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MCAT Behavioural Sciences > Motivation, Emotion, and Stress > Flashcards

Motivation, Emotion, and Stress Flashcards

1
Q

Motivation

A

Purpose/driving force behind our actions

-divided into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

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2
Q

Extrinsic motivation

A

Motivation that comes from external sources

-behaviours to get rewards and avoid punishments

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3
Q

Intrinsic motivation

A

Motivation that comes from within oneself

-personally gratifying

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4
Q

Instinct theory of motivation

A

People are driven to do certain behaviours based on evolutionarily programmed instincts
-william james and william mcdougal were important people in the development of this theory

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5
Q

Instincts

A

Innate, fixed patterns of behaviour in response to a stimuli
-may be fixed over a lifetime or may disappear

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6
Q

Arousal theory of motivation

A

People perform actions in order to maintain an optimal level of arousal

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7
Q

Arousal

A

Physiological and psychological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli

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8
Q

Yerkes-Dodson law

A

Postulates that there is a U shaped function (bell curve) between the level of arousal and performance

  • too much or too little arousal = poor performance
  • lower levels optimal for cognitive tasks ( and complex )
  • higher levels optimal for physical tasks ( and simple )
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9
Q

Drive reduction theory

A

Drives originate in an individual, create an uncomfortable state, and ensure motivation to eliminate the negative state

  • motivation is based on the goal of eliminating uncomfortable states
  • primary and secondary drives
  • goal is to maintain homeostasis
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10
Q

Drives

A

Internal states of tension that activate particular behaviours focused on goals

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11
Q

Primary drives

A

Motivate us to maintain bodily processes

-thirst, hunger, warmth/cool etc.

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12
Q

Secondary drives

A

Drives not directly related to biological processes

  • thought to stem from learning
  • pushes us to fulfill non biological desires
  • include certain emotions (desire for nurturing, love, etc)
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13
Q

Homeostasis

A

Regulation of the internal environment to maintain and optimal, stable set of conditions
-usually controlled by a negative feedback loop

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14
Q

Needs

A

Also motivators that affect behaviour

-can be categorized into different levels (Maslow)

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15
Q

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Needs can be classified into 5 groups (from most basic to most abstract)

  1. Physiological (food, air, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis)
  2. Safety of: body, employment, housing, health, property
  3. Love/belonging (friendship, family, sexual intimacy)
  4. Esteem (self esteem,confidence, achievement, respect)
  5. Self-actualization (morality, creativity, problem solving..)
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16
Q

Maslow’s needs theory

A

If the lowest level of need is not met, motivation for that level will be the highest
-additional needs are satisfied based on priority

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17
Q

Self-determination theory (SDT)

A

Three universal needs involved in motivation

  1. Autonomy - control of own actions
  2. Competence - complete and excel at different tasks
  3. Relatedness - feel accepted/wanted in relationships

these need to be met in order to have a healthy relationship with oneself and others

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18
Q

Incentive theory

A

Behaviour is motivated by the desire to pursue rewards and to avoid punishments

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19
Q

Expectancy-value theory

A

Amount of motivation required to reach a goal is a product of how much the person thinks they will succeed at reaching the goal and how much they value success

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20
Q

Opponent process theory

A

Used to explain continuous drug use

  • when a drug is repeatedly taken, the body tries to change its physiology in order to counteract it
  • this opposing action causes withdrawal symptoms lasting longer than the drug
  • this theory also explains tolerance
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21
Q

Tolerance

A

Perceived decrease in the effect of a drug over time

22
Q

Masters + Johnston

A

Study on the physiological measures of arousal
-showed that men and women have similar physiological responses, main differences were due to cultural differences and learned behaviour

23
Q

Biological factors contributing to sexual arousal

A
  1. Levels of hormones (estrogen, progesterone and androgens)
  2. Smell
  3. Cognition
  4. Culture and society
24
Q

Emotion

A

Natural instinctive state of mind that is derived from circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
-3 parts: physiological, behavioural, and cognitive

25
Q

Physiological response of emotion

A

Arousal is stimulated by the autonomic nervous system

  • changes in heart rate, breathing, BP, and temperature
  • more pronounced in certain emotions (embarrassment or fear)
26
Q

Behavioural response of an emotion

A

Includes facial expressions and body language

27
Q

Cognitive response of an emotion

A

Subjective interpretation of the feeling being experienced

28
Q

7 Universal emotions and cues

A
  1. Happiness - smile, raised cheeks, wrinkles around eyes
  2. Sadness - frown, inner eyebrows pulled up and together
  3. Contempt - one corner of mouth pulled upward
  4. Surprise - wide eyes, open jaw, eyebrows up
  5. Fear - wide eyes, lips pulled towards ears, eyebrows up
  6. Disgust - nose wrinkling, raising of upper lip
  7. Anger - glaring, lips pressed, eyebrows down
29
Q

