Which concept suggests that people will seek to increase arousal when they are not sufficiently stimulated?

• A. Drive Reduction Theory
• B. Arousal Theory
• C. Framing
• D. Overconfidence

Answer: (B)

Arousal Theory explains why people seek to raise their level of arousal when stimulation is too low. When you’re bored or under-stimulated, your arousal sits below the preferred level, so you naturally gravitate toward exciting, novel, or risky activities to bring your arousal up to an optimal point. This idea fits with the idea that performance is best at a moderate level of arousal—not too low, not too high—so you might seek more stimulation to reach that sweet spot. Drive Reduction Theory, on the other hand, predicts we act to reduce internal tension and bring arousal back to baseline, not to increase it when it’s low. Framing and Overconfidence are about how information is presented and how accurately someone judges their own abilities, respectively, and don’t characterize arousal-seeking motivation.