Pyschology lock in moments 101

These flashcards cover key terminology and concepts related to personality theories, motivation, and psychological assessments as taught in the lecture.

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychodynamic Theories

Theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory attributing thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; a therapeutic technique utilizing free associations and dreams.

Unconscious

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts and feelings; information processing of which we are unaware.

Free Association

In psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious by having the person relax and say whatever comes to mind.

ID

A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives, operating on the pleasure principle.

Ego

The partly conscious part of personality that mediates between the demands of the id, superego, and reality.

Superego

The partly conscious part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment.

Defense Mechanisms

The ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Repression

The basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)

A projective test in which people express their inner feelings through stories about ambiguous scenes.

Projective Test

A personality test that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test that uses ambiguous inkblot images to explore the preconscious and unconscious mind.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s levels of human needs visualized as a pyramid, with basic needs at the base.

Self-Actualization

The motivation to fulfill one’s potential, occurring after basic needs are met.

Self-Transcendence

The striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A caring, accepting attitude believed by Carl Rogers to help clients develop self-awareness.

Self-Concept

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

Traits

A characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act in certain ways.

Personality Inventories

Questionnaires designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The most widely researched personality test, originally developed to identify emotional disorders.

Empirically Derived

A test created by selecting items that discriminate between groups.

Big Five Factors

Five traits describing personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Social-Cognitive Perspective

A view of behavior as influenced by the interaction between traits and social context.

Reciprocal Determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Self

Assumed to be the center of personality and organizer of thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Spotlight Effect

Overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance and performance.

Self-efficacy

Our sense of competence and effectiveness.

Self-esteem

Our feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-serving bias

A readiness to perceive ourselves favorably.

Narcissism

Excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Individualism

A cultural pattern that emphasizes personal goals over group goals.

Collectivism

A cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups.

Drive Reduction Theory

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

Homeostasis

A tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Instinct

A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and unlearned.

Belongingness

The innate human desire to form and sustain close relationships.

Arousal Theory

Individuals are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness.

Sensation-Seeking Theory

Proposes that motivation is driven by the need for varied, novel, and intense experiences.

Thrill Seeking

A desire for intense and exciting experiences, often involving risk.

Adventure Seeking

A desire for new and challenging experiences, often involving physical activities.

Disinhibition

The tendency to seek out social and experiential thrills.

Boredom Susceptibility

An individual's intolerance for repetitive experiences, leading to the search for new activities.

Incentive Theory

Behavior is motivated by the desire for external rewards or incentives.

Self-determination Theory

People are motivated by intrinsic motivations like personal growth, or extrinsic motivations like rewards.

Intrinsic Motivation

Engaging in activities for their own sake, driven by internal rewards.

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory

Describes psychological struggles individuals face when making decisions.

Approach-Approach Conflict

Occurs when an individual must choose between two desirable options.

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict

Occurs when choosing between two undesirable options.

Approach-Avoidance Conflict

Occurs when drawn to and repelled by the same option.