Question 1

What are instincts?

Accepted Answer

Innate behavior patterns in a response to some stimuli

(studied in geese and ducks by ethologist Konrad Lorenz; birds and butterflies flying south)

Question 2

What is an ethologist?

Accepted Answer

Someone who studies animal behavior, usually in a natural setting

(Konrad Lorenz studying instincts in geese and ducks)

Question 3

What is imprinting?

Accepted Answer

The act of certain young animals coming to trust something as their parent

(newly-hatched goslings will imprint upon the first thing they see, declaring it their mother)

Question 4

What is a critical period?

Accepted Answer

A short period of time after some animals are born where imprinting can occur

Question 5

What is sociobiology?

Accepted Answer

Field of biology that attempts to use evolution to explain social behaviors

Question 6

What is the instinct/evolutionary theory of motivation?

Accepted Answer

All organisms are born with instincts that help them survive and drive all behaviors

Question 7

What is the drive reduction theory of motivation?

Accepted Answer

Organisms are born with physiological needs and are motivated to fulfill them, remaining in homeostasis

(motivated to reduce hunger, thirst, or pain)

Question 8

What is homeostasis?

Accepted Answer

A balance of regulated physiological processes that an organism needs to live

(drive reduction theory leads to homeostasis)

Question 9

What is metabolism?

Accepted Answer

Chemical processes that occur in an organism to keep it alive

Question 10

What are the needs and drives in drive reduction theory?

Accepted Answer

Need: state caused by a physiological deficit (lack of food or water)

Drive: physiological tension that motivates us to take action (eat or drink)

Question 11

What is an incentive?

Accepted Answer

Stimuli that motivate our behavior, pulling us towards a goal

(can be positive or negative; wanting to do well on the AP exam makes you study these flashcards)

Question 12

What is the incentive theory of motivation?

Accepted Answer

People are motivated by drives and incentives for reinforcement

People will behave in a way that results in reward and avoids punishment

Question 13

What is arousal?

Accepted Answer

The level of alertness, wakefulness, or activation

(vigor, energy, and tension; different from sexual arousal)

Question 14

What is the Yerkes-Dodson rule?

Accepted Answer

A rule that states we usually perform better when we are moderately aroused

Too little arousal or too much arousal both lead to worse performance

(exception for simple tasks, where too much arousal doesn't have a negative impact)

Question 15

What is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Accepted Answer

A model of human needs, each of which must be fulfilled before moving on to the next

(popular, but very little scientific evidence)

Question 16

What is self-actualization?

Accepted Answer

Fully realizing your talents and potentials

(Maslow considered this the highest level on his Hierarchy of Needs)

Motivation Theories, AP Psychology Flashcards