Chapter 11

Question 1

Drives vs Incentitives

Answer 1

Drives: Triggers that tell us we may be deprived
Incentives: Stimuli we seek to reduce the drives

Drive: Water Deprivation leads to thirst to >
Behaviour: Drive fluids to reduce drive

Incentive: Sweetened sports drink to >
Behaviour: Drink fluids to experience incentive

Question 2

What is the differences between homeostasis and allostasis

Answer 2

Homeostasis keeps the body stable by maintaining constant internal conditions (like temperature and pH). Allostasis, on the other hand, adjusts the body’s internal state in response to stress or changes in the environment, preparing it for future needs.

Question 3

How is the hypothalamus related to our drive to eat? Which nucleus is the eating “on switch” and which nucleus is the eating “off switch”

Answer 3

• The hypothalamus monitors energy levels and responds to hunger and satiety signals.
• The lateral hypothalamus (LH) acts as the eating “on switch,” stimulating hunger when the body needs energy.
• The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) serves as the eating “off switch,” signaling satiety and stopping the drive to eat when energy needs are met.

Question 4

Physiological Aspects of Hunger
( just read)

Answer 4

-The homeostasis of food intake is balanced between hunger, motives, and satiation
- Monitors blood chemistry for indicators of sugar levels and hormones
- Fat people don’t have on and off switch so they keep eating
- Taste and variety motivate decisions about what to eat
- We are motivated to eat based on the pleasure of eating, not whether we need the
nutrients or not

Question 5

Food and Reward
Figure 11.4 The Pleasure of Taste

Answer 5

When fat receptors of the tongue are stimulated, the cingulate cortex, involved in emotional processing, is activated.
The orbitofrontal cortex is involved in linking food taste and texture with reward. Activity in this region and reward centres in the basal ganglia, decreases when we are no longer motivated to eat.

Question 6

Unit Bias:

Answer 6

Tendency to assume that the unit of sale or portioning is an appropriate amount to consume

The tendency to consume a full portion of food regardless of size. A study showed that unit bias makes people eat more from larger plates.

Question 7

Eating and the Social Context
Three main social factors

Answer 7

• Social facilitation: eating more
• Impression management: eating less
• Modelling: eating whatever others eat

Question 8

How the brain finds fatty foods rewarding:
What is ghrelin?

Answer 8

The brain releases dopamine in response to high-fat foods, activating reward centers, making these foods more enjoyable.

Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates hunger by signaling the brain when the stomach is empty.

Question 9

Satiation and brain activity from first to __ bite:

Answer 9

Satiation is the feeling of fullness that signals us to stop eating. Initial bites activate strong reward responses, but these responses decrease by the 20th bite as fullness and reduced reward signal.

Question 10

Trigger foods and semantic networks:

Answer 10

Trigger foods are specific items that activate cravings. They connect to broader food-related memories and associations in the brain’s semantic networks.

Question 11

Sexual Selection and Evolution:
Intrasexual Selection
Intersexual Selection

Answer 11

Intrasexual Selection: This is competition within the same sex (usually males) for access to mates. Traits that enhance success in these competitions (like strength or aggression) are favored.

Intersexual Selection: This is choice-based selection, where one sex (usually females) selects mates based on certain desirable traits, such as physical attractiveness or resources. Traits that attract the opposite sex are favored in this process.

Question 12

Alfred Kinsey’s importance:

Answer 12

Pioneered large-scale studies on human sexual behavior, revealing varied sexual practices and attitudes.

Question 13

Refractory period:

Hormone for orgasms and trust:

Answer 13

Recovery time post-orgasm when arousal isn’t possible.

Oxytocin.

Question 14

Gender roles vs. sexual scripts:

Answer 14

Gender roles are societal expectations for behavior; sexual scripts are expectations around sexual behavior.

Question 15

Love as a Motivational System:

Answer 15

Brain responses: Love activates brain regions linked to reward, such as the ventral tegmental area and caudate nucleus, releasing dopamine, which reinforces positive feelings and bonds and is associated with motivation, pleasure, and reinforcement.

Correlations with questionnaires: Self-reported feelings of love on questionnaires often correlate with increased activation in these reward-related brain areas, supporting love’s role as a powerful motivational drive

Question 16

Terror Management Theory (TMT): TMT

Answer 16

suggests that awareness of mortality creates existential anxiety, which people manage through “anxiety buffers” like cultural worldviews and self-esteem.

Anxiety buffer: Cultural worldviews provide meaning, structure, and purpose, helping individuals feel part of something enduring, which reduces existential anxiety.

Political appeals to national identity and policies aimed at reinforcing cultural values can reduce existential anxiety.

Question 17

Achievement Motivation: The drive to succeed and accomplish significant goals.

Approach goal:
Avoidance goal:
Self-determination theory:
Self-efficacy:

Answer 17

Approach goal: A positive goal focused on reaching a desired outcome or reward.
Avoidance goal: A goal focused on avoiding a negative outcome or consequence.
Self-determination theory: Theory emphasizing intrinsic motivation and the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in achieving personal growth.
Self-efficacy: The belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific tasks, which influences persistence and resilience in goal achievement.

Question 18

Intrinsic Motives:
Extrinsic Motives: .
Amotivational:

Answer 18

Intrinsic: Motivations driven by internal satisfaction or personal enjoyment, such as pursuing a hobby for pleasure.

Extrinsic: Motivations driven by external rewards or pressures, like working for a paycheck or studying for good grades

Amotivational: A lack of motivation or intent, where one feels neither intrinsic nor extrinsic drive to engage in an activity.

Question 19

Self-Determination Theory Continuum:

Amotivation:

Extrinsic Motivation: Ranges in self-determination based on external factors:

External regulation:

Introjected regulation:

Identified regulation:

Integrated regulation:

Intrinsic Motivation:

Answer 19

Amotivation: Reflects low self-determination, with little to no motivation to engage in an activity.

Extrinsic Motivation: Ranges in self-determination based on external factors:

External regulation: Motivated by rewards or avoiding punishment.
Introjected regulation: Driven by internal pressures, like guilt or obligation.
Identified regulation: Personal importance is recognized, though the activity may not be inherently enjoyable.
Integrated regulation: The activity aligns with personal values and identity, though still somewhat external.
Intrinsic Motivation: Reflects high self-determination, where actions are driven by genuine enjoyment and interest in the activity itself.

Question 20

Approach vs. avoidance goal:

Answer 20

An approach goal focuses on positive outcomes; an avoidance goal aims to prevent negative outcomes.

Question 21

Self-Determination Theory:

Answer 21

This theory states that people are motivated by the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to achieve personal growth.

Question 22

Physiology of Emotion:

Answer 22

Emotion: Comprises (a) subjective thoughts/experiences, (b) neural activity and physical arousal, and (c) observable behavior.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): Plays a key role in physical arousal during emotional experiences, managing responses like increased heart rate and sweating.

Influence of Emotion: Emotional experiences impact subjective feelings, neural patterns, physiological responses (via the ANS), and behaviors.

Question 23

Autonomic Response: Fight or Flight
Threat Detection:
Autonomic Nervous System:

Answer 23

Threat detection: We quickly notice threats like snakes due to interactions between the amygdala and sensory cortices (e.g., visual cortex). The visual cortex alerts the amygdala, which then heightens sensory focus on the threat.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): The sympathetic division triggers “fight or flight” responses (e.g., increased heart rate) in stressful situations, while the parasympathetic division calms the body afterward, restoring normal fun

Question 24

Experiencing Emotions:
James-Lange Theory:
Cannon-Bard theory:

Answer 24

James-Lange Theory: Emotions follow physiological responses. For example, a racing heart happens first, then the feeling of nervousness arises.

Cannon-Bard Theory: The brain processes an emotion and triggers feelings and bodily responses simultaneously. Feeling nervous and a racing heart occur at the same time.

Contradiction: These theories differ on whether physical arousal (James-Lange) or simultaneous processing (Cannon-Bard) leads to emotional experience.

Question 25

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Answer 25

• Facial expressions influence our emotional states
• Inducing a facial expression such as a frown or smile can have mild effects on how
  people feel. Lends support to the feedback hypothesis

Question 26

Two-Factor Theory of Emotions:
Theory supported by Dutton and Aron’s study:

Answer 26

Core Idea: Emotions are created by our interpretation of arousal. We first experience physiological arousal, then interpret its cause, which leads to the emotional experience.

Question 27

Three components of an emotion:

Brain area for immediate emotional response:

Answer 27

Subjective experience, physiological response, and behavioral expression.

Brain area for immediate emotional response: Amygdala.

Question 28

Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous system:

Answer 28

The sympathetic system triggers “fight or flight” responses, while the parasympathetic system calms the body. Both influence how we react to emotions.