PSY 0010 Chapter 9

obesity

BMI over 30. more than one third of adults in the US are obese

instinct

a fixed behavior pattern that is characteristic of every member of a species and is assumed to be genetically programmed (represent one kind of biological motivation)

body mass index (BMI)

a measure of weight relative to height. less than 18.5 underweight, over 25 overweight

expectancy

a person's belief that more effort will result in improved performance

gastric bypass surgery

a procedure in which the size of the stomach is reduced. candidates must have a BMI in excess of 40. those with BMIs ranging from 35 to 39 may be considered if they have a weight related health problem

emotion

a state involving physiological arousal, a cognitive appraisal of the situation that produced the state, and an outward behavior expressing the state

arousal

a state of alertness and mental and physical activation

cortisol

a stress hormone that increases with emotional arousal. women's cortisol levels increased after discussion of negative events, while men's levels remiained constant, this finding suggests that women are more physiologically sensitive to negative emotions than men are

parental investment

a term used by evolutionary psychologists to denote the amount of time and effort men or women must devote to parenthood

drive reduction theory

a theory of motivation suggesting that biological needs create internal states of tension or arousal - called drives - which organisms are motivated to reduce

arousal theory

a theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation

Schachter Singer theory

a two factor theory stating that for an emotion to occur, there must be 1) physiological arousal, and 2) a cognitive interpretation or explanation of the arousal, allowing it to be labeled as a specific emotion... a true emotion can occur only if a person is physically aroused and can find some reason for it

three components of motivation

activation, persistence, and intensity

motivation

all the processes that initiate, direct, and sustain behavior

side effects of anorexia

amenorrhea, low blood pressure, impaired heart function, dehydration, electrolyte disturbances, sterility, decreases in the gray matter volume in the brain (thought to be irreversible)

expectancy theory

an approach that explains work motivation in terms of workers' beliefs about the effectiveness and value of the effort they put forth on the job. motivation to engage in an activity is determined by expectancy, instrumentality, and valence

goal setting

an approach to work motivation that involves establishing specific, difficult goals rather than simply telling people to do their best in the absence of assigned goals

anorexia nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by an overwhelming, irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, compulsive dieting to the point of self starvation and excessive weight loss. perceptions of body size are grossly distorted

bulimia nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by repeated and uncontrolled (and often secretive) episodes of binge eating

incentive

an external stimulus that motivates behavior (for example, money or fame)

homophobia

an intense, irrational hostility toward or fear of homosexuals. can lead to discrimination aginst gays and lesbians or even motivate acts of violence against them

drive

an internal state of tension or arousal that is brought about by an underlying need and that an organism is motivated to reduce

William James (1884)

argued that an event causes physical arousal and a physical response, after which the individual perceives the physical response as an emotion

Charles Darwin

believed that most emotions and the facial expressions that convey them are genetically inherited and characteristic of the entire human species

Stanley Schachter

believed that the early theories of emotion left out a critical component - the subjective cognitive interpretation of why a state of arousal has occurred

plateau phase

blood pressure and muscle tension increases still more, and breathing becomes heavy and more rapid

Abraham Maslow

claimed that human needs are hierarchical in nature, with our need for food and shelter at the bottom and our need for self actualization at the top

Walter Cannon (1927)

claimed that the bodily changes caused by the various emotions are not sufficiently distinct to allow people to distinguish one emotion from another

David McClelland and John Atkinson

conducted many studies of the n Ach

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

consists of a series of pictures of ambiguous situations. the person taking the test is asked to create a story about each picture - to describe what's going on in the picture, what the person or persons pictured are thinking about, what they may be feeling, and what is likely to be the outcome of the situation. the stories are presumed to reveal the test taker's needs and strength of those needs

display rules

cultural rules that dictate how emotions should generally be expressed and when and where their expression is appropriate

performance/approach

doing just enough work to ensure that one's performance will be superior to that of others (working for an A in a difficult class to feel superior to others in a class or being satisfied with a D because most other students are failing)

basic emotions

emotions that are unlearned and universal, that are reflected across cultures, and that emerge in children according to their biological timetable of development; fear, anger, disgust, surprise, hpiness, and sadness are usually considered basic emotions

Martin Seligman

enthusiastically endorses the idea that people can and should exert control over their emotins to maintain positive emotional states and avoid negative ones

achievement motivation

factors that move people to seek success in academic settings (type of social motive)

high n Ach

goals are self determined and linked to perceived abilities; thus, these goals tend to be realistic

cholecystokinin (CCK)

hormone secreted by gastrointestinal tract during digestion, acts as satiety signals

leptin

hormone which affects the hypothalamus and may be an element in the regulation of body weight. produced by the body's fat tissues. decreases in body fat cause lower levels of leptin in the body. lower levels of leptin stimulate food intake because the body "thinks" that it may be in danger of starvation. bodies of humans who are obese appear to develop a tolerance for the effects of leptin

performance/avoidance

limiting efforts in order to avoid surpassing the performance of others (getting mediocre grades to fit in with a peer group)

six weight loss strategies from the Mayo Clinic

make a commitment, get emotional support, set realistic goals, enjoy healthier foods, get active and stay active, and change your lifestyle

refractory period

men experience this during the resolution phase, cannot have another orgasm

social motives

motives (such as the needs for affiliation and achievement) that are acquired through experience and interaction with others

stimulus motives

motives that cause humans and other animals to increase stimulation when the level of arousal is too low (examples are curiosity and the motive to explore)

safety needs - 2

need for safety and security

motive

need or desire that energizes and directs behavior toward a goal

belonging and love needs - 3

need to love and be loved; need to affiliate with others and be accepted

need for self actualization - 6

need to realize one's fullest potential

physiological needs - 1

need to satisfy the basic biological needs for food, water, oxygen, sleep, and elimination of bodily wastes

esteem needs - 4

needs to achieve, to gain competence, to gain respect and recognition from others

low n Ach

not willing to take chances when it comes to testing their own skills and abilities. motivated more their fear of failure than by their hope and expectation of success. ridiculously low goals or impossibly high goals

industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists

psychologists who apply their knowledge in the workplace and are especially interested in work motivation and job performance

Clark Hull (1943)

said all living organisms have certain biological needs that must be met if they are to survive

purging

self induced vomiting and/or the use of large quantities of laxative and diuretics

orgasm

shortest of phases, highest point of sexual pleasure, marked by sudden discharge of accumulated sexual tension. involuntary muscle contractions may seize the entire body, genitals contract rhythmically

Henry Murray (1938)

social cognitive theorist, developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). identified the need for achievement

primary drives

states of tension or arousal that arise from a biological need and are unlearned. include thirst, hunger, and sex

set point theory

suggests that each person is genetically programmed to carry a certain amount of body weight

resolution phase

tapering off period, when the body returns to its unaroused state

excitement phase

the beginning of the sexual response. visual cues, such as watching a partner undress, are more likely to initiate the phase in men. tender, loving touches coupled with verbal expressions of love arouse women more readily than visual stimulation. men can become aroused almost instantly, while arousal for women is often a more gradual, building process. muscular tension increases, heart rate quickens, and blood pressure rises

work motivation

the conditions and processes responsible for the arousal, direction, magnitude, and maintenance of effort of workers on the job (type of social motive)

valence

the degree to which a person values that rewards that are offered

intrinsic motivation

the desire to behave in a certain way because it is enjoyable or satisfying in and of itself

extrinsic motivation

the desire to behave in a certain way in order to gain some external reward or to avoid some undesirable consequence

sexual orientation

the direction of one's sexual interest - toward members of the opposite sex (heterosexuality), toward one's own sex (homosexuality), or toward both sexes (bisexuality)

sexual response cycle

the four phases - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution - that make up the human sexual response in both males and females, according to Masters and Johnson

anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

the front part of a band that surrounds the corpus callosum

facial feedback hypothesis

the idea that the muscular movements involved in certain facial expressions produce the corresponding emtions (for example, smiling makes one feel happy)

homeostasis

the natural tendency of the body to maintain a balanced internal state i order to ensure physical survival (includes body temperature, blood sugar level, water balance, and blood oxygen level)

need for achievement (n Ach)

the need to accomplish something difficult and to perform at a high standard of excellence. seems to grow as it is fed

lateral hypothalamus (LH)

the part of the hypothalamus that acts as a feeding center to incite eating. stimulating the feeding center causes animals to eat even when they are full. when feeding center is destroyed, animals initially refuse to eat

ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)

the part of the hypothalamus that acts as a satiety (fullness) center to inhibit eating. if surgically removed, animals soon eat their way to gross obesity

instrumentality

the person's belief that doing a job well will be noticed and rewarded

emotion's three components

the physical, the cognitive, and the behavioral

Yerkes Dodson law

the principle that performance on tasks is best when the arousal level is appropriate to the difficulty of the task: higher arousal for simple tasks, moderate arousal for tasks of moderate difficulty, and lower arousal for complex tasks

self actualization

the pursuit of self defined goals for personal fulfillment and growth

metabolic rate

the rate at which the body burns calories to produce energy, influenced by genes

affective neuroscience

the study of the neurological foundations of emotion

Lazarus theory

the theory that a cognitive appraisal is the first step in an emotional response and all other aspects of an emotion, including phsiological arousal, depend on it... emotions are provoked when cognitive appraisals of events or circumstances are positive or negative - but not neutral

Cannon Bard theory

the theory that an emotion provoking stimulus is transmitted simultaneously to the cerebral cortex, providing the conscious mental experience of the emotion, and to the sympathetic nervous system, causeing the phsiological arousal

James Lange theory

the theory that emotional feelings result when an individual becomes aware of a physiological response to an emotion provoking stimulus (for example, feeling fear because of trembling)... suggests that different patterns of arousal in the autonomic nervous system produce the different emotions people feel, and that the physiological arousal appears before the emotion is perceived

goal orientation theory

the view that achievement motivation depends on which of four goal orientations (mastery/approach, mastery/avoidance, performance/avoidance, performance/approach) an individual adopts

positive psychology

the view that psychologists should study and promote the development ofhuman strengths such as optimism

set point

the weight the body normally maintains when one is trying neither to gain nor to lose weight. affected by the number of fat cells in the body and by metabolic rate, both of which are influenced by genes

binge eating

two components. 1) the consumption of much larger amounts of food than most people would eat during the same period of time, and 2) a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control the amount eaten... frequently followed by purging

parental investment theory

women and men have adopted mating strategies that correspond to their respective investments in parenting. men are assumed to be interested in making only a short term biological investment in parenting. women tend to prefer men who are somewhat older, more stable and with sufficient resources, generous, emotionally attached, and strong enough to provide protection for the family

mastery/approach

working to attain something of self determined intrinsic value (knowledge)

mastery/avoidance

working to avoid an outcome that threatens self worth (being unable to learn something new)