Unit 4B: Motivation, Emotion and Personality

Personality

Patterns of thinking, feelings and acting (it influences behaviors & is persistent in life)

Freud’s Ideas on Personality

3 parts of our personality work together to control impulses & make final decisions: id, ego, superego

Id

Soley in our unconscious, seeks immediate gratification and is willing to do anything to satisfy our basic/biological needs (the devil on your shoulder)

Ego

Our “reality check”, is in both the unconscious and conscious mind, thinking about how we will respond to the real world & the consequences of our actions based on the decisions we make (considers both needs from id and moral check from superego)

Superego

Wants us to be proud of the decisions we make, present in conscious and unconscious mind, driven by moral compass

Psychodynamic Theory

View human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind, these three dictate our personality: childhood, unconscious and anxiety driven defense mechanisms, these theories descended from Freud’s psychoanalysis

Freud’s Theory of Psychoanalysis

Attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motive conflicts, basically includes everything from the psychodynamic theory with sexual & aggressive impulses dictating personality as well

Defense Mechanisms

Freud proposed that the ego protects itself with defense mechanisms, tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality

Regression

Retreating to an earlier stage of development (ex. sucking on your thumb when stressed)

Reaction Formation

Unacceptable impulses being replaced with their opposite (ex. I am upset with my coworker so I treat her with a lot of kindness)

Projection

Attributing unacceptable impulses to other people (ex. someone who likes to have others do things for him will be quick to criticize others for being dependent and lazy)

Rationalization

Giving a logical reason to justify an unacceptable behavior (ex. it was okay to cheat on this homework assignment since it was really hard and other students looked up the answers too)

Displacement

Taking a negative emotion out on an innocent person or target (ex. yelling at your little brother for no real reason)

Sublimation

Transferring unacceptable impulses into a socially valued motive (ex. taking your anger out by kickboxing

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities (ex, insisting there was an error on the team list when your name wasn’t on the varsity lineup, when in reality you aren’t that good)

Projective Tests

Personality tests that provide ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics. For example, Inkblots —> provide info about a person’s thought processes, perception, motivations and attitude toward their environment, it is used to elicit info about the structure and dynamics of an individual’s personality/ Thematic Apperception (TAT)—> a series of cards each with a different picture, people express their inner feelings and interests through stories they make up about ambiguous scenes/ Questionnaires

Humanistic Theory

Emphasizing the ways people strive for self-determination and self-realization, view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Self-Actualization

The idea that humans want to reach out fullest potential or the point to which all of an individual’s needs and desires have been met/achieved,

Unconditional Positive Regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude to help people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance, people want to surround themselves with people like this

Self-Concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in response to the question “who am I?”(ex. having an understanding of what you stand for)

Self-Efficacy

Your believe in your own abilities, one’s sense of competence and effectiveness

Reciprocal Determination

Developed by Albert Bandura, a social cognitive theory stating human functioning is shaped by the dynamic/ interaction of three factors: personal factors, behavior and environment

Behaviors—> actions & choices based on observation & imitation (ex. asking quality questions in class

Environmental Factors —> opportunities impacted by social & cultural influences (ex. your town, friends)

Internal Cognition —> Your thoughts, emotions, beliefs (ex. high self-efficacy)

Social-Cognitive Approach

Behavior is influenced by the interaction between traits and social context/ Emphasizes the interaction of our traits with our situations, believes that we learn many of our behaviors either through conditioning or by observing other, meanwhile emphasizes the importance of mental processes (what we think about a situation affects our resulting behavior)

Self-Esteem

One’s feeling of self-worth

Traits

People’s characteristic patterns of behavior or a disposition to feel/act in certain ways

The Big Five Personalities

OCEAN —> Open-mindedness, conscientious, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

Trait Theory

We have certain stable and enduring characteristics, influenced by genetic predispositions

Open-Mindedness

High: prefers variety and imagination Low: prefers routine, not creative

Conscieniousness

High: disciplined, organized Low: disorganized, procrastinates

Extraversion

High: sociable, talkative, outgoing Low: reserved, avoids spotlight, quiet

Agreeableness

High: trusting, empathetic, helpful Low: suspicious, uncooperative, self-centered

Neurocriticism

High: anxious, worrisome, insecure Low: calm, handles stress well, stable emotions

Motivations

Needs or desires that energizes and directs behavior, different theories: instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, and hierarchy of needs

Drive-Reduction

When a physiological needs, like food and water increases so our psychological drive to reduce it does as well, drive reduction is one way our bodies strive for homeostasis

Arousal Theory

We are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal (ex. if bored, we do something and if overstimulated, we relax)

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

Sensation-Seking Theory

A personality trait defined by the search for experiences and feelings that are varied, novel, complex, and intense and by the readiness to take physical, social, legal and financial risks for the sake of such experiences

Self-Determination Theory

People are motivated to learn, grow and change their lives if their three basic psychological needs are satisfied: competence, connection and autonomy

Intrinsic Motivation

We find participation in an activity personally rewarding and fulfilling

Extrinsic Motivation

We participate in an activity to gain a reward or avoid punishment

Instinct Theory

The idea that instincts are likely to be rooted in genes and the body, views our instincts are the source of motivation, but humans have few instincts (this theory is usually applied to animals)

Behavioral Approach

Emphasizes that observable behaviors over internal event such as thoughts and emotions determine personality

Unconscious Process

Mental activities below the level of conscious awareness that influence behavior

Personality Inventories

Questionnaires designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure used to identify clusters of related personality items,it simplifies complex data by grouping related items making it easier to identify hidden themes

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Most common psychometric test devised to assess personality traits and psychopathology (study of mental illnesses or conditions)

Empirically Derived Test

The process of developing a test based on extensive research and data analysis

Empirical —> measurable & observable (ex. drawing blood and analyzing hormones is empirical)

Emotional Stability

The degree to which one is calm, secure and self-satisfied (low neuroticism)

Approach-Approach Conflict

When you must choose between two desirable outcomes

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

When you must choose between two unattractive outcomes

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

When one event or goal has both attractive and unattractive features

Ghrelin

Hormone that causes stomach contractions and promotes hunger (makes you go “ghrrrr”)

Leptin

Hormone that maintains homeostasis and controls the pituitary gland (make you lean)

Hypothalamus

Maintains homeostasis and controls the pituitary gland

Pituitary Gland

Controls endocrine glands

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory

Describes internal conflicts between different types of goals

Optimal Level of Arousal

The perfect amount of stress or excitement needed for peak performance

Boredom Susceptibility

Low tolerance for routine or repetitive tasks

Disinhibition

Lack of restraint manifested in impulsive, socially inappropriate behavior, often disregarding consequences (ex. aggressive outbursts, blunt and rude comments)

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

A situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors —> we seek to maintain consistency between our thoughts and our actions

Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”

Focuses on the innate desire to reach ones’ fullest potential as a human

Emotion

A response of the whole organism, involves (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behavior, and (3) conscious experience

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

The effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness intensifies feelings of anger or happiness (idea that facial expressions can influence emotional experiences)

Broaden and Build Theory

Proposes that positive emotional experiences tend to broaden awareness and encourage new actions and thoughts

Negative emotions narrow attention, focusing thoughts on survival and avoidance

Behavior-Feedback Effect

Tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions

Display Rules

Cultural norms/ socially learned expectations that regulate the expression of emotions

Elicitors

Specific trigges that cause an emotional response

Cognitive Appraisal

Mental interpretation of a situation that determines the emotional response