AP Psych Semester Review Part 1

Free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

Unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. This operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. This operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

Psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Oedipus [ED-uh-puss] complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

Identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.

Fixation

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Psychodynamic theories

modern-day approaches that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

Collective unconscious

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

Projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

False consensus effect

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

Terror-management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Humanistic theories

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

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.

Unconditional positive regard

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

Self-concept

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

Trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Personality inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

Social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

Behavioral approach

in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development.

Reciprocal determinism

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

Positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Spotlight Effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).

Self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

Narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.

Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Habituation

an organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it.

Associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

Stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response.

Cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others or through language.

Classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events.

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Neutral stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

Unconditioned response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth).

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response (UR).

Conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

Acquisition

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

Higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

Spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

Generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

Discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

Operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.

Law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Operant chamber

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking.

Reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Discriminative stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement).

Positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Not the same as punishment)

Primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.

Conditioned reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer.

Reinforcement schedule

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.

Continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

Fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

Variable-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

Variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

Punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows.

Biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.

Respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

Cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned the layout.

Latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

Extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

Problem-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly—by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

Emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction.

Learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

External locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate.

Internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate.

Self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

Observational learning

learning by observing others. Also called social learning.

Modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy.

Prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

Psychological disorder

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Medical model

the concept that diseases, in this case, psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

DSM-5 - the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders, Fifth Edition;

a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Anxiety disorders

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.