ap psych modules 9 and 10

issaquah school district online learning 2026

personality psychology

examines the trits, tendencies, and motivators that impact an individual’s enduring sense of identity, behavior and experiences

personality

individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Freud’s psychoanalytic and dynamic theories

focus on the unconscious mind and repressed memories (particularly from childhood)

Humanistic theories

examine creativity, self-direction, and how to maximize self-actualization and personal growth

Trait theories

explain personality in terms of dimensional qualities that differ

Social-cognitive theories

explore the dynamic interaction between people’s traits, cognition, behaviors, and their environment

id

impulsive self that seeks pleasure and avoids painsu

perego

judgemental moral checkpoint of personalitys

ego

conscious self that mediates and decided between the id and the superego

defensive mechanisms

unconscious mechanisms that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality

Rorschach inkblot test

projective test designed by Hermann Rorschach that seeks to indetify people’s feelings by analyzing how they interpret a series of inkblots

ego

partially conscious, executive part of the personality that mediates between the demands of the id, the superego, and reality

psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

id

reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that seeks immediate gratification and strives to satisfy basic pleasurable, sexual, and aggressive drives

defense mechanisms

ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

superego

partially conscious part of the personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement

projective test

personality test involving ambiguous images that trigger a projection of one’s inner dynamics and reveal aspects of the preconscious and unconscious mind

psychodynamic theories

theories that focus on the unconscious mind, particularly as it relates to childhood experiences

collective unconscious

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory that traces from earliest human history

unconscious

a reservoir of mostly unconscious, yet unacceptable, thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

free association

method of expressive free-flowing thoughts associated with the unconcious

repression

basic defense mechanism that protects against anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

terror-management theory

theory of death-related anxiety that explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

thematic appreciation text

projective test that reveals feelings and interests through the interpretation of ambiguous scenes

denial

refusing to believe or percieve painful realities

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable, less threatening target

projection

disguising threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

offering self-justifying explanations instead of the unconscious, threatening reasons for one’s actions

reaction formation

expressive the opposite emotion of unacceptable impulses

regression

retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage that involves fixation

sublimation

transferring unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives

Freud’s psychosexual development

oral - anal - phallic - latency - genital

humanistic theories

theories of personality that focus on the human potential for healthy personal growth

unconditional positive regard

caring, accepting, non judgemental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

self-transecndence

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s levels of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs, suggests that path to self-actualization begins with first satisfying one’s physiological needs

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved, the motivation to reach one’s full potential

humanists

people who emphasize personal growth, self-awareness and self-actualization

Maslow

proposed the hierarchy of needs as a progressive model for self-actualization

Rogers

developed the person-centered perspective that provides for a nurturing environment where individuals can thrive and become the best version of themselves

Carl Rogers

believed that a growth-promoting social climate includes acceptance, genuineness, and empathy

self-concept

all thoughts and feelings that an individual has in response to the question, “Who am I?“

self-actualization

individuals having fulfilled their potential

self-report

method of inquiry that helps humanists assess personality by asking people to describe themselves as who they want to be and who they actually are

trait

particular way of behavior or feeling in certain contexts

Big Five Factors (OCEAN)

five characteristics that are collectively, through to explain personality, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

a personality test used in clinical situations that identifies clusters (called factors) of test items that tap basic components of a trait

personality inventory

collection of questions that require people to respond in a way that measures a variety of behaviors, feelings, and attitudes

empirically derived test

a test that was created by choosing the items that discriminate between groups

person-situation controversy

a problem that deals with whether one’s personality or context has more influence on behavior

trait

characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act in certain ways that could be identified by a self-report inventory

Eysenck and Eysenck

believed that normal individual variations can be reduced to two dimensions: extraversion-intraversion and emotional stability-instability

social-cognitive perspective

view of behavior as influenced by the interaction between social context and an individual’s personal traits

behavioral approach

psychological approach that focuses on the effects of learning on the development of personality

reciprocal determinism

interaction of behavior, environment, and internal cognition

behavior is influenced by

through, memory, and expectations

behavior is predicted by

how one behaves in similar situations

self

part of a person that is thought to be the center of their personality, organizes how a person thinks, feels, or acts

self-esteem

evaluation of one’s self-worth

individualism

cultural perspective in which people focus on their own endeavors

spotlight effect

assumption that everyone is watching and evaluating you

collectivism

cultural perspective in which people focus on group goals rather than those of the individual

narcissism

inflated sense of self-worth accompanied by grandiosity and excessive self-centeredness

self-efficacy

evaluation of one’s competence or ability

self-serving bias

tendency to view oneself favorable

motivation

need or want that drives and guides behavior

drive-reduction theory

notion that a biological need creates a drive that motivates one to satiate that need

physiological need

biological need

homeostasis

tendency to keep a state of balance of constancy

incentive

something in the environment that drives behavior

instinct

unlearned behavior that is found throughout a particular species

Yerkes-Dodson law

idea that one’s performance will increase only up to a certain point, once this point is reached, performance begins to decrease

instinct theory

instincts cause the most basic behaviors

drive-reduction theory

physiological need - drive/incentive - arousal - drive-reducing behavior - homeostasis

optimum-arousal theory

people seek optimum levels of arousal, so they increase/decrease stimulating behaviors

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

people must fulfill their basic needs first, then they are able to pursue higher-level goals

intrinsic motivation

desire to engage in a behavior for its own sake

achievement motivation

desire for significant accomplishment, such as mastery of skills or ideasext

rinsic motivation

desire to engage in a behavior to receive a reward or to avoid punishment

affiliation need

need to build relationships with others and feel like a part of the group

ostracism

being intentionally excluded from social groups

self-determinism theory

theory that people feel motivated to fulfill their needs for competence, independence, and relatedness

glucose

form of sugar in the blood that provides a major source of energy for the body

basal metabolic rate

body’s resting rate of energy output

set point

weight at which the body tries to restore lost weight through increased hunger and lowered metabolism

emotion

response that involves physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and conscious experience arising from one’s interpretations

polygraph

machine used to detect lies by measuring changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing

behavior feedback effect

tendency of behavior to influence one’s own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions

James-Lange Theory

expressions of emotion come before the experience of emotion

Cannon-Bard Theory

physical arousal and the experience of emotions occur at the same time, with either of these processes depending on the other

Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory

brain notices physiological arousal and adds meaning to it through cognitive appraisal, resulting in an emotion

Lazarus theory

sometimes emotions can be felt unconsciously, but cognition isn’t skipped altogether, cognitive appraisal can be an unconscious process

Zajonc and LeDoux lower emotion theory

thalamus - amygdala, so simple emotions can be felt without cognitive appraisal

Zajonc and LeDoux higher cognition theory

thalamus - prefrontal cortex - amygdala, involves cognitive appraisal

spillover affect

when arousal may be interpreted as other emotions

Izard’s 10 primary emotions

joy, excitement, surprise, adness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt

sympathetic nervous system

responsible for increasing physical arousing

parasympathetic nervous system

responsible for calming physical arousing

stress

a psychological and physiological response to perceive challenges or threats, characterized by emotional, mental, and physical reactions that can impact overall well-being and health

approach and avoidance motives

drive to either approach or avoid a stimulus