Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion, and Personality

Instincts

Complex, inherited behavior patterns characteristic of a species.

Imprinting

A process by which ducks and geese form a social attachment to the first moving object they see or hear at a critical period soon after birth.

Homeostasis

The body’s tendency to maintain an internal steady state of metabolism.

Drive Reduction Theory

Behavior is motivated by the need to reduce drives such as hunger, thirst, or sex.

Incentive

A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Yerkes–Dodson Rule

States that we usually perform most activities best when moderately aroused.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A theory stating that few people reach the highest levels of self-actualization and transcendence.

Obesity

A growing concern characterized by an excess of body fat, increasing risks for diabetes and hypertension.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder where individuals weigh less than 85 percent of their normal body weight, yet are terrified of being fat.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by eating binges followed by purging.

Achievement Motive

A desire to meet some internalized standard of excellence.

Intrinsic Motivation

The desire to perform an activity for its own sake.

Extrinsic Motivation

The desire to perform an activity to obtain a reward from outside the individual.

James-Lange Theory

Theory stating that our awareness of our physiological arousal leads to our conscious experience of emotion.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Theory proposing that conscious experience of emotion occurs simultaneously with physiological responses.

Opponent-Process Theory

Theory stating that when we experience an emotion, an opposing emotion counteracts the first emotion.

Cognitive-Appraisal Theory

Theory suggesting that our emotional experience depends on our interpretation of the situation.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-stage theory of stress response, consisting of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Id, Ego, Superego

Freudian constructs describing the three parts of personality, where id represents primal instincts, ego mediates reality, and superego embodies moral standards.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious strategies used to protect oneself from anxiety by distorting reality.

Self-Concept

Our overall view of our abilities, behavior, and personality.

Self-Esteem

How we evaluate ourselves, part of our self-concept.