psychology FRQ

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Yerkes Dodson's law of arousal states that an increase in arousal to a certain level can help to boost performance. Once the arousal crosses the optimal level, performance of the individual starts to diminish.

Epinephrine

Epinephrine is a neurotransmitter secreted by the adrenal glands and is a response to stress. It is also known as adrenaline. During periods of stress, such as when Ben is warming up to run his marathon, the brain signals the adrenal glands to produce epinephrine or "adrenaline". Epinephrine increases the rate in which the heart beats. The increased cardiac output supplies more oxygen to the muscles, putting the body in a heightened state to react. This will hype Ben's body up and make him feel jittery

Seyle's adaptation syndrome

GAS is the three-stage process that describes the physiological changes the body goes through when under stress. The three stages are alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. As Ben is training he will be confronted with the emotional stress of not reaching his desired times. Ben will try to "resist" it by continuing to work harder and increasing his workout intensities to feed into the pressure. However, if ben doesnt ever see improvement, his prolonged stress and self-pressure will eventually cause exhaustion and cause him to be more tired and demotivated.

maslow hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory by Abraham Maslow, which puts forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs: physiological, safety, belonging , esteem, and self-actualization (and self transcendence). He suggests that one must complete their physiological need first before moving up to gain a higher motivation. Ben's goal for doing well for his marathon is to reach his self actualization needs because he wants to be the best athlete/version he can be. However, he must have his physiological needs completed first to reach that such as eating food and drinking water.

the big five

The Big Five is a research-driven approach in psychology which derives from the notion that the most common personality traits can be captured by five core openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Ben's personality could have high openness since he is interested in challenging tasks like a marathon. He could also have high conscientiousness because training for a marathon requires an organization of workouts and punctuality. He also probably has low neuroticism because running helps relieve stress and so he probably isn't as irritated or anxious.

drive reduction theory of motivation

drive reduction theory is the idea that a psychological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to satisfy a need. It focuses on how motivation originates from biological needs or drives. In this theory, Hull proposed a person's behavior is an external display of his desire to satisfy his physical deficiencies. As Ben is training and preparing for his marathon, he will eventually have the physiological need for water, and so his body will give him thirst and he will drink to satisfy that thirst drive.

incentive theory

incentive theory states that your actions are directed toward gaining rewards, and explains that behavior is motivated by an organism's desire for reinforcements and rewards and that this desire is what governs behavior. Ben's incentive is to perform well on his marathon or reach a plausible time. His incentive will be the motivating factor for training and pushing himself during workouts.

type a personality

personality type that describes people who are competitive, driven, hostile, and ambitious. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving and goal-oriented. Ben is type A because he is determined and high-achieving in his goals for running a marathon. Ben most likely has an eager attitude because running a marathon is very demanding.