5: Motivation, Emotion, & Stress

Question 1

Intrinsic motivation

Answer 1

Driven by interest in a task or pure enjoyment

Question 2

Instincts

Answer 2

Innate, fixed patterns of behavior in response to stimuli

Question 3

Instinct theory of motivation

Answer 3

People are driven to do certain behaviors based on evolutionarily programmed instincts

Question 4

Father of modern psychology

Answer 4

William James

Question 5

Arousal theory

Answer 5

States that people perform actions in order to maintain an optimal level of arousal; seeking to increase arousal when it falls below their optimal level, and decrease arousal when it falls above their optimum level

Question 6

Yerkes Dodson law

Answer 6

postulates a U-shaped function between the level of arousal and performance

Question 7

Drives

Answer 7

Internal states of tension that activate particular behaviors focused on goals
- Drives help humans survive by creating an uncomfortable state, ensuring motivation to eliminate this state or relieve the internal tension created by unmet needs

Question 8

Primary drives

Answer 8

Need for food, water, warmth

Question 9

Secondary drives

Answer 9

Not directly related to biological processes and thought to stem from learning
- include emotions, such as desire for nurturing, love, achievement, and aggression

Question 10

Drive reduction theory

Answer 10

Explains that motivation is based on the goal of eliminating uncomfortable states

Question 11

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 11

• Five groups, each assigned different priority
• Most primitive, essential needs are at the base; first four levels correspond to physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, and self-esteem

Question 12

Self determination theory (SDT)

Answer 12

• emphasizes the role of three universal needs: autonomy (need to be in control of one’s actions/ideas), competence (need to complete and excel at difficult tasks), and relatedness (need to feel accepted and wanted in relationships)

Question 13

Incentive theory

Answer 13

Behavior is motivated by desire to pursue rewards and avoid punishments, not by need or arousal

Question 14

Expectancy value theory

Answer 14

The amount of motivation needed to reach a goal is the result of both the individual’s expectation of success in reaching the goal and the degree to which he or she values succeeding at that goal

Question 15

Opponent process theory

Answer 15

Explains continuous drug use
- This theory explains that when a drug is taken repeatedly, the body will attempt to counteract the effects of the drug by changing its physiology

Question 16

Tolerance

Answer 16

Decrease in perceived drug effect over time

Question 17

Three elements of emotion

Answer 17

• Physiological response: changes in HR, BR, skin temp, BP
• Behavioral response: facial expressions and body language
• Cognitive response: subjective interpretation of the feeling being experienced

Question 18

James-Lange theory of emotion

Answer 18

A stimulus results first in physiological arousal, which leads to a secondary response in which the emotion is labeled
- This theory predicts that individuals who cannot mount a sympathetic response should show decreased levels of emotion

Question 19

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Answer 19

States that the cognitive and physiological components of emotion occur simultaneously and result in the behavioral component of emotion, or action
- this theory fails to explain the vagus nerve

Question 20

Schachter-Singer theory of emotion

Answer 20

Aka cognitive arousal theory (or two factor theory)
- states that both arousal and the labeling of arousal based on environment must occur in order for an emotion to be experienced
(I.e. I am excited because my heart is racing and everyone else is happy)

Question 21

Limbic system

Answer 21

A complex set of structures that reside below the cerebrum on either side of the thalamus
= amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and fornix, septal nuclei, and parts of the cerebral cortex

Question 22

Amygdala

Answer 22

Signals the cortex about stimuli related to attention and emotions

Question 23

Thalamus

Answer 23

Sensor processing station that Relays info to appropriate areas of the brain, such as the cortex

Question 24

Hippocampus

Answer 24

• Within temporal lobe

- Primarily involved in creating long-term memories

Question 25

Conscious (explicit) memory

Answer 25

Memory of experiencing actual emotion (remembering you were happy at a graduation)

• also episodic memories (about emotions rather than actual stored emotions)
• Produces a conscious memory of the experience

Question 26

Unconscious (implicit) memory

Answer 26

• emotional memory
• storage of actual feelings of emotion associated with an event
• Determines the expression of past emotions

Question 27

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 27

anterior portion of frontal lobes and is responsible for planning intricate cognitive functions, expressing personality, and making decisions

Question 28

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Answer 28

Thought to play a substantial role in decision-making and controlling emotional responses from the amygdala

Question 29

Cognitive appraisal

Answer 29

Subjective evaluation of a situation that induces stress
- consists of two stages: Primary appraisal (initial eval of the environment and associated threat) and secondary appraisal (directed at evaluating whether the organism can cope with the stress)

Question 30

Distress

Answer 30

Occurs when experiencing unpleasant stressors

Question 31

Eustress

Answer 31

The result of positive conditions, Include life events such as graduating from college

Question 32

Social readjustment rating scale

Answer 32

Measures stress levels in ‘life change units’

Question 33

General adaptation syndrome

Answer 33

Sequence of physiological responses
- consists of three stages (alarm: initiation reaction to stressor and activation of sympathetics, resistance: continuous release of hormones allows sympathetics to remain engaged to fight the stressor, and exhaustion stage: body can no longer maintain an elevated sympathetic response)

Question 34

Extrinsic motivation

Answer 34

External forces, outside oneself, such as rewards and punishments