AP Psychology Unit 7 Vocabulary

the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors

a psychological process that directs and maintains behavior towards a goal

drives that are innate such as hunger, thirst, and sex

drives that are learned through conditioning such as working for money

a behavior that is genetically programmed into an entire species

stimuli in the environment (positive or negative) that motivate a certain behavior

the act of doing something without any obvious external rewards

reward-driven behavior

a phenomenon in which being rewarded for doing something actually diminishes intrinsic motivation to do that action

a person’s belief in his or her ability to complete a future task or solve a future problem

an individual’s need to meet realistic goals, receive feedback and experience a sense of accomplishment

created by William James; states people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so

people are motivated to take certain actions in order to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet needs

people are motivated to do things for external rewards

people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal

people are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs first, then safety, love, esteem, and lastly self-actualization

created by Leon Festinger; states that people are motivated to resolve conflicting attitude, beliefs, or behaviors by doing actions more aligned with one’s values.

feeling full/not hungry

the form of sugar that circulates in blood and provides energy to bodily tissues; when it is low, we feel hungry

the “on” button for eating; if lesioned, hunger isn’t felt

the “off” button for eating; if lesioned, satiety isn’t felt

controls the levels of glucose in the blood

the point where an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set; if the body falls below this weight, and increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate mat act to restore the lost weight

the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure

an eating disorder where a person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, continues to starve themselves

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging, fasting, or excessive exercise that marks bulimia nervosa

the percentage of a person’s body fat

a disorder characterized by being excessively overweight, usually considered to have a BMI of over 30%; it’s often associated with mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia

the four stages of sexual responding described by Master and Johnson: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm

the onset of sexual maturity

a sex hormone secreted in greater amounts by females than males and contributes to female sex characteristics

a sex hormone secreted in greater amounts by males than females and contributes to male sex characteristics

sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex, both sexes, or the opposite sex

a desire to meet an internalized standard or excellence

A test used by David McClelland to measure achievement motivation; people with a high need for achievement choose moderately challenging tasks to satisfy their needs while people low in achievement motivation choose easy or impossible goals so they are not responsible for their failures

the need to be with others; drive to develop social bonds and seek connections

when we feel happy we are more willing to help others

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life

a behavior exhibited by some animals, including human females; refers to protection of others (tending) and seeking out social groups for mutual defense (befriending)

made the James-Lange theory of emotion

known for his research regarding human sexual behavior (remember him as the weird guy….)

known as the father of humanistic psychology and the creation of the hierarchy of needs

Is known for the two-factor or Schachter-Singer theory of emotion

created the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) theory

a response of the whole organism, involving psychological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience

fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, contempt, and surprise

our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotional-arousing stimuli

an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experience of emotion