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Quizzes > Health & Medicine > Psychology & Mental Health

Think You Know Psychological Deficiencies? Start the Quiz!

Jump into our basic psychological process quiz and tackle behavioral motivation questions now!

Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration depicting quiz on physiological and psychological deficiencies arousing behavior on coral background

Use this quiz to learn what physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behavior are called and how they drive motivation. Practice with quick questions, check gaps before an exam, and explore related topics like the biological bases of behavior and psychological disorders .

What best defines a physiological deficiency?
A lack of essential nutrients or bodily resources that creates a drive to restore balance
A motivational state driven by external rewards
A psychological growth process toward self-actualization
An emotional state due to unmet social needs
A physiological deficiency refers to the reduced level of essential biological resources that the body requires to function normally. This state creates a drive that motivates behaviors to restore internal balance. It differs from psychological or growth needs, which are driven by emotional or self-fulfillment factors.
Which of these is an example of a psychological deficiency?
Social isolation
Oxygen deprivation
Hunger
Thirst
Psychological deficiencies are unmet emotional or social needs that motivate behavior, such as the need for belonging or acceptance. Social isolation triggers anxiety and drives individuals to seek social contact. Physiological needs like hunger or thirst involve bodily resources, not social fulfillment.
What theory suggests that organisms are motivated to reduce internal tension caused by unmet biological needs?
Drive-reduction theory
Arousal theory
Self-determination theory
Incentive theory
Drive-reduction theory posits that biological needs create drives that push an organism to reduce internal tension and restore homeostasis. When a physiological deficit arises, drive-reduction motivates behaviors to satisfy the need. Other theories focus on external incentives or optimal arousal levels rather than internal tension reduction.
According to Maslow's hierarchy, which need is considered a physiological deficiency?
Self-actualization
Hunger
Safety
Self-esteem
Physiological needs are the most fundamental layer in Maslow's hierarchy and include basic requirements for survival like food, water, and sleep. Hunger is a direct example of a physiological deficiency that drives eating behavior. Safety and higher-level needs are secondary to these primary biological requirements.
Which hormone is primarily responsible for signaling hunger to the brain?
Ghrelin
Leptin
Insulin
Cortisol
Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the stomach that signals hunger to the hypothalamus, increasing appetite. Leptin, in contrast, signals satiety to reduce food intake. Insulin regulates blood sugar, and cortisol is involved in stress responses rather than directly triggering hunger.
What term describes the process of maintaining a stable internal biological state?
Metabolism
Allostasis
Homeostasis
Hemostasis
Homeostasis is the physiological process by which living organisms maintain a constant internal environment, such as temperature and pH. Allostasis involves achieving stability through active adjustments and anticipation of needs. Metabolism refers to chemical processes for energy, while hemostasis pertains to stopping bleeding.
Thirst as a drive is primarily triggered by which of the following?
Increased blood osmolarity
Low body temperature
High blood sugar
Low oxygen levels
Thirst is typically driven by increased osmolarity in the blood, which indicates a higher concentration of solutes and signals fluid loss. Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect this change and trigger the sensation of thirst. Neither blood sugar nor temperature directly cause the primary thirst drive.
Sleep deprivation most directly reflects a deficiency in which physiological process?
Incentive motivation
Circadian rhythm regulation
Homeostasis
Drive-reduction
Sleep deprivation arises when the body's innate circadian rhythms are disrupted or unmet, reflecting a physiological deficiency in sleep regulation. While homeostasis involves balance, circadian rhythms specifically govern sleep - wake cycles. Drive-reduction and incentive motivation theories address different motivational processes.
According to drive-reduction theory, what term describes the state of internal imbalance created by unmet needs?
Drive
Motive
Need
Incentive
In drive-reduction theory, a 'need' refers to the physiological deprivation that creates internal imbalance. This need generates a psychological drive, which then motivates behavior to reduce the imbalance. Incentives and motives are related but distinct concepts focusing on external rewards or broader motivational states.
Which of these best represents a Maslow psychological deficiency need?
Transcendence
Self-actualization
Belonging
Physiological
Psychological deficiency needs in Maslow's hierarchy include belongingness and love, where individuals seek relationships and social connections. Self-actualization and transcendence are growth needs, focusing on personal fulfillment rather than deficiency. Physiological needs are basic biological requirements.
Leptin is known for signaling which of the following to the brain?
Stress response
Hunger stimulation
Thirst induction
Appetite suppression
Leptin is a hormone released by adipose tissue that signals the hypothalamus to suppress appetite and increase energy expenditure. This mechanism helps regulate body weight and prevent overeating. It acts in opposition to ghrelin, which stimulates hunger.
The Yerkes-Dodson law describes the relationship between arousal and which aspect of behavior?
Motivation
Learning
Memory
Performance
The Yerkes-Dodson law posits that there is an optimal level of arousal for peak performance on tasks, forming an inverted-U relationship. Too little or too much arousal can detract from effective performance. This principle applies across various types of tasks and complexity levels.
According to behavioral theories, avoidance of pain exemplifies which principle of conditioning?
Extinction
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior increases because it removes or avoids an unpleasant stimulus, such as pain. Avoiding pain strengthens behaviors that prevent the aversive experience. This differs from punishment, which decreases behavior by applying an unwanted stimulus.
Social exclusion triggers which fundamental human need according to deficiency theory?
Esteem
Belonging
Cognitive
Self-actualization
Deficiency theory in social psychology highlights belongingness as a core need that, when unmet via social exclusion, leads to emotional distress and motivates re-affiliation. Esteem, self-actualization, and cognitive needs are higher-order or different motivational domains.
Which concept describes achieving stability through anticipatory physiological or behavioral adjustments?
