Unit 7 Part 1 AP Psych

Adapted from Myer's Textbook

What is motivation?

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

How is motivation pushed or pulled from us?

Our motivations arise from the interplay between nature (bodily push) and nurture (pulls from personal experiences, thoughts and culture)

Motives drive behavior

What are the 4 motivation based theories in AP Psych?

Instinct theory, drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, hierarchy of needs

what is an instinct?

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

what are examples of instincts

imprinting in birds, the return of salmon to their birthplace, infants innate reflexes to root for a nipple and suck

what is instinct theory?

to qualify as an instinct, a complex behavior must have a fixed pattern throughout a species and be unlearned

Instinct theory views out instincts as the source of our motivations

Instinct theory states that the motivation to survive is the most important motivation and the innate behaviors that aid survival drive our motivations this sounds quite a lot like evolutionary theory

how do physiological needs create a drive?

physiological needs (such as food or water) create an aroused, motivated state—a drive (such as hunger or thirst) that pushes us to behave in a way that reduces the needd and returns the body to homeostasis

what is homeostasis?

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level

what is drive-reduction theory?

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need and restore the body to homeostasis (or balance)

how does drive reduction theory explain how we regulate our body temp?

Our body regulates its temperature in a way similar to a room’s thermostat

Body systems operate through feedback loops: sensors feed room temp to a control device. if the room’s temp cools, the control device switches on the furnace

If our body temp cools, our blood vessels constrict to conserve warmth, and we feel driven to put on more clothes or seek a warmer environment

how is behavior pulled by incentives?

not only are we pushed by our need to reduce physiological drives, we are also pulled by incentives (positive or negative environmental stimuli) that lure or repel us

can one behavior be both pushed and pulled?

when there is both a biological need and an incentive, we feel strongly driven

The food-deprived person who smells pizza baking may feel a strong hunger drive, and the baking pizza may become a compelling incentive

remember that incentives can be extrinsic (from externalities) or intrinsic (from the self)

can curiosity be a motive?

curiosity drives monkeys to monkey around trying to figure out how to unlock a latch that opens nothing

what other behaviors might curiosity explain?

curiosity drives newly mobile infants to investigate every accessible corner of the house, and it drove students, in one experiment, to click on pens to see whether they did or didn’t deliver an electric shock

how do humans seek optimal levels of arousal?

having all our biological needs satisfied, we feel driven to experience stimulation

lacking stimulation, we feel bored and look for a way to increase arousal

however, given too much stimulation or stress, we look for a way to decrease arousal

what is the Yerkes-Dodson law?

two early twentieth psychologists studied the relationship of arousal to performance and identified the Yerkes-Dodson law: moderate arousal leads to optimal performance

what is optimal arousal?

between bored and low arousal and anxious hyperarousal lies a flourishing life

Having all our biological needs satisfied, we feel driven to experience stimulation

Lacking stimulation, we feel bored and look for a way to increase arousal

What is Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation?

Abraham Maslow theorized that human needs are hierarchal where some have priority over others

What is a hierarchy of needs?

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs begins at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher level safety needs and then psychological needs are addressed

What is self-transcendence?

Near the end of Maslow’s life, he proposed that people also need to reach self-transcendence. At the self-transcendence level, people strive for meaning, purpose, and communion in a way that is transpersonal—beyond the self

What did Viktor Frankl say regarding motivation?

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose”

Belief that man’s search for meaning is the most important human motive

Is the order of Maslow’s hierarchy fixed?

Not universally fixed

One example against it would be someone who starves themself to make apolitical statement

Culture also influences priorities: self-esteem matters most in individualist nations, whose citizens tend to focus more on personal achievements than on family and community identity

Who studied hunger with wartime volunteers?

Ancel Keys

What did Ancel Keys do?

semi-starvation experiment with wartime volunteers—fed them normally for 3 months then halved the food for 36 of them

What were the physical effects of being semi-starved?

apathetic as bodies conserved energy — eventually stabilized about 25 percent below their starting weights

What were the psychological effects of being semi-starved?

