AP Psychology Semester 2 Midterm UC Scout

motivation

the desire or need that is strong enough to create change in our behavior

Who proposed the instinct theory?

William James (based on work by Charles Darwin)

Instinct Theory

motivations are innate, specific for individual species, and stereotyped/occur automatically - includes 20 physical instincts and 17 mental instincts

Who proposed the Drive Reduction Theory?

Clark Hull

Hull's Drive Reduction Theory

our most basic motivations stem from trying to reduce needs in our body, the need creating a drive that we experience as a state of tension that makes us react with drive reducing behaviors when strong enough

primary motives

biological needs related to survival

secondary motives

based on learned needs

stimulus motives

innate needs that are not necessary for survival, based on the need for intellectual stimulation and curiosity

Homeostatic Regulation Theory

motivation is related to the body's desire to maintain equilibrium - our brain and body work together to monitor resources and we feel the motivation to seek out what we lack in times of deficit and the opposite in times of surplus

Arousal Theory

based on Yerkes-Dodson law - motivation helps us achieve the optimal state of arousal, which changes based on how challenging the task is (less than moderate arousal for challenging tasks - focus, higher than moderate arousal for easy tasks - high performance rate)

Yerkes-Dodson Law

optimal levels of performance occur when we are at a moderate state of arousal

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

a pyramid in which there are 5 levels of motivators: level one is survival, level two is safety and security, level three is esteem and self-esteem, level four is self actualization, and five is self transcendence - you can only move up the levels once the lower one's needs are met

sensation of hunger

the manifestation of a variety of physiological, emotional, and social triggers from food

stomach

the initiator of the motivation of hunger in most early theories

1912 - Walter Cannon and A.L. Washburn

experiment - Washburn swallowed a gastric balloon that measured the contractions of the stomach, then pressed a lever whenever he felt the sensations of hunger - the pair matched the timing of the stomach contractions with the experience of hunger pangs, concluded the two were linked

lateral hypothalamus

triggers the feeling of hunger when stimulated and the motivation to seek out food

ventrimedial hypothalamus

triggers the cessation of the motivation of hunger and the feeling of satiation - was destroyed in one study, causing a rat to be constantly hungry and never feel full

hypothalamus

monitors the body's glucose, lipids, and hormones to maintain the equilibrium we need

hormones: ghrelin; insulin; lepid

secreted from empty stomach; from pancreas; from fat cells

body composition

ratio of body fat to lean body tissue

Set Point Theory

we have a "thermostat" in regards to weight - our body is primed to maintain a certain weight and when we dip below it, our metabolism slows and hunger increases - this is coded in our genes

non-physiological triggers for motivation of hunger

stressed or depressed (because of activation of reward centers in our brain when we eat comfort foods), lunch time (function of temporal conditioning), people around us eating (because of social affiliations and connectedness), and thinking/talking about food

emotion

both a mind and body experience (facial expressions, body posturing, physiological arousal and accompanying thoughts) that influences the heart, brain, and entire body

Emotion is a _ function that _

a highly adaptive function that alerts us when we should be fearful, helps trigger fight of flight response, and helps bond humans

Emotions are accompanied with _

changes in the brain, your hormones, heart rate, respiration, and pupil size

amygdala

key to processing emotions, especially fear

autonomic nervous system

directly linked with experience of emotions, the sympathetic subdivision triggering reactions to fear that include increased heart rate and respiration and slowed digestion

1970 studies found that _

basic emotions were well understood by almost all cultures despite language barrier because of universal facial expressions

Robert Plutchik

Plutchik's wheel, which has 8 basic emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation - proposed that combinations of emotions are created when neighboring emotions occur at the same time

Common Sense Theory

relies on intuition of how emotions might occur, meaning emotions trigger response

James-Lange Theory

body based arousal triggers emotion, refuted because we can do things like cry for other reasons than sadness

Cannon-Bard

maintains that emotions and body base darousal appear at the same time following a stimulus

Who proposed the Two-Factor Theory?

Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer

Two-Factor Theory

stimulus causes physiological response that will be cognitively as sorrow or joy and then the appropriate emotion will follow

Dual Pathway for Emotions

there are two paths for emotions, the first one being an instant, almost reflexive experience of emotions and the second being a consciously based emotional reaction

Richard Lazarus (emotion)

described the second pathway for emotions as a cognitive appraisal of your environment allowing for a full assessment and analysis of our surroundings that brings in past experience and expectations

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

states that emotional expressions may contribute to the emotion you experience in the way that a smile signals happiness

stress

a physiological and psychological reaction to the challenges, conflicts, and demands that we face in our live

stress can be _/_ and _/_

external/internal and real/imagined

Richard Lazarus (stress)

proposed the importance of how we assess and appraise situations in regards to the reaction that will follow - if we see something as threatening, we will be stressed, if we see it as a challenge, we will be more focused

microstressors

small but annoying occurrences in life that can pile up and have a severe effect

eustress

stress that comes from positive sources

Approach-Approach Conflict

where we have two possible options to choose from and both are equally desirable

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

where we have two possible options and both are undesirable, often causing us to give up and enter a state of inaction

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

when you only have one option but it has both desirable and undesirable qualities, often leading to ambivalence/mixed-feelings

Double Approach-Avoidance Conflict

when you have two options, each with desirable and undesirable qualities - often leads to people seeking validation and bouncing back and forth between options

Hans Selye

best known researcher in the field of stress, proposed the General Adaptation Syndrome

General Adaptation Syndrome

what the body goes through when confronting a distressor/eustressor/microstressory - three phases: alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Alarm

first phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome response: occurs right as the individual encounters the stressor and body responds with the action of the sympathetic nervous system while preparing fight or flight response

Resistance

body is functioning in a state of sympathetic energy and remaining ready to continue fight or flight response - remaining too long in this stage leads to higher chance of exhaustion/illness

Exhaustion

body returns to a parasympathetic state either because stressor is resolved or body's resources have been depleted - you become more susceptible to cold/flu and will feel mental/physical fatigue due to running the body beyond normal functioning levels

pscyhoneuroimmunology

the study of the relationship between your immune system function, your endocrine system function, and your overall mental well being

Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale

a test designed to measure stress in your life by measuring "Life Change Units" - events that happened within the last year causing eustress/distress

Stress makes us more prone to _

lifestyle illnesses, like heart disease and high blood pressure

_ combat the effects of stress.

healthy behaviors and coping skills

longitudinal research

used by developmental psychologists - studying the same group of subjects over a long period of time

cross-sectional research

used by developmental psychologists - studying groups of different people from a variety of age groups, yielding results must faster than longitudinal research

nature (human development)

looks at heredity

heredity

the transmission of genetic material that dictates physical aspects like eye color and can also dictate psychological traits (behavioral traits like shyness and psychological illnesses like schizophrenia can be passed down)

the sperm and egg contribute _ each to the _ they create when _

23 chromosomes; new cell; the sperm fertilizes the egg

genotype

strands of DNA that code for traits

phenotype

the observable result of the genotype

prenatal period

begins when the new cell is created, has 3 stages: germinal stage, embryonic stage, and fetal stage

germinal stage

stage 1 of the prenatal period - begins at the moment of conception and continues for two weeks - the created cell (zygote) burrows into the walls of the woman's uterus and triggers the hormone changes of pregnancy

embryonic stage

stage 2 - begins 2 weeks after conception, continues till week 8 - zygote is now called embryo, which continues to grow and starts developing structures that will the brain, CNS, and other internal organs

fetal stage

begins 8 weeks after conception and continues till birth (which typically occurs at 38 weeks) - embryo is now called fetus, which continues to develop internal organs, brain cells, and sensory organs according to DNA's instructions so that it will be able to sustain itself outside the womb

critical period

a time during development where the individual is highly sensitive to outside influence

nurture (human development)

prenatal period is a critical period because exposure to teratogens during this time can alter the normal course of in-utero development negatively - exposure to chemicals, radiation, nicotine, and smoking can also cause severe harm to the fetus

