Psychology: Motivation, Cognition, and Development

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering motivation theories, physiological eating mechanisms, cognitive psychology concepts, problem-solving, and developmental psychology from prenatal stages through childhood cognitive milestones.

Motivation

The wants or needs that direct behavior toward a goal.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation that drives behaviors performed because they bring a sense of personal satisfaction from within (such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose).

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation that drives behaviors performed to receive something from outside or from others, such as compensation, rewards, or avoiding punishment.

Overjustification Effect

The phenomenon where intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation or tangible rewards are provided.

Instinct Theory of Motivation

A theory proposed by William James asserting that behavior is driven by innate instincts that aid survival, such as hunting prey or a mother protecting her baby.

Drive Theory of Motivation

A theory proposing that the maintenance of homeostasis directs behavior through psychological drive states, ultimately resulting in habits.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

A principle stating that task performance is optimal at moderate arousal levels, where difficult tasks are best performed under lower arousal and simple tasks under higher arousal.

Need for Achievement

A social motive that drives accomplishment and performance.

Need for Affiliation

A social motive that encourages positive, friendly interactions with others.

Need for Intimacy

A social motive that causes individuals to seek deep, meaningful relationships.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A pyramid model proposed by Abraham Maslow stating that lower-level physiological and security needs must be satisfied before addressing higher-level needs like social belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Self-Efficacy

An individual's belief in their own capability to successfully complete a task, influencing behavioral goals and expectations.

Leptin

A satiety hormone released by fat cells that sends signals to the brain to shut off eating behavior.

Metabolic Rate

The amount of energy expended by the body in a given period of time.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, laxatives, or excessive exercise.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by maintaining a body weight below average through starvation and/or excessive exercise, accompanied by a distorted body image.

Prader-Willi Syndrome

A genetic disorder characterized by mild to moderate intellectual disability, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, behavioral outbursts, unstable moods, and low activity levels.

Cognition

Thinking; encompasses the mental processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem-solving, judgment, language, and memory.

Concept

A category of linguistic information, images, ideas, or memories used by the brain to organize information and identify relationships among experiences.

Prototype

The best or most representative example of a category or concept (such as a robin for the concept of bird).

Schema

A mental construct consisting of a collection of related concepts that triggers automatic assumptions about a person, object, or situation.

Role Schema

A set of mental assumptions about how individuals in certain social, professional, or occupational roles are expected to behave.

Event Schema (Cognitive Script)

A set of routine, automatic behaviors that dictate conduct in particular situations and can make habitual routines difficult to break.

Algorithm

A step-by-step problem-solving formula that guarantees a correct outcome when carried out properly.

Heuristic

A general problem-solving framework, mental shortcut, or rule of thumb used to make decisions quickly or when faced with limited information.

Mental Set

A problem-solving pitfall where a person persists in approaching a problem in a way that has worked in the past, even when that approach is no longer effective.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive limitation involving an inability to perceive an object being used for anything other than its intended or traditional function.

Zygote

A fertilized cell that divides into roughly $100$ cells before differentiating and becoming an embryo at about $14$ days.

Embryo

The developing human organism from approximately $14$ days (or $2$ weeks) up to $8$ weeks after conception.

Fetus

The developing human organism from $9$ weeks after conception until birth.

Teratogen

Any external agent or substance, such as a virus or chemical, that can cross the placenta and cause damage to a developing embryo or fetus.

Rooting Reflex

An inborn infant survival reflex where touching a baby's cheek prompts them to turn toward the stimulus and open their mouth to locate food.

Maturation

The biological, orderly sequence of developmental changes (such as standing before walking or babbling before talking) that sets the basic course of development, which experience then adjusts.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first stage of cognitive development (from birth to age $2$), during which infants learn about the world entirely through their sensory and motor interactions.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, lasting from approximately age $2$ to $7$ years.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's third stage of cognitive development, spanning from approximately age $7$ to $11$ years.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget's final stage of cognitive development, beginning at approximately age $12$ and continuing through adulthood.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of incorporating new experiences and information into existing mental schemas.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of adjusting, altering, or modifying existing schemas to fit new information or experiences.

Stranger Anxiety

The fear of unfamiliar individuals that commonly develops around $8$ months of age, when infants establish schemas for familiar faces and cannot assimilate new ones.

Object Permanence

The cognitive understanding that objects continue to exist even when hidden from view, which typically develops around $8$ months of age.