Chapter 11 Flashcards
Motivation
Physiological and psychological processes underlying the initiation of behaviors that direct an organism toward a specific goal.
Drive
Biological trigger that tells us we may be deprived of something and causes us to seek it.
Incentives
Stimuli that we seek to reduce drives.
Allostasis
Motivation that’s influenced by current needs and the anticipation of future needs.
Hypothalamus
Nuclei found at the bottom surface of the brain.
Regulates motivation and homeostasis
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Emotional processing, activated when we eat fatty foods.
Orbitofrontal Cortex
Links food waste, and texture with feelings of reward.
Unit bias
Assumption that the unit of sale portion size is an appropriate amount to consume.
Intrasexual selection
Members of the same sex competing for opportunity to mate with members of the opposite sex.
Intersexual selection
Members of one sex selecting a mating partner based on their desirable traits.
Psychological influences on human sexual behavior
When the partners have emotional attachment, feeling of insecurity and many other reasons, they could continue to have sex throughout their lifetimes.
Biological influences on human sexual behavior
Sexual response cycle: excitement → plateau → orgasm → resolution
Sexual stimulation → Hypothalamus → Pituitary gland → Oxytocin release (may promote bonding between sexual partners)
Disorders of eating
Obesity: Food intake exceeds energy expenditure.
Anorexia: Self-starvation, intense fear with weight gain, denial of serious health consequences associated with low weight.
Bulimia: Characterized by periods of food deprivation, binge-eating, and purging, marked by tendency to be impulsive, individuals more likely to enter treatment programs.
Disorders of eating and the brain
Women with anorexia –> Negative words about body image –> More activity in amygdala
Women with bulimia –> Overweight pictures –> More activity in medial frontal regions
Women with eating disorders shown images comparing themselves to idealized models demonstrate activation of insula.
Cultural influences
Gender roles –> Accepted attitudes and behaviors of males and females in a given society.
Sexual scripts –> set of rules and assumptions about the sexual behaviors of males and females.
Sex guilt –> negative emotional feelings for having violated culturally accepted standards of appropriate sexual behavior.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
Self-actualization, aesthetic needs, cognitive needs, esteem needs, love and belongingness, safety needs, physiological needs.
Affiliation motivation
Motivation to maintain healthy relationships that involves caring.
Terror management theory
Suggests human’s fear of mortality motivates behaviors that preserve self-esteem and our sense of belonging.
(Berscheid and Waller) First scientific model of love
Passionate love
Compassionate love
Passionate love
Associated with physical and emotional longing for the other person.
Activity in areas of the brain related to physical reward, and the insula
Compassionate love
Related to tenderness, and the affection felt when lives are connected with another person.
Influences long-term stability of a relationship.
Caudate nucleus
Related to experiencing rewards.
Achievement Motivation
Drive to perform at high levels and accomplish significant goals.
Approach goals
Enjoyable and pleasant incentives that draws a person to a particular behavior.