Psych 10-12

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Drive-reduction

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

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and the psychological needs become active.

Ostracism

deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups

Narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

Arousal Theory

theory that focuses on finding the right level of stimulation

Set Point

the point at which your “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore the lost weight

Basal metabolic

the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure

James-Lange Theory

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus

Cannon-Bard Theory

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion

Two-Factor

the Schachter-singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal

Facial feedback

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

Behavior feedback

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and other's’ thoughts, feelings, and actions

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases - alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Health Psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine

Psychoneuroimmunology

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health

Coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries

Lymphocytes

A type of immune cell that is made in the bone marrow and is found in the blood and in lymph tissue. The two main types of lymphocytes are *B lymphocytes* and *T lymphocytes*

Stressors

something that causes a state of strain or tension

Stress

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

Positive psychology

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

Relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

Self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

Seligman

American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help books.

Subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economical indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life

Learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Stress reduction

various strategies that counteract stress and produce a sense of relaxation and tranquility

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behaviors, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

Cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior

Role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its member. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feeling, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

Discrimination

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

Bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

Equity

a condition in which people perceive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

Altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases linking of them