AP Psych Unit 7 - Set 1

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct

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

drive reduction theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

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

yerkes-dodson law

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

hierarchy of needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

glucose

the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

set point

the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.

basal metabolic rate

the body's resting rate of energy expenditure

sexual response cycle

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

refractory period

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

sexual disfunction

a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning

estrogen

sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity

testosterone

the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty