AP Psychology Unit 8 Vocab

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS

Motivation
→ A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior toward a goal.

Instinct
→ A complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species.

Physiological Need
→ A basic bodily requirement (food, water, warmth).

Drive-Reduction Theory
→ The idea that we are motivated to reduce physical discomfort (drive) and maintain homeostasis.

Homeostasis
→ The body’s tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Incentive
→ A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Yerkes-Dodson Law
→ Moderate arousal leads to optimal performance; too little or too much lowers performance (inverted U-shaped curve).

Hierarchy of Needs
→ Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of human needs: physiological → safety → love/belonging → esteem → self-actualization.

Glucose
→ Blood sugar; levels influence hunger.

Set Point
→ The body’s natural weight range maintained by metabolism.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
→ The body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.

Obesity
→ Excessive body fat linked to genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors.

Asexual
→ Having no sexual attraction to others.

Testosterone
→ The most important male sex hormone; influences sexual behavior in both sexes.

Estrogens
→ Sex hormones (mainly female) that influence sexual development and behavior.

Sexual Response Cycle
→ Four stages: excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution.

Refractory Period
→ Recovery phase after orgasm (longer in males).

Affiliation Need
→ The need to build relationships and feel part of a group.

Ostracism
→ Being excluded or ignored by others.

Narcissism
→ Excessive self-love and self-focus.

Achievement Motivation
→ Desire for significant accomplishment and mastery.

Grit
→ Passion and perseverance toward long-term goals.

🔹 EMOTION THEORIES

Emotion
→ A response involving physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and conscious experience.

James-Lange Theory
→ William James: We feel emotion because of physiological arousal.
(“I am afraid because my heart is pounding.”)

Cannon-Bard Theory
→ Walter Cannon: Emotion and bodily response happen simultaneously.

Two-Factor Theory (Schachter-Singer)
→ Stanley Schachter: Emotion = physiological arousal + cognitive label.

Polygraph
→ A “lie detector” that measures physiological arousal (not always accurate).

Facial Feedback Effect
→ Facial expressions influence emotions.

Behavior Feedback Effect
→ Behavior influences feelings (e.g., acting confident increases confidence).

🔹 STRESS & HEALTH

Stress
→ The process of appraising and responding to a threatening event.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
→ Hans Selye’s 3-stage stress response: alarm → resistance → exhaustion.

Tend-and-Befriend Response
→ Stress response (more common in women) involving nurturing and seeking social support.

Health Psychology
→ Study of how psychological factors affect health.

Psychoneuroimmunology
→ Study of how stress affects the immune system.

Coronary Heart Disease
→ Blockage of heart arteries linked to stress and behavior.

Type A Personality
→ Competitive, impatient, hostile (higher heart risk).

Type B Personality
→ Relaxed, easygoing.

Catharsis
→ Emotional release (venting anger does NOT reduce aggression).

Aerobic Exercise
→ Sustained activity that increases heart/lung fitness; reduces stress.

Mindfulness Meditation
→ Focused, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment.

🔹 HAPPINESS & POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon
→ When happy, people are more helpful.

Positive Psychology
→ Martin Seligman’s study of strengths and well-being.

Subjective Well-Being
→ Self-perceived happiness or life satisfaction.

Adaptation-Level Phenomenon
→ We adjust to new circumstances; happiness returns to baseline.

Relative Deprivation
→ Feeling worse off compared to others.

🔹 KEY CONTRIBUTORS

Abraham Maslow
→ Hierarchy of needs; self-actualization.

Alfred Kinsey
→ Sexual behavior surveys.

William Masters & Virginia Johnson
→ Sexual response cycle research.

William James
→ James-Lange theory.

Walter Cannon
→ Cannon-Bard theory.

Stanley Schachter
→ Two-factor theory.

Robert Zajonc
→ Emotions can occur without conscious thinking.

Joseph LeDoux
→ “Low road” and “high road” fear pathways.

Richard Lazarus
→ Cognitive appraisal theory of stress.

Paul Ekman
→ Universal facial expressions.

Hans Selye
→ General Adaptation Syndrome.

Martin Seligman
→ Positive psychology movement.