Behavioral Sciences 5: Motivation, Emotion, and Stress Flashcards
motivation
purpose/driving force behind our actions
extrinsic motivation
motivation created by external forces
ex. rewards and punishments
intrinsic motivation
motivation based on internal drive or perception
ex. personal gratification
instinct
innate, fixed patterns of behavior in response to stimuli
instinct theory
theory that people are driven to do certain behaviors based on instincts
instincts can be conflicting and can override each other with experience
arousal
psychological and physiological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli
arousal theory
people perform actions to maintain an optimal level of arousal
Yerkes-Dodson law
law that performance is worst and extremely high and low levels of arousal
drives
internal states of tension that activate particular behavior focused on goals
primary drives
drives that motivate us to sustain bodily processes in homeostasis, regulated by negative feedback loops
secondary drives
drives that motivate us to fulfill non-biological, emotional, or “learned” desires
drive reduction theory
motivation is based on the goal of eliminating uncomfortable internal states
maslow’s hierarchy of needs
model that prioritizes needs into five categories:
- physiological needs
- safety and security
- love and belonging
- self-esteem
- self-actualization
self-determination theory
there are three universal needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) must be met in order to develop healthy relationships
incentive theory
explains motivation as the desire to pursue rewards and avoid punishments
expectancy-value theory
the amount of motivation for a task is based on the individual’s expectation of success and the amount that success is valued
opponent-process theory
motivation for drug use
as drug use increases, body counteracts its effects, leading to tolerance and uncomfy withdrawal symptoms
emotion
a state of mind/feeling that is subjectively experienced based on circumstances, mood, and relationships
physiological response
changes in autonomic nervous system due to emotion
behavioral response
facial expressions and body language
cognitive response
subjective interpretation as a result of emotion
universal emotions
all humans evolved the same set of facial muscles to show the same expressions when communicating emotion
7: happiness, sadness, contempt, surprise, fear, disgust, and anger
James-Lange theory
theory of emotion
the nervous system arousal leads to a cognitive response in which the emotion is labeled afterwards
I must be angry because my skin is hot and my blood pressure is high
Cannon-Bard theory
theory of emotion
the simultaneous arousal of the nervous system and cognitive response lead to action
I am afraid because I see a snake and my heart is racing… I better GTF!
Schachter-Singer theory
theory of emotion
nervous system arousal and interpretation of context lead to a cognitive response
I am excited because my heart is racing and everyone else is happy
limbic system
the primary nervous system component involved in experiencing emotion
amygdala
organ that processes environment, detects external cues, learns from person’s surroundings
involved with attention and fear, helps interpret facial expressions, part of the intrinsic memory system for emotional memory
thalamus
organ for preliminary sensory processing
hippocampus
organ that creates long term, explicit, episodic memory
hypothalamus
organ that releases neurotransmitters that affect mood and arousal
prefrontal cortex
involved in planning, expressing personality, making decisions
ventral prefrontal cortex
part of prefrontal cortex that is critical for experiencing emotion
dorsal prefrontal cortex
part of prefrontal cortex that is responsible for attention and cognition
ventromedial prefrontal cortex
part of prefrontal cortex that is controlling emotional responses from amygdala and decision-making
stress
the physiological and cognitive response to challenges or life changes
cognitive appraisal
subjective evaluation of a situation that induces stress
primary appraisal
the initial evaluation of environment and the associated threat
classifying a potential stressor as irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful
secondary appraisal
directed at evaluating if the organism can cope with the stress, based on harm, threat, challenge (intensity)
stressor
biological element, external condition, event that leads to a stress response
ex. pressure, control, predictability, frustration, and conflict
distress
experiencing unpleasant stressors
eustress
stress while experiencing positive conditions
social readjustment scale
measures stress level in “life changing units”
general adaptation syndrome
a sequence of physiological response that includes alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
alarm (general adaption syndrome)
stage of general adaptation syndrome
initial reaction to a stressor, activation of sympathetic
hypothalamus send ATCH -> coritsol -> increase blood sugar
or tells adrenal medulla -> epinephrine and norepinephrine
resistance (general adaption syndrome)
general adaptation syndrome
continous release of hormones in response to a stressor
exhaustion (general adaption syndrome)
stage of general adaptation syndrome
body can’t maintain elevated response to stressor
lazarus theory
requires that interpretation must happen before arousal or emotion, which happen simultaneously
