Motivation, Emotion, Stress, and Developmental Psychology

Emotion-focused coping

Coping strategy that involves managing emotional reactions to a stressor rather than addressing the stressor itself.

Cultural influence on emotion

Different cultures may express and interpret emotions differently; culture shapes emotional experience and expression.

Spillover effect

When arousal from one event carries over and influences emotional reactions to a subsequent event.

Display rules

Cultural norms that dictate how and when emotions should be expressed.

Universal facial expressions

Facial expressions for emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust are recognized across all cultures.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye's model describing the body's stress response in three stages: Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion.

Alarm

Immediate reaction to a stressor; fight or flight response.

Resistance

Body attempts to cope with the stressor.

Exhaustion

Body's resources are depleted, leading to fatigue or health issues.

Schachter Two-Factor Theory

Emotion results from the combination of physical arousal and cognitive interpretation.

Stress

The process by which we perceive and respond to events that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A pyramid of human needs, starting with physiological needs and moving up to self-actualization.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance increases with arousal only up to a point, after which it decreases.

Attachment styles

Patterns of attachment (secure, avoidant, ambivalent) that affect later relationships.

Cognitive development theory (Piaget)

Theory of how thinking develops in stages over time.

Sensorimotor stage

Birth-2 yrs; experiencing the world through senses; object permanence develops.

Preoperational stage

2-7 yrs; egocentrism, symbolic thinking but lacks logic.

Concrete operational stage

7-11 yrs; logical thinking and understanding of conservation.

Formal operational stage

12+ yrs; abstract and hypothetical reasoning.

Fluid intelligence

Ability to solve new problems and think quickly; declines with age.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior.

Sensitive/Critical period

Optimal periods for development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned.

Menarche

A girl's first menstrual period.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's stage during adolescence; teens explore identity and develop a sense of self.

Teratogens

Harmful substances (like drugs or viruses) that can affect prenatal development.

Temperament

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity; biologically based.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's stage during elementary school; children learn to feel competent or inferior.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's young adult stage; forming close relationships or feeling isolated.

Psychosocial theory of development (Erikson)

Development occurs through social interaction in 8 stages.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences using existing schemas.

Contact comfort

The physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being in physical contact with its caregiver.

Openness

Imagination, creativity, curiosity.

Conscientiousness

Organization, responsibility, dependability.

Extraversion

Sociability, energy, assertiveness.

Agreeableness

Compassion, cooperation, trust.

Neuroticism

Emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness.

Social cognitive view of personality

Emphasizes interaction between personal traits, environment, and behavior.

Self-actualization

The realization of one's potential; top of Maslow's hierarchy.

Trait theory of personality

Personality is made up of a collection of traits.

Psychoanalytic theory of personality (Freud)

Emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts.

Projection

Attributing your own thoughts/feelings to someone else.

Displacement

Shifting aggressive impulses to a safer target.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality.

Rationalization

Creating logical excuses for unacceptable behavior.

Repression

Pushing anxiety-provoking thoughts out of consciousness.

Reaction Formation

Acting opposite to one's unacceptable impulses.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Self

Core of personality; organizer of thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Humanistic theories

Emphasize personal growth, free will, and self-actualization.

Unconditional positive regard

Carl Rogers' term for accepting and valuing someone without conditions.

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior.

Projective tests

Personality assessments that use ambiguous stimuli to reveal the unconscious.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

People describe what they see in inkblots.

TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)

People make up stories about ambiguous pictures.

Free association

A psychoanalytic method where a person says whatever comes to mind to explore the unconscious.