Unit 7

Question 1

motivation

Answer 1

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Question 2

instinct

Answer 2

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.

Question 3

physiological need

Answer 3

a basic bodily requirement.

Question 4

drive-reduction theory

Answer 4

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Question 5

homeostasis

Answer 5

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.

Question 6

incentive

Answer 6

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Question 7

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Answer 7

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

Question 8

hierarchy of needs

Answer 8

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

Question 9

glucose

Answer 9

the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

Question 10

set point

Answer 10

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 the lost weight.

Question 11

basal metabolic rate

Answer 11

the body’s resting rate of energy output.

Question 12

asexual

Answer 12

having little to no sexual attraction to others

Question 13

testosterone

Answer 13

the most important male sex hormone. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.

Question 14

estrogen

Answer 14

sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. Estrogen levels peak during ovulation. In nonhuman mammals, this promotes sexual receptivity.

Question 15

obesity

Answer 15

defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher. (Overweight individuals have a BMI of 25 or higher.)

Question 16

sexual response cycle

Answer 16

the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Question 17

refractory period

Answer 17

in human sexuality, a resting period that occurs after orgasm, during which a person cannot achieve another orgasm.

Question 18

affiliation need

Answer 18

the need to build relationships and to feel part of a group.

Question 19

ostracism

Answer 19

deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

Question 20

narcissism

Answer 20

excessive self-love and self-absorption

Question 21

achievement motivation

Answer 21

a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard.

Question 22

grit

Answer 22

in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

Question 23

emotion

Answer 23

a response of the whole organism, involving
(1) physiological arousal,
(2) expressive behaviors, and
(3) conscious experience.

Question 24

James-Lange Theory

Answer 24

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus: stimulus → arousal → emotion.

Question 25

Cannon-Bard Theory

Answer 25

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers
(1) physiological responses and
(2) the subjective experience of emotion.

Question 26

two-factor theory

Answer 26

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must
(1) be physically aroused and
(2) cognitively label the arousal.

Question 27

polygraph

Answer 27

a machine used in attempts to detect lies that measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration, heart rate, and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.

Question 28

facial feedback effect

Answer 28

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Question 29

stress

Answer 29

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

Question 30

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Answer 30

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

Question 31

tend-and-befriend response

Answer 31

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).

Question 32

health psychology

Answer 32

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine.

Question 33

psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 33

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.

Question 34

coronary heart disease

Answer 34

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries.

Question 35

Type A

Answer 35

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.

Question 36

Type B

Answer 36

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people.

Question 37

catharis

Answer 37

in psychology, the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

Question 38

aerobic exercise

Answer 38

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate depression and anxiety.

Question 39

mindfulness mediation

Answer 39

a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a non judgmental and accepting manner.

Question 40

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

Answer 40

people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Question 41

positive psychology

Answer 41

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Question 42

subjective well-being

Answer 42

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.

Question 43

adaptation-level phenomenon

Answer 43

our tendency to form judgements (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

Question 44

relative deprivation

Answer 44

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

Question 45

psychoanalysis

Answer 45

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

Question 46

unconscious

Answer 46

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Question 47

free association

Answer 47

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Question 48

personality

Answer 48

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Question 49

psychodynamic

Answer 49

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

Question 50

id

Answer 50

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Question 51

ego

Answer 51

the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Question 52

superego

Answer 52

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

Question 53

psychosexual stages

Answer 53

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Question 54

Oedipus complex

Answer 54

according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

Question 55

identification

Answer 55

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos.

Question 56

fixation

Answer 56

in psychoanalytic theory, according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Question 57

defense mechanisms

Answer 57

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Question 58

repression

Answer 58

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Question 59

projective test

Answer 59

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Question 60

Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)

Answer 60

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Question 61

Roschach Inkblot Test

Answer 61

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Roschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

Question 62

terror-management theory

Answer 62

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Question 63

humanistic theories

Answer 63

theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

Question 64

self-actualization

Answer 64

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential.

Question 65

self-transendance

Answer 65

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self.

Question 66

unconditional positive regard

Answer 66

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Question 67

self-concept

Answer 67

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Question 68

trait

Answer 68

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Question 69

personality inventory

Answer 69

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Question 70

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Answer 70

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Question 71

empirically derived test

Answer 71

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

Question 72

social-cognitive perspective

Answer 72

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

Question 73

behavioral approach

Answer 73

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development.

Question 74

reciprocal determinism

Answer 74

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Question 75

self

Answer 75

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Question 76

spotlight effect

Answer 76

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).

Question 77

self-esteem

Answer 77

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth.

Question 78

self-efficacy

Answer 78

one’s sense of competence and effectiveness.

Question 79

self-serving bias

Answer 79

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

Question 80

individualism

Answer 80

giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Question 81

collectivism

Answer 81

giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly.