PARANOID

Motivation

The wants or needs that direct behavior toward a goal.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation from internal factors; behaviors are performed because they bring personal satisfaction.

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation from external factors; behaviors are performed to receive something from others.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic = doing it for personal satisfaction (internal). Extrinsic = doing it for an external reward. Key: intrinsic = YOU; extrinsic = REWARD.

Overjustification Effect

Intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation (especially tangible rewards) is introduced.

Instinct Theory of Motivation

Proposed by William James; behavior is driven by innate instincts that aid survival. Criticized for ignoring the role of learning.

Drive Theory of Motivation

Deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs, which produce drive states that motivate behavior to restore balance. Successfully reducing a drive makes us more likely to repeat that behavior.

Arousal Theory of Motivation

There is an optimal level of arousal we all try to maintain. Under-aroused = seek stimulation; over-aroused = seek calm. Optimal arousal for performance is moderate.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Task performance is best at moderate arousal. Difficult tasks = best under lower arousal; simple tasks = best under higher arousal.

Self-Efficacy (Bandura)

An individual's belief in their own capability to complete a task. Beliefs about ability determine what we do and what goals we set.

Social Motives (Bandura)

Three needs that drive behavior: Need for achievement (accomplishment), need for affiliation (positive interactions with others), need for intimacy (deep, meaningful relationships).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's theory that needs are arranged in a pyramid. Lower-level needs (physiological, safety) must be satisfied before higher-level needs (belonging, esteem, self-actualization) can be addressed.

Hunger

The drive to eat, triggered by stomach contractions and low blood glucose levels signaling the brain to initiate feeding.

Satiation

The feeling of fullness that stops eating, triggered by increased blood glucose and release of leptin from fat cells.

Leptin

A satiety hormone released by fat cells that signals the brain to stop hunger.

Ghrelin

A hunger hormone produced in the stomach that signals the brain to stimulate appetite. Rises before meals, falls after eating. (Defined from course knowledge — not in slides by name.)

Metabolic Rate

The amount of energy expended in a given period of time. Varies between individuals.

Set-Point Theory

Each person has a genetically determined ideal body weight that is resistant to change. The body compensates to return to this set point.

Obesity

BMI over 30. Health risks include cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and sleep apnea. Caused by genetics, diet, activity level, and environmental factors.

Bariatric Surgery

Weight-loss surgery (e.g., gastric banding) that reduces the size of the stomach to limit digestion. Used to treat obesity.

GLP-1s

Medications (e.g., Ozempic, Wegovy) that mimic the GLP-1 hormone to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar. Used to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes. (Defined from course knowledge — not in slides.)

Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by: (1) dangerously low body weight, (2) intense fear of gaining weight, and (3) distorted body image. Health consequences include bone loss, heart/kidney failure, and amenorrhea.

Bulimia Nervosa

Binge-and-purge eating disorder. Binge = eating large amounts rapidly. Purge = eliminating food via vomiting, laxatives, or excessive exercise.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Eating disorder with recurrent binge eating but no purging. Best predictors: eating in secret and feeling disgust after bingeing.

Emotion

A subjective, relatively intense feeling that occurs in response to a specific experience. Consciously experienced and intentional.

Mood

A prolonged, less intense affective state not tied to a specific trigger. May not be consciously recognized.

Mood vs. Emotion

Mood = longer-lasting, low intensity, no specific trigger. Emotion = short-lived, high intensity, caused by a specific experience.

Components of Emotion

Three components: (1) Physiological arousal, (2) Psychological appraisal, (3) Subjective experience.

James-Lange Theory

Emotions arise FROM physiological arousal. Sequence: stimulus → body reacts → emotion follows. Example: See snake → heart races → feel fear.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously but independently. Example: See snake → feel fear AND heart races at the same time.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

Emotions = physiological arousal + cognitive labeling of that arousal based on context. Arousal is similar across emotions, so context tells us what we feel.

Lazarus's Cognitive-Mediational Theory

Emotions are determined by our cognitive appraisal of the stimulus. Appraisal happens FIRST (before arousal), and it is immediate and unconscious.

Primary Emotions

Universal, innate emotions that emerge in early infancy: joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust.

Secondary Emotions

More complex emotions that develop later: guilt, shame, anxiety, pride, and envy.