Food obsessed, always thinking about food

Lost interest in sex and social activities

When you are hungry, thirsty, fatigued, or sexually aroused, little else may seem to matter

what 5 physiological factors produce hunger?

stomach contractions, brain structures, blood glucose, appetite hormones, and basal metabolic rate

How is hunger related to stomach contractions?

Walter Cannon swallowed a balloon attached to a recording device

When inflated to fill his stomach, the balloon transmitted his stomach contractions and he pressed a key each time he had a feeling of hunger and felt a hunger pang

Whenever hungry, he was having stomach contractions

Can hunger exist w/o stomach contractions?

Researchers removed some rats’ stomachs, creating a direct path to their small intestines, the rats continued to eat

Some hunger similarly persists in humans whose ulcerated or cancerous stomachs have been removed

What role does the hypothalamus play in hunger?

The hypothalamus (orange in pic) performs various body maintenance functions, including control of hunger. Blood vessel supply the hypothalamus, enabling it to response to our current blood chemistry as well as to incoming neural info about the body’s state

What role does the arcuate nucleus play in hunger?

A small structure in the base of the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus plays a key role in the regulation of appetite and body weight

What two portions of the hypothalamus control appetite?

The lateral hypothalamus (LH) and the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)

What role does the lateral hypothalamus (LH) play in hunger?

Stimulation of this structure in the hypothalamus stimulates hunger

Lesioning (surgically removing) inhibits hunger signals

What role does the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH play in hunger?

Stimulation of this structure in the hypothalamus inhibits hunger

Lesioning inhibits satiety (full) signals

How can you remember the different between the lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus?

Lateral hypothalamus (LH) = large hunger

Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) = very minute hunger

What research has been conducted?

When the neural center which secretes appetite-suppressing hormones is electrically stimulated, animals will stop eating

Destroy this area and animals can’t stop eating and will become obese

What is glucose?

The form of sugar that circulates ini blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues

How does blood glucose impact hunger?

If your blood glucose level drops, you won’t consciously feel the lower blood sugar

Your brain, however, which is automatically monitoring your blood chemistry and your body’s internal state, will trigger hunger

Appetite hormones released from your hypothalamus, stomach, intestines, pancreas, and liver all signal your brain to motivate eating or not to motivate eating

What are the 5 appetite hormones?

Insulin - decreases appetite, leptin - decreases appetite, PYY - decreases appetite, ghrelin - increases appetite, and orexin - increases appetite

How do you remember which appetite hormones do what?

GO = Ghrelin and Orexin increases and LIP = Leptin, Insulin, and PYY decreases

What is orexin?

a hunger triggering hormone produced by the hypothalamus

What is ghrelin?

a hormone secreted by an empty stomach; sends “im hungry” signals to the brain

What is insulin?

a hormone secreted by the pancreas; controls blood glucose

What is leptin?

a protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes brain to increase and metabolism to decrease hunger

what does leptin is abundant?

causes brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger

What is PYY (peptide tyrosine tyrosine)

Digestive tract hormone; sends '“i’m not hungry” signals to the brain

What is the set point?

The point (weight) at which your “weight thermostat” may be set (fixed)

When your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

What oppositions are there to the idea of set point?

some researchers that our bodies have a preset tendency to maintain optimum weight

point out that slow, sustained changes in body weight can alter one’s set point and that psychological factors also sometimes drive our feelings of hunger

Why would researchers use the term settling point instead of set point?

Given unlimited access to a wide variety of tasty foods, people and other animals tend to overeat and gain weight

For these reasons, some researchers prefer the term settling point to indicate the level at which a person’s weight settles in response to caloric intake and expenditure

What is basal metabolic rate?

Our bodies regulate weight through the control of food intake, energy output, and basal metabolic rate - the resting rate of energy expenditure for maintaining basic body functions

How was basal metabolic rate impacted in Keys’ semi-starvation experiment?

By the end of their 6 months of semi-starvation, the men who participated in Keys’ experiment had stabilized at three-quarters of their normal weight, although they were taking in half of their previous calories

They reduced their energy expenditure, partly through inactivity, but partly because of a 29 percent drop in their basal metabolic rate

Evidence for psychological motivation behind hunger

Researchers tested two patients with amnesia who had no memory for events occurring more than a minute ago. if, 20 minutes after eating a normal lunch, the patients were offered another, both readily consumed it… and usually a third meal offered 20 minutes after the second was finished. this suggests that part of knowing when to eat is our memory of our last meal

Is there a relationship between geography and food spices?

