Ch.11

Question 1

Emotion

Answer 1

Mental state or feelings associated with our evaluation of our experiences

Question 2

Discrete emotions theory

Answer 2

Siri that humans experience a small number of distinct emotions that are rooted in our biology.

They further argue that because the brains cortex, which plays a key role in thinking, evolved later than the limbic system, which plays a key role in emotion, or emotional reactions to situation proceed or thoughts about them.

Question 3

Support for an evolutionary basis of emotions

Answer 3

Charles Darwin was among the first to point out that similarities between the emotional expressions of humans and many nonhuman animals. He noted that the angry snarl of dogs, marked by the bearing of their fangs, is reminiscent of the dismissive sneer of humans. Eugene mortar showed deep seated similarities in communication across most animal species, especially mammals and birds, further suggesting that the emotions of human and nonhuman animals share the same evolutionarily heritage. For example, across the animal kingdom high-pitched sounds are associated with friendly interactions and low-pitch sounds with hostile interactions.

Of course, the mere fact that two things are superficially similar doesn’t prove that they share revolutionary roots. Birds and bats both have wings, but their wings evolved independently of each other. Many mammals display similar emotional reactions during similar social behaviours, lending itself to parsimonious hypothesis: perhaps these reactions share the same evolutionarily origins.

Question 4

Culture and emotion

Answer 4

Another way of evaluating claims that discrete emotions are products of evolution is to examine the universality of emotional expressions. If humans evolved to express emotions in a similar way, we’d expect expressions to communicate the same meaning across cultures.

Recognition of emotions across cultures:
One telling piece of evidence for discreet emotions Theory derives from research showing that people recognize and generate the same emotional expressions across cultures.

Question 5

Primary emotions

Answer 5

Small number of emotions (perhaps seven) believed by some theorists to be cross-culturally universal.
Specifically, they found that the facial expressions associated with these emotions are recognized across most, if not all, cultures.
•Happiness
•sadness
•surprise
•Anger
•disgust
•Fear
•contempt

Recent research suggests that pride may also be a cross-cultural universal emotion, although the evidence for this claim is preliminary.

Happiness tends to be the most easily recognized emotion. In contrast, negative emotions are more difficult to recognize.

Question 6

Secondary emotions

Answer 6

Our brains create an enormous array of secondary emotions from a small number of primary emotions.

Just a talented painter’s create a magnificent complex palette of secondary paint colors, like various shades of green and purple, from a few primary paint colors, like blue and yellow.

Schadenfreude- A German term referring to the goalie we experience at witnessing the misfortune of others, especially those we consider arrogant. It seems to be a hybrid of several emotions, like happiness, anger, and pride. We experience Schadenfreude when we feel secretly happy when a classmate who brags about getting A+ on their exams unexpectedly gets an F.

Question 7

Display rules

Answer 7

Cross-cultural guidelines for how and when to express emotions.

The Finding that certain emotions exist across most or all cultures doesn’t mean that cultures are identical in their emotional expressions. So in many cases, culture doesn’t influence emotion itself, but it does influence it’s overt expression.

Question 8

Emotions and physiology 

Answer 8

We can differentiate at least some primary emotions by the patterns of physiological responding. The mirror act of making a face associated with a specific emotion alters our bodily reactions in characteristic ways. Our heart rates tend to increase more when we make angry or fearful rather than happy or surprised facial expressions, probably because the first two emotions are more closely linked to the emergency reactions we experience when threatened.

Fear, Disgust, and anger tend to show different patterns of brain activation. Fear is relatively specific to the amygdala; disgust to the insula, a region within the limbic system; and anger to region of the frontal cortex behind our eyes. Surprisingly, happiness and sadness aren’t terribly different in their patterns of brain activation. Moreover, there’s almost certainly no single “fear processor,” “disgust processor”, and so on in the brain because multiple brain regions participate in all emotions.

Question 9

Real versus fake emotions

Answer 9

In genuine happiness, we set up for turning off the corners of the mouth, along with a tripping of the eyelids and a crinkling of the corner of the eyes. Emotional theorists distinguish this genuine expression, duchenne smile, From the fake or Pan Am smile, which is marked by the movement of the mouth but not the eyes. 

Interestingly, among subjects asked to produce facial expressions, only Duchenne smiles are associated with increased activity of the front region of the left hemisphere, which appears to be specialized for positive emotions.

Question 10

Cognitive theories of emotions

Answer 10

Theories proposing that emotions are products of thinking.

Discrete emotions theorists empathize the biological underpinnings of emotion. For them, emotions are largely innate motor programs triggered by certain stimuli, and our emotional reactions to these precede our interpretation of them. 

Advocates of cognitive theories of emotion disagree. For them, emotions are products of thinking rather than the other way around. What we feel in response to a situation is determined by how we interpret it, the way we appraise situation’s influences whether we find them stressful. Moreover, for cognitive theorists, there are no discreet emotions, because the boundaries across emotions are fuzzy and there are many different emotions as there are kinds of thoughts.

Question 11

James-Lange theory of emotion

Answer 11

Theory proposing that emotions result from our interpretations of our bodily reactions to stimuli. 

Snarling dog —> ANS arousal, changes in body—> conscious fear 
“I’m afraid because I’m shaking.”

Question 12

Somatic marker Theory

Answer 12

Theory proposing that we use our “gut reactions” to help us determine how we should react.

Question 13

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Answer 13

Theory proposing that an emotion-provoking event leads simultaneously to an emotion and to bodily reactions.

Further proposed that the thalamus, which is a release station for the senses triggers both an emotion and bodily reactions. Cannon and Bard were probably wrong about that because later researcher showed the numerous regions of the limbic system, including the hypothalamus in the amygdala, also play a key role in emotion. 

Snarling dog —> subcortical brain activity —> ANS arousal, conscious fear
“I am shaking and feeling afraid at the same time”

Question 14

Common sense theory

Answer 14

“I’m shaking because I’m afraid”
Snarling dog —> conscious fear —> ANS arousal

Question 15

Two factor theory

Answer 15

Theory proposing that emotions are produced by an undifferentiated state of arousal along an attribution (explanation) of that arousal.

By “undifferentiated”, Schachter and Singer meant that this arousal is the same across all emotions.
Once we figure out what’s making us a route, we label that arousal with an emotion. This labelling process, Schachter and Singer proposed, typically occurs so rapidly that were not aware of it. According to this view, emotions are the explanations we attached to our arousal. Emotions, Schachter and Singer concluded, requires both physiological arousal and an attribution of the arousal to an emotion-inducing event.

Moreover, research suggests that all the arousal often intensifies emotions, emotions can occur in the absence of arousal. Contrary to what Schachter and Singer claimed, arousal isn’t necessary for all emotional experiences.

Starling dog —> cognitive appraisal ANS arousal, changes in body —> conscious fear
“This snarling dog is dangerous and that makes me feel afraid” 

Question 16

Pulling it all together (Theories of emotions)

Answer 16

Discrete emotions Theory is probably correct that are emotional reactions are shaped in part by natural selection and that these reactions serve crucial adaptive functions. Nevertheless, discrete emotions Theory doesn’t exclude the possibility that our thinking influences our emotions in significant ways, as cognitive theorists propose. Indeed, each of the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and somatic marker theories are probably correct in assuming that our influencers concerning our bodily reactions can influence our emotional states. Finally, two-factor theory may be right that physiological arousal plays a key role in the intensity over emotional experiences, It’s unlikely that all emotions require such arousal. 

Question 17

Automatic generation of emotion

Answer 17

Research suggests that a good deal of our behaviour is produced automatically that is, with no voluntary influences on our part. The same may hold for our emotional reactions; many may be generated automatically, much like the knee-jerk reflex.

Question 18

Facial feedback Hypothesis

Answer 18

Theory that blood vessels in the face feedback temperature information in the brain, altering our experience of emotions in predictable way. (You’re likely to feel emotions that corresponds to your facial features.)

Zajonc viewed this process as purely bio chemical and noncognitive— that is, as involving no thinking. It operates outside of our awareness. 

Question 19

Nonverbal leakage

Answer 19

Unconscious spillover of our emotions into nonverbal behaviour. Is often a powerful cue that we are trying to hide an emotion.

Our nonverbal behaviours are often more valid indicators of our emotions then our words, Largely because we’re better at discussing our verbal language than our gestures and tone of voice.

Question 20

The importance of non-verbal cues

Answer 20

Without nonverbal cues to our emotions, embarrassing miscommunications can arise. Many of us have experienced this affect to when a person to whom we send an innocuous or humorous text or email misinterpreted as hostile. Without being able to hear our vocal inflections or see your facial emotions, recipients may misinterpret what we meant to say. The problem is compounded by the fact that we overestimate how easily others can figure out the intended meaning of our email messages. More broadly, psychologists refer to this problem as the curse of knowledge: when we know something, in this case we intend to say, we often make the mistake of assuming that others know what too.

Question 21

Body language and gestures

Answer 21

Our postures can convey a lot about our emotional states. Slumped posture can convey sadness and an right posture can convey happiness or excitement, although an upright posture involving a lot of body tension may also convey anger. This nonverbal leakage is largely unconscious. When interpreting the emotional states of others, we typically take both facial and body information into account. Research on embodied cognition even shows that our postures affect our readiness to engage in certain behaviors. When participants are insulted, they’re more likely to display brain response is typical of anger (activation of the left frontal lobes) when sitting straight up then when reclining. That’s probably because were more prepared to strike others when upright than one laying down.

Gestures come and seemingly endless forms. When talking, we often use illustrators: gestures that highlight or accentuate speech, such as when we forcefully move our hands forward to make an important point. When stressed out, we may engage in manipulators: gestures in which one body part strokes, presses, bites, or otherwise touches another body part. For example, when cramming for an exam, we made twirl our hair or by our fingernails.

Emblems: gestures that convey conventional meanings recognized by members of a culture, such as the hand wave and nodding of the head. Some of these gestures are consistent across cultures, such as crossing ones finger went hoping for good luck or struggling on the shoulders to indicate “I don’t know.” Yet others different across cultures. The “thumbs up” is a sign of approval Among Westerners but an insult in much of the Muslim world. 

As useful as body language can be in communicating information about emotional states, we must be careful in drawing conclusions about its meaning for any given person. Some popular psychologists specialize in “translating”body language into emotions, as if they were a universal dictionary of body language. Yet these psychologists overlook the fact that within a given culture, people differ greatly in the body language do you speak to expressed certain emotions. 

Question 22

Proxemics

Answer 22

The study of personal space

Anthropologist Edward hall observed that personal distance is correlated positively with emotional distance. The further we stand from a person, the less emotionally close we usually feel to them, and vice versa. But there are exceptions. When we’re trying to intimidate people, we typically get closer to them. According to haul, there are four levels of personal space.

1. Public distance (3 metres/12 feet or more): typically used for public speaking, such as lecturing.
2. Social distance (1.25 to 3 metres/4 to 12 feet): typically used for conversations among strangers and casual acquaintances.
3. Personal distance (0.5 to 1.25 metres/1.5 to 4 feet): typically used for conversations among close friends or romantic partners.
4. Intimate distance (0 to 0.5 metres/0 to 1.5 feet): typically use for kissing, hugging, whispering “sweet nothings,” and affectionate touching.

When is implicit rules are violated, we usually feel uncomfortable, as when a stranger gets in our face to ask us for a favor.

Hall argued that culture is different and personal space. In many Latin and Middle Eastern countries, personal space is relatively close, whereas in many Scandinavian and Asian countries, personal space is more distant. Nevertheless, data suggests that although these cultural differences are genuine, they aren’t as large as hall believed. There are also sex differences in personal space, with women preferring closer space than men. Personal space also increases from childhood to early adulthood, perhaps because the young haven’t yet developed clear interpersonal boundaries.

Question 23

Humans as a lie detector’s

Answer 23

We spend a sizeable amount for every day lives trying to figure out if others are “being straight” with us or putting us on. To do so, we frequently rely on peoples nonverbal behaviors. When researchers ask people to lie about something, like whether they enjoyed watching a gruesome film, their illustrators tend to decrease, whereas their manipulators and emblems tend to increase. Yet none of these gestures are full proof indicators of dishonesty, so we shouldn’t place too much stock in any one of them. The best way of finding out whether someone is lying is to listen to what they’re saying rather than how they’re saying it; for example, dishonest statements tend to contain fewer details and fewer qualifiers (such as “I’m not sure about this, but I think that…) than truthful statements 

Although many of us are confident of our ability to detect lies, research suggests that giving a 50-50 chance of being right, most of us achieve only about 55% accuracy, and few exceed 70%. Moreover, occupational groups we expect to be especially accurate detectors of lies, like people who administer so-called lie detector (polygraph) tests, customs officials, and psychiatrists, usually do no better than the rest of us— meaning not much better than chance. Researchers have found only a few groups, including the secret service agents, clinical psychologist who studied deception, and perhaps some judges and law enforcement officials, to be especially adept at lie detection. These correlational findings me indicate that years of experience in spotting lies make people better at it: practice makes perfect. Or perhaps the casual arrow is the first: people who are inter-personally perceptive may pursue professions that allow them to exercise his talent.

Another sobering finding is that there’s typically little or no correlation between peoples confidence in their ability to detect lives and their accuracy. We should “take it with a grain of salt”

Question 24

Lying in children

Answer 24

While both parents and educators will admit that lying among children can be a serious problem, One of the only longitudinal studies of its kind to track when consistent lying develops. The researchers asked both mothers and teachers to rate (over three years) the degree of disruptive behaviours and lying among more than 1100 boys and girls ages 6 to 8 years. Teachers also rated children’s disruptive behaviours at ages 10 and 11. They found that mothers generally rated their children as lying more often than teachers did. Mothers and teachers also rated boys as lying more than girls. Curiously, the rate of consistent lying didn’t change over time, and the disruptive behaviours as rated by teachers did not increase from age of 6, 7, And 8 to ages 10 and 11. Subsequently, the authors concluded that we put lying appears to be somewhat persistent by seven years of age and occurs concurrently with disruptive behaviors.

Question 25

The polygraph test

Answer 25

The modern polygraph test measures of several physiological signals that often reflect anxiety— most typically blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductance, a measure of palm sweating. The assumption is that dishonest suspects experience anxiety— and heightened autonomic activity— when confronted with questions that expose their falsehoods.

The most widely administered version of the polygraph test, the controlled question test (CQT), measures suspects physiological response following three major types of yes-no questions.

1. Relevant questions, or “did you do it”questions, those bearing on the crime in question (“Did you rob the bank on the afternoon of August 16?”)
2. Irrelevant questions, or those not bearing on the crime in question or on suspects lies. (is your name Sam Jones?)
3. Control questions, or those reflective probable lies. They typically inquire about trivial flaws— misdeeds about which most people will lie, especially under intense pressure. (Have you ever been tempted to steal anything from the store?). Suspects physiological activity following these questions supposedly provides a “baseline” for gauging the bottle your responses during known lies.
   
   If the suspects autonomic activity following the relevant questions is higher than that following relevant and controlled questions, polygraph examiners label the CQT results “deceptive”. Otherwise, they label them truthful (or inconclusive if the responses to irrelevant and control questions are about equal.)

Question 26

Pinocchio response

Answer 26

Supposedly perfect physiological or behavioural indicator of lying.

