Chapter 12 - Vocabulary Flashcards
Instinct
A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.
Motivation
A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
Drive-Reduction Theory
The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
Homeostasis
A tendendancy to maintain a balance or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood and glucose, around a particular level.
Incentives
A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
Arousal Theory
Human motivation aims to seek optimum levels of arousal, not to eliminate it. Not all behaviors reduce immediate physiological needs or tension states. The need to eliminate boredom and seek adventure, but too much arousal equals stress.
Abraham Maslow
Suggested that certain needs have priority over others. (Hierarchy of Needs.)
Hierarchy of Needs
Certain needs take priority over other needs. Physiological Needs (1st), Safety Needs (2nd), Belongingness and Love Needs (3rd), Esteem Needs (4th), Self-Actualition Needs (Final).
Glucose
A form of sugar that circulates in blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hungry.
Set Point
The point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore weight.
Basal Metabolic Rate
The body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.
Anorexia Nervosa
A condition in which a normal weight person continuously loses weight but still feels overweight. (Usually happens in adolescent women.)
Bulimia Nervosa
A disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting.
Sexual Response Cycle
A 4-stage cycle. Has an excitement stage, plateau stage, orgasm, and refractory period.
Refractory Period
A resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
Sexual Disorder
A problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal and functioning.
Estrogen
A sex hormone more commonly found in females. In non-human female mammals, levels peak during ovulation which promotes sexual receptivity.
Testosterone
The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
Sexual Orientation
An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex or the other sex.
Flow
A completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplace.
Personnel Psychology
A subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development.
Structured Interview
Interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales.
Achievement Motivation
Defined as a desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for obtaining a high standard.