James- Lange theory of emotion

A

A stimulus results first in physiological arousal, which then leads to a secondary response in which the emotion is labelled
-emotions need to be processed with feedback from the peripheral nervous system

*weakness - under this model damage to the peripheral nervous system (ie. paralysis) would result in decreased emotional response but this is not the case

30
Q

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

A

The cognitive and physiological components of emotion occur simultaneously and result in the behavioural component

*weakness - fails to explain the Vagus nerve which relays information from the peripheral organs to the CNS

31
Q

Schachter- Singer theory of emotion

A

aka: cognitive arousal theory OR two-factor theory

Both arousal and the labelling of arousal must occur in order for an emotion to be experienced
-one must consciously analyze the environment in relation to the nervous system arousal

  • study : epinephrine/placebo injections paired with information or misinformation
  • result: if people don’t know they are experiencing the side effects of a drug, they will report higher levels of emotion due and believe it due to the environment
32
Q

Limbic System

A

Complex set of structures below the cerebrum an on either side of the thalamus
-role in motivation and emotion

Made up of:

  • amygdala
  • thalamus
  • hypothalamus
  • hippocampus
  • septal nuclei
  • fornix
  • +parts of the cerebral cortex
33
Q

Amygdala

A

Signals to the cortex about stimuli related to attention and emotions

  • processes the environment and detects external cues
  • associated with fear
  • involved in the controlling implicit memories (emotional memory)
34
Q

Thalamus

A

Preliminary sensory processing centre

-routes info to the cortex and other areas

35
Q

Hypothalamus

A

Located below the thalamus

  • synthesizes and releases a bunch of neurotransmitters
  • has many homeostatic functions
36
Q

Hippocampus

A

Located in the temporal lobe and is involved in making long term memories
-retrieval of emotional (explicit) memories is important in forming an emotional response

37
Q

Emotional memory

A

Unconscious (implicit) memory
-storage of actual feelings of emotions associated with an event (as opposed to explicit memories of which are the conscious memory of the experience)

38
Q

Brain regions involved in interpreting other’s facial expressions?

A

Primarily the temporal lobe
-has input from the occipital lobe

Right hemisphere is more active during this process

More active in women than men, and more active in adults than children

39
Q

Prefrontal corex

A

Anterior portion of the frontal lobes

  • planning intricate cognitive functions
  • receives arousal input from them brainstem
  • right side = negative emotions
  • left side = positive emotions
40
Q

Dorsal prefrontal cortex function

A

attention and cognition

41
Q

Ventral prefrontal cortex function

A

Connects with regions of the brain experiencing emotion

42
Q

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex

A

Substantial role in decision making and controlling emotional responses from the amygdala

43
Q

Stress

A

response to challenging events

-either physical, cognitive, behavioural or emotional

44
Q

Cognitive appraisal

A

Subjective evaluation of a situation that induces stress

  1. primary appraisal: initial evaluation
    - identify stress as irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful
  2. Secondary appraisal: evaluation of ability to cope with stressor
    - identify: harm (damage caused), threat (future harm), and challenge (potential to overcome or benefit)
45
Q

Stressor

A

Biological element, external condition or events leading to a stress response

46
Q

Distress

A

Result of experiencing unpleasant stressors

47
Q

Eustress

A

Result from experiencing pleasant or rewarding stressors

  • ie. graduating
  • even though they are positive they still required the person to change or adapt their lifestyle
48
Q

Social readjustment rating scale

A

Stress level can be measured in “life change units”

49
Q

Pressure

A

Experienced when expectations or demands are placed on a person from external sources
-forces them to complete tasks, perform actions in a certain way

50
Q

Physiological response to stress

A

body responds via the sympathetic nervous system

-increase in heart rate and decrease in digestion

51
Q

General adaptation syndrome

A
  1. Alarm: initial reaction to a stressor
    - activation of sympathetic NS
    - hypothalamus secretes ACTH which acts on adrenal cortex (release cortisol)
    - hypothalamus also activates medulla to secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine
  2. Resistance: continuous release of hormones
    - keeps the sympathetic NS engaged
  3. Exhaustion : body can no longer maintain an elevated response
    - become more susceptible to illness
52
Q

Strategies for coping with stress - 2 kinds

A
  1. Problem-focused

2. Emotionally focused

MCAT Behavioural Sciences (12 decks)

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