Psych ch 11-12

motivation

need/desire that energizes and directs behavior, interplay between nature (bodily push) and nurture (pull from thought process and culture)

instinct theory (evolutionary perspective)

focus on genetically predisposed behaviors, failed to explain most human motives, inborn (Darwin)

instinct

complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned (ex. birds imprinting)

drive-reduction theory

idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (drive) motivates an organism to satisfy need, how we respond to inner pushes (ex. feel hungry, urge to bake)

homeostasis

tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state, regulation of any aspect of body chemistry around particular level, homeostasis level differs from person to person, eating for need, can be affected by environment (ex. feel cold, drive us to pus on clothes)

incentive

positive/negative environment stimulus that motivates behavior (ex. aroma of food, sight of someone you like/dislike)

arousal theory

finding the right level of stimulation, why we get bored (ex. seeking out intense experience, snacking for boredom)

Yerkes-Dodson Law

principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases, want moderation arousal, arousal affects performance in different ways (ex. when taking a test, you want to be awake and alert but not trembling)

hierarchy of needs

pyramid of human needs, beginning at base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher level safety needs then psychological needs become active (Abraham Maslow)

glucose

form of sugar that circulates in blood and provides a major source of energy for body tissues, when level is low, you feel hunger

insulin

hormone secreted by pancreas diminishing blood glucose, when blood glucose level drops, you feel hunger

arcuate nucleus

neural arc secretes appetite stimulating hormones

basal metabolic rate

body’s resting rate of energy expenditure

set point (settling point)

The point at which your “weight thermostat” is supposedly set, when the body is below weight it increases hunger and lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

neophobia

dislike of unfamiliar things, protect from potentially toxic things, disgust

obese

BMI of 30 or more, significant obesity increases risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc

testosterone

most important of the male sex hormones, both male and females have it, in males it stimulates growth of male sex organs during fetal period and development of male sex characteristics during puberty, if women’s natural testosterone level drops, sexual interest wanes, little effect for men

estrogen

sex hormones secreted in greater amounts by females than by males, contribute to female sex characteristics, in nonhuman females, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promotes sexual receptivity

menopause

later in life women’s estrogen levels fall, frequency of sexual fantasies and intercourse subsides

sexual response cycle

four stages of sexual responding, excitement (genital organs become engorged with blood), plateau (excitement peaks), orgasm (pleasure and muscle contractions), resolution (body gradually returns to unaroused state) (William Masters and Virginia Johnson)

refractory period

resting period after orgasm, men can’t achieve another orgasm

sexual dysfunction

problem consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning, might involve sexual motivation

erectile disorder

inability to develop or maintain an erection due to insufficient blood flow to penis

female orgasmic disorder

distress due to infrequently or never experiencing orgasm

paraphilias

sexual arousal from fantasies, behaviors, urges involving nonhuman object, suffering of self/others, nonconsenting persons, disordered if cause distress or pain to self (ex. necrophilia, exhibitionism, pedophilia)

acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)

life-threatening sexually transmitted infection caused by human immunodeficiency (HIV), depletes immune system, leave person vulnerable to infections, male semen can carry more than female secretions, men more likely to transmit to women than vice versa

sexual orientation

enduring sexual attraction towards members of own sex (homosexual), other sex (heterosexual), or both (bisexual)

erotic plasticity

women more varying sexually, alternate periods of high sexual activity to none, heterosexual women display more bisexual attraction than men

fertile females theory

genes dispose women to be attracted to/attract men have more children, therefore dispose men to like men, homosexual men tend to have more homosexual relatives own mothers side

older brother (fraternal birth order) effect

mothers immune system determines odds of homosexuality for men, men with older brothers more likely gay, 1/3 more likely for each brother, defensive maternal immune response to foreign substance in male fetus, antibodies become stronger with each male pregnancy

affiliation need

need to build relationships and feel apart of group, more likely to produce and co-nurture offspring, could combat better in group

ostracism

deliberate social exclusion of individual or group, threatens need to belong

self-disclosure

sharing ourselves (joys, worries, weakness) with others, healthy way of coping with day to day problems

narcissism

excessive self love and self absorption

achievement motivation

desire for significant accomplishment (ex. mastery of skills/ideas, control, gain high standard) (Henry Murray)

grit

passion and perseverance in pursuit of long term goals

emotion

response of whole organism involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, conscious experience (ex. heart pounding, quickened pace, induce thoughts and feelings)

James-Lange Theory

arousal comes before emotion, experience of emotion is awareness of physiological response to emotion arousing stimuli (ex. feel sorry because we cry)

Cannon-Bard Theory

arousal and emotion occur simultaneously, emotion arousing stimulus triggers both physiological response and subjective experience of emotion, people may feel difference in emotion when lose sensation on body (ex. heart pounded as experience fear)

