Psychology Term Cards 4.6-4.7 Pt 2

BASAL METABOLIC RATE 

• the minimum amount of energy the body needs to perform basic life-sustaining functions at rest, including breathing, blood circulation, and maintaining body temperature, essentially the number of calories required to keep the body functioning at its most basic level when not actively engaged in any activity

The Psychology of Hunger

Memory plays an important role in hunger. 

It helps to influence food preferences and cravings based on past experiences and associations.

Hot Cultures like Hot Spices
Motive

to enhance flavor and preserve food, often linked to climatic conditions and cultural preferences.

Food motive- Psychological
(Cognitive and Behavioral ) 

refers to the psychological factors that influence eating behaviors, including emotions, beliefs, and learned associations related to food.

FEEDING & EATING DISORDERS 

that involve persistent eating patterns that negatively impact physical health, emotions, and relationships. Examples include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Binge Eating Disorder- the most common eating disorder in the US today 

are mental health conditions characterized by abnormal eating habits that can severely affect physical and emotional well-being. Binge-eating disorder is characterized by recurrent binge-eating episodes during which a person feels a loss of control over his or her eating ( often linked to emotional eating) 

• NOT followed by  purging, excessive exercise or fasting 

• People with binge-eating disorder often are overweight or obese. 

Bulimia nervosa

a serious eating disorder characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as vomiting, excessive exercise, or fasting. It often involves a preoccupation with body weight and shape.

Anorexia nervosa

a severe eating disorder characterized by self-imposed starvation, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image. Individuals with anorexia often see themselves as overweight even when they are underweight.

Obesity

a medical condition characterized by excessive body fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. It is often measured using the body mass index (BMI) and can result from a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors.

Reasons for Eating Disorders

Biological :Genetics: Twin studies show that eating disorders are more likely to occur in identical twins rather than fraternal twins.

Cognitive: unrealistic internalization of body image

 Social : Younger generations develop eating disorders when part of social groups (ex. Family, friends, media& social media  pressure) in which  weight is an excessive concern, 

Achievement Motivation
David McClelland

proposed that achievement motivation is a desire to excel and succeed in tasks, driving individuals to set and pursue challenging goals.

Achievement: David McClelland

• High Achievers – choose moderately challenging tasks (these offer the most return) and avoid easy and impossible tasks

• Usually intrinsically motivated 

• Low Achievers – choose easy or impossible goals so they don’t have to take responsibility for failure.

• Usually extrinsically motivated 

Extrinsic Motivation

is the drive to perform an activity for external rewards or to avoid negative outcomes, such as praise, money, or fear of punishment.

Intrinsic motivation

is the drive to engage in an activity for its own sake, deriving personal satisfaction or fulfillment from the activity itself.

Traits of People that Score High on Achievement Motivation Scales :

They tend to be goal-oriented, resilient, and persistent in overcoming obstacles, often displaying a strong desire for personal success and mastery.

Situational Forces that influence Achievement

• The pursuit of achievement increases as the probability and incentive value of success go up.

• put this into laymen’s terms-

• the more value something has to you, the harder you work at it 

Intrinsic Motivation

• A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.

• Research shows that people who are more intrinsically motivated tend to be psychologically healthier and happier.

Over Justification Effect

The phenomenon where excessive external rewards for an intrinsically enjoyable activity can decrease a person's intrinsic motivation to engage in that activity.

Relative Deprivation Principle-

You perceive that you are worse off than these other people you compare yourself to. This principle suggests that individuals feel deprived or dissatisfied when they see others having more or doing better, leading to feelings of envy or resentment. You are happy with your job until you realize that the person you trained makes more than you

• Ex. Free Agents in sports

• No salary discussion clauses in employment contracts 

ADAPTATION LEVEL PHENOMENON-

The tendency to judge stimuli relative to those we have previously experienced, leading to a baseline level of satisfaction or happiness that adjusts over time. Satisfaction that you get used to , so you need a new level of stimulation. You want the new iphone 12  and love it- until the iphone 13 pro comes out…..

Affiliation Motive

The need to belong and form social connections with others, driving individuals to seek relationships and group memberships. This motive is aroused when people feel

• 1. Threatened

• 2. Anxious

• 3. Celebratory

Evolutionary Perspective:

A theoretical approach in psychology that examines human behavior and mental processes through the lens of evolution, emphasizing how traits and behaviors may have been adaptive for survival and reproduction.

Social Bonds 

emotional connections between individuals that promote feelings of security, trust, and attachment, often influencing behavior and social interactions. When people are socially excluded from groups they engage in more self-defeating behaviors, perform below their ability level, or engage in antisocial behaviors

• people who are socially secure in their friendships, families, and marriage tend to have lower levels of depression, suicide, and early death.

Ostracism

• Worldwide, humans control social behavior via the punishing effects of severe ostracism—of exile, imprisonment, and solitary confinement.
  o To be shunned is to have one’s needs threatened.
  o To experience ostracism is to experience real pain.

• Psychologically, we seem to experience social pain with the same emotional unpleasantness that marks physical pain.

Rejected and unable to remedy the situation, people may seek new friends—or they may adopt the psychological profiles and  behaviors of their tormentors .

THEORIES OF EMOTION Emotions are a MIX of:

1) physiological activation  (biological) 

2) expressive behaviors   (psychological – behavioral ) 

3) conscious experience

( psychological – cognitive) 

Theories of Emotion Explain
When, How, and Why we process any given emotion 

• Biological-brain and nervous system  (Physiological) theories

•   

• Cognitive Theories(Psychological)-thoughts

• Bio-Cognitive theories-a combo of both! 

BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF EMOTION 

BRAIN STRUCTURE

AMYGDALA

(Part of Midbrain) 

The amygdala (in the limbic system) gets activated during the emotions of anger and fear. 

NERVOUS SYSTEM 

AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM  (Part of Peripheral Nervous System–everything but your brain and spinal cord) During an emotional experience, our autonomic nervous system mobilizes energy in the body that arouses us.

Biological Theory of Emotion

• Physiological (biological )  activity precedes (comes before)  the emotional experience.

• James & Lange 

Physical / biological first, then the emotions

Behavior Feedback effect

•  Our body language can influence and even intensify our emotional experience, meaning that acting out an emotion can make you feel it more strongly. 

• EX: shuffling along with downcast eyes,  when sad makes you feel more sad.

Two Factor Cognitive Theory of Emotion

physiology and cognitions together create emotions ( two factors ) 

We notice the arousal, then think about why we feel that way, then experience the emotion 

Emotions have two factors–physical arousal and cognitive label we give to that arousal .

Schacter- Singer

Richard Lazarus 

Biological / Physical first, then we think about it, then the emotion happens

Simultaneous  Bio-Cognitive Theory of Emotion

Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard questioned the James-Lange Theory and proposed that an emotion-triggering stimulus and the body's arousal take place simultaneously. Physical symptoms and emotions-same time

Excitation transfer theory or spillover effect

An arousal response to one event spills over into our response to the next event. Arousal from a soccer match can fuel anger, which may lead to rioting.

MISATTRIBUTION OF AROUSAL 

Physiological responses related to the emotions of fear, anger &  love, and boredom are very similar.

Excitement and fear involve a similar

physiological arousal.

THE BRIDGE EXPERIMENT 

Arthur Aron

People make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. For example, when actually experiencing physiological responses related to fear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal.

Opponent Process Theory

• The flood of one emotion (eg- love) and then the opposing emotion (eg- hate ) occurs once initial emotion ends .

Paul LeDoux’s Dual Pathway Theory of Emotion 

• “High road" – processed in the frontal cortex (think before you speak )

• “Low road" - directly to the amygdala -advantage of speed- no processing time- gut reaction 

BROADEN AND BUILD THEORY OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS

• Barbara Frederickson

  The Broaden-and-Build Theory explains how positive emotions can help people grow and build their skills, relationships, and overall well-being over time. 

• According to the theory, when you feel happy or positive, it broadens your thinking, making you more creative, open-minded, and flexible.

•  This leads to building resources like stronger relationships, more problem-solving skills, and better emotional resilience.

BROADEN AND BUILD EXAMPLE
Feeling Happy When You Get a Good Grade

• Imagine you get a good grade on a test you studied hard for. You feel happy and proud of yourself. 

• This positive emotion makes you feel more confident and motivated to keep working hard. 

• You might think, “I can do this!” and be more open to trying new study methods or helping a classmate who struggles.

•  This "happiness" not only helps you focus on school but also builds your confidence, which can help in other areas, like sports or friendships

SMILING 

• A Duchenne smile engages the muscles around the mouth and eyes

• It is a “REAL GENUINE SMILE”

•  A  “SOCIAL “ smile communicates politeness and not a genuine sign of happiness 

MICROEXPRESSIONS

• Brief, involuntary facial expressions that appear on a person's face according to the emotions being experienced. Unlike regular, prolonged facial expressions, it is difficult to fake a microexpression.

Measuring  Emotions 

• Physiological events such as heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension, have all been used as physiological indicators of emotional arousal. 

• Many of these are measured by a polygraph.

• a polygraph can only measure physical arousal, NOT if someone is actually lying

• The theory behind a polygraph is that lying is emotionally arousing- which may OR MAY NOT be true- polygraphs  are not accurate indicators of lying.

• Looking at facial micro expressions ( involuntary muscular movements in the face ) are a much better indicator).

Six Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion—

Anger, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness, and fear.

Display Rules

• How  culture determines emotions should be appropriately expressed 

What are display rules used for ? : Determine how  emotions should be appropriately expressed ( often culture bound) 

EXAMPLES of when you might refer to cultural display rules  

• Disappointment that you lost the game 

• Getting pulled over

• Being scared when you are around your friends 

• Being at a funeral

SOCIAL REFERENCING 

• One looks at and interprets the meaning of body language and facial expressions of others to help figure out how one should proceed in a certain situation. 

•  Example: you might read the anger  in her mother's face, pick up the warning in your  mother's tone of voice, and determine that you should change your behavior 

Emotion Elicitors

Emotion elicitors are events or situations that trigger an emotion.

They can include facial expressions, pictures, and film clips.