Psychology

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

extrinsic motivation

type of motivation in which a person performs an action because it leads to an outcome that is separate from or external to the person.

intrinsic motivation

type of motivation in which a person performs an action because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal manner.

instincts

the biologically determined and innate patterns of behavior that exist in both people and animals.

instinct approach

approach to motivation that assumes people are governed by insticts similar to those of animals.

need

a requirement of some material (such as food or water) that is essential for survival of the organism

drive

a psychological tension and physical arousal arising when there is a need that motivates the organism to act in order to fulfill the need and reduce the tension

drive-reduction theory

approach to motivation that assumes behavior arises from physiological needs that cause internal drives to push the organism to satisfy the need and reduce tension and arousal

primary drives

those drives that involve needs of the body such as hunger and thirst

acquired (secondary) drives

those drives that are learned through experience or conditioning, such as the need for money or social approval

homeostasis

process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment

stimulus motive

a motive that appears to be unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation, such as curiosity

arousal theory

theory of motivation in which people are said to have an optimal (best or ideal) level of tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing stimulation

Yerkes-Dodson law

law stating performance is related to arousal; moderate levels or arousal lead to better performance than do levels of arousal that are too low or too high. This effect varies with the difficulty of the task: Easy tasks require a high-moderate level whereas more difficult tasks require a low-moderate level

incentives

things that attract or lure people into action, a pull.

incentive approaches

theories of motivation in which behavior is explained as a response to the external stimulus and its rewarding properties

self-actualization

according to Maslow, the point that is seldom reached at which people have sufficiently satisfied the lower needs and achieved their full human potential

weight set point

the particular level of weight the body tries to maintain

basal metabolic rate (BMR)

the rate at which the body burns energy when the organism is resting

leptin

a hormone that, when released into the bloodstream, signals the hypothalamus that the body has had enough food and reduces the appetite while increasing the feeling of being full

anorexia nervosa

a condition in which a person reduces eating to the point that a weight loss of 15 percent below the ideal body weight or more occurs

bulimia nervosa

a condition in which a person develops a cycle of "binging," or overeating enormous amounts of food at one sitting, and then using unhealthy methods to avoid weight gain

emotion

the "feeling" aspect of consciousness, characterized by a certain physical arousal, a certain behavior that reveals the emotion to the outside world, and an inner awareness of feelings

James-Lange theory of emotion

theory in which a physiological reaction leads to the labeling of an emotion. I am afraid because I am shaking

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

theory in which the physiological reaction and the emotion are assumed to occur at the same time. I am shaking and afraid at the same time Schachter's cognitive arousal theory/

Singer and Schachter's Two Factor

theory of emotion in which both the physical arousal and the COGNITIVE LABEL of that arousal based on cues from the environment must occur before the emotion is experienced

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Humanist theory of motivation that says we must first fulfill lower level needs before achieving personal fulfillment and self actualization

Physiological-Safety-Belongingness and Love-Esteem-Cognitive-Self Actualization

ventromedial hypothalamus

stops the eating response; lets us know we are full

if damaged, we would continue to eat.

lateral hypothamalus

initiates the eating response; lets us know we are hungry

if damaged, we would starve

Achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard

Adaptation-Level Phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

Behavioral medicine

an interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease

Biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

Catharsis

emotional release. ie. "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

Feel-good, do-good phenomenon

The tendency to be helpful when in a good mood

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

A model of the body's response to chronic stress; the three phases are alarm (fight-or-flight response), resistance, and exhaustion.

Glucose

A simple sugar that is an important source of energy.

Industrial-organization (I/O) psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Polygraph

a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion

Problem-focused coping

Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

Psychophysiological illness

literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches

Refractory period

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm

Relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

Sexual disorder

a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning

Sexual orientation

an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)

Sexual response cycle

the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

Stress

A nonspecific, emotional response to real or imagined challenges or threats; a result of a cognitive appraisal by the individual

Subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.

Task leadership

goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals

Type A

competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

Type B

easygoing, relaxed people

Theory X (in terms of leadership)

Managers who assume that work is innately unpleasant and that people have a strong desire to avoid it; such managers believe that employees need direction, dislike responsibility, and must be kept in line.

Theory Y (in terms of leadership)

The assumption that employees like work, are creative, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction.

Eustress

A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal

distress

bad stress. extreme anxiety.

Ekman

Changes in facial expression brings about emotion like changes in the body

Izard

Believes the infants can express several basic emotions as early as 10 weeks of age

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health

Estrogen

Female sex hormone

Testosterone

Male sex hormone

acute stressors

threatening events that have a relatively short duration and a clear endpoint

chronic stressors

threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit

personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist's interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. It operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.

fixation

(1) the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. (2) according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

repression

basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

regression

allows us to retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of development

reaction formation

the ego unconsciously makes unacceptable impulses look like their opposites

projection

disguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

occurs when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves the real reasons for our actions

displacement

diverts sexual or aggressive impulses toward an object or person that is psychologically more acceptable than the one that aroused the feelings

sublimation

the transformation of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motivations

denial

protects the person from real events that are painful to accept, either by rejecting a fact or its seriousness

collective unconscious

a common reservoir of images derived from our species' universal experiences

projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

personality inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

reciprocal determinism

Albert Bandura - the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate.

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.