Unit 8

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Instinct

a complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species.

1. Instinct theory

2. Drive reduction theory

3. Arousal theory

4. Abraham’s hierarchy of needs

What are the four perspectives for viewing motivational behaviors?

Instinct Theory

naturally predisposed behaviors. Innate actions that motivate our behaviors. 

Drive Reduction Theory

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

Arousal Theory

focuses on finding the right level of stimulation 

Abraham’s Hierarchy of Needs

discusses how some needs take precedence over others 

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. 

Biological Homeostasis

focuses on physical conditions such as hunger, thirst, and temperature. 

Cognitive Homeostasis

involves mental conditions such as consistency, balance, and harmony in one’s thinking - that is seeking equity in the surrounding community, prioritizing one’s life, and promoting peace with the self and others. 

Incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior. 

Yerkes Dodson Law

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

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

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

Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs

Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Love and Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization

Four Forms of Sensation Seeking

1. Thrill and Adventure Seeking

2. Experience Seeking

3. Disinhibition

4. Boredom susceptibility

Thrill and Adventure Seeking

people may seek excitement in risk but socially acceptable activities such as parachute jumping, skydiving, and race car driving. 

Experience Seeking

This represents the desire to seek sensation through the mind, the senses, and a nonconforming lifestyle 

Disinhibition

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Those who have a middle class lifestyle but find it boring may seek escape in social drinking and partying.

Boredom Susceptibility

this occurs when people have a low tolerance for experiences that are repetition and constant.

Glucose

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

Insulin

hormone secreted by pancreas; controls blood glucose. 

Ghrelin

hormone secreted by empty stomach; sends “I’m hungry” signals to the brain. 

Orexin

Hunger-triggering hormone secreted by hypothalamus. 

Leptin

Protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes the brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger. 

PYY

Digestive tract hormone; sends “I’m not hungry” signals to the brain. 

Hypothalamus

this neural traffic intersection includes areas the influence eating. For example, one neural arc (called the arcuate nucleus) has a center that secretes appetite-stimulating hormones, and another center that secretes appetite-suppressing hormones.

Lateral Hypothalamus

gives one a large hunger, or desire to eat.

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

gives one a very minute hunger, or the feeling of satiety.

Hypoglycemia

occurs when blood sugar levels run too low because of a lack of food. This condition is accompanied by feelings of dizziness and weakness.

Hyperglycemia

occurs when blood sugar levels run too high. This condition, also known as diabetes, results when cells in the pancreas do not metabolize carbohydrates. 

Set point

the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.

Basal Metabolic Rate

the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.

Neophobia

dislike of things unfamiliar

Sexual Response Cycle

as described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Refractory Period

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm. 

Estrogen

sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity. 

Testosterone

the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Sexual Dysfunction

a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning. 

Emotion

a complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral and physiological elements

James-Lange Theory

emotional stimuli first induce peripheral physiological variations, which occur without consciousness of affect.

Cannon Bard Theory

argues that physical arousal does not have to occur before an emotion.

Two Factor Theory

focuses on the interaction between physical arousal and how we cognitively label that arousal.

Polygraph

a machine designed to detect and record changes in physiological characteristics, such as a person's pulse and breathing rates, used especially as a lie detector.

Facial Feedback Effect

that our facial expressions affect our emotions.

Health Psychology

focuses on how biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness

Stress

a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Tend and Befriend

a behavior exhibited by some animals, including humans, in response to threat. It refers to protection of offspring (tending) and seeking out their social group for mutual defense (befriending); women are more likely to do this

Psychoneuroimmunology

the study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease.

Lymphocytes

A type of immune cell that is made in the bone marrow and is found in the blood and in lymph tissue.

B cells

A type of white blood cell that makes antibodies; part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.

T cells

A type of white blood cell; part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.

Psychophysiological Illness

physical disorders with psychological overlays

Coronary Heart Disease

a type of heart disease where the arteries of the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart. It is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Type A

ambitious, competitive, and aggressive

Type B

patient, flexible, and laid-back