AP Psychology (Motivation and Emotion)

Set-point theory

1. Human bodies are programmed to maintain weight. 2. The lateral(hungry) and ventromedial hypothalamus(full) acts to cancel each other out. 3. Our fatty cells have a set-point they want to maintain 4. Heredity influences set points and therefore, body type also 5. If weight is lost, food intake is increased and energy expenditure(metabolism) decreases or vice versa.

Rahe and Holmes

2 Psychologist that came up with a test that measures stress in your lives. The test is called the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) and measures stress using life-change units (LCUs).

Orgasm

3rd phase of sexual response cycle. The highest point of sexual excitement, marked by strong feelings of pleasure

Adrenaline

A catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin)

Approach-approach conflict

A conflict arising from having to choose between equally desirable alternatives.

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

A conflict arising from having to choose between undesirable alternatives. (Like Raising Taxes or Reducing Spending).

Specific hunger

A craving for a particular substance such as a salt.

Limbic System

A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

Stereotype

A fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices.

Eustress

A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal

Reinforcement

A stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it

Arousal Theory

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

Type A Personality

A theory used to describe a person with a significant number of traits focused on urgency, impatience, success, and excessive competition. Higher Risk for Coronary Heart Disease.

Type B Personality

A theory used to describe person with a significant number of traits focused on relaxation, lack of urgency, and normal or reduced competition.

Incentive Theory

According to this theory, behavior is goal-directed; we behave in ways that allow us to attain desirable stimuli and avoid negative stimuli

Masters and Johnson

Among the first to use laboratory experimentation and observation to study the sexual response cycle (1950s-60s); levels include excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution.brought hundreds of volunteers into their lab and observed them having various types of sex. They used tools to measure penile length and blood flow and vaginal expansion and lubrication. They perform thousands of trials and their results over a twenty year period were extensive. They even tried to "cure" homosexuality and claimed a 30% failure rate.

Biorhythms

An innate periodicity in an organism's physiological processes, as sleep and wake cycles.

Perfectionism

An unhealthy compulsion to do things perfectly is called:

Theory Y

Assumes that, given a challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve self-esteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity

Primary motives

Biological needs that must be met for survival: hunger, sleep, thirst, pain.

Alfred Kinsey

College professor at Indiana University, Bloomington, author of "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" and "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female;" collectively known as the Kinsey Report; report was controversial and inflammatory but well-received and immensely popular. Factored in the spurring of research for birth control. Took a sample of 10,000 men, data said that sexual orientation was diverse and many were bisexual. Had actually studied the genealogy of flies before this.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner (Being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming)

Intrinsic motivation

Engaging in activities because they are personally rewarding or because they fulfill our beliefs and expectations

Yerkes-Dodson Law.

Evidences arousal theory; the more complex a task, the lower level of arousal that can be tolerated without interference before the performance deteriorates; ex. used in class-driving to school, driving angry, finding a new location, boiling an egg

Schachter and Singer

Experiment with humans where they are injected with adrenaline and either told there will be no symptoms, wrong symptoms or told the exact symptoms. Supports ____________'s two factor model of emotion

Alarm reaction

First stage of the general adaptation syndrome(GAS) , involving mobilization of the body's resurces to cope with an immediate stressor. (Hans Seyle)

Irrelevant Questions

In a polygraph test random questions used for truth testing, Like (Is you Name Julius?)

Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts

MORE than two goals to options( have both positive and negative aspects) to consider, making the decision even more difficult and stressful (i.e. college students deciding on a career)

Type AB Personality

Mixture of Type A and Type B Personalities.

secondary motives

Motives based on learned needs, drives, and goals

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).

Control questions

Non-threatening questions used on people when attached to a polygraph to establish baseline levels of arousal ( Like have you ever been tempted to steal?)

Simon LeVay

Psychologist who wrote Sexual Brain and Queer Science, completed research on the DNA and finding a gay gene, he found the gene INAH3 was more than twice as large in heterosexual men as in homosexual men, and also discovered that part of hypothalamus is larger in straight men than in gay men and women.

Organizational psychologists

Psychologists who study various aspects of the human work environment, such as communication among employees, socialization or enculturation of workers, leadership, job satisfaction, stress and burnout, and overall quality of life. Two main theoories: Theory X and Theory Y

Ego Dystonic

Refers to thoughts and behaviors which are in conflict with how someone sees their ideal self. These people are motivated to seek treatment themselves.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Schachter and Singer's theory that emotion is the interaction of physiological arousal and the cognitive label that we apply to explain the arousal

General Adaptation Syndrome

Seylye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three stages--alarm, resistance, exhaustion (GAS)

Initial excitement

Stage One of Sexual Response Cycle: Heart rate increases, Breathing increases, Erection occurs, and the cliterus swells with blood

distress

Stress that stems from acute anxiety or pressure

Polygraph Test

Test that measures respiration, blood pressure, and perspiration while person is asked a series of questions; outcome is a diagnostic opinion about honesty. (Criticised as Pseudoscience)

Behavioral Response

The actions taken in response to stress

Ecological fallacy

The fallacy of deducing a false relationship between the attributes or behavior of individuals based on observing that relationship for groups to which the individuals belong (Stereotypes)

Hans Seyle

The father of "modern stress theory." Defined eustress and distress. Stated that stress is a mutual action of forces in the body.General Adaptation Syndrome

Exhaustion

The harmful third stage of the general adaptation syndrome(GAS) , stress exceeds body's ability to recover.The parasympathetic nervous system returns our physiological state to normal., If the crises is not resolved, resources become depleted, immunity drops, sometimes causing illnesses, ulcers, depression, or death

Ventromedial hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces feelings of fullness as opposed to hunger, and causes one to stop eating. If destroyed an animal will become obese.

