Chapter 2: Making Positive Choices

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core concepts, theories, and models from Chapter 2: Making Positive Choices.

Determinism vs. Free Will Continuum

A psychological spectrum plotting theories of personality from deterministic approaches (Biological, Freudian, Behavioral) to free will perspectives (Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral, Humanism, Existentialism).

The Cognitive Model

A model illustrating that when something happens, an individual has thoughts about it, experiences emotions based upon those thoughts, and then responds with behaviors.

Correlation Types

Scatterplot diagrams showing positive correlation (variables move in the same direction), negative correlation (variables move in opposite directions), and no correlation (variables show no systematic relationship).

Determinism

The belief in cause-and-effect relationships holding that all human actions are caused by outside determining variables over which individuals have no control.

Free Will

The viewpoint that humans can ignore determining factors like genetics or environment and freely choose how and when to act.

Soft Determinism

A viewpoint asserting that human behavior is affected by a combination of determining forces along with each individual's inherent ability to choose and decide to change their path.

Genetic Determinism

Biologically based theories postulating that humans are almost exclusively a product of their genetic heritage.

Concordance Rate

The probability that two individuals display the same trait or characteristic.

Schizophrenia

A severe emotional disorder where individuals have difficulty differentiating traditional reality from internal fantasies or fears, often suffering from hallucinations and delusional thinking.

Hallucinations

Sensory experiences during a psychotic episode, such as seeing or hearing things that are not really there.

Delusional Thinking

Believing in ideas that are not reality-based, such as irrational fears of persecution.

Psychic Determinism

Theories, such as Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory, postulating that personality is determined by early life experiences and is set by six years of age.

Behaviorism

A deterministic theory postulating that human personality and behavior are shaped by environmental conditioning, learning histories, and current reinforcement schedules.

Existentialism

A philosophy positing that although life presents events outside individual control, how one responds or rides those waves is up to personal choice.

Humanism

A psychological movement represented by Maslow and Rogers proposing that human beings naturally strive toward self-actualization and that behavior stems from personal choices.

Cognitive-Behaviorism

A psychological paradigm emphasizing that study must include covert behaviors such as thoughts and internal self-talk that precede overt behaviors.

S-R Model

A strict Behaviorist stimulus-response model holding that all behavior is directly controlled by the preceding stimulus.

S-O-R Model

A stimulus-organism-response model holding that a stimulus impinges upon an individual who interprets it with a thought before generating a response.

Proactivity

The freedom of choice and acceptance of responsibility for one's own life, making decisions based on values rather than conditions based on feelings.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that an individual is responsible for the ultimate outcomes in their life and can take active control over their destiny.

External Locus of Control

The belief that an individual is a victim controlled by external forces, events, fate, or luck beyond their control.

Self-Efficacy

An individual's belief in their capability to produce a desired effect by their own actions under certain conditions.

Catastrophizing

Giving oneself internal messages that a situation is too awful or overwhelming to bear, or expecting nightmarish outcomes.

Self-Talk

The continuous internal monologue or automatic thoughts occurring in an individual's head throughout the day.

Cognitive Restructuring

A technique involving identifying irrational underlying beliefs, challenging them rationally, and substituting rational beliefs in their place.

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

An empirical approach using cognitive, mindfulness, and behavioral activation techniques summarized as: Accept thoughts/feelings, Choose values, Take action.

Correlation

A statistical measure indicating the degree to which two variables are reliably associated with one another.

Spurious Correlation

An illusory correlation where a relationship is perceived between variables that does not actually exist, often sustained by selective perception.

Global Citizen

An individual who places emphasis on individual choice in a collective setting for the greater good, recognizing interconnectedness across the globe.

Optimism

A perspective focused on what is right rather than wrong, seeking reasons to be happy, satisfied, and resilient when facing adversity.

Explanatory Style

An individual's cognitive framework for explaining why events occur, characterized by external vs. internal, variable vs. stable, and specific vs. global attributions.

CAVE Approach

Content Analysis of Verbal Explanations; a technique used to determine an individual's explanatory style by analyzing recorded verbal or written statements.

Learned Helplessness

The belief that nothing an individual does can alter an outcome or circumstance, leading to complete surrender of effort.

Defensive Pessimism

A strategy used by anxious individuals that anticipates negative outcomes and engages in over-preparation to manage anxiety and enhance performance.

Dispositional Pessimism

A general, pervasive tendency toward negative thinking based primarily on ruminations about past experiences.

Non-reflexive Reality

Aspects of reality that exist independently and are not altered by human thoughts, desires, or expectations.

Reflexive Reality

Aspects of reality that are directly influenced or determined by human beliefs, perceptions, and expectations.

Optimism Bias

An evolutionary cognitive tendency to overestimate the probability of positive future events and underestimate the likelihood of negative ones.

Prediction Error

The discrepancy between an individual's expectation of an outcome and what actually occurs.