Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion

Instincts

are complex, inherited behavior patterns characteristic of a species.

Drive reduction theory

behavior is motivated by the need to reduce drives such as hunger, thirst, or sex.

Homeostasis

is the body’s tendency to maintain an internal steady state of metabolism, to stay in balance.

Metabolism

is the sum total of all chemical processes that occur in our bodies and are necessary to keep us alive.

Arousal

is the level of alertness, wakefulness, and activation caused by activity in the central nervous system.

Yerkes–Dodson rule

states that we usually perform most activities best when moderately aroused, and efficiency of performance is usually lower when arousal is either low or high.

Hunger

Early research indicated that stomach contractions caused hunger.

Hunger and Hormones

The hypothalamus reduces hunger by stimulating the small intestine to release cholecystokinin when food enters.

Lateral hypothalamus (LH)

was originally called the “on” button for hunger.

Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)

was called the satiety center, or “off” button, for hunger.

Bulimia nervosa

is a more common eating disorder characterized by eating binges involving the intake of thousands of calories, followed by purging either by vomiting or using laxatives.

Sexual orientation

refers to the direction of an individual’s sexual interest.

Homosexuality

is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another person of the same sex, and bisexuality is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward people of both sexes.

Heterosexuality

is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward people of the opposite sex.

Achievement motive

is a desire to meet some internalized standard of excellence.

Affiliation motive

is the need to be with others.

Intrinsic motivation

is a desire to perform an activity for its own sake rather than an external reward.

Extrinsic motivation

is a desire to perform an activity to obtain a reward from outside the individual, such as money and other material goods we have learned to enjoy, such as applause or attention.

Emotion

is a conscious feeling of pleasantness or unpleasantness accompanied by biological activation and expressive behavior; emotion has cognitive, physiological, and behavioral components.