Lateral hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals, if destroyed an animal may starve to death.

Attribution

The process of explaining the causes of people's behavior, including our own

Relevant questions

The questions asked by the polygraph operator during the lie-detection procedure that directly relate to the investigation or the reason for undergoing the test.

Resistance

The second phase of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) , in which the body mobilizes its resources(hormones, energy) to withstand the effects of the stress. If this stage goes to long a body can deplete its resources. (Hans Seyle)

Kinesics

The study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, and facial expressions

Social Readjustment Rating Scale

Thomas homes and richard rahe created this scale measuring the stress rating of certain life changing events by using life changing Units (LCUs), whether good or bad. 150 or more units and you were having a stressful year. Not very accurate. (SRRS)

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Treatment involving the combination of behaviorism (based on the theories of learning) and cognitive therapy (based on the theory that our cognitions or thoughts control a large portion of our behaviors). (CBT)

Amygdala

Two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to EMOTION

Stimulus motive

Unlearned motive, such as curiosity or contact, that prompts us to explore or change the world around us

Exposure and response prevention

a behavioral treatment for OCD that exposes a client to anxiety-arousing thoughts or situations and then prevents the client from performing his or her compulsive acts. AKA exposure and ritual prevention

Response

a bodily process occurring due to the effect of some foregoing stimulus or agent

Test Anxiety

a combination of physiological, emotional, and cognitive components that are caused by the stress of taking exams and that may interfere with one's ability to think, reason, and plan,Yerkes-Dodson Law says it is not necessary to get rid of all this anxiety to do well on a test.

achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard (Like taking an AP TEST).

Prejudice

a negative attitude formed toward an individual or group without sufficient experience with the person or group (Different from a Stereotype)

Hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion

Incentives

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

refractory period

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.

Hypoglycemia

abnormally low blood sugar usually resulting from excessive insulin or a poor diet

Meta-needs

also called growth motives or being values; self-actualization is growth motivated; these are the motivations of self-actualizing people

Guilty Knowledge Test

alternative to the polygraph test often used after the test is a complete failure, that relies on the premise that criminals harbor concealed knowledge about the crime that innocent people don't

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

Catecholamine

any of a group of chemicals including epinephrine(adrenaline) and norepinephrine that are produced in the medulla of the adrenal gland

Theory X

assumes that the average person dislikes work and will avoid it if possible. therefore, people must be forced, controlled, and threatened with punishment to accomplish organizational goals

inverted-U function

describes the relationship between arousal and performance. Both low and high levels of arousal produce lower performance than does a moderate level of arousal

Parasympathetic Nervous System

division of the ANS that is most active in ordinary conditions; it counterbalances the effects of the sympathetic system by restoring the body to a restful state after a stressful experience

Cortisone

glucocorticoid hormone that is isolated from the adrenal cortex; used as an anti-inflammatory agent

Common sense theory

idea held by most people that a stimulus leads to the subjective experience of an emotion which then triggers a physiological response

Coolidge effect

if animal is presented with a normal partner they will engage in sexual behaviour even when they have been just previously sexually satiated with another partner

Deception.

in research, an effect by which participants are misinformed or misled about the study's methods and purposes

life-change units

in stress research, the measure of the stress levels of different types of change experienced during a given period.Abreviated (LCUs) Made by (Thomas Holmes and richard rahe)

Homeostasis

metabolic equilibrium actively maintained by several complex biological mechanisms that operate via the autonomic nervous system to offset disrupting changes

Extrinsic motivation

motivation reflecting a desire for external rewards, such as wealth or the respect of others

Endorphins

natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Episodic

occurring or appearing at usually irregular intervals

Approach-avoidance

psychological conflict that occurs when a person must choose ONE goal that has both attractive and unattractive features

Sex Drive

refers to the strength of one's motivation to engage in sexual behavior

OCD

repetive behaviors, mental attacks, behaviors, preventing, reducing distress, prevented some dreaded event, reconizes obsessions are excessive or unreasonable, not apply to kids

Anorexia

self starvation, a refusal to maintain minimum body weight

Somatic Nervous System

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

Pituitary gland.

the endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, this gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

sexual response cycle

the four stages of sexual responding described by William Masters and Virgina Johnson 1. excitement, 2. plateau, 3. orgasm, and 4. resolution.

Resolution phase

the fourth phase of the sexual response cycle, following orgasm, during which the body returns to its resting, or normal state. However ONLY the MALE enters the refractory period.

Taste aversions

the intense dislike and/or avoidance of particular foods that have been associated with nausea or discomfort, Type of Classical Conditiong

Instinct Theory

the now-outmoded view that certain behaviors are completely determined by innate factors ex:instincts

Archetype

the original pattern or model; a perfect example

Plateau phase

the second phase of the sexual response cycle, during which physical arousal continues to increase as the partners bodies prepare for orgasm

Cannon-Bard theory

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion, or a theory about the relationship between emotional experience and physiological activity suggesting that a stimulus simultaneously triggers activity in the autonomic nervous system and emotional experience in the brain

James-Lange theory

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.

Opponent-process

theory of colour vision stating that we percieve color in terms of paired opposites: red/green, yellow/blue, black/white

Drive reduction theory

theory that claims that behavior is driven by a desire to lessen internal states of tension resulting from needs that disrupt homeostasis