Question

Victims of a famine will often eat unappetizing and nutritionally poor foods simply to relieve their constant hunger. Their behavior is best explained in terms of

arousal theory.
instinct theory.
drive-reduction theory.
incentive theory.

Answer 1

The answer is: drive-reduction theory

According to drive-reduction theory, the drive/motivation that we have to do a certain behavior can be either increased or reduced based on the intensity of our psychological/physiological needs.

Of course, every people have the drive to obtain the best foods that suit our taste and nutritional requirement. But for the victims of famine, the intensity of their physiological needs is so extreme to the point where their drive to obtain tasty food is almost gone because they are willing to eat anything in order to survive.