Yes psychological research calls existence of the Pinocchio response into serious question. Some people exhibit physiological arousal when they don’t lie, and some people don’t exhibit physiological arousal when they do lie.

Question 27

Evaluating the polygraph test

Answer 27

Although the polygraph test usually does better than chance at detecting lives, healed a higher rate of false positive that is, innocent individuals whom the test labels incorrectly as guilty. Putting it less technically, the polygraph test is biased against the innocent. Perhaps 40% or more. Consequently, the results of polygraph tests aren’t admissible.

The problem is that polygraph test confuses arousal with evidence of guilt. The polygraph test is Misnamed: it’s an arousal detector not a lie detector. Many people display arousal following relevant questions for reasons other than anxiety associated with lying, such as the fear of being convicted for a crime they didn’t commit. There is no Pinocchio response, at least none that psychologists have discovered.

The polygraph test may also yield a non-trivial number of false negatives that is, guilty individuals who won the test incorrectly labelled innocent. Many properly train subjects can “beat” the test by using countermeasures— measures design to alter the responses to control questions. To pass the polygraph test, we must exhibit a more pronounced physiological response to control questions than to relevant questions. Given less than 30 minutes of preparation, half or more of subjects can accomplish this goal by biting then tongues, curling their toes, or performing difficult mental arithmetic problems (such as counting backwards from 1000 by intervals of 17) during control questions. 

If the polygraph is so flawed, why are polygraph examiners persuaded of its validity? The answer probably lies in the fact the polygraph is often effective for eliciting confessions, especially when people fail the test people. As a result, polygraph examiner may come to believe that the test works, because many people who fail the test later “admit” they were lying.

Question 28

Other popular lie detection methods

Answer 28

Voice stress analysis to detect lies on the basis of findings that peoples voices increase in pitch when they lie. Yet because most people’s voices also go up and pitch when they’re stressed out, voice stress analyzers barely do better than chance at detecting lies. 

Guilty knowledge test (GKT)- alternative to the polygraph test the relies on the premise that criminals harbour concealed knowledge about the crime innocent people don’t. 

Conduct a series of multiple choice questions in which only one choice contains the object at the crime scene, such as a red handkerchief, and we’d measure the suspects physiological responses— like a skin conductance— following each choice. If, across many items, the suspects consistency shows pronounced physiological responses to only the objects at the crime scene, we can be reasonably certain that they were present at the crime scene— and probably committed it. In general, evidence offers at least some support for the ability of the GKT to detect concealed information. GKT has a low false positive rate— that is, It misidentifies few innocent people as guilty. Nevertheless, the GKT has a fairly high false negative rate because many criminals may have either not noticed or since forgotten key aspects of the crime scene.

Several researchers have attempted to improve on the traditional GKT by measuring suspects’ brain waves following each item, A technique called brain fingerprinting. Brain waves may be a more sensitive measure of the recognition of concealed knowledge than skin conductance or other indices used in the traditional GKT. Nevertheless, the scientific support for brain fingerprinting is preliminary. 

Integrity tests- Questionnaire that presumably assess his workers tendency to steal or cheat.

1.History of stealing.(Have you ever stolen anything from your place of work)
2. Attitude towards stealing. (Do you think that workers who steal property from the store should always be fired?)
3. Perceptions of others’ honesty. (Do you believe that most people steal from their companies every now and then?)

Predict employee theft, absenteeism, and other workplace misbehaviour at better than chance levels. Yet these tests yield numerous false positives. Ironically, some of these false positives may be people who are especially forgiving of others, such as those who believe in giving a second chance to desperate employees who steal a tiny amount of money to feed their families. Integrity tests may be biased against innocent.

Question 29

Positive psychology

Answer 29

Discipline that side to emphasize human strengths. Sought to change that state of neglect by emphasizing human strengths, such as resilience, coping, life satisfaction, love, and happiness. This field also focusses on helping people find ways to enhance positive emotions, like happiness and fulfillment, as well as on building psychologically healthy communities. You might be surprised to know that even though we may talk about environmental factors that enhance our happiness, recent studies show that roughly half of your happiness hinges on genetic factors. This is true for both men and women.
“Character strengths and virtues” Viewed as essential to positive psychology. Such as curiosity, love, and gratitude, are Positively associated with long-term life satisfaction. Moreover, controlled studies suggest that at least some positive psychology interventions, such as expressing gratitude toward others on a regular basis and writing about one’s positive experiences, tend to be modestly helpful enhancing moods and combatting depression.

Yet some psychologist have condoned positive psychology as a “fad.” They argue that the “look on the bright side of life” approach may have a downside. Placing people in negative moods also makes them less susceptible to some of the cognitive foibles humans are prone to such as false memories and the fundamental attribution error.

Question 30

Defensive pessimism

Answer 30

Strategy of anticipating failure and compensating for this expectation by mentally over preparing for negative outcomes.
“I spend a lot of time imagining what could go wrong” and “I often start out expecting the worst, even though I will probably do okay.” 

Robbing defensive pessimists of the pessimism— say, by cheering them up—makes them perform worse.

Moreover, optimists’ rose-colored glasses and tendency to gloss over their mistakes may sometimes prevent them from seeing reality clearly. For example, Optimists tend to recall feedback about their social skills as better than it was, which could prevent them from learning from their interpersonal errors, like inadvertently offending others. Optimist sometimes display greater Physiological responses to stressors, like bad health news, then pessimists, perhaps because they don’t spend enough time preparing for the worst. 

None of this takes away from the value of positive psychology for many people. But the problem of individual differences reminds us to be wary of “one size fits all” solutions to life’s multifaceted problems. Positive thinking is a key ingredient in many peoples recipe for happiness, but it may not be for everyone. 

Question 31

What happiness is good for

Answer 31

Happiness— generally defined as people’s subjective sense of how satisfied they are with life may produce enduring psychological and physical benefits.

Question 32

Broaden and build theory

Answer 32

Theory Proposing that Happiness Predisposes us to think more openly. 

As one test of this theory, doctors who received a small bag of candy made more accurate diagnosis of liver disease than other doctors, apparently because being in a good mood allowed them to consider alternative diagnostic possibilities. Broader thinking may permit us to find other solutions to problems. When we’re happy, we see more of the world and seek more opportunities, then we would have previously considered. Perhaps because of this tendency, happy people tend to have better social life than other people, probably because they seize on the chances to find and make friends.

All else being equal, life is easier for those of us who are optimists. Optimus tend to be happier in every day life the pessimist, and find it easier than pessimists to cope with life’s rocky road.

For example, when given threatening a medical information (such as their risk for developing cancer), optimist tend to pay more attention to it and remember it better than pessimists. This finding may partly explain why optimists tend to live longer than pessimists; they may be less likely to ignore risks to their health. 

Question 33

Misconceptions about happiness

Answer 33

Misconception 1: the prime determinant of happiness is what happens to us.
-In a study screened more than 200 post secondary students for their levels of happiness, and compared the upper 10% with the middle and lower 10%. The happiest students didn’t experience any more positive life events than the other groups.
-In another study, tracked the mood and activities of over 900 women by asking them to record their experiences. They found that life circumstances, such as their income and features of their job— like what other job included good benefits— were essentially uncorrelated with the women’s current level of happiness. In contrast, women sleep quality and tendencies toward depression we’re good predictors of happiness.

Misconception 2: money makes us happy. Money can’t buy long-term happiness. Admittedly, when we’re running out short of it, money is a bit related to happiness. Below about $50,000, there’s a modest association between how wealthy we are and how happy we are. But above about $50,000, additional money doesn’t make us much happier. They may forget that higher salaries often require a longer hours, which in turn means less free time and intern, often less happiness.
-Research suggests that money and material gifts to buy his happiness, at least once we are financially comfortable.

