Motivation and Emotion: Key Terms

Type B Personality

People who are classified as having Type B personality are better at relaxing without feeling guilty and working without becoming anxious or agitated. Some of the other characteristics include being more relaxed about time, and are not easily angered Ex. Mr. Muscat

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

The avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to making a decision between two equally undesirable choices. Ex: choosing between not having running water or not having electricity if you are tight on money

Approach-Approach Conflict

A conflict between two desired gratifications that may lead to some vacillation but rarely to great distress Ex. choosing between two good schools to go to college at

Cannon-Bard Theory

According to the Cannon-Bard Theory of emotion, emotions and bodily changes do not share a cause-and-effect relationship. Rather, they occur simultaneously, following a stimulating event. Ex. the physiological and emotional response to the bear happens at the same time

Defense Mechanism

Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings Ex. repression of bad memories

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic: performing an action or behavior because you enjoy the activity itself Ex: reading for pleasure Extrinsic: performing an action or behavior because there is a reward to be gained Ex: reading for a competition that rewards the most book read with a vacation

Evolutionary Theory

It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, and explain emotion though these adaptations. Ex. the bear causes fear because evolutionary adaptations have taught us that a bear is a predator and potentially dangerous to our safety

Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Scale

Scale to determine how likely a person is to be stressed based on different life event. Ex. a person with a score of 150-300 have a 50% chance of a stress breakdown. A death of a loved one is 100 points on the scale.

Alarm Reaction

The initial stage in the body's response to stressful stimuli, characterized by adaptive physiological changes, such as increased hormonal activity and increased heart rate. Ex. heart racing after first seeing the bear

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Theory by Abraham Maslow about the human needs and motivation. Ex. A person needs to fulfill their deficit needs before reaching self-actualization

Instinct Theory

Theory that biological or genetic programming is the cause of motivation. This claim means that all humans have the same motivations due to our similar biological programming. Ex. motivated by hunger to eat, similar in all humans

Emotion

a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response Ex. Joy, Surprise, Anger

Stress

a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium Ex. trying to cope with the fact that you almost died to a bear

Physiological Motives

a state of physiological or psychological arousal which influences how we behave. Ex. a physiological arousal, such as hunger or thirst, motivates us to eat or get something to drink.

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating—consuming a lot of food quickly—followed by compensatory behavior, most commonly vomiting or purging. Ex. Citizens on the capitol in the hunger games who over eat then force themselves to vomit to eat more

Anorexia Nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by refusal to stay at even the minimum body weight considered normal for the person's age and height. Ex. the Spanish model who did a photo-shoot to expose the dangers of the disorder

Exhaustion

can result in physical or mental breakdowns due to the body's response to the stressor. Ex. the body cannot handle the pent up stress of the bear attack and I get sick

Hans Selye - General Adaptation Syndrome

described three predictable stages the body uses to respond to stressors Ex. Stage 1 - alarm reaction Stage 2 - Resistance Stage 3 - Exhuastion

Affiliation Motive

describes a person's need to feel a sense of involvement and "belonging" within a social group Ex. developed by David McClelland; when a person goes along with the crowd even if they don't agree with them because they don't want to be alone

Drive Reduction Theory

deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs. These needs result in psychological drive states that direct behavior to meet the need and, ultimately, bring the system back to homeostasis. Ex. developed by Clark Hull; being cold creates a physiological need to be warm.

Opponent-Process Theory

emotional reactions to a stimulus are followed by opposite emotional reactions Ex. anxiety before skydiving, followed by relief when you land safely

Type A Personality

have characteristics like: they have a sense of time urgency, find it difficult to relax, and often become impatient and angry when they get delayed or are around other people whom they view as incompetent. Ex. many company CEOs

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

occur when there is one goal or event that has both positive and negative effects or characteristics that make the goal appealing and unappealing simultaneously. Ex. going out the night before a test may be fun, but hurts your chances of doing well

Resistance

opposing changing their behavior or refuse to discuss, remember, or think about presumably clinically relevant experiences. Ex. not discussing the bear attack with anyone

Incentive Theory

people are pulled toward behaviors that offer positive incentives and pushed away from behaviors associated with negative incentives Ex. driven to do well on a test for a monetary reward

Schachter-Singer two-factor Theory

r proposed that human emotions contain two factors or parts: physical arousal and a cognitive label, and that both of these elements must be present for you to experience an emotion. Ex. you have to be aroused by the appearance of the bear, and understand it cognitively, to experience fear

Need for Achievement

refers to an individual's desire for significant accomplishment, mastering of skills, control, or high standards Ex. working hard at a sport to win a champoinship

Multiple-Approach-Avoidance Conflict

result when a person is faced with a number of alternatives, each of which is in some way both positive and negative. Ex.

Arousal Theory

states that we seek an optimum level of excitement or arousal. Ex. after going bungee jumping, I would likely stay at home and relax for several days to balance out

James-Lange Theory

suggests emotions are a consequence of our physiological responses to external stimuli followed by identification of the emotion by examining the physical responses Ex. seeing a bear while shoveling causes a physiological response which is then later identified as fear

Yerkes-Dodson Law

suggests that there is a relationship between performance and arousal. Ex. being to casual or nervous about an event would lead to worse performance than being at the right level

Motivation

the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors Ex. I'm doing the key terms during the snow day because I'm motivated to not have work over the weekend

Arousal

the state of being physiologically alert, awake, and attentive. Ex. shoveling the driveway when a bear suddenly appears would get me aroused

Drive

theory that attempts to define, analyze, or classify the psychological drives. Ex. Incentive Theory, Instinct Theory

Set Point

theory that states everyone's body has a genetically determined range of weight and temperature that their body will try to maintain to stay at optimal health. Ex. I have a mid set point, while natural long distance runners have a low set point

Overjustification Effect

when an expected external incentive such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task Ex: not wanting to read anymore unless it is rewarded