equivalence, halfway through the procedure, the method of responding to the use of the response pad was reversed. All letters were displayed in black color and point Arial font. Affective picture types were organized in separate blocks that were presented randomly to each participant. The experiment began with 40 practice trials.

Next, participants performed trials in each affective condition. Each affective condition block was divided into six identical blocks of trials, separated by short breaks in each condition.

Participants were seated at a viewing distance of 70 cm from the monitor. The procedure was prepared in the E-Prime software 2. In order to verify the influence of affect on cognitive control, and in line with previous studies, pictures from a standardized set of affective pictures was used. Our choice was influenced by the pictures in the NAPS being divided according to the three dimensions of affect: valence, arousal and approach-avoidance motivation dimensions.

In addition, the standardization of pictures was performed on a Polish sample Marchewka et al. The list of selected pictures can be found in Supplementary Material Data Sheet 1. Electrode impedance was maintained below 5 kOhm throughout the experiment. E-Prime 2. EEG data were re-referenced offline to linked mastoids. As in previous studies van Wouwe et al. For the N2 component, we used a 2—12 Hz offline bandpass filtering, to filter out the P3a component Donkers et al.

Eye movements and other non-EEG artifacts were corrected by independent component analysis Delorme et al. Only epochs with correct responses were kept for averages. The number of trials used for ERP averaging was controlled across conditions; this information is included in a Supplementary Material Data Sheet 2. The P3b component was analyzed for cue-related potentials. Analyses were conducted over the Pz electrode site because previous studies Polich, ; van Wouwe et al.

The mean amplitude of P3b was calculated in the — ms time window after cue onset. On the basis of previous studies van Wouwe et al. This electrode was chosen because previous studies have indicated that the amplitude is the greatest here Ruchkin et al. The N2 component was analyzed after probe presentation for the probe-related potentials. The analyses were carried out over the FCz electrode because this site is considered to be where the amplitude is greatest Van Veen and Carter, ; van Wouwe et al.

The mean amplitude of N2 was calculated in the — ms time window after probe onset. Also, the P3a component was analyzed for probe-related potentials over the FCz electrode. The mean amplitude of the P3a was calculated in a time range of — ms after probe onset. Simple effects were verified with the Bonferroni post hoc test. The Bonferroni correction was applied to multiple comparisons.

Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS These results are shown in Figure 2A. Figure 2. Error rates A and reaction time B for each of the four sequences. Error bars represent one standard error of the mean. These results are shown in Figure 2B.

The effect showed the different patterns of P3b amplitude in the high- and low-approach motivation condition. The results are shown in Figure 3. The results are shown in Figure 4. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. The effect showed the different patterns of CNV amplitude in the high- and low-approach motivation condition. In addition, different patterns of CNV amplitude were showed in in the high- and low-arousal condition.

However, no simple effects were significant. Figure 6. It should be noted that simple effect showed that the difference between these conditions occurs only in the AY sequence. Figure 7. Figure 8. The current study investigated how approach motivation, positive affect and arousal induced by pictures had effects on cognitive control, particularly in the field of proactive and reactive control.