Yes. Countries with hot climates, in which food historically spoils more quickly, feature recipes with more bacteria inhibiting spices

How do situations control our eating behavior?

Some situations arouse our appetite more than others. In one experiment, watching an intense action movie (rather than a non-arousing interview) doubled snacking

Do we eat more when we are around others?

Most of us do

After a party, you may realize you’ve overeaten. This happens because the presence of others tends to amplify our natural behavior tendencies

Does serving size matter?

researchers studied the effects of portion size by offering people varieties of free snacks

When offered a supersized portion, people put away more calories

People eat more when given a bigger plate, children eat more when using adult-sized dishware, and most people had more ice cream when given a big bowl

Have cooking shows influenced healthy eating?

No, actually. Fewer Americans than ever are home cooking their own, more healthful meals

Does food variety stimulate eating?

Yes. Offered a dessert buffet, people eat more than they do when choosing a portion from one favorite dessert

Can connect to evolutionary theory where early ancestors had foods abundant and varied, eating more provided a wide range of vitamins and minerals and produced protective fat for winter cold or famine.

How can we use behavior science to improve nutrition?

One research team quadrupled carrots taken by offering schoolchildren carrots before picking up other foods in a lunch line

A new school lunch tray put fruits and veggies up front, and spread the main dish out in a shallow compartment to make it look bigger

What physical health risks are associated with obesity?

Diabetes

High blood pressure

Heart disease

Gallstones

Arthritis

Certain types of cancer

What do statistics show with obesity?

Obesity rates are higher than ever worldwide

What is body mass index or BMI?

Body Mass Index is a measurement of your body fat based on your weight in relation to your height

By the evolutionary theory of psych, why was storing fat adaptive?

Fat was the ideal form of stored energy and carried our ancestors through periods of famine

How do set point and metabolism contribute to obesity?

Fat (lower metabolic rate than muscle) requires less food intake to maintain than did to gain

If weight drops below a set/settling point, the brain triggers hunger and metabolism

Body perceives STARVATION and adapts by burning fewer calories. Most dieters in the long run regain what they lose on weight loss programs

How does sleep loss make us more vulnerable to obesity?

Sleep deprivation increases the release of ghrelin, which stimulates the appetite and decreases the release of leptin which reports body fat to the brain

If we are eating more. and not alerting the brain to fat accumulation, we are going to gain weight

What hormone is associated with sleep deprivation?

Ghrelin

Is sex a need?

Not like hunger, but it motivates

Small number of people are asexual and have no sexual attraction to others

How do sex hormones influence human development?

During prenatal period, sex hormones direct our development as males or females

During puberty, a sex hormone ushers us into adolescence

After puberty, and well into the late adult years, sex hormones facilitate sexual behavior

What are the two sex hormones?

Testosterone and estrogen

What does testosterone do? What is it?

Both males and females have testosterone, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

What does estrogen do? What is it?

Estrogen is a sex hormone that contributes to female sex characteristics and is secreted in greater amounts by females than by males

Estrogen levels peak during ovulation

When do estrogen levels peak?

Ovulation

How do hormones influence sexuality?

Females become sexually receptive when their estrogens peak at ovulation

If a woman’s natural testosterone level drops, as happens with removal of the ovaries or adrenal glands, her sexual interest may wane

In human males with abnormally low testosterone levels, testosterone-replacement therapy often increases sexual desire and also energy and vitality

What may happen when a woman removes her ovaries or adrenal glands?

Testosterone level drops → sexual interest waning

How do hormonal surges impact sexual desire?

The surge of hormones that occurs during puberty triggers the development of sex characteristics and sexual interest

If puberty’s hormonal surge is precluded - as it was during the 1600s and 1700s for prepubertal boys who were castrated to preserve their soprano voices for Italian opera, sex characteristics and sexual desire do not develop normally

How can hormonal decline impact sexual desire?

