Motivation Theories and Biological Drives (7A) Practice Test

A university counseling center evaluates an intervention explicitly grounded in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for students on academic probation. Intake surveys indicate that many students report persistent anxiety about personal security (e.g., unsafe living situations) and limited access to consistent meals. Clinicians note that chronic activation of stress responses can bias attention toward immediate threat and reduce capacity for sustained planning. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy, which counseling-center partnership would be most consistent with the theory’s approach to improving motivation for academic achievement?

In a behavioral neuroscience experiment focused on Drive Reduction Theory, rodents are food-restricted overnight. One group receives an injection of a hormone that increases hunger signaling (modeled on ghrelin-like effects), while a control group receives saline. Animals are then placed in an operant chamber where lever presses deliver food pellets. The researchers emphasize that hypothalamic circuits integrate peripheral hunger signals to motivate feeding. Which result is most consistent with Drive Reduction Theory’s account of motivated behavior in this paradigm?