Allostasis
Equilibrium
Synergy
Homeostasis
Allostasis refers to the process by which the body maintains stability by anticipating needs and actively adjusting physiological systems, unlike homeostasis, which reacts to changes after they occur. This concept explains how stress responses and predictive adjustments help manage environmental demands.
In anorexia nervosa, despite a physiological deficiency in energy, what psychological factor most directly sustains food restriction?
Body image disturbance
Lack of hunger drive
Excessive exercise
Genetic predisposition
Individuals with anorexia nervosa often restrict food intake due to a significant disturbance in body image, believing they are overweight despite being underweight. This psychological distortion overrides physiological hunger signals and energy needs. Genetic and behavioral factors may contribute but body image disturbance is central to the disorder.
What key distinction separates deficiency needs from growth needs in Maslow's theory?
Deficiency needs focus on personal growth, and growth needs on survival
Deficiency needs are only psychological, growth needs are only physiological
There is no distinction; they are the same
Deficiency needs are unmet biological or social lacks, while growth needs drive self-fulfillment
In Maslow's hierarchy, deficiency needs arise from lacking essential resources or relationships and motivate actions to correct the deficiency. Growth needs emerge after deficiency needs are met and involve aspirations like creativity and self-actualization. This distinction underlies the transition from survival motivations to self-development goals.
Orexin (hypocretin) neurons in the hypothalamus are most directly associated with regulating which behaviors?
Feeding and wakefulness
Stress responses
Reproductive behaviors
Thermoregulation
Orexin, also known as hypocretin, is produced by neurons in the lateral hypothalamus and plays a pivotal role in stimulating feeding and promoting wakefulness. Deficiencies in orexin signaling are linked to narcolepsy. It also interfaces with reward pathways but is not primarily involved in thermoregulation or reproduction.
Which two components make up esteem needs according to Maslow?
Self-esteem and respect from others
Love and belonging
Cognitive and aesthetic
Safety and security
Maslow described esteem needs as comprising self-esteem (confidence and achievement) and the respect or recognition from others (status and reputation). Meeting these needs fosters a sense of competence and worth. Other categories like safety, belonging, and cognitive needs belong to different levels.
Which hypothalamic region primarily senses blood glucose levels to influence hunger?
Ventromedial hypothalamus
Arcuate nucleus
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Lateral hypothalamus
The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus contains neurons sensitive to circulating levels of glucose and hormones like leptin and ghrelin, integrating signals to regulate hunger and energy balance. The lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus have roles in feeding behavior but do not directly sense glucose. The suprachiasmatic nucleus governs circadian rhythms.
Which circumventricular organ in the brain detects osmotic changes to regulate thirst?
Hippocampus
Nucleus accumbens
Organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis
Area postrema
The organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) lacks a blood - brain barrier and senses plasma osmolarity changes to initiate thirst responses. The area postrema detects toxins and can induce vomiting, while the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus serve other neural functions.
Psychological reactance is a response to threats to which fundamental need?
Autonomy
Self-actualization
Physiological
Social belonging
Psychological reactance arises when individuals perceive their freedom or autonomy is threatened, motivating them to restore that freedom. It is not directly related to physiological or self-actualization needs, although it can intersect with social and cognitive processes.
Nomophobia refers to the anxiety arising from deprivation of access to what?
Water
Food
Mobile phone
Social support
Nomophobia, short for 'no-mobile-phone phobia', is the fear or anxiety experienced when an individual is without access to their smartphone. It reflects a modern psychological deficiency related to connectivity rather than a traditional physiological need.
Chronic stress can deplete which physiological axis, leading to motivational deficits?
Hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal axis
Dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway
Hypothalamic - pituitary - gonadal axis
Sympathoadrenal axis
The hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal (HPA) axis is central to the body's stress response, and chronic activation can lead to dysregulation that impairs motivation and well-being. While other systems like the sympathoadrenal axis are involved in acute stress, the HPA axis drives long-term hormonal changes.
Vasopressin release during dehydration is triggered when plasma osmolality increases by approximately what percentage?
2%
10%
1%
5%
Antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) secretion is initiated when plasma osmolality rises by about 2%, a sensitive mechanism to conserve water. Smaller changes may go undetected, while larger perturbations reflect more severe dehydration. This precision helps maintain fluid balance.
In predictive coding models, unmet sensory predictions that signal a deficiency are known as what?
Synaptic gains
Priors
Likelihoods
Prediction errors
Predictive coding proposes that the brain continually generates predictions about sensory input and updates these predictions based on 'prediction errors', which signal mismatches. These errors represent deficiencies in the brain's model of the world, driving adjustments and learning. Priors and likelihoods are components of Bayesian inference, not the error signals themselves.
Alliesthesia refers to changes in perceived pleasure of a stimulus based on the organism's deficiency state; positive alliesthesia occurs when a stimulus is ____?
More pleasant
Aversive
Less pleasant
Unchanged in valence
Alliesthesia describes how the hedonic value of a stimulus changes depending on internal states, such as hunger or thirst. Positive alliesthesia occurs when a stimulus is experienced as more pleasant under deficiency conditions (e.g., food tastes better when hungry). Negative alliesthesia is the opposite.
In Panksepp's psychobiological theory, separation distress is primarily mediated by which emotional system?
PANIC/GRIEF system
FEAR system
SEEKING system
PLAY system
Jaak Panksepp identified the PANIC/GRIEF system as the neural circuit underlying separation distress and social loss. Activation of this system produces distress vocalizations and a drive to reunite. SEEKING drives exploratory behavior, while FEAR and PLAY serve different functions.
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Study Outcomes

