chap. 1

Question 1

One of the most important features of the human brain is the ability to…

Answer 1

Anticipate the future.

Question 2

A ___ is a cognitive representation of a future outcome that the individual is…

Answer 2

Goal

Question 3

Kara said something rude to Jennifer at lunch. Jennifer keeps wondering what motivated her to say it. In this example, Jennifer is pondering the ___ property of Kara’s motivation.

Answer 3

Initiation.

Question 4

People who are ___ in ___-___ are more likely to struggle with aggression, criminality, academic failures , and personal relationship failures.

Answer 4

Low in Self-control

Question 5

True or false: Language makes humans different from other animals.

Answer 5

False: Chimpanzees can communicate using sign language.

Question 6

True or false: Self-awareness makes humans different from other animals.

Answer 6

False: Chimpanzees can recognize themselves in the mirror.

Question 7

What makes humans different from other animals?

Answer 7

The ability to imagine and prepare for the future is unique to humans. Animals are only able to anticipate what is going to happen in the immediate future.

Question 8

True or false: We are not born with the ability to project our mind into the future.

Answer 8

True: The prefrontal cortex allows us to do this planning, but it doesn’t fully develop until our mid-20s.

Question 9

At what age does the prefrontal cortex develop?

Answer 9

Mid-20s.

Question 10

Why is it that teens tend to take more risky decisions?

Answer 10

Because the prefrontal cortex has not developed yet.

Question 11

What procedure enabled us to discover an important function of the prefrontal lobe: Planning and sticking to goals?

Answer 11

The lobotomy.

Question 12

Define motivation.

Answer 12

It is the underlying processes that provides energy and direction for behaviour.

Question 13

What are the 2 elements of motivation?

Answer 13

Energy and direction.

Question 14

The energy aspect of motivation suggests that behaviour can vary in terms of what 3 elements?

Answer 14

Initiation; intensity; & persistence.

Question 15

Give a definition and example of the 3 elements of energy.

Answer 15

Initiation: Refers to starting a behaviour
- p.ex: if i begin to run in my weekly routine, we may ask “what motivated her to start running?”
Intensity: Refers to the quality of being felt strongly or having a strong effect
- p.ex: am i very adamant to run a 10k or am i just planning to take a little jog here and there?
Persistence: Refers to how long something continues
- p.ex: i can run for a month or for a year

Question 16

Give a definition to direction.

Answer 16

Direction suggests that behaviour has purpose and is aimed at achieving a particular goal. You may be motivated to approach a particularly desirable outcome or to avoid an undesirable outcome.

Question 17

Give an example of direction.

Answer 17

p.ex: you are motivated to drink because you are thirsty, you thus seek out water vs. seeking out alcohol to drown sorrows
p.ex: one person may be motivated to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to lose weight, while another avoids eating fast food.

Question 18

What 2 aspects did we used to believe were important for success in life?

Answer 18

Intelligence and self-esteem.
Self-esteem: believed that people would get involved in bad behaviours (crime, gangs, etc.) because they don’t love themselves enough. This created an all-time high in narcissism following this thought.

Question 19

What aspect of motivation should we be emphasizing?

Answer 19

Self-control or willpower.

Question 20

Define self-control.

Answer 20

Refers to our ability to regulate and change our own thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. It is what allows us to become the person we want to be, not just the person we currently are.

Question 21

True or false: If we didn’t have self-control, we would always succumb to our temptations.

Answer 21

True.

Question 22

True or false: People low in self-control are better able to stick to their goals and not get steered off course by temptations.

Answer 22

False: People HIGH in self-control have that ability.

Question 23

True or false: People with high self-control have higher success in every aspect of life.

Answer 23

True.

Question 24

True or false: Many social problems seem to be linked to poor self-control.

Answer 24

True.

Question 25

What did the longitudinal study by Moffitt find about self-control?

Answer 25

They found that self-control at age 3 predicted health, wealth, and criminality at age 32.

Question 26

What is the relation between temptation and self-control?

Answer 26

A study found that temptation is the norm, they are everywhere; food, sex, sleep, leisure, media, etc. We thus need to exert a great amount of self-control to resist these temptations.

Question 27

What are the 3 most common temptations?

Answer 27

Eating, drinking non-alcoholic beverages (soda), and sleeping. These are all directly linked to our survival

Question 28

What are the highest intensity temptations?

Answer 28

Sex, sleep, playing sports, and social interaction.