Schachter-Singer two-factor theory

in order to experience emotion, must be physically aroused and cognitively label arousal (ex. feel more excited about job offer after run vs after nap)

spillover effect

aroused state is experienced as one emotion or next (ex. arousal from soccer match leads to a riot) (Schachter and Singer)

high road

stimulus travels by thalamus to brain cortex then analysed and labeled before response command sent out via amygdala (ex. more complex emotions like hatred and love)

low road

neural shortcut bypass cortex, easier for feelings to hijack thinking than thinking ruling feelings (ex. fear provoking stimuli go straight from eye/ear directly to amygdala)

Robert Zajonc

people have many emotional reactions apart/before interpretation of the situation (ex. people were flashed a happy face and drank more juice than when flashed a neutral/angry face)

Richard Lazarus

some emotional responses don’t require conscious thinking, brain processes a lot of info without conscious awareness (ex. getting scared at rustling bushes as threat, realize it’s just the wind)

insula

neural center in brain, activates when experience negative social emotions (lust, pride, disgust)

facial feedback effect

The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings (fear, anger, happiness) (ex. frowning causes feelings of anger)

behavior feedback effect

tendency of behavior to influence your own and others thoughts, feelings, actions, amplify emotions (ex. smile will make you more happy, but cannot make you happy when sad)

Carroll Izard

isolated 10 basic emotions (joy, interest/excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, guilt), believe other emotions like pride and love are combination of other emotions

catharsis

emotional release, releasing aggressive energy (action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges, acting angry can make you feel angrier

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people tend to be helpful when already in a good mood, doing good promotes good feeling

positive psychology

scientific study of human flourishing with goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

subjective well being

self perceived happiness/satisfaction with life, used with measures of objective well being (physical and economic indicators) to evaluate quality of life

adaption level phenomenon

tend to form judgments (of sounds, lights, income) relative to neutral level defined by prior experience, become adjusted to new highs/lows, need something better (ex. yesterdays marvelous becomes today’s mundane)

relative depression

perception that one is worse off relative to those with whome one compares oneself (ex. me vs rest of IB)

stress

process by which we perceive and respond to certain events called stressors that we appraise as threatening or challenging, arise from how we perceive them (ex. one might see new job as a stressor vs someone else sees it as a new opportunity)

fight or flight

sympathetic nervous system arouses and prepares body, increases heart rate, respiration, etc (Walter Cannon)

glucocorticoid

stress hormones, work at different speeds than epinephrine, “draw up blueprints for new aircraft carriers needed for war efforts” (ex. cortisol) (Robert Sapolsky)

general adaption syndrome (GAS)

body adaptive response to stress in three phases: alarm (sympathetic NS activated), resistance (fully engaged, no relief from stress), exhaustion (more vulnerable to illness) (Hans Selye)

tend and befriend

under stress, people (often women) provide support to others (tend) and seek support from others (befriend), men more often withdraw socially and turn to alcohol or become aggresive

health psychology

subfield of psychology providing contributions to behavioral medicine

psychoneuroimmunology

study how psychological, neural, endocrine processes affect immune system and health together (ex. felt blood pressure rise with anger)

coronary heart disease

clogging of vessels that nourish heart muscle, leading cause of death in developed countries, more stress generates inflammation, increasing odds of heart issues

Type A personality

reactive, competitive, hard-driving, impatient, time-conscious, super motivated, easily angered, most likely to have a heart attack

Type B personality

easy going, mellow, laid back, less likely to suffer from heart attack

Type D personality

suppress negative emotion to avoid disapproval, experience distress in social interactions, increased risk for mortality and nonfatal heart attack

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, behavioral methods

problem-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly, change stressor or way we interact with it, use when feel a sense of control over the situation and think we can change circumstances/ourselves to deal more capably (ex. going to a family member to work thinks out after a fight)

emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding/ignoring stressor and attending to emotional needs related to stress reaction, use when believe cannot change situation (ex. cannot get along with a family member, reach out to friends for help)

learned helplessness

hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events, more susceptible to illness because of stress (ex. Cian)

external locus of control

perception that chance or outside forces beyond personal control determines fate (Julian Rotter)

internal locus of control

perception we control own life, achieve more in school/work, more independent, better health, less depressed (Julian Rotter)

self control

ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long term rewards, predict good health, higher income, better grades, constantly changing like muscle

aerobic excersize

sustained excersize that increases heart and lung fitness, may alleviate depression and anxiety (ex. jogging, swimming, biking)

biofeedback

system of recording, amplifying and feeding back info about subtly physiological responses, many controlled by automatic NS, mirror results of persons own efforts, enable person to learn what techniques do/don’t control particular physiological response, work best on tension headaches

faith factor

religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active, women more religiously active and live longer than men, religion promotes self control, provide social support, positive emotions