AP PSYCHOLOGY: Unit 7 - Motivation and Emotion

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

Instinct Theory

a view that explains human behavior as motivated by automatic, involuntary, and unlearned responses.

Optimal Arousal Theory

explains that motivated behaviors may decrease or increase arousal

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)

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

Psychological Needs (Maslow)

Level 1: Need to satisfy hunger and thirst

Safety Needs (Maslow)

Level 2: the need for a secure, familiar, predictable environment (shelter)

Belongingness and Love Needs (Maslow)

Level 3: need to love and be loved, to belong and be accepted; need to avoid loneliness/separation

Esteem Needs (Maslow)

Level 4: Need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and respect from others.

Self-Actualization Needs (Maslow)

Level 5: Need to live up to our fullest and unique potential

Self-Transcendence Needs (Maslow)

Level 6: Need to find meaning and identity beyond the self

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 output

Anorexia Nervosa

an eating disorder in which an irrational fear of weight gain leads people to starve themselves

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

Binge Eating Disorder

an eating disorder in which people overeat compulsively

Hunger

the natural physical drive to eat, prompted by the body's need for food

Hunger Pangs

stomach growls/contractions that tell the brain to eat when hungry

Leptin

protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger

Grelin

A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

Hypothalamus

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Lateral Hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals ("I'm hungry.")

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces feelings of fullness as opposed to hunger, and causes one to stop eating ("I'm full!")

Birth Order Effect

refers to an increase in the probability that a male will prefer a homosexual orientation with each older brother he has.

Sexual Response Cycle

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

(Initial) Excitement Phase (Sexual Response Cycle)

Phase 1: Where the genitals of both sexes become engorged with blood, as the woman's va-jay-jay expands and secretes lubricant, and her breasts and nipples may enlarge.

Plateau Phase (Sexual Response Cycle)

Phase 2: Exitement peaks, as breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates continue to increase. The pee-pee becomes fully engorged and some fluid (pre-) may appear at the tip. Va-jay-jay secretion continues to increase

Orgasm Phase (Sexual Response Cycle)

I refuse to elaborate.

Resolution Phase (Sexual Response Cycle)

Phase 3: The male enters a refractory period, lasting from a few minutes to a day or more (can't orgasm again) The female's much shorter phase enables her to have more orgasms if restimulated during or soon after resolution.

Refractory Period

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm (but a woman can if restimulated soon after)

Emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

James-Lange Theory (of emotion)

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Cannon-Bard Theory (of emotion)

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion

Two-Factor Theory (of emotion)

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal

Zajonc; LeDoux Theory (of emotion)

some embodied responses happen instantly, without conscious appraisal

Lazarus Theory (of emotion)

Cognitive appraisal ("Is it dangerous or not?") sometimes without our awareness—defines emotion

Polygraph

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

Thin Slices

basing judgments of others emotions/facial expressions on very limited information

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

Lymphocytes

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

Natural Killer Cells

a lymphocyte able to bind to certain tumor cells and virus-infected cells without the stimulation of antigens, and kill them by the insertion of granules containing perforin.

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)

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

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

Adaption-Level Phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

Developmental Psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Catharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

Spill-Over Effect

our response to one event spills over and influences our response to another.

Cognitive Appraisal

the interpretation of an event that helps determine its stress impact

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon

people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

Display Rules

cross-cultural guidelines for how and when to express emotions