Misconception 3: happiness declines in old age. Happiness tends to increase with age, at least through the late 60s and perhaps 70s. Only when people are quite old, typically in their 80s, just happiness decreased noticeably. Interestingly, happiness drops dramatically in the last year of life. Although this correlation may reflect a casual effect of unhappiness on health, it may also reflect a casual effect of declining of health and happiness.

Misconception 4: people on the West Coast are the happiest. In this case, most not from the West Coast are probably failing prey to availability heuristic. When we think of the West Coast, we think of warm weather and beautiful scenery but ignore the high cost of living, high crime rates, traffic congestion, and all the other things that often come with living in popular areas.

Question 34

Positivity effect

Answer 34

Tendency for people to remember more positive than negative information with age. This effect, in turn, is accompanied by diminished activity of the amygdala, which plays a key role in the processing of negative emotions.

Question 35

Things that make us happy

Answer 35

•Marriage. Married people tend to be happier than unmarried people. Moreover, among people who are married, happiness is a good predictor of Marital satisfaction.

•Friendships. People with many friends tend to be happier than people with a few friends.

•College or university. People who graduate from college or university tend to be happier than people who don’t.

•Religion. People who are deeply religious tend to be happier than people who aren’t. This finding my reflect the fact that religious individuals often feel connected to a larger community as well as to a higher power.

•Political affiliation. In the United States, republicans tend to be happier than Democrats, both of whom tend to be happier than independents.

•Exercise. People who exercise regularly attend be happier and less depressed than people who don’t. Perhaps because exercise itself seems to be an anti-depressant.

•Gratitude. Merely asking participants on a daily basis to list reasons why they should be grateful about their lives, like having good friends, intimate romantic partners, a fulfilling job, can enhance short term happiness. Probably because doing so remind them of what they have.

•Giving. Experimental research in which experimenters give participants cash shows that spending money on other produces greater happiness and spending it on ourselves. This finding dovetails with research showing that we find performing empathetic behaviour toward others pleasurable.

•Flow. Has found the individuals in the midst of flow, a mental state in which we are completely immersed in what we’re doing, tend to be especially happy. Some of us experience flow writing, others while reading, others while performing manual labor, and still others while playing sports, performing music, or creating works of art. During moments of flow, we are so intensely engaged in a rewarding activity that we screen out unpleasant distractions. We also feel a powerful sense of control over our actions.

Still, we should bear to cautions in mind when interpreting these findings. First, the associations between these variables and happiness are typically modest in magnitude and there are many exceptions to the trends. For example, although there’s a slight tendency for married people to be happier than unmarried people, there are plenty of unhappy married people and happy unmarried people. Moreover, the apparent boost and happiness for marriage typically lasts only about two years.

Second, many of these findings derive from correlational research, so the direction of the casual arrow is often unclear. For example, although religious people tend to be happier than non-religious people, happier people may find it easier than unhappy people to embrace a meaningful religious faith. Moreover, although frequent flow experiences probably contribute to long-term happiness, happy people may be especially prone to flow experiences.

As the concept of flow implies, happiness often emerges from the super active enjoying what we do best, whether it’s our work, hobbies, or romantic partners. Happiness lies in the pursuit of the price, not the prize itself.

Question 36

Affective forecasting

Answer 36

Ability to protect our own and others’ happiness.

We engage in affective forecasting whenever we make a life decision, like picking a colour George University, entering into long-term relationship, or buying a car. We tell ourselves that each of our choices will boost our happiness, but we are typically no more accurate than a meteorologist who tries to forecast next weeks weather by poking their head out the window.

Question 37

Durability bias

Answer 37

Are affective forecasts aren’t merely wrong; they’re consistently wrong in One Direction. Specifically, we overestimate the long-term impact of events on our moods. That is, the belief that both are good and our bad moods last longer than they do.

-People with high levels of anxiety are especially likely to overestimate the long-term impact of negative events, consistent with the notion that anxiety is associated with an over sensitivity to potential threats.
-Lottery winners happiness shoots up sky high immediately after hitting the jackpot. Yet by two months later, their happiness is back to normal and not much higher than anyone else’s.
-Most people with paraplegia— people paralyzed from the waist— down return largely (although not entirely) to the baseline level of happiness only a few months after the Accidents. People with other major physical disabilities similarly cope surprisingly well; for example, people with vision loss or on average just as happy as people who can see.
-Before taking an HIV test, people understandably predict that they would be profoundly distressed were they to be HIV positive. Yet only five weeks after discovering there HIV positive, people are considerably happier than they expected to be. Moreover, people who discovered they were HIV negative are considerably less happy than they expected to be. 

What’s going on here? We underestimate how rapidly we adjust to her baseline level of happiness or unhappiness.

Question 38

Hedonic treadmill

Answer 38

Tennessee for our moods to adapt to external circumstances. 

Just as our running speeds adjust quickly to match the speed of a treadmill— or else we’ll fall flat on our faces— our levels of happiness adjust quickly to ongoing life situations. When something good happens to us, we feel better in the short term. Yet we soon adapt to our positive life circumstances, bringing us back to emotional square one.

Proposes that we begin life with a genetically influenced happiness “set-point” from which we bounce up and down in response to short term life events. With few exceptions, we return to that set point after a few days or weeks. We differ from each other in our happiness set points. Our happiness set points are quite stable, but they can occasionally shift overtime, especially following momentous life events. 

There’s a life lesson looking at all of this. Here, popular wisdom is correct: the grass is greener on the other side. It seems cleaner, that is until we’ve been on the other side for a while and realized at the grass still greener on yet another lawn. Although it is believed that the Happiness (gains) generated from getting a reward such as money diminishes overtime, they happiness (gains) generated from giving to others is much more stable and long lasting in comparison.

Question 39

Motivation

Answer 39

Your willingness to engage in things.

Especially wants and needs. The two most overpowering motivators in life our food and sex.

Question 40

Drive reduction theory

Answer 40

Theory proposing that certain drives, like hunger, thirst, and sexual frustration, motivate us to act in ways that minimize adverse states.
Note that all of these drives are unpleasant, but that satisfaction of them results in pleasure.

From the standpoint of evolutionarily theory, drives are geared to ensure our survival and reproduction. Yet some drives are more powerful than others. Thirst is more potent than hunger, and for good reason. Natural selection has probably ensure that our drive to quench our thirst is stronger than our drive to satisfy our hunger because most of us can survive only a few days without water but for over a month without food. Most drive reduction theories propose that we are motivated to maintain a given level of psychological homeostasis— that is, equilibrium. 

To understand equilibrium, think of how a thermostat works to control the temperature in your house or apartment. It’s set to give a temperature, and when the room temperature deviates up or down from the setpoint, the thermostat “tells” your cooling or heating system to restore equilibrium. Similarly, when we’re hungry, we are motivated to satisfied that drive by eating, but ideally not too much. If you eat too much, our brain signals to us that we have overdone things and doesn’t allow us to become hungry again for a while.

Question 41

Yerkes-Dodson law

Answer 41

Inverted U-shaped relation between arousal on the one hand and mood and performance on the other hand.

There’s an optimal point of arousal for each of us, usually near the middle of the curve. If we are below the optimal point, we typically experience low motivation and don’t perform well. If we are above the optimal point, we typically feel too anxious or stimulated and likewise don’t perform well. Only when we’re moderately aroused do we experience the ideal balance of motivation and control to accomplish our tasks. Our arousal level often shift depending on the time a day, substances we congested, and complexity of the tasks were confronting.

