PSY 101 - keyterms final

Archetypes

Emotionally charged images and thought forms that have universal meaning.

Behaviorism

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior.

Collective unconscious

Storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people’s ancestral past.

Compensation

Efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one’s abilities.

Conscious

Whatever one is aware of at a particular point in time.

Defense mechanisms

Largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilt.

Displacement

Diverting emotional feelings (usually anger) from their original source to a substitute target.

Ego

The decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle.

Factor analysis

When correlations among many variables are analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables.

Hierarchy of needs

Systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, developed by Abraham Maslow.

Hindsight bias

Tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out.

Humanism

Theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and potential for personal growth.

Id

The primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle.

Identification

Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group.

Incongruence

The degree of disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience.

Model

Person whose behavior is observed by another.

Narcissism

Personality trait marked by an inflated sense of importance, a need for attention and admiration, and a tendency to exploit others.

Need for self-actualization

The need to fulfill one’s potential.

Observational learning

When an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.

Personality

An individual’s unique set of consistent behavioral traits.

Personality trait

Durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations.

Pleasure principle

When the mind demands immediate gratification of its urges.

Preconscious

Mental condition just beneath the surface of awareness from which material can easily be retrieved.

Projection

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

Projective tests

Instruments that ask participants to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that can reveal the subject’s needs, feelings, and personality traits.

Rationalization

Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior.

Reaction formation

Behaving in a way that’s exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings.

Reality principle

Mental condition that seeks to delay gratification of the id’s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found.

Regression

Reversion to immature patterns of behavior.

Repression

Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious.

Self-concept

Collection of beliefs about one’s own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior.

Self-efficacy

An individual’s belief about his or her ability to perform behaviors that should lead to expected outcomes.

Self-report inventories

Personality tests that ask individuals to answer a series of questions about their characteristic behavior.

Superego

The moral component of personality that incorporates social standards of right and wrong.

Unconscious

The mental entity that contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but nonetheless exert great influence on behavior.

Attitude

Positive or negative evaluation of objects or thoughts.

Attribution

Inference that a person draws about the causes of events, others’ behavior, and his or her own behavior.

Bystander effect

When people are less likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than when they are alone.

Cognitive dissonance

When attitudes or beliefs are related but inconsistent, contradicting each other.

Collectivism

Putting group goals ahead of individual goals and defining one’s identity in terms of the groups one belongs to.

Conformity

When people yield to real or imagined social pressure.

Discrimination

Behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward members of a group.

Explicit attitudes

Attitudes that one holds consciously and can readily describe.

External attribution

Ascribing the causes of behavior to situational demands and environmental constraints.

Fundamental attribution error

An observer’s bias in favor of internal attributions in explaining another’s behavior.

Group

Two or more individuals who interact and are interdependent.

Group cohesiveness

The strength of the liking relationships linking group members to each other and to the group itself.

Group polarization

When group discussion strengthens a group’s dominant point of view and produces a shift toward a more extreme decision.

Groupthink

When members of a cohesive group emphasize concurrence at the expense of critical thinking.

Individualism

Putting personal goals ahead of group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes.

Informational influence

When people look to others for guidance about how to behave in ambiguous situations.

Ingroup

Group that one belongs to and identifies with.

Internal attribution

Ascribing the causes of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, and abilities.

Interpersonal attraction

Positive feelings toward another person.

Normative influence

When people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences.

Obedience

A form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands from authority.

Outgroup

Group that one does not belong to or identify with.

Prejudice

Negative attitude held toward members of a group.

Reciprocity

Liking those who show that they like us.

Reciprocity norm

Rule that we should pay back in kind what we receive from others.

Self-serving bias

Tendency to attribute one’s successes to personal factors and one's failures to situational factors.

Social loafing

Reduction in effort by individuals when they work in groups compared to working alone.

Social psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.

Stereotypes

Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group.

Agoraphobia

Fear of going out to public places, literally meaning "fear of the marketplace or open areas."

Anhedonia

Diminished ability to experience pleasure.

Anorexia nervosa

A disorder involving intense fear of gaining weight and refusal to maintain normal weight.

Antisocial personality disorder

Psychological profile marked by impulsive, callous, manipulative, and aggressive behavior.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication.

Availability heuristic

The estimated probability of an event based on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind.

Binge-eating disorder

Distress-induced eating binges not accompanied by purging, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Bipolar disorder

Psychological condition marked by the experience of both depressed and manic periods.

Borderline personality disorder

Psychological condition marked by instability in social relationships, self-image, and emotional functioning.

Bulimia nervosa

Habitual out-of-control overeating followed by unhealthy compensatory efforts.

Delusions

False beliefs maintained despite being clearly out of touch with reality.

Dissociation

Splitting off of mental processes into two separate streams of awareness.

Dissociative amnesia

Sudden loss of memory for important personal information.

Dissociative disorders

Class of disorders where people lose contact with portions of their consciousness.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

A disruption of identity marked by the experience of two or more different personalities.

Eating disorders

Severe disturbances in eating behavior characterized by preoccupation with weight concerns.

Etiology

The apparent causation and developmental history of an illness.

Expressed emotion

The degree to which a relative displays critical or emotionally involved attitudes toward a patient.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Condition marked by chronic, high levels of anxiety not tied to any specific threat.

Hallucinations

Sensory perceptions occurring in the absence of real, external stimuli.

Major depressive disorder

Persistent feelings of sadness and despair with a loss of interest in previous pleasures.

Medical model

Proposal to consider abnormal behavior as a disease.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Condition marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges.

Panic disorder

Condition characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety.

Personality disorders

Class of disorders marked by extreme, inflexible personality traits.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Enduring psychological disturbance attributed to a major traumatic event.

Prognosis

Forecast about the probable course of an illness.

Representativeness heuristic

Estimated probability that an event will be similar to the typical prototype of that event.

Schizophrenia

Disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking.

Specific phobia

Persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation presenting no realistic danger.