Unit 7 Psychology- Motivation, Emotion, and Stress/Personality modules

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Instinct

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

Drive-reduction theory

argues that motivation is tied closely with our physiological needs

Incentives theory

the “pull” from the external environment constitutes a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Arousal Theory

our need to maintain an optimal level of arousal motivates behaviors that meet no physiological need

Yerkes-Dodson law

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

Lateral Hypothalamus

stimulation of this structure stimulates hunger, lesioning inhibits hunger

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

stimulation of this structure inhibits hunger, lesioning inhibits satiety(full) signal

Orexin

increases appetite, produces by hypothalamus

Ghrelin

increases appetite, secreted by empty stomach

Insulin

decreases appetite, secreted by pancreas

Leptin

decreases appetite, secreted by fat cells

PPY

decreases appetite, digestive tract hormone

Set Point

your set weight range

Basal Metabolic Rate

the body’s resting rate of energy output

Sexual Motivation

natures way of making people procreate

Kinsey Scale

a measurement of your sexuality, IT IS A SPECTRUM

sexual response cycle

the stages of sex-excitement: plateau, orgasm, and resolution

refractory period

when men and women are incapable of orgasm

affliction need

the need to build relationships and feel part of a group

ostracism

the deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups

narcissism

a personality in which people feel self-important, focused, and self-promoting

achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment

james-lange theory

the theory our emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotional arousing stimulus

cannon-bard theory

the body’s responses, heart rate, perspiration and body temperature are too similar, and they change too slowly to cause two different emotions

Two-Factor theory

emotions have two ingredients: physical arousal and cognitive appraisal

Spillover Effect

arousal spills over from one event to the next

Paul Eckman

invented the facial acting coding system: helps determine the emotion behind 5,000 facial expressions

Facial Feedback Effect

argues that the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings like fear, happiness, and anger

Display rules

rules that monitor the suppression and acceptability of certain emotions

Stressors

Catastrophes, Significant Life Changes, and Daily Hassles and Social Stress

Approach-Approach Conflict

two attractive but incompatible goals pull you

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

conflict between two undesirable options

Approach-Avoidance Conflicts

you feel simultaneously attracted and repelled

General Adaptation Syndrome

phase one: alarm reaction, phase two: resistance, Phase three: exhaustion

tend-and-befriend Response

under stress, people often provide support to others and bond with and seek support from others

Psychoneuroimmunology

the study of how psychology contributes to behavioral medicine

B Lymphocytes

release antibodies that fight bacterial infections

T Lymphocytes

attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances

Macrophage Cells

Identify, pursue, and ingest harmful invaders, and worn out cells

Natural Killer Cells

attack diseased cells

Catharsis

the idea that releasing the aggressive energy relieves aggressive urges

feel-good do-good phenomenon

peoples tendency to be helpful when in a good mood

Martin Seligman

pioneered positive psychology and subjective well-being

Positive Psychology

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

Subjective Well-Being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measure of objective well-being to evaluate people’s quality of life

Adaptation Phenomenon

our tendency to form judgements relative to a neutral level defined by a previous experience

Relative Deprivation

the perception that you’re worse off relative to those who you compare yourself to

Psychodynamic Theories

view personality as a dynamic interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts

Preconscious

forces that drive a personality to operate under the surface

Conscious

your sense of reality, the smallest part of your mind but the one you’re most aware of

Unconscious

beyond our awareness

Id

unconscious psychic energy, animal instinct

Ego

conscious; mediates demands of reality, Id, and Superego; operates on the reality principle

Superego

represents internalized ideals and provides standards of judgement

Psychosexual stages

personality develops during infancy and childhood in five different stages; during each stage, the Id’s urge to seek pleasure becomes associated with specific parts

Oral

pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing

Latency

a phase of psychosexual development where their sexual desires have been repressed into the unconscious. During this stage, the child focus es on intellectual and social development. 

Genital

the natural adulthood sexual desire reemerges during the genital stage. No fixations come from this. 

Defense Mechanisms

ego protects itself from the competing forces of the Id and the Superego. All defense mechanisms function indirectly and unconscious

Repression

the process of reducing anxiety by blocking impulses or memories

Regression

When the ego seeks to reduce anxiety by reverting to an earlier period of psychological development

Displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses towards a more acceptable or less threatening object

Sublimation

the transferring of one’s unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives

Denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Alfred Adler

coined the term inferiority complex, argued that much of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer childhood inferiority

Karen Horney

childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security; argued against penis envy

Carl Jung

collective unconscious: a common resevoir of images, or archetypes, derived from our species universal experiences

Projective Tests

personality tests that provide ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Thematic Approach Test

people express their inner feelings and interests through stories of ambiguous images

Rorschach Inkblot test

you see an inkblot and interpret it

Terror-Management Theory

the theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

Carl Rogers

real self: recognition and acceptance of your natural self

ideal self: emerges as a result of interactions with significant people

Abraham Maslow

coined self-actualization: when a person reaches their full potential

Personality Inventories

objective questionnaires, you take the survey and it tells you if you have a personality disorder

Eyesnecks

they used factor analysis to come up with two temperaments: Extraversion/Introversion and Neuroticism/Stability

Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI)

originally developed to identify emotional disorders; used to assess personality characteristics in employment situations

Phallic

pleasure zone in genitals, coping with incestuous sexual feelings. The boy develops sexual desires for their mother (**Oedipus Complex**) and hatred for their father - fearing that their father will castrate theme. Through identification the boy takes on the characteristics of the father.

Anal

pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination, coping with demands for control. The crisis of toilet training may result in adult fixations like obsession over neatness and orderliness