Primary vs. Secondary Emotions

Primary = innate, universal, appear in infancy (joy, fear, etc.). Secondary = learned, more complex, develop later (guilt, pride, etc.).

Physical Development

Growth and changes in the body, brain, senses, motor skills, and health.

Cognitive Development

Development of learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, and reasoning.

Psychosocial Development

Development of emotions, personality, and social relationships.

Physical vs. Cognitive vs. Psychosocial Development

Physical = body/brain. Cognitive = thinking/mental processes. Psychosocial = emotions and relationships.

Normative Approach

Studying large numbers of children to determine the average age at which most children reach developmental milestones (what is "normal" development).

Continuous Development

Development is gradual and cumulative, building on existing skills. No distinct stages.

Discontinuous Development

Development occurs in distinct stages with qualitative changes between them.

Continuous vs. Discontinuous Development

Continuous = gradual improvement (like a ramp). Discontinuous = distinct stages (like stair steps). Stage theories (Piaget, Erikson, Freud) are discontinuous.

Freud's Psychosexual Theory

Childhood experiences shape adult personality through 5 stages (Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital). Each stage focuses pleasure on a different erogenous zone. Unresolved stages cause fixation.

Oral Stage (Freud)

First stage (birth–~18 months). Pleasure centered on sucking and feeding. Fixation may lead to dependency or aggression.

Anal Stage (Freud)

Second stage (~18 months–3 years). Pleasure centered on controlling elimination (toilet training). Fixation may lead to being overly controlling or excessively messy.

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

8-stage theory of personality development across the lifespan. Each stage has a psychosocial conflict to resolve. Stages: Trust vs. Mistrust → Autonomy vs. Shame → Initiative vs. Guilt → Industry vs. Inferiority → Identity vs. Role Confusion → Intimacy vs. Isolation → Generativity vs. Stagnation → Integrity vs. Despair.

Piaget's Cognitive Theory

Children develop through 4 cognitive stages. They build schemata (mental concepts) to understand the world, adjusted through assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation (Piaget)

Fitting new information into an existing schema without changing it. Example: calling a cat a "dog" because it fits the existing animal schema.

Accommodation (Piaget)

Changing or modifying a schema to fit new information. Example: creating a separate "cat" schema after learning cats differ from dogs.

Assimilation vs. Accommodation

Assimilation = new info fits INTO existing schema (no change). Accommodation = schema is CHANGED to fit new info.

Sensorimotor Stage (Piaget)

Birth to ~2 years. Infants learn through reflexes, senses, and movement. Key milestones: object permanence (~8 months) and stranger anxiety.

Preoperational Stage (Piaget)

~2–7 years. Children use language and symbols but are not yet logical. Key trait: egocentrism.

Concrete Operational Stage (Piaget)

~7–11 years. Logical thinking about concrete objects. Key milestone: conservation.

Formal Operational Stage (Piaget)

~12+ years. Ability to think abstractly, reason logically, and solve hypothetical problems.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects still exist even when out of sight. Develops at ~8 months.

Stranger Anxiety

Fear of unfamiliar people that develops in infancy; reflects the ability to distinguish familiar caregivers from strangers.

Egocentrism (Piaget)

Characteristic of the preoperational stage; the child cannot take another person's perspective and assumes everyone sees the world as they do.

Conservation (Piaget)

Understanding that quantity stays the same even when appearance changes. Develops in the concrete operational stage. Example: same amount of water in a tall vs. wide glass.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Moral reasoning develops in 3 levels: (1) Pre-conventional — based on consequences (punishment/reward). (2) Conventional — based on social rules and laws. (3) Post-conventional — based on universal ethical principles.

Germinal Stage

Prenatal weeks 1–2. Sperm fertilizes egg → zygote → blastocyst → implants in uterine wall.

Zygote

A single-cell structure formed when sperm fertilizes an egg; the starting point of prenatal development.

Blastocyst

Formed ~5 days after conception through cell division of the zygote; implants in the uterine wall.

Implantation

Attachment of the blastocyst to the uterine wall, occurring 10–14 days after conception.

HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)

Hormone detected by pregnancy tests. Detectable in blood 11 days and urine 12–14 days after conception.

Embryonic Stage

Prenatal weeks 3–8. Key events: organogenesis, formation of the amniotic sac (week 2), placenta and neural tube (week 4). By weeks 8–9, ~90% of adult structures are forming.

Organogenesis

Organ formation during the embryonic stage (first 2 months). A critical period of vulnerability to teratogens.

Placenta

Life-support structure formed in week 4 that delivers oxygen/nutrients from the mother to the embryo/fetus and removes waste.

Neural Tube

Forms in week 4 of the embryonic stage; develops into the brain and spinal cord.

Amniotic Sac

Fluid-filled sac formed in week 2 that protects and cushions the embryo/fetus throughout pregnancy.

Fetal Stage

Prenatal weeks 9–40. The brain develops and the body adds size and weight until full-term.

Teratogens

Any environmental agent (biological, chemical, or physical) that damages the developing embryo or fetus. Examples: alcohol, smoking, drugs, radiation, viruses.

Rooting Reflex

Newborn turns head toward anything that touches its cheek. Helps find the nipple for feeding.

Sucking Reflex

Newborn sucks on objects placed near or in its mouth. Essential for feeding.

Grasping Reflex

Newborn grips objects placed in its hands.

Moro Reflex

Newborn spreads arms and pulls them back in when startled or feels like falling.

Babinski Reflex

Newborn's toes fan outward when the sole of the foot is stroked. (Defined from course knowledge — not in slides.)

Blooming Period

Phase during infancy/toddlerhood where neural pathways rapidly form thousands of new connections.

Pruning Period

Phase during childhood/adolescence where unused neural connections are eliminated to improve brain efficiency.

Fine Motor Skills

Skills involving small muscles (fingers, toes, eyes) for precise movements like gripping a pencil.

Gross Motor Skills

Skills involving large muscle groups (arms, legs) for whole-body movements like running and balancing.

Fine vs. Gross Motor Skills

Fine = small, precise movements. Gross = large, whole-body movements.

Baillargeon's Study (1987)

Found that infants understand objects much earlier than Piaget thought. Infants stared longer at impossible events (e.g., truck passing through a solid box), showing early knowledge that solid objects can't pass through each other.

Baillargeon vs. Piaget

Piaget: object knowledge develops slowly through experience. Baillargeon: infants have object knowledge far earlier than Piaget's stages suggest.

Theory of Mind

The ability to understand that others have thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives different from one's own. Develops between ages 3–5.

Attachment

A long-lasting emotional bond formed with others. Forming healthy attachments is a key psychosocial milestone of infancy.

Harry Harlow — Contact Comfort

Infant monkeys preferred a cloth surrogate (no milk) over a wire surrogate (had milk). Conclusion: contact comfort and security — not feeding — are critical to maternal-infant bonding.

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Infants form an affectional bond with their primary caregiver necessary for normal social and emotional development. Key concepts: secure base and internal working model.

Secure Base (Bowlby)

The caregiver's presence gives the child a sense of safety, allowing them to explore confidently.

Strange Situation (Ainsworth)

A lab procedure where the mother leaves, then returns. Used to classify infant attachment styles based on the child's reaction to separation and reunion.

Secure Attachment

Child uses parent as a secure base; distressed when parent leaves, happy on return. Associated with sensitive, responsive caregiving.

Avoidant Attachment

Child is unresponsive to the parent and shows no distress when they leave. Associated with insensitive, inattentive caregiving.

Resistant Attachment

Child is clingy but rejects comfort on return; extremely distressed when parent leaves. Associated with inconsistent caregiving.

Disorganized Attachment

Child shows odd or contradictory behavior (e.g., freezing, running away from parent). Associated with abuse.

Authoritative Parenting

Reasonable demands, consistent limits, warmth, and listens to the child. Associated with the best child outcomes.

Authoritarian Parenting

High emphasis on obedience and conformity, rigid rules, little warmth.

Permissive Parenting

Few demands, rarely uses punishment. High warmth, low control.

Uninvolved Parenting

Indifferent and neglectful; unresponsive to the child's needs, few demands.

Temperament

Innate traits that influence how one thinks, behaves, and reacts to the environment. Present from birth.

Easy Temperament

Positive emotions, adapts well to change, regulates emotions well, quickly establishes routines. (~40% of infants.)