In the Altruism and Prosocial Behavior lab, Lisa conducts research studies on whether activating the Behavioral Approach System or the Behavioral Inhibition System leads to more cooperative behaviors between individuals.

In the condition where she activates the Behavioral Approach System, Lisa instructs the participants to approach another person who is struggling to carry something heavy.

In the other condition where she activates the Behavioral Inhibition System, Lisa instructs the particpants to avoid letting another person struggle with something heavy.

Based on this information, which theoretical perspective (or school of thought) on motivation is Lisa's research most likely based on?

Question

In the Altruism and Prosocial Behavior lab, Lisa conducts research studies on whether activating the Behavioral Approach System or the Behavioral Inhibition System leads to more cooperative behaviors between individuals.

In the condition where she activates the Behavioral Approach System, Lisa instructs the participants to approach another person who is struggling to carry something heavy.

In the other condition where she activates the Behavioral Inhibition System, Lisa instructs the particpants to avoid letting another person struggle with something heavy.

Based on this information, which theoretical perspective (or school of thought) on motivation is Lisa's research most likely based on?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To determine the theoretical perspective, let’s evaluate what each school emphasizes in relation to motivating cooperative behavior.
Option 1: Psychoanalysis. This orientation centers on unconscious desires, internal conflicts, and childhood experiences shaping behavior. The described study focuses on manipulating approach versus avoidance systems to influence observable cooperation, not on unconscious drives or psychosexual development, so this option doesn’t fit well.
Option 2: Behaviorism. Behaviorism concentrates on observable behavior and how external stimuli and reinforcement contingencies shape actions. In Lisa’s setup, activating the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) or the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and directing participants to approach or avoid a struggling person directly links motivation to externally observable behaviors, aligning with a behaviorist emphasis on environmental cues and behavioral outcomes.
Option 3: Social Cognition. This perspective emphasizes how people think about and interpret social information, including beliefs, attitudes, and mental representations that guide behavior. While social cognition can explain how beliefs about others influence actions, the experiment as described foregrounds automatic approach/avoidance tendencies rather than deliberate social-cognitive inferences, making it only a partial fit.
Option 4: Humanism. Humanistic psychology highlights subjective experience, personal growth, and free will, focusing on self-actualization and intrinsic motivation. The laboratory manipulation described is about external systems (BAS/BIS) guiding behavior rather than an emphasis on personal meaning or self-development, so this option is less consistent with the setup.
In summary, the study’s core idea—altering approach versus avoidance states to produce different cooperative behaviors through observable actions—best maps onto Behaviorism, which explains behavior through external stimuli and reinforcement without invoking deeper internal cognitive processes or unconscious dynamics.

PSYC 250 Spring 2025 Exam #2

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