When we’re under aroused we frequently experience stimulation hunger that is, and dry for stimulation. We can satisfy this desire in a number of ways: fidgeting, fantasizing, listening to music, socializing with friends, or doing wheelies on a motorcycle. Under arousal can hide in our sense of curiosity, motivating us to explore stimuli that our complex or not awful, like a challenging book or a piece of abstract art.

Ex of this
In classic studies of sensory deprivation volunteers who entered isolation tanks for several hours after manage to create their own mental stimulation in the state of extreme under arousal. Many experienced rich sensory images and a few began to see or hear things that weren’t there. Their brains yanked them out of the low end of Yerkes-dodson curve. 

Question 42

When our drives clash: Approach and avoidance

Answer 42

Certain drives generate tendencies toward approach— that is, a predisposition towards certain stimuli, like food or objects of our sexual desire. In contrast, others generate tendencies toward avoidance— that is, a disposition away from certain stimuli, like rude people or frightening animals. 

Approach and avoidance often drive a conflict, as when we want to introduce ourselves in attractive person across the room but are terrified of rejection. In other cases, 2 approach drives conflict, as can 2 Avoidance drives. Generally, the Avoidance gradient is steeper than the approach gradient. As we get closer to our goals, our tendencies to avoid increase more rapidly than our tendencies to approach. This phenomenon helps explain why we often agree to do things months in advance, only to regret them later. 

4 types
Approach—approach conflict
Both goals are pleasant

Avoidance—avoidance conflict
Both goals are unpleasant

Approach—avoidance conflict
Goal is both pleasant and unpleasant

Double approach—avoidance conflict
Two goals are both pleasant and unpleasant

Question 43

Incentive theories

Answer 43

Theory proposing that we are often motivated by positive goals.

Many of these theories, in turn, distinguish intrinsic motivation, in which people are motivated by internal goals, from extrinsic motivation, in which people are motivated by external goals.

Is we are intrinsically motivated to do well in a psychology class, we are driven primarily by our desire to master the material; if we’re extrinsically motivated to do well in this class, we are driven primarily by our desire to get a good grade.

Yet there’s evidence that certain rewards that we might expect to be reinforcers undermine intrinsic motivation, rendering us less likely to perform behaviours we once enjoyed. Mini psychologists and some popular Writers have interpret these findings as implying that when we see her selves performing a behaviour to obtain an external go, we conclude that we were all that interested in the behaviour in the first place.

Contrast effect: once we receive reinforcement for performing a behavior, we anticipate that reinforcement again. If the reinforcement is suddenly withdrawn, we are less likely to perform the behavior. 

It may be an oversimplification to categorize activities narrowly as either intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Much of what we do probably reflects a mix of both motives. In fact, the most rewarding activities— where our true passions may lie— ideally reap both personal (intrinsic) and financial (extrinsic) rewards, such as when our career choices or daily activities match what we love doing for its own sake.

Question 44

Our needs: physical and psychological urges

Answer 44

Primary needs— biological necessities, like hunger and thirst, from secondary needs— psychological desires. 20 secondary needs, including the need for achievement. 

Question 45

Hierarchy of needs

Answer 45

Model, developed by Abraham maslow proposing that we must Satisfy physiological needs and needs for safety and security before progressing to more  complex needs.

These complex needs include desires for belonging and love, self-esteem, and finally self-actualization, the drive to realize our full psychological potential. As we progress up Maslow’s hierarchy, we move away from needs produced by drives and coordinates produced by incentives.

Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us of an often overlooked point: when people are starving or malnourished, they often are concerned about abstract principles of psychological growth, such as achieving self knowledge or obtaining democratic freedoms. First things must come first.

Hierarchy goes: top to bottom
Self-actualization
Esteem needs
Belonging needs
Safety needs
Physiological needs

The numerous cases of starving artist, who continue to pay masterworks despise being hungry and poor, appear to falsify Maslow’s claim open and variant hierarchy of needs.

Question 46

Basal metabolic rate

Answer 46

Minimum number of calories to support basic life functions and processes. It changes with your own experiences, variable for people.

Things that affect it: testosterone, muscle mass, height, overall body size, hormones (cortisol and reproductive hormones). But the biggest impact is how much exercise you get and muscle mass.

Being able to support the amount of activity you have increases what the BMR is.
The restriction of calories directly affects basal metabolic rate. It Decreases the need so your body it does not start to eat itself.
If you increase exercise like building muscle, it increases metabolic rate, which means your body burns more calories every day.

Starvation:
Body compensates by dropping BMR. Body adjusts metabolic rate so it doesn’t waste energy on things it doesn’t need. When brought back up to normal BMR levels, you gain all the weight back but with interest. Ex: (175 decrease 135 increase 193). This is because BMR stayed low even after returning to pre-starvation levels. This is a genetic predisposition of “better safe than sorry.” Even if we have food now, we still remember starving. So with every cycle you starve, the BMR gets lower and lower. 

Question 47

Hunger and the hypothalamus

Answer 47

Two areas of the hypothalamus play different roles and eating. Consider two rats in the same cage that could look more different. Rat 1 is very large; some might say humongous. Rat 2 is scrawny to the point of requiring force-feeding to survive. Scientists supersize the first rat by electrically stimulating the lateral (side) parts of the hypothalamus. The second rat became sickly skinny when researchers destroyed its lateral hypothalamus by making a small lesion to it.

Based on these findings, scientists concluded that the lateral hypothalamus plays a key role in initiating eating.

Something remarkable happens when researchers stimulate the ventromedial Or lower middle part of rats hypothalamus: the furry creatures eat very little or stop eating entirely. When researchers lesion the same part of the brain, the rats become so hefty they look as if they’re about to burst. The ventromedial hypothalamus seems to let rats know when to stop eating. 

Other regions of the hypothalamus, including the arcuate nucleus and paraventricular nucleus, also respond to hunger and satiety signals. 

In reality, a complex sequence of events mediated by different brand areas and body regions choreographs eating. A distended or full stomach activates neurons in the hypothalamus and common response, we were just starting portrait impulses to reach for that second cookie. A hormone produced in the stomach called ghrelin communicates with the hypothalamus to increase hunger.

Question 48

Glucostatic theory

Answer 48

Theory that when our blood sugar levels drop, hunger create a drive to eat to restore the proper level of glucose. 

In this way, we achieve homeostasis, the balance of energy we take in and expand. People gain weight when there’s an in balance, such that more energy is taken into the body than expected by way of exercise or the body’s ability to burn excess calories through metabolic processes.

Glucose blood sugar provides ourselves with high-octane energy. Our bodies produce glucose from proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Hypothalamus is in tune with the changing levels of glucose, signal to buy receptors for glucose in the liver and hypothalamus. 

Our self-reported hunger and desire for a meal are better predictors of energy intake in our meals over a 3 day. Then our glucose levels. 

Question 49

Leptin

Answer 49

Hormone that signals the hypothalamus and brainstem to reduce appetite and increase the amount of energy used.

The more stored energy in fat cells, the more they produce a hormone called leptin.

The mere sight, taste, smell, and thought of possible food in our environment can trigger with the release of neurotransmitters, including Serotonin, the activate the brains pleasures circuits.

Question 50

Setpoint

Answer 50

Value that establishes a range of body and muscle mass that we tend to maintain.

When we eat too little and drop below are some point, regulatory mechanical mechanisms kick in to increase her appetite or decrease our metabolism. In this way, our body defence against weight loss.

People who are obese try to keep their weight below their set point. Consequently, Their hunger much of the time, which increases the appeal of tasty, high calorie foods that makes dieting difficult. When we eat too much, the opposite occurs. Without our ever realizing it, our bodies turn down or appetite and increase our metabolism.

According to the setpoint Hypothesis, an obese person has a biological predisposition towards greater weight than a thin person. No one knows for sure what sets the setpoint, but individuals who are obese maybe born with more fat cells, with lower metabolic rate at which their bodies burn calories, or with less sensitivity to leptin than thin people. Some people seem to bulk up like sumo wrestlers no matter how little they eat, whereas others remain then has a reed no matter how much they eat.

