AP Psychology - Unit 4 Vocabulary - Vocab #4

vocab quiz on 03/10/25

Collectivism

a cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups (often one’s extended family or work group)

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Instinct

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

Physiological need

a basic bodily requirement

Drive-reduction theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused 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

Incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Yerks-Dodson Law

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

Affiliation need

the need to build and maintain relationships to feel part of a group

Self-determination theory

the theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness

Extrinsic motivation

the desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

Ostracism

deliberate social exclusion of racial groups

Achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard

Grit

in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

Glucose

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

Set point

the point at which the “weight-thermostat” may be set. when the body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

Basal metabolic rate

the body’s resting rate of energy output

Obesity

defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher, which is calculated from our weight-to-height ratio (individuals who are overweight have a BMI of 25 or higher)

Emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and, most importantly, (3) conscious experience resulting from one’s interpretation

Polygraph

a machine used in an attempt to detect lies; measures emotion-linked changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing

Facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness

Behavior feedback effect

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions