AP Psychology - Personality, Motivation, and Emotion

agreeableness

A personality dimension that includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, cooperation, and other prosocial behaviors.

Big Five theory

A model of the primary dimensions of individual differences in personality. The dimensions are usually labeled extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

collectivist culture

Giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.

conscientiousness

A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

denial

Defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

displacement

Defense mechanism that shifts negative impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person.

ego

The largely conscious "executive" part of personality that mediates among the demands of the other two parts of the psyche and ultimately operates on what is realistic.

ego defense mechanisms

The psyche's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

emotional stability

A personality dimension in which a person is calm, secure, and self-satisfied

extraversion

A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive.

factor analysis

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

humanistic psychology

In addition to patterns and characteristics, this perspective aims to understand personality by considering what it is like to be that person, what makes that person essentially himself or herself, and what gives the person's life meaning from the person's own subjective perspective.

id

A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives, demanding immediate gratification.

openness to experience

A personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of a sense of curiosity, open-mindedness, and acceptance of novel situations.

personality

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

personality inventories

A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

preconscious mind

according to psychodynamic theory, the level of the psyche that contains thoughts, feelings, and impulses not presently in awareness but that can more or less readily called into consciousness

projection

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

projective test

A personality test, such as the rorschach or tat, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

psychodynamic theory

View personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

rationalization

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions.

reaction formation

Defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.

reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

regression

Defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated.

repression

The basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Rorschach test

The most widely used projective test - seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of inkblots.

self-actualization

The complete realization of that of which one is capable, involving maximum development of abilities and full involvement in and appreciation for life.

self-concept

One's description and evaluation of oneself, including psychological and physical characteristics, qualities, skills, roles and so forth.

self-efficacy

An individual's subjective perception of his or her capability to perform in a given setting or to attain desired results.

self-esteem

The degree to which the qualities and characteristics contained in one's self-concept are perceived to be positive.

social-cognitive theory

A personality theory stating that our traits and social environments interact with one another and how mental processes such as interpretation further impact our behavior.

sublimation

Defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.

superego

Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscience)and for future aspirations.

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.

trait

A characteristics pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

trait theories

A theory of personality that emphasizes the lasting nature of personal characteristics and an individual's tendency to respond in a certain way in many different kinds of situations.

unconditional positive regard

According to Carl Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

unconscious

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

affect

any experience of feeling or emotion

approach-approach conflict

A situation involving a choice between two equally desirable but incompatible alternatives.

approach-avoidance conflict

A situation involving a single goal or option that has both desirable and undesirable aspects or consequences.

arousal theory

A theory of motivation emphasizing the importance of a balance in our levels of stimulation.

avoidance-avoidance conflict

A situation involving a choice between two equally objectionable alternatives.

boredom susceptibility

According to sensation-seeking theory, this quality represents a dislike of repetition, predictability and monotony

broaden-and-build theory of emotion

a positive psychology theory that suggests that positive emotions can help people build skills and resources over time

cognitive label/appraisal

A theory that cognitive evaluation (a thought) is involved in the generation of some emotions.

disinhibition

According to sensation-seeking theory, this quality represents impulsiveness, extraversion, and a hedonistic lifestyle

display rules

A socially learned standard that regulates the expression of emotion that vary by culture.

drive

A generalized state of readiness precipitating or motivating an activity or course of action, usually created by deprivation of a needed substance (e.g., food), the presence of negative stimuli (e.g., pain, cold), or the occurrence of negative events.

drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to satisfy the need and return to homeostasis.

emotion

A complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which an individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter or event.

experience seeking

According to sensation-seeking theory, this represents a need for a variety of inner experiences

external cues

related to hunger

extrinsic motivation

An external incentive to engage in a specific activity, especially motivation arising from the expectation of punishment or reward.

facial feedback hypothesis

The effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness intensifies feelings of anger or happiness.

ghrelin

Hormone involved in stimulating appetite

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.

hypothalamus

structure in the limbic system that regulates many drive-related behaviors, including hunger

incentive theory

The theory that an external stimulus, such as a condition or an object, that enhances or serves as a motive for behavior.

instinct

A complex, innate behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species.

intrinsic motivation

An incentive to engage in a specific activity that derives from pleasure in the activity itself rather than because of any external benefits that might be obtained.

leptin

A protein, manufactured and secreted by fat cells, that may communicate to the brain the amount of body fat stored and may help to regulate food intake.

Lewin's motivational conflicts theory

Theory that proposes that choices create conflicts one must resolve (e.g., approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance) as the basis of motivation

motivation

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

optimal arousal

A motivational theory that an individual maintains contact with various stimuli so as to achieve and maintain a preferred level of stimulation.

pituitary gland

the master gland of the endocrine system; along with the hypothalamus, this regulates production of hormones that regulate feelings of hunger and satiety

satiety

the state of being fully satistfied to or beyond capacity; for example, when hunger or thirst has been fully satisfied

self-actualization

The complete realization of that of which one is capable, involving maximum development of abilities and full involvement in and appreciation for life.

self-determination theory

A theory that proposes that people are motivated by intrinsic (internal) or extrinsic (external) motivations.

sensation-seeking theory

A theory that proposes that one's level of need for varied or novel experiences is the basis of motivation; includes sensation-seeking types such as experience seeking, thrill or adventure seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility

thrill or adventure seeking

According to sensation-seeking theory, a desire to engage in unusual or risky physical activity

universal emotions

Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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