What is clear is that we’re not fated to remain at a fixed weight; there’s a range of weights we can settle into. Most of us can control and modifier our weight, within limits, by staying active and eating healthy diet. 

Question 51

External cues to eating

Answer 51

However, genes don’t completely determine our weight. External cues, such as the time of day, observing others sample multiple portions of tempting desserts, and expectation, all play prominent rolls and food consumption. The supersizing of portions called— portion distortion— has probably contributed to the supersizing of Americans. 

For example when people are served M&Ms with a large spoon, they eat substantially more of them than when they’re served with a small spoon.

Because we think in terms of “units” of things as optimum amount— a heuristic called unit bias— controlling portions of food consumed is a good way to control our way. A nifty trick to keep in mind is to eat food on the smaller plate: doing so will make portions appear bigger and limit the amount we eat. 

Question 52

Genetic predisposition to flavour preferences and tolerances

Answer 52

Salty, sweet, or fatty are flavours we are genetically( Evolutionarily) predisposed to prefer (Inborn preferences).

Important to note that preferences only go away if they are maladaptive or actively cause problems. 

Because they were associated with high quantities of calories and relatively safe foods. Like ripe fruit and animal fat.

Anything that we had to work really hard for, or required a great deal of effort or were rare, we have a preference for. 

In the natural world things associated with sour and bitter mean toxins. Smaller you are the toxins are more risky.

Tolerances to food happens to. For example, if you get a lot of sugar. Your body makes a pattern dealing with insulin, and if you don’t get enough sugar experience cravings and almost withdrawal symptoms. Same thing kind of goes With going from me eating diet to vegetarian diet and vice versa. May experience gastrointestinal issues associated with that adjustment. Because when we eat meat, your body produces enzymes that break down the animal protein. So when you don’t eat meat, your hypothalamus in conversation with your gut decreases the amount of enzymes needed. You produce as much as you need to digest what you typically consume. If you don’t gradually increase me and take, you actually don’t have the compensatory response to deal with that food. This is how nonassociated learning/classical conditioning affects eating. 

Question 53

Internal external Theory

Answer 53

Theory holding that obese people are motivated to eat more by external cutest an internal cues. 

Such as portion size, taste, smell, and appearance of food, then by internal cues like a growling stomach or feelings of fullness. Even continuing to eat after they’ve become full and they base their food choices on appealing qualities of food, time of day, or social circumstances. 

Question 54

Bulimia nervosa

Answer 54

Eating disorder associated with a pattern of bingeing and purging in an effort to lose or maintain weight.

Bingeing and purging set up a vicious cycle. Purging is reinforcing because it relieves anxious feelings after over eating and sidesteps weight gain. But it sets the stage for bouts of over eating. This cycle can be physically hazardous, resulting in heart problems (which could be fatal), tears to the esophagus, and wearing away of tooth enamel. 

Report high levels of body dissatisfaction and artistry themselves as obese when they’re of normal weight. Are perfectionists with low self-esteem and an especially strong need for approval.

Question 55

Anorexia nervosa

Answer 55

Eating disorder associated with excessive weight loss and he irrational perception that one is overweight.

Usually begins in adolescence, sometimes influenced by sociocultural pressures to be thin. Individuals with bulimia tend to be in the normal weight range, those with anorexia become emaciated in the relentless pursuit of thinness. Along with a fear of fatness individuals with anorexia— like those with bulimia— have a distorted perception of their body size. Even those with bone showing through their skin may describe themselves as fat.

Psychologists diagnose anorexia when individuals display a refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal wait for age and height (specifically, their body weight is less than 85% of that expected.) Often lose between 25 and 50% of their body weight. 

Stubbornly deny the seriousness of their condition and resist pressure from family and friends to gain weight. Starvation can actually produce symptoms of anorexia. It’s clear that once people severely reduced their food intake, starvation itself can lead to many of the symptoms of anorexia and bulimia.

With continued low weight, loss of menstrual periods, hair loss, heart problems, life-threatening electrolyte in balance, and fragile bones may result. Some researchers put the morality rate for anorexia at 5 to 10%, making it one of most life-threatening of all psychological conditions. 

Question 56

Sexual desire(Libido)

Answer 56

Is a wish or craving for sexual activity and sexual pleasure. Deeply rooted in our genes in biology, but also influenced by social and cultural factors. 

Sexual want to start strong and sometimes enhanced sexual interest in the short term.

DRD4, Protein related to prevent transmission, or correlated with a student reports of sexual desire and arousal. These findings don’t touch tail with research showing the document plays a key role and reward. Medicines that block the release serotonin and increase the release of dopamine and norepinephrine— 2 neurotransmitters critical for sexual desire— can be prescribed to treat low sexual desire in pre-menopausal women. 

People sexuality is deeply in bedded in the relationships and feelings for one another. People experience more frequent a consistent orgasms when they love their partner and feel loved and return, and feel satisfied in the relationship. But we can? Also direction between relationship quality and the frequency and consistency of orgasms. Frequent orgasms may not merely reflect healthy relationships but also contribute to them. 

As people age, the frequency of their sexual activities decreases but their sexual satisfaction doesn’t. Perhaps people expect their sexual activity to decreases the age, so they’re not disappointed by this change.


Question 57

Males compared to females: sexual desire

Answer 57

Compared with females, Males desire sex more frequently and experience more sexual arousal, Have a greater number and variety of sexual fantasies, think about sex more often, masturbate more frequently, want to have more sexual partners, and desire sex earlier in a relationship.

Females tend to experience greater variability than males in their sex drive, and females with high sex drives tend to be attracted to both males and females. In contrast, males with high sex drives tend to be attracted to only one sex or the other, depending on their sexual orientation. In contrast to men, women’s appetite for sex— but not their need for romantic tenderness— appears to decline after they form a secure relationship.

From an evolutionarily perspective, a relatively high sex drive at the beginning of a relationship cements the pair bond, and when sex drive falters, it may pique up meals’ sexual interest. Meanwhile, females sexual interest remain stable, perhaps to equal that of potential sexual competitors. Of course, none of these findings about sex necessarily apply to any individual male or female, but there is tremendous variability in sexual interest of my males and females indeed, at least as much variability as there is between males and females generally.

Socialization may help to explain why males and females appear to differ in sexual desire. Females are socialized to be less assertive and aggressive in many aspects of life, including the expression of their sex desires. So perhaps females and males actually experience comparable sexual drives, but female dont express or admit their desires as much. 

Males are more reliable to orgasm when have sex then when females who are having sex with males. However, females are more reliable when having sex with another female.

The number of nerve endings in the Clitorus are nearly the same as the nerve endings in the penis. However the density of nerve endings is far greater in the clit so its physical more intense. B/c you have that many more nerves. Females don’t have a refractory period like males, so they can have another orgasm right after the other.

Question 58

Sexual response cycle.

Answer 58

The basic sexual arousal cycle is the same for males and females. Contains four phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Question 59

Excitement phase

Answer 59

Phrase in human sexual response in which people experience sexual pleasure and notice physiological changes associated with it. Is called Vasocongestion: veins become full. Blood is rushing to genitalia. Allows penile erection in males and vaginal swelling, nipples become erect too, contraction of scrotum, elongation of vagina, and lubrication in females.

The excitement phase is initiated by whatever proms sexual interest. People often experience less sexual desire when they’re tired, distracted, stressed out, in pain, or ill. Lack of attraction to a partner, depression, anxiety, and resentment can also inhibits sexual desire.

Question 60

Plateau phase 

Answer 60

Phase in human sex response In which sexual tension built. 

