AP®︎ Psychology: Topic 4.6 Practice Test
Prepare for your quiz, test, or the AP exam with focused practice questions on Topic 4.6 of AP Psychology – Motivation.
Questions List
Topic 4.6
Question 1 Easy
This question tests the following: 4.6.A.1
What is the goal of drive-reduction theory?
What You’re Being Tested On:
Explore the learning objectives taken directly from the College Board’s AP® Psychology Curriculum. Ensure you’re prepared for the exact topics covered on the AP® exam, in-class tests, and quizzes, and gain confidence in your mastery of the material.
Topic 4.6: Motivation
Learning Objective: 4.6.A
Explain how theories about motivation apply to behavior and mental processes.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.A.1
Some theories about motivation focus on behavior and mental processes that seek to address physical needs and desires such as drive-reduction theory and arousal theory. Drive-reduction theory addresses how certain behaviors help maintain homeostasis while arousal theory addresses how people seek an optimal level of arousal when they behave (as demonstrated by the Yerkes-Dodson Law).
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.A.2
Self-determination theory proposes that people are motivated by intrinsic (internal) or extrinsic (external) motivations. Incentive theory explores the role of rewards (an extrinsic motivation) in motivating behavior.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.A.3
Many non-human animals are motivated by instincts (innate, typically fixed patterns of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli). Humans do not seem to demonstrate instinctual behavior or mental processes.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.A.4
Lewin’s motivational conflicts theory proposes that choices create conflicts one must resolve as the basis of motivation. The type of conflicts faced include approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.A.5
Sensation-seeking theory proposes that one’s level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation. The types of sensation seeking are experience seeking, thrill or adventure seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility.
Learning Objective: 4.6.B
Explain how eating and belongingness motivate behavior and mental processes.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.B.1
Eating is a complex motivated behavior that demonstrates how physical and mental processes interact.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.B.1.i
Hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin (regulated by the hypothalamus via the pituitary gland), regulate feelings of hunger and satiety.
Essential Knowledge: 4.6.B.1.ii
External factors like the presence of food, time of day, or social gatherings around meals also influence the behavior of eating.
