AP Psych, Unit 8 - MESH & Positive Psychology

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Instinct Theory

the idea that organisms are motivated due to an unlearned and fixed pattern that is found throughout a species

Instinct

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

Drive-Reduction Theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an arousal state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

Homeostasis

a steady internal state

Incentive Theory

sometimes we are motivated by a positive or negative environmental stimuli

Incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Arousal Theory

theory that our need to maintain an optimal level of arousal motivates behaviors that meet to physiological need

Sensation-seeking Theory

the theory that people will seek out novel experiences

4 traits of a Sensation Seeker

1. Experience Seeking - a desire for novel sensory or mental experiences

2. Thrill / Adventure Seeking - an attraction to risky or fear-inspiring activities

3. Disinhibition - a loss of self-control

4. Boredom Susceptibility - the inability to tolerate monotony or repetition

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Self-determination Theory of Motivation

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

Intrinsic Motivation

the desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Extrinsic Motivation

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

The role of the Hypothalamus plays in hunger and satiety

controls pituitary gland (hormones)

Lateral Hypothalamus

• hunger center —> makes us hungry

• lesion = wouldn’t feel hunger

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

• satiety center —> makes us feel full

• lesion = never feel full

Ghrelin

a hunger arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomuch

• tummy grumbling

Leptin

protein hormone secreted by fat cells

• increase = causes the brain to increase metabolism & decrease in appetite

Anorexia Nervosa

a person, maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight

• has an inaccurate self perception

• sometimes paired with excessive exercise

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder in which a persons binge eating is followed by inappropriate weight-loss promoting behavior

• ex: vomiting, fasting, excessive exercise

Eating Disorders: Nature v. Nurture

nature:

• heredity

nurture:

• family

• weight obsessed culture

• distorted images

Emotion

Three Components of Emotion

1. bodily (physiological) arousal

2. expressive behaviors

3. conscious experience / feelings

James-Lange Theory

the idea that we first have a physiological response then we observe that response, after our actual emotion

• idea: laugh until you feel happy / fake it till you make it

Canon-Bard Theory

the idea that our physiological arousal and our emotional experiences occur simultaneously (they don’t cause each other)

• this theory would argue that you don’t need either physiological arousal or emotional experiences

Schachter-Singer Two-factor Theory

the idea that emotion have 2 ingredients (1) physical arousal and (2) a cognitive label a emotion requires as conscious interpretation of the physical arousal

Spillover-effect

arousal from emotions can “spill” from one event to another

• arousal fuels emotion, cognition channels it

• connected to Schachter-Singer Two-factor Theory

Polygraph Exams

Ways we communicate nonverbally

• handshake

• eye contact

• facial expressions

• vocal tones

Men v Women - Nonverbal Comunication

men

• tend to describe simpler emotional reactions

• less likely to describe themselves as empathetic

women

• out perform men in emotional detection

• greater emotional literacy

• more likely to express empathy

Facial Feedback Theory

the tendency of facial muscle starts to trigger corresponding feelings

• best supports the James-Lange Theory

Behavior Feedback Effect

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

Health Psychology

a subfield of psychology that explores the impact of physiological, behavioral, and cultural factors on health and wellness

Stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events (called stressors), that we appraise as threatening or challenging

Approach-approach

when 2 attractive but imcompatible goals pulls us to choose

Avoidance-avoidance

a conflict between 2 undesirable alternatives

Approach-avoidance

a conflict while we feel simultaneously attracted and repelled

Tend-and-befriend Response

under stress (especially women) may nurture themselves and others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

GAS (general adaptation syndrome)

phase 1:

• alarm reaction

• mobilize resources

• increases SNS activity

• stress hormone release (adrenaline)

phase 2:

• cope with stressor

• bodys resistance to stress only lasts so long)

phase 3:

• reserves depleted (adrenaline)

Problem-focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly - by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor

Emotion-focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction

Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Internal v External Locus of Control

Internal = you make things happen

External = things happen to you

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of promoting strengths and virtues that foster well-being, resilience, and positive emotions, and that help individuals and communities to thrive

Subjective Well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life, used along with measures of objective well-being to evaluate people’s quality of life

Relative Deprivation

our tendency to form judgements relatively to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

• the perception that one is worse off relative to those we compare oursleves from

Broaden-and-Build Theory

proposes that positive emotions broaden our awareness, which overtime helps us build novel, and meaningful skills and resilience that improves well-being

6 categories of virtues connected to characters strengths

1. wisdom

2. justice

3. courage

4. temperance

5. humanity

6. transcendence

Posttraumatic Growth

positive psychological changes following a struggle with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises