Psychology Exam 3

Primary emotion

Basic, universal emotion (e.g., fear, joy, anger, disgust).

Secondary emotion

Complex emotion built from primary emotions + social learning (e.g., guilt, pride).

Valence

How positive or negative an emotion feels.

Arousal

Intensity/activation level of an emotion.

Insula

Brain region processing bodily sensations and emotions, especially disgust.

Amygdala

Brain region key to fear and emotional memory.

Amygdala–hippocampus link

Strong emotions get stored as stronger, more vivid memories.

Misattribution of arousal

Mistaking arousal's true source for another cause (affects emotion felt).

Emotion vs. mood

Emotion: brief, has a clear cause. Mood: longer-lasting, no clear cause.

Drive

Internal state pushing an organism to meet a need.

Incentive

External reward that pulls behavior toward it.

Drive reduction theory

Behavior is motivated by reducing tension from unmet biological needs.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation from outside rewards/pressure.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation from internal enjoyment/interest.

Overjustification effect

Adding extrinsic reward to an intrinsically motivated task can reduce intrinsic motivation.

Self-efficacy

Belief in one's own ability to succeed.

Delayed gratification

Giving up a smaller reward now for a bigger one later.

Marshmallow test

Mischel's study: kids choosing 1 treat now vs. 2 later; waiting predicted better life outcomes.

Motivation

Internal state that activates, directs, and sustains goal-directed behavior.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Pyramid from basic needs (physiological, safety) to higher needs (belonging, esteem, self-actualization); lower needs generally met first.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance is best at moderate arousal; too little or too much arousal hurts performance.

James-Lange theory

Body reacts first → emotion follows from noticing that reaction.

Laird pencil study

Holding a pencil in teeth (forced smile) increased felt happiness; supports James-Lange.

Cannon-Bard theory

Arousal and emotion happen at the same time, independently of each other.

Schachter-Singer (two-factor) theory

Emotion = physical arousal + cognitive label from context.

Schachter-Singer support study

Unexplained arousal (e.g., epinephrine shot) gets labeled based on situational cues (confederate acting happy/angry).

Universal facial expressions evidence

Same expressions are recognized across cultures and even by blind individuals.

Personality

A person's characteristic, enduring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior.

Genetic influence on personality

Identical twins show higher trait concordance than fraternal twins, even when raised apart.

Psychodynamic theory

Freud's theory that unconscious drives/conflicts shape personality.

Id

Unconscious part seeking immediate gratification of instincts.

Pleasure principle

The id's drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain right away.

Ego

Rational part balancing id's desires with reality.

Superego

Moral conscience; internalized rules/standards.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety. Freud: protect the ego by distorting reality. Modern view: normal, sometimes adaptive coping tools.

Big Five personality traits

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (OCEAN); seen as universal because they appear across cultures.

Strong situations

Situations with cues so powerful most people act the same, hiding personality differences.

Weak situations

Situations with few cues, letting personality differences show.

Concordance rate

% of twin pairs who share a trait; used to measure genetic influence.

Personality stability

Fairly stable over life, but changes most in young adulthood (new roles/responsibilities).

Zygote

Fertilized egg; first 2 weeks after conception (rapid cell division).

Embryo

Developing organism, weeks 2–8; major organs form.

Fetus

Developing organism, week 9 to birth; growth and maturation.

Teratogen

Outside agent (drugs, alcohol, disease) that can harm prenatal development.

Fetal/early brain development

Rapid neuron growth, then synaptic pruning shapes efficient brain circuits.

Synaptic pruning

Elimination of unused neural connections for efficiency.

Senses at birth

Hearing well developed (recognizes mother's voice); vision is the weakest, blurry sense.

Vision development

Visual acuity improves quickly over the first year.

Grasping reflex

Infant grips an object placed in the palm.

Rooting reflex

Infant turns toward a touch on the cheek, seeking the nipple.

Sucking reflex

Infant sucks on an object placed in the mouth.

Startle (Moro) reflex

Infant flings arms out in response to sudden stimulus.

Attachment

Emotional bond between infant and caregiver.

Harlow monkey study

Infant monkeys preferred a soft cloth "mother" over a wire one with food — showing attachment isn't just about feeding.

Contact comfort

Comfort from physical touch; key to attachment.

Strange-situation test

Ainsworth's procedure: observes infant reactions to separation/reunion with caregiver to classify attachment style.

Attachment style

Pattern of relating to others in close relationships, formed in infancy.

Secure

Distress at separation, comforted at reunion, explores confidently with caregiver present.

Insecure/avoidant

Little distress at separation, avoids caregiver at reunion.

Insecure/ambivalent

High distress at separation, both seeks and resists comfort at reunion.

Assimilation

Fitting new experiences into existing knowledge (schemas).

Accommodation

Adjusting existing schemas to fit new experiences.

Sensorimotor stage (birth–2)

Learning through senses/actions; object permanence develops.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects still exist when out of sight.

Preferential looking

Method testing infant perception by tracking what they look at longer.

Self-other differentiation test

Mirror test: does the infant recognize itself by touching a mark on its own face?

Preoperational stage (2–7)

Symbolic thought, but egocentric and prone to centration.

Centration

Focusing on one feature of a situation while ignoring others.

Concrete operational stage (7–11)

Logical thought about concrete objects; conservation and transitive inference develop.

Conservation tasks

Reveal whether a child understands quantity stays the same despite a change in shape/arrangement.

Transitive inference

Logically combining relations to reach a conclusion (if A>B and B>C, then A>C).

Formal operational stage (12+)

Abstract, hypothetical reasoning.

Theory of mind

Understanding that others have beliefs/thoughts different from one's own.

Preconventional

Avoid punishment / self-interest.

Conventional

Follow social norms / gain approval.

Postconventional

Guided by abstract, personal ethical principles.

Openness to experience

Curiosity, creativity, imagination, and willingness to try new ideas and experiences. High = imaginative; Low = prefers routine and familiarity.

Conscientiousness

Organization, responsibility, self-discipline, and dependability. High = organized and reliable; Low = spontaneous and less structured.

Extraversion

Sociability, assertiveness, energy, and enjoyment of being around others. High = outgoing; Low (introverted) = reserved and enjoys solitude

Agreeableness

Kindness, compassion, trust, and cooperativeness. High = empathetic and helpful; Low = competitive, skeptical, or more confrontational

Neuroticism

Tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, worry, and mood swings. High = emotionally reactive; Low = calm and emotionally stable.