Chapter Overview: Motivation, Emotion, and Sexuality (Vocabulary Flashcards)

A comprehensive set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering motivation, emotion theories, biological bases, and sexuality/gender topics from the lecture notes.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation to perform an activity for its inherent satisfaction or personal growth, rather than for external rewards.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation to engage in a behavior to obtain external rewards or avoid punishment.

Overjustification effect

When external rewards diminish intrinsic motivation, making the activity feel like work.

Instinct

A species-typical pattern of behavior that is assumed to be unlearned based on biology (though its role in humans is debated).

Drive-reduction theory

Motivation arises from the desire to eliminate physiological needs and return to homeostasis.

Homeostasis

The body’s tendency to maintain a stable internal state.

Set point theory

Each person has a genetically programmed body weight that the body defends through regulatory processes.

Leptin

Satiety hormone released by fat cells that helps regulate hunger and fullness.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

A pyramid of needs from basic physiological needs up to self-actualization (and sometimes self-transcendence).

Self-efficacy

Belief in one’s own ability to succeed at a task, guiding motivation and goal setting.

Need for achievement (nAch)

Motivation to accomplish goals, excel, and attain success.

Need for affiliation

Motivation to form positive relationships and social bonds.

Need for intimacy

Motivation to have deep, meaningful relationships.

Yerkes-Dodson law

Performance is optimal at a moderate level of arousal; simple tasks do well with higher arousal, complex tasks with lower arousal.

Bariatric surgery

Weight-reduction surgery that limits food intake and/or absorption; used for obesity treatment.

BMI (Body Mass Index)

A screening measure (weight in kg divided by height in meters squared) used to classify overweight and obesity.

Prader-Willi syndrome

Genetic disorder causing persistent hunger and reduced metabolism, often leading to severe obesity.

Eating disorders

Disorders involving disordered eating patterns (e.g., anorexia, bulimia, binge eating) with various health consequences.

Bulimia nervosa

Binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors (purging, laxatives, or excessive exercise).

Anorexia nervosa

Severely underweight due to restricted eating and often excessive exercise, with distorted body image.

Binge eating disorder

Recurrent binge eating without compensatory behaviors, causing distress.

Kinsey scale

A continuum used to describe a person’s sexual orientation from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual.

Masters and Johnson sexual response cycle

A four-phase model of sexual response: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution (with a refractory period after orgasm in many individuals).

Excitement phase

The arousal phase of the sexual response cycle, including erection and lubrication.

Plateau phase

Further sexual arousal and physiological changes leading up to orgasm.

Orgasm

Rhythmic pelvic/genital contractions and peak sexual pleasure; accompanies ejaculation in males.

Resolution

Return to an unaroused state after orgasm, with decreased arousal.

Refractory period

Post-orgasm interval during which another orgasm is not possible; duration varies by person.

Sexual orientation

Emotional, romantic, and/or erotic attraction to others.

Lesbian

Woman who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to other women.

Gay

Man (or person) attracted to individuals of the same gender.

Bisexual

Attraction to more than one gender or to two or more genders.

Pansexual

Attraction regardless of sex or gender identity.

Asexual

Little or no sexual attraction to others or low interest in sexual activity.

Heterosexual (straight)

Attraction to individuals of a different gender.

Queer

Umbrella term for non-heterosexual orientations or identities; also used as a reclaimed identity.

Questioning

Exploration of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Intersex

People whose sex traits differ from typical male/female patterns; not strictly binary.

Transgender

Gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth.

Cisgender

Gender identity that aligns with the sex assigned at birth.

Gender dysphoria

Distress due to a mismatch between gender identity and assigned sex; a DSM-5 diagnostic category (now under gender incongruence by WHO).

Psychosexual neutrality

John Money’s theory that gender identity is largely social/learned and not predetermined by biology.

David Reimer case

A case challenging psychosexual neutrality; a genetically male child raised as female after infancy circumcision injury, ending in tragedy and later public reevaluation.

Limbic system

Brain regions (including hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus) involved in emotion and memory.

Hypothalamus

Brain region that helps regulate autonomic and endocrine responses related to emotion and basic drives.

Thalamus

Sensory relay center that routes information to the cortex and limbic system.

Amygdala

Limbic structure central to processing emotions, especially fear and arousal; connected to learning and memory.

Basolateral complex (of the amygdala)

Subregion that assigns emotional value to sensory experiences and supports conditioning.

Central nucleus (of the amygdala)

Subregion involved in attention and regulating autonomic and endocrine responses.

Hippocampus

Limbic structure involved in emotion processing and memory formation.

James-Lange theory

Emotions arise from physiological arousal; we feel fear because we tremble.

Cannon-Bard theory

Emotion and arousal occur simultaneously but independently in response to a stimulus.

Facial feedback hypothesis

Facial expressions can influence emotional experience and intensity.

Schachter-Singer two-factor theory

Emotion arises from a combination of physiological arousal and cognitive labeling of that arousal.

Appraisal theory

Emotions depend on our interpretation or appraisal of a situation prior to feeling.

Lazarus cognitive mediational theory

Cognitive appraisal mediates between stimulus and emotional response; appraisal can occur quickly and often unconsciously.

Automatic emotion regulation (AER)

Non-deliberate regulation of emotions; can be adaptive or maladaptive and influence attention, appraisal, and behavior.

Cultural display rules

Culture-specific norms dictating appropriate expressions of emotion.

Ekman universal emotions

Seven emotions with culturally universal facial expressions: happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, disgust, contempt, anger.

Emotion vs mood

Emotion is a short, intense affective state tied to a stimulus; mood is a longer-lasting, less intense affective state not tied to a specific trigger.

Autism spectrum disorder and emotion recognition

Difficulties recognizing and expressing emotions in others, influencing social communication and behavior.

Emotion regulation strategies: covert vs overt

Covert strategies occur internally; overt strategies involve others or external actions to manage emotions.

Polygraph

Lie detector measuring physiological arousal; its validity in detecting deception is debated.