  1. Define drives -

    After completing the quiz, you will be able to define physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behavior, recognizing how these drives fuel motivation.

  2. Differentiate motivations -

    You will distinguish between physiological and psychological deficiencies in motivating actions, enhancing your grasp of basic psychological process quiz concepts.

  3. Apply concepts -

    You will apply principles from the basic psychological process quiz to real-world behavioral motivation questions and scenarios.

  4. Analyze drivers -

    You will analyze psychological process trivia to identify underlying drives in various behaviors using psychology basics quiz knowledge.

  5. Evaluate motivational theories -

    You will evaluate how different deficiencies shape motivation, reinforcing concepts covered in behavioral motivation questions and psychology basics quiz content.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Deficiency Needs (D-Needs) -

    Physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behavior are known as deficiency needs, a core concept in Maslow's hierarchy (Maslow, 1943). These include basic requirements like food, water, safety, and belonging. Remember "FRESH" (Food, Rest, Esteem, Safety, Homeostasis) to recall the five categories easily.

  2. Homeostasis and Physiological Drives -

    Homeostasis is the body's way of maintaining internal equilibrium, triggering drives such as thirst or hunger when balance is lost (Cannon, 1932). These physiological drives push us to act until our systems return to stable levels. In your next basic psychological process quiz, identify examples like shivering or sweating as homeostatic responses.

  3. Drive Reduction Theory -

    Hull's Drive Reduction Theory posits that behavior is motivated by the need to reduce internal tensions caused by unmet needs (Hull, 1943). A simple formula to remember: Drive = Need × Incentive Value. Practicing behavioral motivation questions will help you see how this theory applies to daily habits like eating when hungry.

  4. Self-Determination Theory -

    Self-Determination Theory highlights three psychological needs - autonomy, competence, and relatedness - that, when unmet, create internal deficiency signals (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Unlike D-needs, these drive intrinsic motivation and personal growth. Test your knowledge with a psychology basics quiz by mapping real-life scenarios (e.g., team sports for relatedness) to each need.

  5. Mnemonic Tricks for Mastery -

    Use the acronym "HDDR" (Homeostasis, Deficiency, Drive, Relatedness) to organize key concepts when tackling psychological process trivia. Flashcards with examples - like dehydration for homeostasis or social media for relatedness - make recall effortless. This fun approach will boost your confidence before any psychology basics quiz or behavioral motivation questions round.

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