Studied by 24 people
motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
instinct
a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
physiological need
a basic bodily requirement
drive-reduction theory
the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
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
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
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 then psychological needs become active
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.
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
obesity
defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher. (Overweight individuals have a BMI of 25 or higher.)
asexual
having no sexual attraction to others
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
estrogen
A sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
sexual response cycle
the four stages of sexual responding 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
affiliation need
the need to build relationships and to feel part of a group
ostracism
deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups
narcissism
excessive self-love and self-absorption
achievement motivation
a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard
grit
in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals
emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience
James-Lange Theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
Cannon-Bard Theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion
two-factor theory
the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal
polygraph
a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes).
facial feedback effect
the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness
behavior feedback effect
the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others' thoughts, feelings, and actions
stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
tend-and-befriend response
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)
healthy 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
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
catharsis
the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety
mindfulness meditation
a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood
positive psyhology
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 measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
intelligence
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
general intelligence
a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.
savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
grit
in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
intelligence test
a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
achievement test
a test designed to assess what a person has learned
aptitude test
a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn
mental age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
Stanford-Binet
the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test
intelligence quotient (IQ)
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
standardization
defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group
normal curve
the bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes
reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
content validity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest
predictive validity
The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
cohort
a group of people sharing a common characteristic, such as from a given time period
crystallized intelligence
our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
fluid intelligence
our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
cross-sectional study
research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time
longitudinal study
research that follows and retests the same people over time
intellectual disability
a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound
Down Syndrome
a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21
heritability
The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.
stereotype threat
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
personality
an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
psychodynamic theory
theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences
psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.
free association
in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing
id
a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.
ego
the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.
superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
psychosexual stages
the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos
fixation
according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
collective unconscious
Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history
projective test
a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach inkblot test
the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
terror management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
humanistic theories
theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth
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 then psychological needs become active
self-actualization
according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential
self-transcendence
according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self
unconditional positive regard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"
trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
personality inventory
a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.
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