Isn’t increasing but isn’t going away. So might stay at a level of arousal.

Question 61

Orgasm (climax) phase

Answer 61

Phase in human sexual response marked by involuntary rhythmic contractions in the muscles of genitals in both males and females. called general myotonia- muscle contractions throughout body, inside vagina, uterus, also scrotum, testes. These muscle that contraction are known as pubococygeous muscles: also known as kegel muscles/pelvic floor. Exercising these muscles can lead to stronger orgasms.

With males contractions assist with moving semen out of penis and into vagina.

With females contractions assist with getting semen up past cervix into uterus. Act as a suction cup so cervix dips down and grab semen to pull it in.

Brain scans reveal that one individual achieve orgasm, the areas that control fear in the amygdala become less active then when people are sexually aroused.

Other animals have pubococygeous muscles, but don’t use them in the same way. Ex: dogs waging their tails use these muscles.


Question 62

Resolution phase

Answer 62

Phase in human sexual response following orgasm, in which people report relaxation and a sense of well-being as the body returns to its unstimulated state. 

Question 63

Sexuality and culture

Answer 63

People’s expression of sexual desires is shaped by social norms and culture. Fascinating observations reveal how cultural norms and form peoples idea what sexually appropriate or inappropriate.

When members of the tsonga tribe in Africa first saw Europeans kissing, they laughed and remarked, “look at them to eat each other’s saliva and dirt.” Admittedly, they have a point. Members of the apinaly society in Brazil don’t kiss, but the women of the tribe may bite off their lovers eyebrows and noisily spit them to one side. Women of the island Turk or even less kind, at least by Western standards: the customarily poke a finger into the man’s ear when they’re sexually excited. 

Residence of non-western society’s, including India, Iraq, and China, place a much greater value on Chastity in a potential partner than individuals in western European countries, including Sweden, Holland, and France.

Question 64

Sexual orientation

Answer 64

Same-sex romantic relationships develop in virtually all cultures have done so since the dawn of record of history. Biologists have documented documented same-sex behaviour in some 450 species. People different in their sexual orientation or interest in the same sex partners, opposing sex partners, or both.

Sexual orientation is it the same as sexual activity. For example, People may restrict their sexual partners to the opposite sex individuals, yet be sexually attracted to the same sex individuals. People also different and how they think and feel about their sex orientation. Many people who engage in occasional same-sex activities view themselves as heterosexual. In fact, sexual orientation doesn’t affect an individuals approach to parenting, gay parents are equally likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive environment for their children. 

Bearing in mind the caveat that heritability doesn’t imply that a characteristic can’t be changed, most scientists are skeptical about the ability of gay and lesbian individuals to change their sexual orientation because there are indications of inborn differences between gay, lesbian, and heterosexual individuals.

Brain differences:
LeVay’s Research in which investigators exposed gay men and heterosexual men and women to substance is believed to be pheromones. One heterosexual men smoked chemicals produced in female urine, their hypothalamus is became active. When heterosexual women smelled a substance to ride from distrust drone produced in mail sweat, the same thing happened. The most intriguing finding was that gay men’s brains responded like heterosexual women’s when they smelled the substance derived from male sweat. These results are consistent with the LeVay’s findings that the hypothalamus is related to sexual orientation.

Question 65

Attractiveness

Answer 65

Proposed childhood gender non-conformity plays a pivotal role in sexual orientation. Boys who lack aggressiveness and avoid rough and tumble play may prefer the company of girls and thus be gender nonconforming. Nonconforming children feel different and estranged from their peers and perceive their same sex peers as unfamiliar and exotic. Children’s sense of being different from there same-sex peers, and possibly being the subject of teasing or ridicule, arouses the autonomic nervous system’s, this arousal is transformed into attraction for same-sex peers. It’s unlikely that Bem’s theory accounts for all or even most gay individual sexual preferences, because only about half of gay men and lesbian women report having been feminine and masculine, respectfully, in childhood. Still, one strength of bem’s theory is it’s acknowledgement of the interplay of genetic and environmental influences, including play activities and peer reactions.

Some Scientific discoveries arise from serendipity— that is, sheer luck. A study administered a battery of personality, attitude, and interest measures to 725 incoming college men and women during freshman welcome week. Paired the students randomly for a leisurely date and dance lasting 2 1/2 hours, giving them the chance to get acquainted. Which variables, the researchers wondered, would predict whether the partners were interested in a second date? Much to their surprise, the only variable that significantly predicted attraction was the one the researchers had included only as an afterthought: People’s level of a physical attractiveness as rated by their partners.Physically attractive people tend to be more popular than physically unattractive people. 

Question 66

Sex hormones, prenatal influences

Answer 66

When the fetus develops, sex hormones called androgens influence whether the brain sets the child on a path toward a more masculine than feminine characteristics, or vice versa. According to one theory, girls exposed to Excessive testosterone in the womb develop masculinized brains, and boys exposed to a little testosterone develop feminized brains. These hormonal influences affect temperament and set the stage for childhood gender non-conformity and a gay or lesbian orientation in later life. 

Bipotential genital tissue
It is set up to develop into 1 of 2 different patterns.
XY- male. XX-female.

This can explain why females and males describe their orgasm very similarly

Reliable Sexual Differentiation is in the older subcortal areas, like limbic, no reliable diff in cortex or the thinky thinky parts. Just the more instinctive and emotional areas.

Question 67

Social influences on interpersonal attraction

Answer 67

Attraction is only the initial stage in relationship, but we need to feel a twinkle of chemistry with someone before deciding whether we are compatible enough with them in our core values and attitudes before proceeding any further. Scientist suggest that friendship, dating, and mate choices aren’t random. Three major principles guide attraction and relationship formation: proximity, similarity, and reciprocity.

Proximity: physical nearness; predictor of attraction. Affords the opportunity for relationship formation. Simple truth of human relationships is that our closest friends often live, study, work, or play close to us. We’re most likely to be attracted to and befriend people nearby, whom we see on a regular basis.

Similarity: extent to which we have things in common with others; a predictor of attraction. With little in common, you might find it difficult to establish a personal connection. Scientists have found that there’s much more truth to the adage “Birds of a feather flock together” than the equally well-worn proverb “opposites attract.” whether it’s Art, music, food Preferences, educational level, physical attractiveness, or values, we are attracted to people who are similar to us. We’re also more likely to befriend, date, and Marry compatible people. Similarly pays off in the long run too. Married couples who share similar traits are more likely to stay together then dissimilar couples. 

Similarity greases the wheels of social interaction for a few reasons. First, when peoples interests and attitudes overlap, the foundation is paved for mutual understanding. Second, we assume that will be readily accepted and liked by others who see eye to eye with us. Similar people may share common goals, and achieve shared goals, in return, enhances attraction; likewise, attraction may bring people together to achieve common goals. Third, people who share our likes and dislikes provided validation for our views and help us feel good about ourselves. There may be even considerable truth to the saying “the enemy of my Enemy is my friend.” Are you search demonstrates the glue the Pines friendships, especially in the early stages, is showing negative impressions about others. Negative gossip me a permit us to elevate ourselves at the expense of others, thereby enhancing our self-esteem.

Reciprocity: rule of give-and-take; a protector of attraction. Across cultures, there’s a norm for reciprocity that begins to kick into motion as early as 11 years of age. That is, we tend to feel obligated to give what we get and maintain equity in a relationship. Liking begets liking, And revealing personal information begets disclosure. Suggests that when we believe people like us, we’re inclined to feel attracted to them. When we believe that our partner finds us attractive or likable, we generally act more likeable in response to the ego posting information. Talking about meaningful things is a vital element of most friendships. In particular, disclosure about intimate topics often brings about intimacy. When one person talks about superficial topics or discusses intimate topics in a superficial way, low levels of disclosure often result. Although a lack complete lack of reciprocity can put our relationship into the deep freeze, Absolute reciprocity isn’t required to make a relationship hum, especially when one partner responses to our disclosures with sympathy and concern. 

