PSYC-1300 Final Exam

examples of motivation

hunger, thirst, sex, need for achievement

hedonic principle (Plato, Aristotle)

notion that all people are motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain (good side of the setpoint)

setpoint

subjective point of “neither good nor bad”

instinct

innate goals/drives, no foresight, no previous education

drive

internal state generated by psychological needs

drive-reduction theory

suggests that organisms are motivated to reduce their drives

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

more pressing needs must be satisfied before satisfying less pressing needs

equilibrium

homeostasis (balance) + setpoint (baseline)

orexigenic

any hormone/compound that triggers hunger

anorexigenic

any hormone/compound that turns off hunger

gherlin

appetite stimulant

Minnesota Hunger Experiment (1944)

semi-starvation, reduce body weight by 25%, resulted in food obsession forsaking all else

binge-eating disorder (BED)

recurrent/uncontrollable episodes of eating a large number of calories rapidly

obesity

BMI of over 30

causes of obesity

biochemical abnormalities, eating when not hungry, nature-designed overheating

imminent justice

blaming victims to maintain ideas of self-control and self-preservation

fat cells after weight loss

do not decrease in number, continue to send hunger signals

The Last Supper

study of average plate size in paintings of The Last Supper, average plate size is increasing

Bottomless Bowl Experiment

“bottomless” bowl group at 73% more soup than those with normal bowls

cognition and metabolism of glucose

glucose metabolism responds to perceived sugar intake and time passage instead of actual

The Three Fs of Motivation

feeding, fluids, procreation

DHEA

hormone precursor causing the onset of sexual desire

hormonal source of sex drive

testosterone

Kinsey

conducted sexual behavior research

reasons for decline in sexual activity over time

decline in marriage/moving out before 35, access to porn, decrease in dating, less attraction

examples of unconscious motivation

need for achievement, need for affiliation, need for power

approach motivation

motivation to experience positive outcomes (positive valence)

avoidance motivation

motivation to not experience negative outcomes (negative valence)

intrinsic motivation

motivation to take actions that are rewarding

extrinsic motivation

motivation to take actions that are not rewarding but lead to rewards

endowment effect

aka risk aversion, people see losing something as worse than failing to gain the same thing

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

emotion comes after a physiological response (a neurological reaction)

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

stimulus simultaneously triggers body and emotion

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

aka Schachler-Singer Theory, emotion is many possible interpretations of a limited possible number of arousal states

amygdala

emotion center of the brain, deals with trauma, evaluations emotion-relevant aspects of a stimulus

positive reappraisal

type of emotion regulation, reframing

pathways of fear

through the limbic system, fast (thalamus to amygdala) or slow (thalamus to cortex to amygdala)

executive function

aka emotional intelligence, set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self control

emotional communication

nonverbal expression of emotion

Universality Hypothesis (Darwin)

states that emotional expression is universal

Duchenne smile

real/genuine smile

anthropomorphism

attributing human emotion to other animals

Mama’s Last Hug (Franz de Wall)

argued that taboo on anthropomorphism is wrong, chimpanzee being studied by de Wall wanted a hug in her last moments

cultural-social effect

impact of society and culture on all emotions

Creator of the Five Stages of Grief

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

nucleus accumbens

brain structure with high number of oxytocin receptors, area of focus for most studies of grief

conjugal bereavement

death of a marital partner

cortisol

hormone produce in blood and saliva in reaction to stress, damages body systems

learned helplessness

a struggle to resolve difficult situations no matter the difficulty due to repeated stressors outside the subject’s control

free-floating anxiety

anxiety not linked to any specific topic or stressor

general adaptation syndrome (Hans Selye)

three phases (alarm, resistance, exhaustion)

examples of chronic stressors

discrimination, strained relationships, bullying overwork, financial difficulties

examples of body management

exercise, meditation/mindfulness

relaxation therapy

conditioning a relaxed response, based on learning theory

biofeedback

controlling physical reactions with thoughts, monitored by machines

Yerkes-Dodson Principle

aka optimal arousal theory, states that there is an optimal level of anxiety that leads to best performance

frustration-aggression theory

thwarted goals lead to frustration which leads to aggression

best predictor of aggression

gender (being male)

social comparison theory

figuring how “well off” you are by comparing yourself to others

frog pond effect

people prioritize self importance over esteem of the group for higher self esteem

social loafing

individuals perform better by themselves than in groups

Kitty Genovese Murder (1954)

in NYC, no one who witnessed the murder intervened, prompted the creation of the 911 system

bystander effect

diffusion of responsibility due to the size of the group

deindividuation

loss of identity and values because of being in a group, turns a group into a mob

common knowledge effect

hinders decision making, discourages non-shared information in a group

group polarization

groups make more extreme decisions than individuals

groupthink

tendency for groups to reach consensus to keep group harmony, responsible for most bad decisions in groups

game theory

situations built around games that study decision making

prisoner’s dilemma

best solution is cooperation, most rational decision is betrayal, and most in experiment opted to stay silent

reactance

backfiring of social influence, resistance to being controlled

Asch’s Conformity Study

line-judging experiments, people are more likely to go along with the others

conditions that increase conformity

group of three or more, being a lone dissenter, high status group, first ever disagreement, awareness of being watched

Shock Studies (Stanley Milgram)

“the learner” + “the teacher”, directed to continue punishment under authority

research consensus on Milgram’s work

we will be more likely to follow authority if we agree with their motives and goals

stereotype threat

fear of confirming negative stereotypes

stereotype

cognitive prototype, self-perpetuating due to confirmation bias, unconscious

the liking gap

propensity to underestimate how much people like us upon first meeting

types of attributions

situational and dispositional

actor-observer effect

aka fundamental attribution error, we make situational attributions to ourselves and dispositional attributions to others

Systematic Persuasion

aka Central Route, appeals to logic

Heuristic Persuasion

aka Peripheral Route, appeals to emotion

foot-in-the-door technique

small request before large requests make it more likely that the large request will be completed

cognitive dissonance (Leon Gestinger)

conflict between beliefs and/or behavior results in dissonance and discomfort

theories of personality

Freudian/psychodynamic, humanistic/existential, trait/biological, social-cognitive

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

measures personality, contains internal validity scale

examples of projective techniques

Rorschach inkblot test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

best behavior of future behavior

past behavior

psychodynamic structure of the mind

id, ego, and superego

id

drives present at birth

ego

“self”, mediates id and superego

superego

system of the mind that tries to control the id

examples of defense mechanisms

rationalization, reaction formation, projection, regression, displacement, identification, sublimation

dark triad

psychopathy, narcissism, machiavellianism

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)(1952)

classification system for mental disorders developed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)

DSM-5 (2013)

most recent edition of the DSM

comorbidity

co-occurrence of two ore more disorders in a single individual

diathesis-stress model

combination of genetics and environmental stress

single greatest risk factor for psychological disorders

early childhood adversity

epigenetic change due to abuse

can last up to two generations

number of DSM-5 categories

22