AP Psych Unit 4.4-4.8

Personality

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

psychodynamic theories

focus on the unconscious mind and childhood experiences

psychoanalysis

Freud attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conducts, sells to expose and interpret them

unconscious

unacceptable thoughts, feelings, memories, and wishes/information processing we are unaware of

free association

method of exploring the unconscious person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind

id

reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual/aggressive drives

pleasure principle

demanding immediate gratification

ego

partially conscious, “executive” that mediates the demands of the id and ego (satisfies desires + mitigates pain)

superego

partly conscious, represents internalized ideals, provides standards for judgement and future aspirations

defense mechanisms

ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by distorting reality

repression

basic defense that banishes anxiety inducing thoughts, memories, etc

regression

reducing to an earlier psychosexual stage

reaction formation

switching unacceptable influences into opposites

projection

disguising impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

offering self-justifying explanations

displacement

shifting negative influences to less threatening things

sublimination

transferring impulses to socially valued motives

denial

refusing to believe/perceive painful realities

collective consciousness

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history

terror management theory

death related anxiety, explores emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of impending death

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

projective test where people express inner feelings and interests though stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

projective test

personality test designed to trigger projections of one’s inner dynamics by showing ambiguous images

Rorschach inkblot test

projective test seeking to identity by interpreting 10 inkblots

humanistic theories

view personality with a focus on healthy personal growth

hierarchy of needs

levels of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs

self actualization

ultimate psychological needs that arises after meeting base physical/psychological needs

self transcendence

striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond one’s self

unconditional positive regard

caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior/disposition to feel or act a certain way (conscious motives)

personality inventory

questionnaire used to assess personality traits

Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory

widely used personality test that can identify emotional disorders

empirically derived test

test created by selecting from a pool of items (the items discriminate between groups)

Big Five (personality) factors

openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

social cognitive perspective

theory that views personality as the interaction between an individual's traits (including thinking) and their social context (how people interpret and respond to their environment)

behavioral approach

focuses on the effects learning on behavior (conditioning) as opposed to internal mental processes

reciprocal determinism

interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

self

assumed to be the center of personality, organizer of thoughts, feelings, actions

spotlight effect

overestimating other’s noticing to us/how much they pay attention to us

self esteem

feelings of low or high self worth

self efficacy

sense of competence and effectiveness

individualism

cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups

collectivism

cultural pattern/goals that prioritizes the group as opposed to the individual

motivation

need or desire that energies and directs behavior

instinct

complex behavior rigidly patterned though a species that is unlearned

physiological need

basic bodily requirement

drive-reduction theory

physiological needs create aroused states that motivate an organism to satisfy it

homeostasis

maintaining of a balanced or constant internal state

incentive

positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance increases arousal only up to a point (healthy level of nervousness)

affiliation need

need to build and maintain relationships and feel a part of a group

self determination theory

we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness

extrinsic motivation

the desire to perform a behavior to receive promised awards/avoid punishment

ostracism

deliberate social exclusion

achievement motivation

desire for significant accomplishment, mastery, control, and attaining a high standard

glucose

form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the energy for body tissues

set point

oh t if weight that if the body falls below, hunger and metabolic processes many increase

basal metabolic rate

the body’s resting rate of energy output

obesity

30+ bmi

emotion

response of the whole organism involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience from one’s own interpretations

facial feedback effect

tendency for facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, happiness

behavior feedback effect

tendency for behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, actions