Question 68

Sexual differences in what we find attractive: nature or nurture?

Answer 68

The importance people attached to physical attractiveness varies across cultures, Heterosexual males consistently place more weight and looks in females than heterosexual females do in males. Heterosexual males also prefer females who are somewhat younger than they are. Heterosexual females tend to place more emphasis then do males on having a partner with a high level of financial resources. In contrast to males, females prefer partners who are someone older than they are. Still, males and females value many of the same things. Both sexes put a premium on having a partner who is intelligent, dependable, and kind. 

Evolutionary theorists point out that because most males produce enormous numbers of sperm— they typically pursue a mating strategy to maximize the chances that at least one of the sperm will find a receptive egg at the end of its long journey. Evolutionary psychologists contend, males are on the lookout for cues of potential health and fertility, such as physical attractiveness and youth. Females, In contrast, typically produce only one egg per month, so they must be choosy. Heterosexual females tend to pursue a mating strategy that maximizes the chances that the males with whom they mate will provide well for their offspring— hence their preference for males who are well off monetarily and a bit more experienced in the ways of life. 

Social role theory:
Biological variables play a role in males and females preferences, but not in the way that evolutionarily psychologists contend. Instead, biological factors can constrain the roles that males and females adopt. Because males tend to be bigger and stronger than females, they’ve more often ended up playing the roles of Hunter, food provider, and warrior. Moreover, because males don’t bear children, they have considerable opportunities to pursue higher status positions. In contrast, because females bear children, they’ve more often ended up playing the role of childcare provider and have been more limited in pursuing high status positions. 

Some of these differences in traditional roles may help to explain heterosexual male and females differing meet preferences. For example, because females have typically held if you were higher status positions than males, they may have preferred males who are dependable financial providers. Consistent with social role theory, males and females have become more similar in their mate preferences over the last half century, Perhaps reflecting the increasing social opportunities for women across that time period. So although nature made channel males and females into somewhat different rules and therefore different made preferences, nurture may shape these rules and preferences in significant ways. 

Being average has its pluses. Research has found that people generally prefer faces that are the most average. Average faces are more symmetrical the non-average faces, so our preferences for average faces might be due to the greater symmetry. Yet studies shows that even when faces are symmetrical, people still prefer faces that are more average. Evolutionary psychologists speculated the “averageness” In a face tends to reflect an absence of genetic mutations, serious diseases, and other abnormalities. As a consequence, we could be drawn to people with such faces, as they’re often better “genetic catches”. Studies show the people prefer not merely average faces, but average animals, like birds and fish, and even average objects, like cars and watches. So our preference for average faces may be due to an alternative mechanism—namely, a more general preference for anything that’s average. Perhaps we find average stimuli to be more familiar and easier to process mentally because they reflect stimuli we’ve seen before many times. 

Question 69

Love

Answer 69

According to Elaine Hatfield and Richard Rapson, there are two major types of love: passionate and compassionate. Robert Sternberg, puts the number at seven.

Passionate love: love marked by powerful, even overwhelming, longing for once partner. It’s a strange mix of delirious happiness when we were around the object of desire and utter misery when we’re not. It’s the stuff of which Hollywood movies are made. Is fuelled when obstacles, such as seemingly insurmountable physical distance or the strenuous objection of parents, are placed in the way of romance. Such hurdles may heighten arousal, thereby intensifying passion, as Schachter and Singer’s 2-factor theory would predict. Individuals who are experiencing society about a potential partners romantic involvement express greater preference for a serious relationship then for a one night stand. Uncertainty about how relationships will unfold, combined with hope that romantic feelings will be reciprocated, fuel attachment and desire. The good news is that long-term passionate love is possible. 

Compassionate love: love marked by a sense of deep friendship and fondness for ones partner. Romantic relationships tend to progress over time from passionate to compassionate love, although most healthy relationships retain at least a spark of passion. Growing evidence that compassionate and passionate love or psychologically independent. Studies indicate that people can fall in love with partners in the sense of caring deeply about them yet experience a little or no sexual desire toward them. In addition, these two forms of love may be associated with differing brain systems. Animal research suggests that emotional attachment to others is influenced largely by such hormones as oxytocin, which plays a key role in pair bonding and interpersonal trust. In contrast, sexual desire is influenced by sex hormones, just such testosterone and estrogen.

Triangular theory of love proposed three major elements of love: intimacy (“I feel really close to this person”); passion (“I’m crazy about this person”); commitment (“I really want to stay with this person.”) These elements combine to form 7 varieties of love. Sternberg’s model is more of a description of love types then an explanation of why people fall in love, but it’s a hopeful roadmap toward understanding one of life’s great mysteries.
The seven types are:
Intimacy (Liking) (1)
Passion (Infatuation) (2)
Commitment (Empty love) (3)
Romantic love (4)
Passion + intimacy
Fatuous love (5)
Passion + commitment
Companionate love (6)
Intimacy + commitment
Consummate love (7)
Intimacy + commitment + passion

Question 70

What is the purpose of an organism?

Answer 70

From evolutionary perspective, sex leads to offspring.

Thrusting patterns during excitation phase tend to be longer strokes. These tend to remove semen from the vagina. So if got in there and semen already in there, longer strokes would actually get rid of it. This is known as the last male advantage. In evolutionary approaches to sexuality it’s related to a large field of study called sperm competition.
Thrusting that occurs when someone is reaching orgasm tend to be short strokes and increase in intensity. This increases likelihood that all the ejaculate will remain in the vagina. Not intended to remove semen, the idea is that it’ll increase likelihood of offspring

In the sense of Sperm competition, the head of penis is like a little scooper. The ridge around penis actually helps to scrap things out of vagina.

Evolutionary explanations for a sexual behaviour, if you look across the animal kingdom, unfortunately there are benefits to using violence in order to achieve procreation. This comes up in sperm competition.

Question 71

Why want orgasms but no kids?

Answer 71

How do we explain all the orgasms people want to have but don’t want to have kids or having sex that can’t reach production.

Evolution and adaptations that we have.
Like eating and flavour preferences leading to bodyweight. We have these adaptations (evolved predispositions) to want particular things because it will lead to an increase the likelihood of survival or reproduction for our ancestors. But the predispositions don’t go away just because you don’t need them. They only go away if they were maladaptive or started causing problems. 

You don’t have to want babies to want an orgasm. It’s enough across the animal kingdom that orgasms on average lead to babies. Because evolutionarily Your preferences lead to increased likelihood of survival or reproduction, preferably both. Preference is not for having kids, not even sex that could lead to reproduction but to have an orgasm.

Like having a sweet tooth. You might like orgasms because you come from a long unbroken line of people who like orgasms. Simple as that. 

Modern day:
We don’t need to have offspring so much now because we have things like healthcare that increase life. For our ancestors having a lot of kids increased likelihood that some will make it to adulthood and into the next generation and so on. To continue the genetic lineage. In the modern environment we are over populated, so it doesn’t make much sense for people to have as many offspring.

You can’t just tell yourself you don’t like sweets anymore, same thing if you know You’re not going to reproduce, we don’t just tell ourselves “well I just don’t need to have sex anymore.” Because people still have that instinct to want an orgasm.

Question 72

Prolactin

Answer 72

It’s important for opposing dopamine release. Dopamine release makes you keep doing things over and over. So if an orgasm happens you could just keep pressing the button. Prolactin helps people stop and makes you feel satisfied and that you can stop. Prolactin release is higher when you’re with a partner then when you masturbate.