In later life, sex hormone levels fall. Women experience menopause as their estrogen levels decrease and males experience a more gradual change

Sex remains a part of life, but as hormone levels decline, sexual fantasies and intercourse decline as well

How can hormonal shifts impact sexual desire?

For some, surgery or drugs may cause hormonal shifts

When adult men were castrated, their sex drive typically fell as testosterone levels declined sharply

Male sex offenders who took a drug that reduced their testosterone levels to that of a prepubertal boy similarly lost much of their sexual urge

AP Exam Tip

What about hormone replacement?

We might compare human sex hormones, especially testosterone, to fuel in a car. without fuel, a car will not run. but if the fuel level is minimally adequate, adding more won’t change how the car runs

What is the sexual response cycle?

Phase 1: excitement Phase 2: Plateau Phase 3: orgasm Phase 4 Resolution

Who made the sexual response cycle?

Masters and Johnson

What is the first phase of the sexual response cycle?

Excitement - genital areas become engorged with blood, causing a woman’s clitoris and man’s penis to swell. A woman’s vagina expands and secretes lubricant; her breasts and nipples may enlarge

What is the second phase of the sexual response cycle?

Plateau - breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates continue to increase. The penis becomes fully engorged and some fluid may appear at the tip. A woman’s vaginal secretion continues to increase

What is the third stage of the sexual response cycle?

Orgasm. Muscle contractions appear all over the body and are accompanied by further increases in breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates. The pleasurable feeling of sexual release is much the same for both sexes

What is the fourth stage of the sexual response cycle?

Resolution. The body gradually returns to its unaroused state as the genital blood vessels release their accumulated blood. This happens relatively quickly if orgasm has occurred, relatively slowly otherwise

What is the refractory period?

During the resolution phase, men enter a refractory period that lasts from a few minutes to a day or more, during which they are incapable of another orgasm.

A woman’s much shorter refractory period may enable her, if restimulated during or soon after resolution, to have more orgasms.

What are the biological influences on sexuality?

Sexual maturity

Sex hormones, especially testosterone

What are the psychological influences on sexuality?

Exposure to stimulating conditions

Sexual fantasies

What are the social-cultural influences on sexuality?

Family and societal values

Religious and personal values

Cultural expectations

Media

How do external stimuli influence sexual arousal?

Men and women become aroused when they see, hear, or read erotic material

However, with repeated exposure to any stimulus, including an erotic stimulus, the emotional response lessens, or habituated

What happens with repeated exposure to erotic stimulus?

Emotional response lessens, or is habituated

How important are psychosocial factors?

Compared with our motivation for eating, our sexual motivation is less influenced by biological factors

Psychological and social-cultural factors play a bigger role

Can exposure to sexually explicit material have adverse effects on women?

Yes. Depictions of women being sexually coerced and appearing to enjoy it have increased viewers’ belief in the false idea that women want to be overpowers and have increased male viewers’ expressed willingness to hurt women and to commit rape after viewing such scenes

Can exposure to sexually explicit material have adverse effects on relationships?

Yes. After viewing images or erotic films of sexually attractive women and men, people have judged an average person, their own partner, or their spouse as less attractive. They have also found their own relationship less satisfying

Can exposure to sexually explicit material have adverse effects on men?

Yes. Some studies have found that extensive online pornography exposure desensitizes young men to normal sexuality, thus contributing to erectile problems, lowered sexual desire, and diminished brain activation in response to sexual images.

One brain imaging study found men who frequently watch pornography had smaller sized brain regions that aid sexual pleasure

Does imagination play a role in sexual arousal?

Both men and women (95% of each) report having sexual fantasies, which for a few women can by themselves produce orgasms

Do men have more sexual or romantic fantasies?

Sexual. More frequent in nature and less romantic.

Do men prefer more personal or less personal sexual content?

Less personal and faster paced sexual content in books and videos

Does commitment enhance contentment?

One study followed participants to age 30, later first sex predicted greater satisfaction in one’s marriage or partnership

How does building a relationship enhance sexual satisfaction?

Those whose relationship was first a deep commitment reported greater relationship satisfaction, stability, and better sex.