Chapter 8

emotion: A temporary state that includes unique subjective experiences physiological activity, and that prepares people for
action.
appraisal: Concious or unconscious evaluations and interpretations of the emotion-relevant aspects of a stimulus or event.
action tendencies: A readiness to engage in a specific set of emotion-relevant behaviours.
James-Lange theory: States that feelings are simply the perception of one‘s own physiological responses to a stimulus.
two-factor theory of emotion: Stated that stimuli trigger a general state of physiological arousal, which is then interpreted as
a specific emotion.
emotional expression: An observable sign of an emotional state.
universality hypothesis: Suggests that all emotional expression mean the same thing to all people in all places at all times.
facial feedback hypothesis: Suggests that emotional expressions can cause the emotional experiences they typically signify.
display rule: A norm for the appropriate expression of emotion
Intensification: Involves exaggerating the expression of emotion, as people do when pretending to be delighted by an
unwanted gift. ("Leggings with little pictures of tropical fruit! Thanks, Dad. They're just what I always wanted!")
De-intensification: Involves muting the expression of one's emotion, as athletes do when they lose their events but try not to
look too disappointed ("No, really, I'm perfectly fine with the silver medal. It matches my belt buckle.")
Masking: Involves expressing one emotion while feeling another, as judges do when they try to seem interested in, rather than
contemptuous of, a lawyer's argument. ("So if I understand correctly, counselor, you are arguing that your client simply didn't
realize that the bank belonged to someone else?")
Neutralizing: Involves showing no expression of the emotion one is feeling, as card players do when they try to maintain a
"poker face" despite having been dealt a winning hand. ("Four aces. Ho hum. Nice weather we're having.")
motivation: The internal causes of purposeful behaviour.
homeostasis: The yendency for a system to take action to keep itself in equilibrium.
drive-reduction theory: The primary motivation of all organisms is to reduce their drives.
hedonic principle: People are primarily motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain.
emotion regulation: The strategies people use to influence their own emotional experience.
reappraisal: Changing one‘s emotional experience by changing the way one thinks about the emotion-eliciting stimulus.
Eating disorders listed from most to least common:
binge eating disorder (BED): A eating disorder characterized by recurrent and uncontrolled episodes of consuming a
large number of calories in a short time.
bulimia nervosa: A eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by compensatory behaviour.
anorexia nervosa: A eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of being overweight and a severe restriction of food
intake.
evolutionary mismatch: The idea that traits that were adaptive in an ancestral environment may be maladaptive in a modern
environment.
metabolism: The rate at which the body uses energy.
human sexual response cycle: The stages of physiological arousal during sexual activity.
intrinsic motivation: A motivation to take actions that are themselves rewarding.
extrinsic motivation: A motivation to take actions that are not themselves rewarding but lead to reward.
overjustification effect: A phenomenon whereby people who are rewarded for a behaviour become less intrinsically
motivated to repeat it.
conscious motivations: Motivations of which people are aware.
unconscious motivations: Motivations of which people are not aware.
achievement motivation: The desire to experience a sense of accomplishment by meeting ones goals.
approach motivation: The motivation to experience positive outcomes.
avoidance motivation: The motivation to avoid experiencing negative outcomes.
loss aversion: The tendency to care more about avoiding losses than about achieving equal-size gains.
terror management theory: A theory about how people respond to knowledge of their own mortality.
developmental psychology: the study of continuity and Chang across the life span
germinal stage: the period from conception to 2 weeks after conception
embryonic stage: a period that starts at about the 2nd week after conception and lasts until about 8 weeks after conception
fetal stage: a period that lasts from about the 9th week after conception until birth
myelination: the formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron
teratogen: any substance that passes from mother to unborn child and impairs development
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): a developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy
infancy: the stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months
motor development: the emergence of the ability to execute physical actions
motor reflexes: motor responses that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation
cephalocaudal principle: the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet
proximodistal principle: the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the centre to the periphery
cognitive development: the process by which infants and children gain the ability to think and understand
sensorimotor stage: a stage of cognitive development that begins at birth and lasts through infancy
schemas: theories about the way the world works
assimilation: the process of applying a schema to novel stimuli
accommodation: the process of adjusting a schema to incorporate new information
object permanence: the understanding that objects exist even when they are not visible
childhood: the period that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until about 11 to 14 years
preoperational stage: the stage of cognitive development that begins at about 2 years and ends at about 6 years, during
which children develop a preliminary understanding of the physical world
concrete operational stage: the stage of cognitive development that begins at about 6 years and ends at about 11 years,
during which children learn how actions, or operations, can transform the concrete objects of the physical world
conservation: the understanding that many of the physical properties of a object are conserved (not changed) by changes in
the objects appearance
formal operational stage: the final stage of cognitive development that begins around the age of 11, during which children
learn to reason about abstract concepts
egocentrism: the failure to understand that the world appears different to different people
theory of mind: the understanding that the mind produces representations of the world and that these representations guide
behaviour
attachment: emotional bond with a primary caregiver
attachment styles: characteristic patterns of reacting to the prescience and absence of one’s primary caregiver
temperament: biologically based pattern of attentional and emotional reactivity
internal working model: a set of beliefs about the way relationships work
preconventional stage: a stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its
consequences for the actor
conventional stage: stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to
which it conforms to social rules
postconventional stage: a stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general
principles that reflect core values
adolescence: the period of development that begins with the onset of sexual maturity (about 11 to 14 years of age) and lasts
until the beginning of adulthood (about 18 to 21 years of age)
puberty: the onset of bodily changes associated with sexual maturity
primary sex characteristics: bodily structures that change at puberty and are directly involved in reproduction
secondary sex characteristics: bodily structures that change at puberty but are not directly involved in reproduction
adulthood: the stage of development that begins around 18 to 21 years and lasts for the remainder of life
puberty
primary sex characteristics
secondary sex characteristics
adulthood