Unit 9

Motivation - The force that moves people to behave, think, and feel the way they do

Instinct - An innate (unlearned) biological pattern of behavior that is assumed to be universal throughout a species

Need - A physical or biological deprivation that energizes the drive to eliminate or reduce the deprivation

Drive - An aroused state that occurs because of a physiological need

Homeostasis - The body’s tendency to maintain an equilibrium

Yerkes-Dodson Law - The psychological principle stating that performance is best under conditions of moderate arousal rather than either low or high arousal

9.2

Glucose - An important factor in hunger, probably because the brain critically depends on sugar for energy

Insulin - Plays a role in glucose control

Cholecystokinin (CCK) - Starts the digestion of food and signals us to stop eating

Leptin - A chemical substance released by fat cells that decreases food intake and increases energy expenditure or metabolism

Lateral Hypothalamus - Stimulates eating

Ventromedial Hypothalamus - Involved in reducing hunger and restricting eating

Set Point - The weight maintained when a person makes no effort to gain or lose weight

Estrogens - Produced mainly by ovaries’

Androgens - Such as testosterone are produced by the testes in males and in the adrenal glands of all people

Human Sexual Response Pattern - Consists of four phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

Sexual Orientation - The direction of an individual’s erotic interests, today viewed as a continuum from exclusive male–female relations to exclusive same-gender relations

Pansexual - A person’s sexual attractions do not depend on the biological sex, gender, or gender identity of others

Asexual - Attracted to nothing

9.3

Hierarchy of Needs - Maslow’s theory that human needs must be satisfied in the following sequence: physiological needs, safety, love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization

Self Actualization - The motivation to develop one’s full potential as a human being—the highest and most elusive of Maslow’s proposed needs

Self-Determination Theory - Deci and Ryan’s theory asserting that all humans have three basic, innate organismic needs: competence, relatedness, and autonomy

Intrinsic Motivation - Motivation based on internal factors such as organismic needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy), as well as curiosity, challenge, and fun

Extrinsic Motivation - Motivation that involves external incentives such as rewards and punishments

Self-Regulation - The process by which an organism effortfully controls its behavior in order to pursue important objectives

9.4

Emotion - Feeling, or affect, that can involve physiological arousal, conscious experience, and behavioral expression
Skin Conductance Level - A rise in the skin’s electrical conductivity when sweat gland activity increases

Polygraph - A lie detector which monitors changes in heart rate, breathing, and SCL

James-Lange Theory - Emotion results from physiological states triggered by stimuli in the environment (you are afraid because you are running from the bull)

Cannon-Bard Theory - The proposition that emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion - Schachter and Singer’s theory that emotion is determined by two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive labeling

Facial Feedback Hypothesis - The idea that facial expressions can influence emotions and reflect them\

Display Rules - Sociocultural standards that determine when, where, and how emotions should be expressed

Valence - Refers to whether an emotion feels pleasant or unpleasant

Negative Affect - Negative emotions such as anger, guilt, and sadness

Positive Affect - Pleasant emotions such as joy, happiness, and interest

Broaden-and-Build Model - Fredrickson’s model of positive emotion, stating that the function of positive emotions lies in their effects on an individual’s attention and ability to build resources