Memory, Motivation and Emotion: the Importance of Healthcare Professionals Understanding These Concepts

Intro

Knowledge of psychological constructs is crucial while working within allied health professions. Many patients we work with are needing our support because at that moment in their life they are going through a tough situation. Therefore, us as allied health professionals need knowledge of psychology so we can provide the best care for a patient. Gross, N et, al. provides are a clearer picture of how psychology is important to all allied health professions as having the knowledge and understanding of psychology will provide effective care for patients and meanwhile, it is also useful and relevant. Specifically having knowledge of Memory, Motivation and Emotion as many of our patients may be experiencing problems within these areas and having knowledge of what they could be experiencing will help us understand. Consequently, Memory, Motivation and Emotion are the three main aspects that are being discussed throughout this essay. While this is an essay, the Information that has been stated throughout is suitable to provide clients or the general public, with information that assists them with knowledge of memory, emotion and motivation through different scenarios for example the local Rotary club through a presentation and information sheet.

Memory

Memory is one of the incredible brain functions that we do not consciously realise it is happening. A basic definition of memory would be the fact that the brain is able to bring information back to the mind when the stimulus is no longer present. More specifically Tulving provides a definition of memory saying that it is the aftereffects of stimulation at one time that manifest themselves subsequently at a later time. Our memory is somewhat like a computer where our brain goes through a process of encoding, storing and retrieving information that may be used at a later date. The way that memory is perceived biologically is that the brain's wider nervous system which is comprised of interconnected neurons forms connections through the synapses and electrochemical signals which are shared between neurons allowing the brain to process the information-based patterns that are sensitive of synaptic connections. The patterns formed by the neurons are not set in stone and can be changed throughout life when new experiences occur. with Wang & Morris saying something along the lines of memory systems operating semi-independently but it does involve overlapping of brain networks. As stated before those networks interact with one another to form a seamless control of cognition behaviour. There are three main types of memory which are sensory, Working and Long Term, with each of them playing a specific role in memory. Baddeley, A. Eysenck, M., & Anderson, M. (2015) provides a clear understanding of sensory memory which is the term used for the brief storage of vidual information which is probably an indirect forming part to process the perceiving world. Basically, they are saying that sensory memory is the first stage of memory where information is received for only a couple of seconds and then it moves onto the next memory storage system. Next would be working memory which is a form of short-term memory and it is the temporary storage processing of information which is used to solve problems, respond to environmental demands and achieve goals. Baddeley and Hitch’s model proposes the rehearsal of reasoning, making decisions about how to balance 2 tasks and work off the limited capacity of the central executive system. According to Burton et al., the contemporary models distinguish between the visual stores (visuospatial sketchpad), verbal store (phonological articulatory loop) and just recently the episodic buffer (temporary integrative storage system). Saying this working memory is our capacity to keep information stored in our minds while doing other tasks. Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M., & Anderson, M. suggest the Multicomponent model of working memory which is comprised of the three components spoken about earlier which are the phonological loop, visuospatial, episodic buffer. The phonological loop is specialised in sequencing acoustic speech based on items. The visuospatial sketchpad performs a similar function for visually encoded items. This system controls the central executive and attentionally selects and manipulates material into other subsystems. Long-term memory is the memory store that is permanent and is subdivided into two forms; Declarative (explicit) memory and Procedural (implicit) memory. Memory and Amnesia provide a brief understanding of Declarative and Procedural Memory; declarative (explicit) memory is the recalling of specific events and the type of memory that comes into play when taking an exam for example or remembering someone’s name. whereas, Procedural (implicit) memory is as described by Memory and Amnesia the ability to repeat automatic tasks or procedures such as riding your bike for example or driving a car.

Amnesia is an acquired memory difficulty that can be a result of traumatic brain injury, concussion, or disease. Minderovic, Z. provides a great definition of Amnesia by stating that “amnesia is a dissociative psychological disorder manifested from total or partial loss of memory usually caused by trauma”. There are several types of amnesia that exist, they consist of Global generalised Amnesia, Anterograde Amnesia, and retrograde amnesia. Global generalised amnesia indicates a total loss of the person’s identity and they forgot who they are, but one thing to point out is that it only affects the personal memory and the general knowledge is still there. Retrograde amnesia is a person who cannot remember events that happened immediately before the trauma, whereas anterograde amnesia is a person who cannot remember events that follow the trauma. The temporal lobes can be easily damaged from a concussion or more severe head trauma, or loss of blood supply to the brain caused by stroke. Amnesia is more likely to affect explicit memory than procedural. Ways to assist someone with a working memory problem would be using the model of seven where the clinician says a list of words or numbers and the client has to repeat back correctly, another way would be showing them pictures and then removing the image and getting them to describe what they saw. It's just about getting them to use their working memory store and building it back up until eventually, it is working appropriately.

Motivation

To be straight forward motivation is the force or reason for doing something. As Burton et al. describe it as “the driving force behind behaviour which leads us to pursue some things and avoid others”. Saying that there are many different perspectives of motivation and they include the Psychodynamic perspective, the Behaviourist perspective, the cognitive perspective, the humanistic perspective, and the evolutionary perspective. Burton et al. provide explanations of each perspective in motivation. Firstly, the Psychodynamic perspective basically distinguishes between conscious and unconscious motives, the Behaviourist Perspective asserts the humans motivated behaviours to lead to reinforcement, but they avoid behaviours associated with punishment. The cognitive perspective asserts people’s motivation to perform valued behaviours which they believe they can attain. The humanistic perspective is the theory of self-actualisation with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ranging from basic to survival needs, which guides behaviour only once a person has fulfilled needs lower down in the hierarchy. Finally, the evolutionary perspective which is what it seems like it would be it’s the evolution of selecting animals to maximise inclusive fitness. APA Dictionary of Psychology also states an important point the distinction between a person’s internal motivating factors and their external motivating factors, which could include things like rewards, and punishments. But saying that those things could negatively or positively impact a person’s behaviour which then could result in positive or negative motivation.

