PL100 Block 3

Personality

deals with the consciousness, values, and abstract beliefs, including spiritual experiences and beliefs people live and die for

determinism

the belief that every behavior has a cause

reductionism

the attempt to explain behavior in terms of component elements

humanistic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny.

self actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential

ideal self

one's perception of whom one should be or would like to be

conditional positive regard

In Roger's theory, the sense that you will be valued and loved only if you behave in a way that is acceptable to others; conditional love or acceptance.

unconditional positive regard

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

congruence

the degree to which one's self concept aligns with his/her experience in the outside world

self concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

personality trait

consistent pattern of thought and behavior

incongruence

results when our self-perceptions do not align with how we act

personality state

unstable, temporary aspects of personality influenced by environment.

Big Five Personality Traits

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

biological theories of personality

view genes, chemicals, and body types as the central determinants of who a person is; a growing body of evidence supports the idea that human personality is shaped in part by genetics

influence of age on personality

Middle age is more conscious than teens. People grow more modest in their behaviors. Neuroticism decreases with age.

expectancy

The subjective probability that a given behavior will lead to a particular outcome.

reinforcement value

desirability of the outcomes of our behavior

locus of control

a person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment

Internal: outcomes are a result of personal actions.

External: Outcomes are a result of external factors.

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

self efficacy

An individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task.

CAPS Model

Cognitive Affective Processing Systems: our thoughts and emotions about ourselves and the world affect our behavior and become linked in ways that matter to behavior

definitions of intelligence

1. mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one's environment.

2. ability to deal with novel situations

3. ability to judge, comprehend, and reason

4. ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols

5. ability to act purposefully, think rationally, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment

Spearman's g factor

said a general intelligence (g) underlies all mental abilities.

Spearman's S factor

the ability to excel in certain areas, or specific intelligence

Mechanical, musical, logical, spatial, arithmetic

fluid intelligence

ability to reason and use information

e.g. Ability to perceive relationships, solving unfamiliar problems, gaining new knowledge

crystalized intelligence

the ability to retain and use knowledge that was acquired through experience

Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Independant forms of intelligence. linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

emotional intelligence

the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning

Comprise of these four factors:

Self-awareness (internal)

Self-management (internal)

Social awareness (external)

Relationship management (external)

James-Lange theory of emotion

One's interpretation of a stimulus evokes autonomic changes and sometimes muscle actions. Your perception of those changes is the feeling aspect of your emotion.

situation--> appraisal-->actions-->perception of those actions

Schachter-Singer Theory

The response of the autonomic nervous system determines the intensity of the emotion, but a cognitive appraisal of the situation identifies the type of emotion

basic emotions

The most fundamental set of emotion categories, which are biologically innate, evolutionarily determined, and culturally universal.

anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise

broaden-and-build hypothesis

a happy mood increases your readiness to explore new ideas and opportunities

circumplex model

emotions are arranged according to their valence or pleasantness as well as the level of arousal, or activation

positive psychology

studies the features that enrich life, such as happiness, hope, creativity, courage, spirituality, and responsibility

subjective well being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.

influences on positive emotions

wealth, culture, religion, live events, age

fear

a response to immediate danger

anxiety

an increase in the startle reflex

anger

desire to harm people or bring them away

contempt

a reaction to a violation in community standards

disgust

a reaction that would make you feel contaminated if it got in your mouth

frustration-aggression hypothesis

the main cause of anger and aggression is frustration- an obstacle that stands in the way of doing something or obtaining something

Aggression vs. Violence

All violent acts are aggressive, but not all aggressive acts are violent

hostile cognitive biases

- aggressive people have inner biases that make them: expect others to react aggressively, view ambiguous acts as aggressive, assume others act purposefully when they hurt or offend them

how alcohol consumption relates to aggressive behavior

Pharmalogical theories: alcohol disrupts cognitive processes

Expectancy theories: social attitudes about alcohol facilitate agression

social-ecological model

individual, relationship, community, societal

stress

1. the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it

2. an event or events that are interpreted as threatening to an individual and which elicit psychological and behavioral responses

General Adaptation Syndrome

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion

indirect impact of stress

sleep, diet, alcohol etc.

direct impact of stress

feeling/looking ill, declining performance, low quality of life, brain damage

Psychological risk factors for heart disease in Type A personalities

Hostility-->weak correlation

PTSD

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

Risk factors: small amygdala, pre-traumatic stress

problem focused coping

a type of coping in which people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor

reappraisal

changing one's emotional experience by changing the way one thinks about the emotion-eliciting stimulus

emotion-focused coping

coping strategies that change the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction to the stressor

methods to mitigate stress

social support, relaxation, exercise, distraction

ATC model

The Activating Event produces the Thoughts which result in Consequences (emotions and reactions).

Thought-->Reaction:

1. loss-->sadness/withdrawal

2. danger-->anxiety/agitation

3. trespass-->anger/aggression

4. inflicting harm-->guilt/apologizing

5. negative comparison-->embarrassment/hiding

Detecting Icebergs

What is the most upsetting part to me?

What does that mean to me?

What is the worst part of that for me?

Assuming that is true, what about that is so upsetting to me?

Ask "what" questions not "why".

Why--> leads to defensiveness

hunting the good stuff

seeking the good things in your life to help build positive emotion, optimism and gratitude; this leads to better health, better sleep, better relationships, more optimal performance, greater life satisfaction, and lower depression; another benefit is that it counteracts negativity bias (a tendency to pay more attention to bad events); you can counteract this by simply keeping track of the positive events and experiences in your life

Common thinking traps

overly rigid patterns in thinking that can cause us to miss critical information about a situation/ or individual

- identify patterns you typically fall into/ask critical questions to clarify important info you missed

jumping to conclusions thinking trap

Cause: making assumptions w/o data

Critical ?'s: What is the evidence

mind reading thinking trap

Cause: beleif you know w/o relaible data what others are thinking

Critical ?'s: Did I express myself? Did I ask for info?

me, me, me thinking trap

Cause: attributing problems to one's own doing

Critical ?'s: Look outwards

them, them, them thinking trap

Cause: viewing adversity as a result of someone else's action/inaction

Critical ?'s: look inwards

always, always, always thinking trap

Cause: viewing negative events as unchangeable

Critical ?'s: What is changeable? What can I control?

everything, everything, everything thinking trap

Cause: thinking you can judge a person's or your own worth, motivation, or ability on the basis of a single situation. "Character assassination"

Critical ?'s: What is the specific behavior explaining the situation?

biological factors leading to developing psych disorders

-genetic

- infectious diseases, poor nutrition, inadequate sleep, drugs

psych factors leading to developing psych disorders

reactions to stressful experiences.

- people who were abused, bullied, or neglected as children are more likely to develop psych problems later in life

socialcultural factors leading to developing psych disorders

we learn from our culture how to behave normally and the options for behaving abnormally

DSM 5

the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

4 D's

deviance, distress to self or others, dysfunction, disturbance of thoughts

major depressive disorder

a mood disorder in which a person feels sad and hopeless for weeks or months

bipolar disorder

mood disorder in one experiences both manic and depressed episodes

generalized anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder that consists of sudden, overwhelming attacks of terror

social phobia (social anxiety disorder)

fear of interacting with others or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation

phobia

a fear that interferes with normal life

OCD

an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

PTSD

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

Anorexia Nervosa

an eating disorder in which an irrational fear of weight gain leads people to starve themselves

Bulimia Nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise