Unit 4 part 1

Personality

An individual's unique and relatively consistent pattern of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives.

Personality Psychology

The scientific study of personality and its development, structure, traits, processes, variations, and disordered forms.

Psychoanalysis

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

Ego Defense Mechanisms

Tactics the ego employs to reduce or redirect anxiety through unconsciously distorting reality.

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities.

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person.

Projection

Disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions.

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

Regression

Retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage where some psychic energy remains fixated.

Repression

Blocking impulses or memories from consciousness.

Sublimation

Transferring unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives.

The Preconscious Mind

Can be retrieved into conscious awareness using psychoanalytic treatment techniques.

The Unconscious Mind

Contains our unacceptable passions and thoughts that we repress from consciousness.

Psychodynamic Theory

Views human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind.

Projective Tests

Personality tests that ask test-takers to describe an ambiguous image or tell a story about it.

Rorschach Test

A projective test comprised of a standardized set of 10 inkblots used to reveal underlying thought processes.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test where people express inner feelings through stories about ambiguous scenes.

Humanistic Psychology

Focuses on inherent potential for healthy personal growth, emphasizing free will and positive qualities.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A caring attitude conveying acceptance of a person in their current state without judgment.

Self Actualizing Tendency

The ongoing process of realizing one’s inherent potentials and capabilities.

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior, thoughts, and emotions.

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure examining clusters of test items to determine underlying traits.

Big Five Theory

The most widely accepted trait theory that outlines five factors that make up personality.

Personality Inventory

Long self-report questionnaires with close-ended statements for test-takers.

Neuroticism

Relates to emotional stability; a highly neurotic person is anxious, depressed, and easily stressed.

Social Cognitive Theory

Focuses on interaction between personal factors, behavior, and the environment in shaping personality.

Reciprocal Determinism

The interaction of behavior, environment, and internal factors that shapes personality.

Self-concept

The way one views oneself in relation to others.

Self-efficacy

The degree to which a person believes their efforts will result in a desired outcome.

Self-esteem

One’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value.

Motivation

The force directing a person to behave a certain way.

Instincts

Innate and consistent patterns of behavior performed the same way by all members of a species.

Homeostasis

The tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Drive-Reduction theory of motivation

As physiological needs increase, psychological drives to reduce them also increase.

Arousal theory of motivation

Theory suggesting that individuals are motivated to maintain optimal levels of arousal.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Principle stating that moderate levels of arousal lead to optimal performance.

Sensation Seeking Theory

Motivational theory based on the trait of sensation seeking; individuals seek novel and thrilling experiences.

Self-Determination Theory

Theory proposing that people are motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

Intrinsic Motivation

Doing an activity for its inherent satisfaction rather than for an external reward.

Extrinsic Motivation

Performing an activity to achieve an external reward or avoid punishment.

Incentive Theory of motivation

Theory emphasizing how external stimuli motivate behavior.

Motivational Conflicts Theory

Describes dynamics of decision making in the face of conflicting motivations.

Affiliation

The need to build relationships and feel part of a group.

Ostracism

Deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

Emotion

A complex experience beginning with a stimulus that includes physiological responses, feelings, and expressions.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Theory stating facial expressions can influence emotional experiences.

Broaden and Build Theory of Emotion

Suggests positive emotions broaden awareness and help build skills over time.

Universal Emotions

Facial expressions of emotions theorized to be present in every culture by Paul Ekman.

Display Rules

Culturally expected ways of expressing emotions.

Openness

A person's willingness to try new experiences and imaginative interests.

Conscientiousness

A person's tendency to be organized, responsible, and disciplined.

Extraversion

A person's tendency to be outgoing, sociable, and assertive.

Agreeableness

A person's tendency to be cooperative, compassionate, and trusting.

Id

The reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that seeks immediate gratification of desires.

Superego

The internalized part of personality that functions as our conscience.

Ego

The conscious part of personality that mediates between the id and superego.

Congruence

The state of being consistent between one's real self and ideal self, according to Rogers.