Personality and Motivation

Social-cognitive theory

The view of psychologists who emphasize behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development

Reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Self-concept

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

Self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Self-esteem

how much you value, respect, and feel confident about yourself

Trait theories

Theoretical views stressing that personality consists of broad, enduring dispositions (traits) that tend to lead to characteristic responses.

Big Five theory of personality

OCEAN Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism

Agreeableness

A personality dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting.

Openness to experience

A personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity, and curiosity

Extraversion

dimension of personality referring to one's need to be with other people

Conscientiousness

how dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent one is

Emotional Stability

the extent to which people feel secure and unworried and how likely they are to experience negative emotions under pressure

Personality inventories

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

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score

Motivation

the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way

Drive-reduction theory

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

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

Arousal theory

theory of motivation in which people are said to have an optimal (best or ideal) level of tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing stimulation

Optimal level of arousal

the level of arousal at which performance peaks

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Self-determination theory

the theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness

Intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Incentive theory

A theory of motivation stating that behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli

Extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment

Instincts

the biologically determined and innate patterns of behavior that exist in both people and animals

Lewin's motivational conflicts theory

approach-approach conflict, Approach-avoidance conflict, Approach-avoidance conflict,Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Approach-approach conflict

Conflict that results from having to choose between two attractive alternatives

Approach-avoidance conflict

conflict occurring when a person must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

a choice must be made between two unattractive goals

Sensation-seeking theory

A theory that proposes that one's level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation

Experience seeking

Desire to try new things.

Thrill seeking

the desire to engage in physically risky activities

Adventure seeking

a component of sensation-seeking theory, where individuals are motivated by the desire for new and challenging experiences, often involving physical activities and exploration

Disinhibition

Expressing messages without considering the consequences of doing so

Boredom susceptibility

An aversion to repetitive experiences, routine work, and predictable people, and a reaction of restless discontent when exposed to such situations

Ghrelin

A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

Leptin

A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite

Pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential glandUnder the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Hypothalamus

brain region controlling the pituitary gland, hunger, body temperature, sympathetic nervouse system

Ventromedial hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces feelings of fullness as opposed to hunger, and causes one to stop eating

Lateral hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals