Adaptation-Level Phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a "neutral" level defined by our prior experiences.
Subjective Well-Being
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (ex. physical and economic indicates) to evaluate people's quality of life.
Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.
Catharsis
emotional release. In psychology, this hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
Polygraph
a machine commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (such as persperation, cardiovascular and breathing changes).
Two-Factor Theory
Schachter's theory that to experience emotion one must 1) be physically aroused and 2) cognitively label the arousal.
Cannon-Bard Theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers 1) physiological responses and 2) the subjective experience of emotion.
James-Lange Theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological response to emotion-arousing stimuli.
Emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving 1) physiological arousal, 2) expressive behaviors, and 3) conscious experience.
Theory Y
assumes that given challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve self-esteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity.
Theory X
assumes that workers are basically lazy, error-prone, and extrinsically motivated by money and thus should be directed by above.
Social Leadership
group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support.
Task Leadership
goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals.
Achievement Motivation
a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard.
Structured Interviews
interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales.
Organizational Psychology
a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change.
Personnel Psychology
a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placements, training, appraisal, and develpment.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology (I/O Psychology)
the application of psychology concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.
Flow
a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills.
Sexual Orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation).
Estrogen
a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts in females than in males. In nonhuman female mammals, this hormone levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
Sexual Disorder
a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.
Refactory Period
a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
Sexual Response Cycle
the four stages of sexual response described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
Bulimia Nervosa
an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Anorexia Nervosa
an eating disorder in which a normal-weight person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly ( 15% or more) underweight yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
Basal Metabolic Rate
the body's resting rate of energy expenditure.
Set Point
the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, and increase in hunger and a lower metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
Glucose
the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.
Heirarchy of Needs
Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must be satisfied first, before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.
Incentive
a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
Homeostasis
a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.
Drive-Reduction Theory
the idea that a physiological need creates and aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
Instinct
a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.
Motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
Relative Deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.