Chapter 10 Flashcards
What is motivation
The force that moves people to behave, think and feel the way they do
What is the evolutionary approach of motivation
Emphasizes the role of instincts. An instinct is an innate (unlearned) biological pattern of behaviour that is assumed to be universal throughout a species. An instinct is set in motion by a sign stimulus which is something in the environment that turns on a fixed pattern of behaviour.
Drive reduction theory
Drive is an aroused state of tension that occurs because of a physiological need. A need is a deprivation that energizes the drive to eliminate or reduce deprivation. Drive reduction theory explains that as a drive becomes stronger we are motivated to reduce it
What is the goal of drive reduction
Homeostasis - body’s tendency to maintain an equilibrium or a steady state of balance
What does optimal arousal theory suggest
There should be a level of arousal that is ideal for facilitating goal attainment
Yerkes Dodson law
Psychological principle stating that performance is best under conditions of moderate arousal rather than either low or high arousal
Gastric signals
Signals that tell the brain not only how full the stomach is but how much nutrients are present
Hormone CCK (cholecystokinin)
Helps start the digestion of food, travels to the brain through the blood stream and signals us to stop eating
What three key chemical substances play a role in hunger, eating and satiety
Glucose: brain critically depends on sugar for energy, one set of sugar receipts located in brain trigger hunger when sugar levels fall too low. Another set in the liver which stores excess sugar and releases it into blood
Insulin: glucose control
Leptin: chemical released by fat cells, decreases food intake and increases energy or metabolism. Appears to act as an anti obesity hormone
In humans high concentrations of leptin have been linked with
Lower weight, less body fat and easier weight loss
Insulin increases production of leptin while leptin reduces insulin release and makes tissues more sensitive to insulin
What two areas of the hypothalamus play a role in hunger
Lateral hypothalamus: involved in stimulating eating (animal begins to eat even if well fed)
Ventromedial hypothalamus: involved in reducing hunger and restricting eating, when stimulating animal stops eating
Biology of obesity
Genetic component, if parents are obese there is a high chance that the children will become obese
Set point: the weight maintained when the Individual makes no effort to gain or lose weight (determined in part by the number of fat cells stored in the body)
anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder that involves the relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation.
bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder in which the individual consistently follows a binge-and-purge eating pattern.
binge eating disorder (BED)
An eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating more food in a short period of time than most people would eat and during which the person feels a lack of control over eating.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s theory that human needs must be satisfied in the following sequence: physiological needs, safety, love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.
self-actualization
The motivation to develop one’s full potential as a human being—the highest and most elusive of Maslow’s proposed needs
self-determination theory by Deci and ryan
Deci and Ryan’s theory asserting that all humans have three basic, innate organismic needs: competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
Define relatedness
The need to engage in warm, meaningful relations with other people
Autonomy
The sense that we are in control of our own life
intrinsic motivation
Motivation based on internal factors such as organismic needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy), as well as curiosity, challenge, and fun.
extrinsic motivation
Motivation that involves external incentives such as rewards and punishments
self-regulation
The process by which an organism effortfully controls behaviour in order to pursue important objectives
Individuals successfully pursue goals through
delay of gratification: Putting off a pleasurable experience for a later larger reward
2 things associated with poor self regulation
Impulsivity: Acting without thinking first
Procrastination
emotion
Feeling, or affect, that can involve physiological arousal (such as a fast heartbeat), conscious experience (thinking about being in love with someone), and behavioural expression (a smile or grimace).
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Takes messages to and from the body’s internal organs, monitoring processes such as breathing, heart rate
Divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic
SNS (sympathetic)
“fight or flight” aroused causes faster heart rate and breathing
PNS (parasympathetic)
“rest or digest” Calms the body - aroused causes lower BP and breathing
What nervous system are emotions associated with
SNS
How do we measure SNS activity
Skin conductance level: Rise in skin’s electrical conductivity when sweat gland activity increases
polygraph: A machine, commonly called a lie detector, that monitors changes in the body, used to try to determine whether someone is lying.
James–Lange theory
The theory that emotion results from physiological states triggered by stimuli in the environment
Cannon–Bard theory
The proposition that emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously.
How do neurotransmitters impact emotions
Dopamine + endorphins = positive emotions
What brain structures and involved in emotions
The limbic system involving the amygdala
Brain structures when faced with fear
Amygdala used to respond to threats in the environment
Fear circuitry can follow 2 pathways: Direct pathway from thalamus to amygdala
Indirect pathway from thalamus through sensory cortex to amygdala
two-factor theory of emotion
Schachter and Singer’s theory that emotion is determined by two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive labelling.
Cognitive labelling
type of cognitive bias that involves judging someone or something based on a single trait or event. It can be a negative or positive judgment
facial feedback hypothesis
The idea that facial expressions can influence emotions as well as reflect them
display rules
Sociocultural standards that determine when, where, and how emotions should be expressed
Valence
The valence of an emotion refers to whether it feels pleasant or unpleasant
Two broad dimensions of emotional experience
negative affect: Negative emotions such as anger, guilt, and sadness.
Positive affect: Positive emotions such as joy, happiness, and interest.
Arousal level
The degree to which an emotion is being reflected when an individual shows positive vs negative emotions
