Unit 9 Review (Motivation, Emotion, & Personality)

personality trait

long term personal characteristics

Hans Eyesenck

known for developing a biologically based trait theory of personality

personality inventory

a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

a popular psychometric questionnaire designed to measure personality preferences based on Carl Jung's theory of psychological types, the test categorizes individuals into 1 of 16 types

Barnum effect

the tendency for individuals to accept vague, general, or stock descriptions of personality as being highly accurate and specific to themselves, even though those descriptions could apply to almost anyone

social-cognitive perspective

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

Albert Bandura

pioneered the Social Learning Theory, the Bobo Doll Experiment, and the concept of Self-Efficacy

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

the expectancy that your efforts will be successful

learned helplessness

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

spotlight effect

the tendency for people to overestimate the extent to which others notice and evaluate our appearance and performance

self-esteem

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Neo-Freudian

psychologists who built upon Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory but modified it by emphasizing social, cultural, and interpersonal factors over biological drives and sexual motivation

Erik Erikson

defines human growth as a lifelong, eight-stage process driven by social interactions, cultural influences, and specific, age-related conflicts

Alfred Adler

father of humanistic psychology, focused on our drive toward superiority and perfection

inferiority complex

fixation on feelings of personal inferiority that can lead to emotional and social paralysis

Karen Horney

emphasized that cultural and social factors, rather than biological drives, shape personality, known for her theory of basic anxiety

Carl Jung

founder of analytical psychology, developing the concepts of introversion and extroversion, the collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation

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

Carl Rogers

a founding figure of humanistic psychology, suggested if our self-concept is negative then we fall short of our ideal self and feel unhappy

Abraham Maslow

developed the hierarchy of needs

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs

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

full acceptance and love of another regardless of behavior

conditions of worth

internalised standards, set by significant others or society, that individuals feel they must meet to be deemed worthy of love, approval, or validation

self concept

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

conditional positive regard

acceptance and love contingent on certain behaviors and fulfilling certain conditions

personality

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

free association

saying whatever comes to mind

psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality that focuses on internal conflicts and desires

psychodynamic approach

explains human behavior, emotions, and mental health as products of the unconscious mind, childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships

Sigmund Freud

founded psychoanalysis, a method for treating mental illness by exploring the unconscious mind

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

our baby-like self, pleasure principle, libido, irrational

ego

the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality, rational

superego

moral center - “should”, “should not”

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

oral stage (0-18 months)

pleasure centers on the mouth—sucking, biting, chewing

anal stage (18-36 months)

pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

phallic stage (3-6 years)

pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

latency stage (6-puberty)

a phase of dormant sexual feelings

genital stage (puberty on)

maturation of sexual interests

oedipus complex

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

electra complex

a young girl's (ages 3–6) unconscious sexual competition with her mother for the possession of her father

freudian slip

a verbal, written, or behavioral mistake that reveals a hidden, unconscious thought, desire, or conflict

identification

children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos

fixation

a lingering focus on an earlier psychosexual state where conflicts were unresolved

defense mechanisms

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

repression

exclude painful thoughts or feelings without realizing

compensation

a defense mechanism—often unconscious—whereby an individual covers up weaknesses, frustrations, or feelings of inadequacy in one life area by overachieving or emphasizing excellence in another

regression

revert to childlike behavior

reaction formation

a person copes with anxiety-inducing, unacceptable thoughts or feelings by acting in the exact opposite manner

projection

attributing own feelings on others

rationalization

providing a justifying explanation for your behavior

displacement

redirection of repressed motives or feelings onto substitute objects

sublimation

transforming repressed motives or feelings into more socially accepted forms

denial

refusal to acknowledge a painful or threatening reality

stress

a state of psychological tension or strain, a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium

stressor

events/circumstances that can cause stress

wellness

an individual’s state of well-being in which they are able to cope with life stressors productively

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion

alarm

fight of flight or freeze, sudden activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Something occurs or happens to you leading to bodily arousal

resistance

handling it, your flight or fight response is likely still activated and excess adrenaline allows the brain to rise to the challenge and focus energies

exhaustion

out of steam, the body can no longer resist this stressor, weakened immune system

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries

Type A

competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

Type B

relaxed and easygoing

eustress

positive stress

distress

negative stress

hypertension

high blood pressure

health psychology

a specialty field that focuses on how biology and psychology impact our physical health and wellness

problem focused coping

involves actively managing or altering stressful situations through direct actions or problem-solving strategies

emotion focused coping

involves regulating emotional responses to stressors, rather than altering the stressors themselves

tend and befriend theory

some people, when coping with stress, will tend to their own needs or the needs of others by seeking connection with others

adverse childhood experiences

potentially traumatic events occurring before age 18, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction

positive psychology

the scientific study of what makes life worth living, focusing on human flourishing and optimal functioning

explanatory style

optimistic vs pessimistic

emotion/affect

a complex psychological process that is distinguished from reasoning or knowledge, reflect internal and external factors affecting an individual

three components of emotion

physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, conscious experience of feelings

sympathetic nervous system

triggers activity

parasympathetic nervous system

calms down the body

James-Lange theory

emotions occur because of our physical reactions to events

Cannon-Bard theory

stimulating events trigger feelings and physical reactions that occur at the same time

two-factor theory

emotion is based on two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive label

Schachter & Singer

social psychologists who developed the two-factor theory of emotion

polygraph

used by law enforcement to measure the arousal from lying

catharsis

in psychology, the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges

feel-good do-good phenomenon

people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

facial feedback hypothesis

the effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions

well-being

a holistic state of functioning well emotionally, mentally, and socially, not merely the absence of illness

subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life

post-traumatic growth

positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises

broaden and build theory

positive emotions broaden awareness, encouraging novel, exploratory thoughts and actions

expressed emotions

emotions are expressed on the face, by the body, and by the intonation of voice

motive

a need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it towards a goal