ABSTRACT
The main aim of this chapter is to review the literature regarding psychological factors that may contribute to a new theory of behavioural adaptation by considering psychological processes and structures, such as motivation, emotions, learning, decision-making and personality traits that are involved in behavioural adaptation. Adaptation implies that a behaviour has an origin and a goal, that is, adaptation is governed by motivation. Individuals have to adapt to something or someone: other individuals, other road users, nature, a system or technology. Motives can be defined as ‘factors, which give behaviour energy and direction’ (Atkinson et al., 1996). Motives are then factors that initiate and govern behaviour. The energy component of the definition shows that a motive basically is also a drive. The direction component implicitly presupposes repulsion or attraction, that is, a movement away from something or attraction to something, which again implies that the repulsive
11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................207 11.2 Comment on the Definition of Behavioural Adaptation .............................209 11.3 Risk Compensation versus Behavioural Adaptation .................................. 210 11.4 Role of Feedback ........................................................................................ 210 11.5 Forces behind Behavioural Adaptation: Role of Motivation ...................... 211
11.5.1 Searching for Laws of Learning: Idea of a Target ........................ 213 11.5.2 From Target Risk to Target Feeling: Role of Emotions ................ 214
11.6 Impact of Learning ..................................................................................... 215 11.7 Damasio and Somatic Marker Hypothesis ................................................. 216 11.8 Personality Traits and ‘Deep Motivation’ ................................................... 217 11.9 Information Processing, Decision-Making and Role of the Unconscious ...... 219 11.10 Models Predicting Behavioural Adaptation ...............................................220
