AP Psych- Unit 8- Motivation

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

instinct

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

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.

sexual response cycle

the four states 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.

sexual dysfunction

a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.

estrogens

sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman 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 male sex characteristics during puberty.

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 (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.

facial feedback effect

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

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.

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).

psychophysiological illness

literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.

psychoneuroimmunology

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

lymphocytes

the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system: B _________ form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T ___________ form in the thymus and other _______ tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.

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.