Unit 7 Part 1 - Modules 52 - 59

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 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 your "weight thermostat" may be set. When your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight.

basal metabolic rate

the body's resting rate of energy output.

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 male sex hormone. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.

estrogens

sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. Estrogen levels peak during ovulation. In nonhuman mammals, this promotes sexual receptivity.

sexual response cycle

the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

refractory period

in human sexuality, a resting period that occurs after orgasm, during which a person 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 skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard.

grit

in psychology, 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 an emotion-arousing stimulus: stimulus S arousal S emotion.

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 used in attempts to detect lies that measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration, heart rate, and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.

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).

health 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

in psychology, the idea that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps 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 in a good mood.

positive psychology

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.