Humanism and Positive Psychology

what does personality psych aim to understand

the individual's thoughts feelings and behaviors

humanistic approach to understanding personality

understand the person's unique perception of reality

what is phenomenology

your conscious experience of the world is your reality

what matters most in humanistic perspective

perception not reality

what is existentialism

your existence here and now is your reality

what is angst

existential anxiety over tough questions

what is anguish

we have choice but it's never perfect

what is forlorn

you make your own choices and are alone in them

what is despair

many outcomes are out of your control

what is bad faith

ignoring existential issues by focusing on materialism

why is bad faith flawed

it's still a choice so you can't fully avoid responsibility

what is authentic existence

being honest insightful moral requires courage

sartre's existential goal

improve the human condition

frankl's idea of meaning

find what life wants from you

optimistic humanism belief about people

people are basically good and seek connection and growth

what is self actualization

goal to maintain and enhance life

rogers' fully functioning person

aware of self and reality happy no fear or self doubt

how to become fully functioning

unconditional positive regard

what is unconditional positive regard

valuing whole self not specific traits

maslow's hierarchy of needs

must satisfy lower needs to reach self actualization

what are personal constructs

your theories based on past experience

maximizers vs satisficers

maximizers seek best outcome satisficers are easily satisfied

sociality corollary

to understand someone know their personal construct system

constructive alternativism

you build your own version of reality

what is flow

deep enjoyment from engaging in balanced challenge and skill

what happens during flow

focus no distraction elevated mood

who coined flow

csikszentmihalyi

what is self determination theory

pursuing meaningful goals not just pleasure

intrinsic vs extrinsic goals

intrinsic = growth extrinsic = reward

3 fundamental motives in self determination theory

autonomy competence relatedness

what is positive psychology

study of positive experiences traits and institutions

who is a major figure in positive psychology

lyubomirsky

main focus of positive psychology

subjective well being and life improvement

what is culture in psychology

psychological traits of groups like customs and beliefs

what is cross cultural psychology

comparing different cultures

what is cultural psychology

studying one culture without comparison

enculturation

learning culture you were born into

acculturation

learning a new culture after moving

cross cultural research helps

avoid misunderstandings and test generalizability

weird

western educated industrialized rich democratic

etic

universal part of cultural ideas

emic

culturally specific expression of ideas

culture of honor

mutual respect strong response to insult common in american south

tightness vs looseness

how much deviation from norms is accepted

individualistic culture values

independence uniqueness achievement pride

collectivistic culture values

group harmony saving face sympathy

3 culture types beyond individualism

honor face dignity

culture of honor explained

protect reputation sensitive to threat weak law enforcement

culture of face explained

protect social image value hierarchy harmony humility

culture of dignity explained

individuals have value live by own standards

ecological approach to culture

environment and history shape culture personality behavior

triandis' cultural model

ecology leads to culture then socialization personality and behavior

dangers in studying culture

ethnocentrism reference group effect outgroup homogeneity bias

how to avoid bias in cultural research

create measures inside culture use back translation collaborate

personality processes

patterns of thoughts feelings behaviors over time

3 types of learning in behaviorism

habituation classical conditioning operant conditioning

habit hierarchy

most likely behaviors are at top of hierarchy

learning and habit hierarchy

reward and punishment rearrange behavior order

priming

recently activated ideas come to mind quickly

chronic accessibility

constantly primed concepts become part of personality

rejection sensitivity

always expecting rejection due to past experiences

consciousness

current contents of mind

short term memory

about 7 chunks of info used for thinking

funder's fifth law

education builds and develops mental chunks

epstein's dual process theory

rational system is slow experiential system is fast

idiographic vs nomothetic goals

idiographic are personal nomothetic are universal

3 universal goals

achievement affiliation power

mastery vs achievement orientation

mastery = getting better achievement = outperforming others

emotional intelligence

recognize regulate and understand emotions

alexithymia

lack of emotional awareness

3 sources of happiness

genetic set point, life circumstances, intentional activity

why is happiness an opportunity

it's not just an outcome but something you can work toward

2 parts of the self

declarative (what you know) and procedural (what you do)

3 purposes of the self

self regulation, info filter, identity

declarative self

conscious opinions and facts about yourself

self esteem

overall opinion of yourself

sociometer hypothesis

self esteem reflects social acceptance

risks of inflated self esteem

aggression, distorted self view, bad social feedback

self compassion

being kind to yourself and mindful of shared humanity

self compassion correlations

positive = life satisfaction, optimism, resilience; negative = anxiety, depression, rumination, perfectionism

self schema

organized memory structure about yourself

self reference effect

info about self is better remembered

self discrepancy theory

we compare actual self to ideal and ought self

result of ideal self gap

depression

result of ought self gap

anxiety

procedural self

self expressed through actions not words

relational selves

interaction patterns based on past relationships

implicit selves

self patterns not consciously accessible

implicit association test measures

unconscious self traits

working self concept

self changes based on current situation

purpose of dsm

common language for disorders and insurance coding

5 features of personality disorders

extreme, causes problems, social, stable, ego syntonic

ego syntonic means

person sees traits as normal not disordered

cluster a disorders

odd, eccentric, schizoid, paranoid, schizotypal

cluster b disorders

impulsive, erratic, narcissistic, borderline, antisocial, histrionic

cluster c disorders

anxious, avoidant, dependent, obsessive compulsive

schizoid personality

disinterest in social relationships

paranoid personality

irrational suspicion and mistrust

schizotypal personality

odd behavior and thinking

histrionic personality

attention seeking, exaggerated emotion