There are 3 motivation theories that stem from the Cognitive Perspectives and they each provide an alternative approach to motivation. These are the expectancy-value theory, goal-setting theory and the self-determination theory. According to Burton et al., the expectancy-value theory views motivation as a joint function which values people and places on the outcome of the extent to which we believe we can attain it. We all know that our drive is to attain goals and they matter a lot to us which is why we believe that we can accomplish it. Goal-setting theory is clearly a theory based on goals. Whether it be work or life goals, it drives someone to accomplish something meaningful. The cognitive approach to motivation focuses on goals as they are a cognitive process. This drive to complete these goals can be established through social learning. Burton et al. provide information stating that the cognitive theory widely used with organisation psychologists interested in working with motivation is the goal-setting theory. They also state that goals regulate much of human behaviour, especially when performing work tasks. Finally, the self-determination theory is again what you would expect it to be is the human motivation of personality which focuses on the individual’s behaviour which is self-motivated/self-determined. Again Burton et al. suggest that people have three innate needs competence, autonomy and relatedness to others and also state that many aspects of this theory place motivation in a social context. When trying to improve someone’s motivation you need to find things that they are interested in, and help them set small and big goals so they feel accomplished when crossing those goals off, they need a driving force, rewards or punishments could be another way to improve someone’s motivation. Denison‐Day, J., Appleton, K., Newell, C., & Muir, S. support that statement by providing information stating that reason for low motivation change is in the sense of denial. This all then links into emotion where your motivation could be affected by your emotional state.

Emotion

Everyone knows emotion is things you feel. But is hard to provide an accurate definition of emotion without an understanding of the psychological aspect. Therefore, the APA Dictionary of Psychology provided a clear definition of Emotion stating that “emotion is a complex reaction pattern involving experiential, behavioural and psychological elements”. Emotion is an individual’s way of dealing with personally significant matters or events. It is known that emotion typically involves feeling. The James Lange Theory says that emotion originates from the peripheral nervous system then the central nervous system responds by interpreting it. Like with motivation, emotion has 3 main perspectives, they include the psychodynamic perspective, the cognitive perspective, and the Evolutionary perspective. Burton et al. provide clear information about these three perspectives, starting with the psychodynamic which is the unconscious awareness of emotional experience and acting on those emotions even when lacking awareness, whereas the cognitive perspective, such as the Schachter Signer Theory implies that emotion occurs as people interpret physical arousal. Finally, the evolutionary perspective implies that emotion serves an important role with communication between members and species which is a powerful source for motivation. As stated in the motivation paragraph both emotion and motivation work together and they influence the behaviours. Emotion is an evaluative response which includes physiological arousal, subjective experience, and behavioural and emotional expression. It is known that the evolutionary perspective of emotion derives from Charles Darwin’s view that emotions serve as an adaptive purpose. With Burton et al. provided information stating that Darwin stressed emotional and communicative functions. The communicative functions can be regulated with social behaviour and can increase an individual’s chance of survival. Darwin’s theory explains why the basic emotional expressions are wired to organisms which is recognised cross-culturally.

This leads to Emotional Expression and it accords to gender and culture. Emotional expression is the facial behavioural reaction to an emotion. Emotional Expression provides a clear definition of emotional expression by stating that it is “generally the anatomical, muscular, physiological and behavioural reaction which accompanies the felt emotion functions by the manner which is displayed”. Emotional expression is an integral component to emotion as it is the behavioural response and others are able to see what someone is feeling and react to that appropriately. There are many ways in which an individual can express feelings that can be through facial expressions, posture, gestures, tone and voice. We all obviously know that different facial expressions are associated with different emotions. According to Burton et al. the relationship between emotion and facial expression is uniform enough across individual cultures. They also state that there is some similarity across cultures exists that even colours people use to describe emotions are recognised. It is known that not all facial expressions are the same from culture to culture and that people learn to control the way they express emotions which are considered appropriate within their subculture. This then leads into gender associated with emotional expression and many people know that women probably experience emotions more intensely and are better at reading emotions from other’s faces, and nonverbal cues and we express emotion more intensely and openly than men. While this could be true for the majority of society, within the minority some men may actually express and read emotion like women do and maybe some women find it harder to express and read emotion. Finally, the reason for gender differences with emotion is a matter of debate with one hand reflecting on the adaptation roles that men and women historically occupy. Where women are generally more comfortable with emotions such as love, happiness, warmth, shame, guilt, sympathy, and foster affiliation caretaking. While men socialise and compete to fight hence avoiding ‘soft’ emotions that display vulnerability or discourage them from asserting dominance. Emotion is a broad term of many concepts and is extremely hard to explain to others what it is.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be seen in the body paragraphs that memory, motivation and emotion are all very complex areas that need to be taught within Allied Health to provide students with an understanding of what their clients are going through and how can we get them to mentally participate in our treatment to get the best outcome. Consequently, as stated in the introduction this information can be used for a presentation informing people like the rotary club about memory, motivation and emotion and how it is used in allied health professions.