AP PSYCH UNIT 7 - Motivation, Emotion, and Personality

AP Psychology terms, definitions, and ideas from Unit 7

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behaviors

instinct

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

psychological need

a basic bodily requirement

drive-reduction theory

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

incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

homeostasis

a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Abraham Maslow

(1970) created the idea of the hierarchy of needs

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

glucose

the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level us low, we feel hunger.

ghrelin, leptin, orexin

appetite hormones, ghrelin a hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

set-point

the point at which your “weight thermostat” may be set. When your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

basal metabolic rate

the body’s resting rate of energy output

situational influences on eating

• arousing appetite

• friends and food

• serving size is significant

• selections stimulate

• nudging nutrition

asexual

having no sexual attraction to others

testosterone

the most important male sex hormone. both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

estrogens

sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. estrogen levels peak during ovulation. In nonhuman mammals, this promotes sexual receptivity

sexual response cycle

the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

refractory period

in human sexuality, a resting period that occurs after orgasm, during which a person cannot achieve another orgasm

affiliation need

the need to build relationships and to feel part of a group

autonomy

a sense of personal control

competence

we experience a deep sense of well-being

otracism

deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard

grit

in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotions

a response of the whole organism, involving

(1) physiological arousal

(2) expressive behaviors

(3) conscious experience

James-Lange Theory

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus

stimulus —> arousal —> emotion

Cannon-Bard Theory

the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers

(1) physiological responses

(2) the subjective experience of emotion

two-factor theory

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must

(1) be physically aroused

(2) cognitively label the arousal

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscles states to trigger corresponding feelings such a fear, anger, or happiness

behavior feedback effect

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions

stress

the process by which we perceived and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

stressors

• catastrophes

• significant life changes

• daily hassles

motivational conflicts theory

stress also arises from the daily conflicts we face between our different approach and avoidance motives

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

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

tend-and-befriend response

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine

Type A

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive heard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

Type B

Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing relaxed people

catharsis

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

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

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

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used a long with measures of objective well-being to evaluate people’s quality of life (example: physical and economic indicators)

adaptation-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income ) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those whom one compares oneself

personality

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

psychodynamic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

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.

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

ID

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The ID 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. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the ID’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

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

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development during which, according to Freud, the ID’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

oedipus

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

repression

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

collective unconscious

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared inherited reservoir of memory traces form our species’ history

Alfred Adler and Karen Horney

agreed with Freud that childhood is important, but they believed that childhood social, not sexual, tensions are crucial for personality formation

Carl Jung

• placed less emphasis on the social factors and agreed with Freud that the unconscious exerts a powerful influence

• he believed that we also have a collective unconscious

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 images 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

Inblot Test

the most widely used projective test; a set of 10 inkblots, seeks to identify peoples inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

terror management theory

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

humanistic theories

theories that 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

self-transcendence

according to Maslow, the striving for identify, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

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 in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

empirically derived test

a test created by selecting from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups

the big five

OCEAN

• openness

• conscientiousness

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• neurotiscism (emotional stability vs. instability)

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between peoples trains (including their thinking) and their social context

Albert Bandura

proposed the social-cognitive perspective

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

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-efficiency

one’s sense of competence and effectiveness

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceived oneself favorably

individualism

giving priority to one’s own goals over a group goals and define one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly

theory x and theory y

• x = managers believe that employees will work only if rewarded with benefits or threatened with punishment

• y = managers believe that employees can be intrinsically motivated

Lewin’s Motivational Conflicts Theory

• approach -approach conflict = when we have two desirable things to choose from but can only choose one

• approach - avoidance = both options have their benefits and drawbacks

• avoidance - avoidance = you must choose between two equally unattractive options

emotions and the autonomic nervous system

• sympathetic nervous system (arousing)

• parasympathetic nervous system (calming)

defense mechanisms

• repression

• denial

• displacement

• projections

• reaction formation

• regression

• rationalization

• sublimation

• intellectialization

Carroll Izard (ten emotions)

• joy

• anger

• interest

• disgust

• surprise

• sadness

• fear

• contempt

• shame

• guilt

shame, contempt, and guilt are not shown in infancy