Unit 4 AP Psychology Part 2

personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting. 

Psychodynamic theories

-theories that view personality w/ a focus on the unconscious mind & the importance of childhood experiences.

psychoanalysis

-Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts & actions to unconscious motives & conflicts

-the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose & interpret unconscious tensions.

unconscious

-according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thought, wishes, feelings, & memories.

-according to contemporary psychologists, info processing of which we are unaware

free asosciation

-in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes & says whatever comes to minds, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Id

Id

-a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual & aggressive drives.

-operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

Ego

-the partly conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, the superego, & reality

-operates the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain,

Superego

-the partly conscious part of personality that represents internalized ideals & provides standards for judgement (the conscience) & future aspirations

Ego 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, & memories

regression

retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixed

reaction formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

projection

disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

sublimation

transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives.

denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Carl Jung

Neo-Freudians

-a group of individuals who followed Freud’s basic ideas:

the personality structures of id, ego, & superego; the importance of the unconscious; the childhood roots of personality; & the dynamics of anxiety & the defense mechanisms

-but abandoned his focus on sexual conflicts influencing personality, emphasized motives and social interactions

Carl Jung

He was less interested in social factors but agreed that the unconscious had a powerful influence on us.

he believed we had a collective unconscious full of common images or archetypes that help to explain universal experiences & idea

collective unconscious

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

Teror-management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; people’s emotional & behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Projective tests

 a personality test, such as the TAT or Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics & explore the pre conscious & unconscious mind.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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

Rorschach Inkblot test

 a projective test designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 ink blots

Humanistic Theory

theory that view personality w/ a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Hierarchy of needs

-Maslow’s level of human needs, beginning at the base w/ physiological needs. Often visualized as a pyramid, w/ needs near the base taking priority until they are satisfied

self-actualization

According to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arise after basic physical & psychological needs are met & self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

self-transcendence

According to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning & purpose beyond the self.

Unconditional Regard

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

self-concept

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

Carl Rogers

-believed that people are basically good & endowed w/ self-actualizing tendencies.

-primed for growth and fulfillment

Abraham Maslow

proposed that we are motivated by a hierarchy of needs, w/ physiological needs at the bottom & psychological needs higher up. Once our needs for food, water, shelter, and safety are met, we can begin to cultivate our relationships & sense of belonging. 

Trait Theory

theory of personality conclude that personality involves a set of including characteristics that lead to typical response to stimuli.

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

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. It was originally developed to identify emotional disorders. This test is now used for many other screening purposes.

empirically derived test

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

Big Five Theory (Five Factor Theory)

 5 traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness & neuroticism – that describe personality

openness to experience

practical, prefers routine, conforming vs. imaginative, prefers variety, independent

conscientiousness

disorganized, careless, impulsive vs. organized,careful, disciplined

extraversion

retiring, sober, reserved vs. sociable, fun-loving, affectionate

agreeableness

ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative vs. soft-hearted, trusting, helpful

emotional stability

calm, secure, self-satisfied vs. anxious, insecure, self-pitying

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

has been used to sort people into personality types based on Carl Jung’s archetypes. Even w/out scientific validity, it remains a popular tool for matching people to each other & work preferences.

archetypes

a symbol, dream or image that all humans share, which express underlying fears or ideas we all experience

self-efficacy

our sense of competence & effectiveness

self-esteem

our feelings of high or low self-worth

social cognitive theory

-a view of behaviors influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) & their social context

behavioral theory

-focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Albert Bandura

emphasizes the interaction between traits & our situations.

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, & environment

motivation

a need or desire that energizes & directs behavior

Drive

tend to be biologically instigated

motives

 an internal mechanism that selects & drives behavior.

instinct

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

drive-reduction theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused 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 body temperature or blood glucose, around a particular level.)

physiological need

a basic bodily requirement

Incentive theory

An organism is motivated to act in order to gain a reward (Extrinsic). When there is both a biological need and an incentive, we feel strongly driven.

incentive

positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Arousal Theory

An individual is motivated to maintain a personally preferred level of alertness or excitement.  If the individual’s level of arousal falls below their personally preferred level, they will be motivated to take action to reach that level. 

Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

Self-Determination Theory

we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, & relatedness.

intrinsic motivations

the desires to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

extrinsic motivation

the desires to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

sensation-seeking theory

one’s level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation.

thrill and adventure seeking

A desire for activities that are risky and unusual

experience-seeking

a desire for new sensory or mental experiences

disinhbition

a preference for activities that are “out of control”

boredom susceptibility

An intolerance of repetition or boring people

affiliation need

the need to build & maintain relationships & to feel part of a group

motivational conflicts theory

Choices create conflicts one must resolve as the basis of motivation.

approach-approach

When an individual must choose between two desirable options, both of which have positive attributes.  

avoidance-avoidance conflict

 Involves choosing between two undesirable options, both resulting in negative outcomes.  

approach-avoidance conflict

when a single option has both positive and negative aspects, creating a dilemma

Achivement Motivation

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

grit

in psychology, passion & preserve in the pursuit of long-term goals

glucose

the form of sugar that circulates the blood & provides the major source of energy for body tissues.

if its level drops, your brain will trigger hunger.

set point

 the point (weight) at which your “weight thermostat” may be set (fixed)

obesity

defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher, which is calculated from our weight-to-height ratio

basal metabolic rate

the body’s resting rate of energy output

Ghrelin

-appetite hormones secreted by an empty stomach

-sends “I’m hungry” signals to the brain

Leptin

-appetite hormones secreted by fat cells

-causes the Brian to increase metabolism & decrease hunger

emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving three parts: physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, & conscious experience

Broaden-and -Build Theory of Emotion

-positive emotional experiences tend to broaden awareness & encourage new actions & thoughts

-negative emotions tend to reduce awareness & narrow thinking & action

polygraph

a machine used in attempts to detect lies; measures emotion-linked changes in perspiration, heart rate & breathing

Display Rules

the permissible ways of displaying emotions in a particular society

Behavior Feedback Effect

The tendency of behavior to influence our own & others thoughts, feelings, & actions

Facial-feedback hypothesis

the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness

Elicitors

the mental process where an individual evaluates & interprets a situation to determine its personal significance & the appropriate emotional response

Stanley Schanchter

known for developing the “Two-Factor Theory”, proposed that the emotions are a combination of physiological arousal & a cognitive label