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

one of the potential consequences of drinking alcohol while pregnant

neonate

what you become at the moment of birth - developed prenatally and born with a set of reflexes and abilities, some of which can work instantly

newborn's vision

eyes are still developing, so a baby's clearest vision is of things 19 cm away, with anything closer or farther being blurry

Newborns prefer _ to pale and soft colors

complex and contrasting patterns and colors

Babies are born with a preference to _

look at faces

1991 - Johnson and Morton

conducted a study in which babies showed a greater interest in looking at images resembling human faces than random ones

newborn's hearing

babies are born with a preference for female voices and the ability to recognize their mother's voice because they began hearing in utero

reflexes

automatic behaviors we are born with that will occur in specific situations - have adaptive functions

rooting reflex

when you touch a newborn on the cheek, they will turn in that direction - adaptively, this along with the reflex of sucking helps newborns in the process of nursing/feeding

grasping reflex

when you place a finger in a newborn's hand, they will hold on to it tightly - adaptively, this helps newborns hold on to their caregiver/parent

moro reflex

when startled by a loud noise or sudden change in position, babies will throw their arms outward and stretch out their hands

babinski reflex

when the bottom of their foot is stoked, babies will spread out their toes

stepping reflex

babies will raise their legs up if they are being held upright and their foot touches a flat surface

maturation

the physical development of the body and nervous system after birth, which occurs at a rapid pace

motor development

depends on maturation - most babies can hold their chin and head up at one month, sit alone at six to seven months, and walk by themselves are 12 months - rates are almost universal but can vary

Jean Piaget

Swiss psychologist - one of the best known researchers in the field of cognitive development - noticed that children seem to give similar answers to questions when at the same approximate age and that the answers reflected a different style of thinking that adults

equilibration

the idea that humans seek balance and what they think and know about the world and what we see

assimilation

adding newly learned concepts into existing schema without altering it - done by most children

sensory motor stage

first stage of cognitive development - occurs from birth to two years old, centers around the child's sensory and movement experiences as the driving force for cognitions and schemas are developed based on them - major milestone: object permanence

object permanence

knowing that an object continues to exist even when not visible, develops around 9 months of age

preoperational stage

the second stage of cognitive development - begins at 2 years old and continues to 7 years - child begins to use symbolic thought, which fuels language acquisition - children in this stage are highly egocentric and play is driven by fantasy and make believe

symbolic thought

understanding that certain symbols have meaning to them

egocentric

unable to see from other people's perspective, assume that all people feel the same way they do and that they like the same kinds of things

concrete operational stage

third stage of cognitive development - from 7 to 11 years of age - use of logical thought increases dramatically, and children develop a understanding of conservation

conservation

understanding that when the appearance of an object changes, it does not necessarily change the amount/volume of the object

Classic Piaget Conservation

three containers, A, B, and C were placed in front of children (2 of the same size and 1 tall and skinny) - when liquid from B poured to C, children in the preoperational stage thought C had more because it was filled up higher, but those who achieved understanding of conservation could understand that it was the same - other than the conservation of liquid, there is the conservation of matter

formal operational stage

final stage of cognitive development - 11 years and up - children can understand abstract principles like honor and loyalty and hypothetical possibilities and are less egocentric

In regards to Piaget's theory, research has found that _

children actually pass through stages more quickly

Lev Vygorsky

emphasized the role that culture and social environment have on cognitive development through internalization

internalization

the act of mirroring our cultures habits or the mind

Social and emotional development begins _

before birth

temperament

aspects of personality present at birth, presumed to be inherited behavior traits