Psy110.9

The process by which activities are started, directed and continued so that physical or psychological needs or wants are met.

A type of motivation in which a person performs an action because it leads to an outcome that is separate from or external to the person.

Type of motivation in which a person performs an action because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal manner.

Approach to motivation that assumes people are governed by insticts similar to those of other animals

The biologically determined and innate patterns of behavior that exist in both people and animals.

Approach to motivation that assumes behavior arises from physiological needs which cause internal drives to push the organism to satisfy the need and reduce tension and arousal.

A psychological tension and physical arousal arising when there is a need that motivates the organism to act in order to fulfill the need and reduce the tension.

A lack of some material (such as food or water) that is required for survival of the organism.

Those drives that involve needs of the body such as hunger and thirst.

Those drives that are learned through experience and conditioning, such as the need for money or social approval.

The tendency of the body to maintain a steady state.

Theory of motivation that examines the three specific needs:  need for achievement (nAch), need for affiliation (nAff) and need for power (nPow).

A need which involves a strong desire to succeed in attaining goals, not only realistic ones but also challenging ones.

The need for friendly social interactions and relationships with others.

The need to have control or influence over others.

Theory of motivation in which people are said to have an optimal (or best) level of arousal or tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing stimulation.

A motive that appears to be unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation.  An example of this motive is curiosity.

Predicts that a certain level of arousal will be motivating, but too much arousal or too little arousal will decrease motivation.  The optimal level of arousal appears to depend on the individual and the difficulty of the task.

Someone who needs more arousal that the average person.

Theories of motivation in which behavior is explained as a response to the external stimulus and it rewarding properties.

Things that attract or lure people into action.

A type of incentive theory that assumes the actions of humans cannot be predicted without understanding the beliefs, values and the importance that a person attaches to those beliefs and values at any given moment.

American psychologist who was a major proponent of the humanstics movement in psychology.

A theory of motivation proposed by Maslow which suggests that as people meet their basic needs they seek to satisfy successively higher needs as laid out in the hierarchy.

Theories of motivation which focus on human potential and the drive to be the best a person can be.

According to Maslow, the seldom-reached point at which people have sufficiently satisfied the lower needs and achieved their full human potential.

According to Maslow, times in a person's life during which self-actualization is temporarily achieved.

Theory of human motivation in which the social context of an action has an effect on the type of motivation existing for the action.

A hormone secreted by the pancreas to control the levels of fats, proteins and carbohydrates in the body by reducing the level of glucose in the bloodstream.

Hormones that are secreted by the pancreas to control the levels of fats, proteins and carbohydrates in the body by increasing the the level of glucose in the bloodstream.

A hormone that, when released into the bloodstream, signals the hypothalamus that the body has had enough food and reduced the appetite while increasing the feeling of being full.

Small structure in the brain located below the thalamus and directly above the pituitary gland, resonsible for motivational behavior such as sleep, hunger, thirst and sex.

The particular level of weight that bodies try to maintain.

The rate at which the body burns energy when the organisim is resting.

Condition in which a person weights 20 percent or more over their ideal weight.

A condition in which a person reduces eating to the point that a weight loss of 15 percent below the ideal body weight or more occurs.

A condition in which a person develops a cyle of "binging" or overeating enormous amounts of food at one sitting, and "purging" or deliverately vomiting after eating.

The feeling aspect of consciousness, characterzed by certain physical arousal, a certain behavior that reveals the emotion to the outside world and an inner awareness of feelings.

Brain structure located near the hippocampus, responsible for fear responses and memory of fear.

Learned ways of controlling displays of emotion in social settings.

Idea held by most people that a stimulus leads to the subjective experience of an emotion which then triggers a physiological response.

Theory in which a physiological reaction leads to the labeling of an emotion.

Theory in which the physiological reaction and the emotion are assumed to occur at the same time.

Theory of emotion in which both the physical arousal and the labeling of that arousal based on cues from the environment must occur before the emotion is experienced.

Theory of emotion which assumes that facial expressions provide feedback to the brain concerning the emotion being expressed, which in turn causes and intensifies the emotion.

Theory of emotion in which a stimulus must be interpreted (appraised) by a person in order to result in a physical response and an emotional reaction.

A viewpoint that recommends shifting the focus of psychology away from the negative aspects to a more positive focus on strengths, well-being and the pursuit of happiness