AP Psychology Unit 8: Personality, Motivation, & Emotion Review

personality

The unique and consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish one person from another.

psychodynamic model of personality

Emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and sexual and aggressive instincts.

conscious

The part of the mind that holds what we are currently aware of and thinking about.

preconscious

Contains thoughts and feelings that are not currently in our conscious awareness but can be easily brought to the conscious mind.

unconscious

The part of the mind that contains thoughts, memories, desires, and feelings that are not accessible to our conscious mind because they are repressed or deemed unacceptable.

id

The irrational part of the psyche that is driven by the pleasure principle without consideration of social norms.

superego

The part of the psyche encompassing our moral standards which strives for perfection and control the id’s impulses.

ego

The rational part of the personality that balances the desires of the id with the constraints of the real world and moral guidelines of the superego.

ego defense mechanisms

Psychological strategies used by the ego to manage anxiety and unconscious conflict.

denial

Refusing to accept reality of facts, thereby blocking external events from awareness.

displacement

Redirecting emotions or impulses from a threatening target to a safer one.

projection

Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person.

rationalization

Creating logical explanations for behaviors or feelings that are actually driven by unconscious impulses.

regression

Reverting to behaviors characteristic of an earlier stage of development when faced with stress or anxiety.

repression

The process of pushing unacceptable thoughts, memories, or desires into the unconscious.

sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses or drives into socially acceptable or even admirable activities.

projective tests

Personality tests that provide ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Rorschach inkblot test

A series of 10 inkblots onto which individuals project their own interpretation.

thematic apperception test

A series of 31 images of ambiguous scenes onto which individuals project their own interpretation.

unconditional positive regard

Accepting and valuing a person without conditions or judgments.

self-actualizing tendency

The inherent drive in individuals to realize their full potential and to develop and express their capacities and talents to the fullest.

congruence

The extent to which a person’s actual and ideal selves align with one another.

social-cognitive theory of personality

A theory of personality that focuses on the importance of cognitive processes and social learning in shaping personality.

reciprocal determinism

The dynamic and reciprocal interaction between an individual's behavior, personal factors, and environmental influences.

self concept

The overall understanding and perception of oneself.

self-efficacy

One's belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.

self esteem

The overall value or worth one places on oneself.

trait theories

A model of personality that focuses on identifying and measuring individual personality characteristics, known as traits.

Big 5 model of personality

A trait-driven model of personality that proposes that personality can be understood through five broad dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (OCEAN).

openness

Reflects a person’s degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and openness to new ideas and experiences.

conscientiousness

Refers to the extent to which individuals are organized, responsible, dependable, and goal-oriented.

extraversion

Captures the level of sociability, assertiveness, and positive emotionality.

agreeableness

Reflects the tendency to be compassionate, cooperative, and empathetic toward others.

neuroticism

Measures the degree of emotional instability, anxiety, and vulnerability to stress.

personality inventory

A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

factor analysis

A statistical technique used to identify patterns in data by reducing the number of variables and grouping them into underlying factors.

motivation

A need or desire that energizes or directs behavior.

drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

homeostasis

A person’s biological equilibrium.

arousal theory

People are driven to perform actions in order to maintain an optimum level of physiological arousal.

Yerkes-Dodson law

The principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

self-determination theory

Posits that people have three basic psychological needs that, when satisfied, contribute to intrinsic motivation, personal growth, and well-being: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

intrinsic motivation

Performing an action or behavior because you enjoy the activity itself.

extrinsic motivation

Behavior that is driven by external rewards such as money, fame, grades, and praise.

instinct

A complex, unlearned behavior, usually related to survival or primitive environmental responses.

motivational conflicts theory

When an organism is in conflict between two opposite motives.

approach-approach conflict

A conflict between two favorable outcomes.

approach-avoidance conflict

A conflict between one favorable outcome and an unfavorable one (usually an obligation).

avoidance-avoidance conflict

A conflict between two unfavorable outcomes.

sensation-seeking theory

A personality theory that suggests individuals differ in their tendency to seek out novel, varied, and intense experiences.

experience-seeking

Pursuing new and unconventional experiences, ideas, and sensations.

thrill or adventure seeking

Seeking out exciting and adventurous experiences.

disinhibition

Seeking social and sensory excitement through impulsivity, spontaneity, and lack of restraint.

boredom susceptibility

Tendency to avoid monotony and seek stimulation when feeling bored or understimulated.

eating behavior

The idea that individuals are motivated to eat for various physiological, psychological, and social reasons.

emotion

A complex psychological and physiological response to internal or external stimuli that typically involves a combination of subjective feelings, physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and cognitive appraisal.

appraisal

The cognitive process through which individuals evaluate or assess the significance, meaning, and implications of events, situations, or stimuli for their well-being, goals, and values.

facial-feedback hypothesis

The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

broaden-and-build theory of emotion

Suggests that positive emotions play a key role in broadening individuals' momentary thought-action repertoires and building enduring personal resources over time.

universal emotions

Certain emotions are universally recognized and expressed across cultures, regardless of social or environmental factors.

display rules

Culturally specific norms or guidelines that dictate how individuals should express or suppress emotions in social interactions.

emotional elicitors

Events, situations, or stimuli that provoke or evoke emotional responses in individuals.

cross-cultural displays of emotions

Variations in how emotions are expressed, interpreted, and regulated across different cultural contexts.