psych ch.13, 12, 14 vocab

personality

a person’s typical thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors that are relatively stable over time and across circumstances

self-concept

what you think, believe, and feel to be true about yourself.

self-schema

an integrated set of memories, beliefs, and generalizations about the self.

working self-concept

the immediate experience of the self in the here and now.

self-esteem

the evaluative aspect of the self-concept that indicates how you value of feel about yourself.

reflected appraisal

how you believe others perceive you

downward comparisons

comparisons with people who is seen as less competent or in a worse situation, which tends to protect one’s high self-esteem

upward comparisons

comparisons with a person who is seen as more competent or in a better situation, which tends to confirm one’s low self-esteem

self-serving bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

psychodynamic theory

Freud’s theory that unconscious forces, such as wishes desires, and hidden memories, determine behavior.

humanistic theory

exploration of potentialities

humanistic approaches

personality is based on the tendency to fulfill potential through personal growth

social-cognitive theory

perception of social environment and learning

social cognitive approaches

personality is based on how a person thinks

trait theory

descriptive in nature

trait approaches

personality can be described by the individual’s characterizes

id

in psychodynamic theory, the component of personality that is completely submerged in the unconscious and operates according to the pleasure principle

superego

in psychodynamic theory, the mostly unconscious component of personality that reflects the internalization of societal and prenatal standards of conduct; it is rigid structure of morality or conscience

ego

in psychodynamic theory, the component of personality that tries to satisfy the wishes of the id while being responsive to the rules of the superego. it operates according to the reality principle.

defense mechanisms

in psychodynamic theory, unconscious mental strategies that the mind uses to protect itself from distress

defense mechanism (denial)

refusing to acknowledge source of anxiety

defense mechanism (repression)

excluding source of anxiety from awareness

defense mechanism (projection)

attributing unacceptable qualities of the self to someone else

defense mechanism (reaction formation)

wearing off an uncomfortable thought by overemphasizing its opposite

defense mechanism (rationalization)

creating a seemingly logical reason or excuse for behavior that might otherwise be shameful

defense mechanism (displacement)

shifting the attention of emotion from one object to another, easier target

defense mechanism (sublimation)

channeling socially unaccpetable impulses into contructive, even admirable, behaiour

humanistic approaches

ways of studying personality that emphasize self-actualization, through which people seek to fulfill their potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding

social cognitive approaches

approaches to studying personality that recognize the influence of how people think

trait approaches

approaches to studying personality that are based on people’s characteristics- that is, their tendencies to act in a certain way over time and across most situations

the “Big Five” (OCEAN)

there are five personality traits; openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Openness to expience

Imaginative vs. down-to earth

Likes variety vs. likes routine

Independent vs. conforming

Conscientiousness

Organized vs. disorganized

Careful vs. careless

self-disciplined vs. weak-willed

extraversion

social vs. retiring

fun-loving vs.sober

affectionate vs. reserved

agreeableness

softhearted vs. ruthless

trusting vs. suspicious

helpful vs. uncooperative

neuroticism

worried vs.calm

insecure vs. secure

self-pitying vs. self-satisfied

temperament

biologically based tendency to feel or act in certain ways

basic tendencies

personality traits that are largely determined by biology and stable over time.

characteristics adaptations

changes in behavioral expression of basic tendencies based on the demands of specific situations

projective measures

personality tests that examine unconscious processes by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli

self-report measures

personality tests in which people respond to questionnaire items that reveal traits and behaviors

situationism

the theory that behavior is determined more by situations than by personality

interactionism

the idea that behavior is determined jointly by situations and underlying traits

dispositional attributions

explanations for why events or actions occur based on people’s internal haracteristics, such as ablitlies, traits, moods, or efforts

situational attributions

explanations for why events or actions occur based on external factors, such as the weather, luck, accidents, or other people’s actions

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to overemphasize personality traits underestimate situations when attempting to explain other people’s behavior

actor/observer bias

the tendency to focus on situations rather than personality traits when interpreting our own behavior

self-fulfilling prophecy

people’s tendency to behave in ways that confirm their own or other people’s expectations

prejudice

negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype about people in a particular group

discrimination

the inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people based on the groups they belong to

attitudes

feelings and beliefs about objects, events, and ideas

attitude accessibility

ease or difficulty of retrieving an attitude from memory

mere exposure effect

the increase in liking due to repeated exposure

explicit attitude

an attitude that you are consciously aware of and can report

implicit attitude

an attitude that influences your feelings and behavior at an unconscious level and is often reveled indirectly through behavior

cognitive dissonance

an uncomfortable mental state due to a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and a behavior

persuasion

the active and conscious effort to change an attitude by sending a message

central route

a method or persuasion that uses high elaboration; that is, you pay attention to arguments and consider all the information in the message. this method usually results in development of stronger attitudes that last over time and that you actively defend.

peripheral route

a method of persuasion that uses low elaboration; that is, you minimally process the message. this method usually results in development of weaker attitudes that are more likely to change over time.

social facilitation

an effect that occurs when the mere presence of others improves performance

social loafing

an effect that occurs when people tend to work less hard in a group than they do when they work alone

deindividuation

a state of reduced individuality, reduced self-awareness, and reduced attention to personal standards; it may occur when people belong to a group

conformity

the act of altering your own behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s epectations

social norms

expected standards of conduct that influence behavior

compliance

the act of agreeing to do things requested by others

obedience

the act of following the orders of a person of authority

aggression

any behavior that involves the intention to harm someone else

frustration-aggression hypothesis

the idea that the more frustrated you feel, the more likely you are to act aggressively

prosocial

acting in ways that tend to benefit others

altruism

willingness to provide help when it is needed, with no apparent reward for doing so

bystander effect

the failure of bystanders to offer help to a person in need

passionate love

a state of intense longing and sexual desire

compassionate love

a strong commitment to supporting and caring for a partner

psychopathology

a sickness or disorder of the mind

etiology

factors that contribute to the development of disordered thoughts, emotions, and/or behaviors

diathesis-stress model

the idea that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability (diathesis) is coupled with stress

specific phobie

an anxiety disorder marked by fear or a specific object or situation that is exaggerated and out of proportion with any actual danger

social anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder characterized by fear of being negatively evaluated by others, including fears of being in social situations, public speaking, speaking up in class, meeting new people, and eating in front of others

generlized anxiety disoder

an anxiety disorder characterized by a state of constant anxiety not associated with any specific object or situation

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder that consits of sudden overwhelm

agoraphobia

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

major depressive disorder

persistent depressive disorder

manic episodes or mania

bipolar I disorder

bipolar II disorder