AP Psychology Unit 4

Personality

The unique and enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize an individual.

Psychodynamic theories

Perspectives that view personality as the result of unconscious motives and conflicts stemming from childhood experiences.

Psychoanalytic theory

Freud’s theory that personality is shaped by unconscious conflicts and motives, as well as early childhood experiences.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s therapeutic technique using free association, dream interpretation, and transference to uncover unconscious motives and conflicts.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalysis, who proposed that personality results from interactions among the id, ego, and superego.

Unconscious mind

The part of the mind that contains thoughts, memories, and desires outside of conscious awareness but that influence behavior.

Free association

A psychoanalytic method in which a person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, revealing unconscious thoughts.

Conscious mind

All the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions a person is currently aware of.

Preconscious mind

Mental content not currently in consciousness but easily brought to awareness.

Id

The unconscious part of personality that seeks immediate gratification of instinctual drives, operating on the pleasure principle.

Ego

The rational part of personality that mediates between the id and reality, operating on the reality principle.

Superego

The part of personality representing internalized ideals, morals, and standards of judgment.

Pleasure principle

The drive of the id to seek immediate satisfaction of needs and desires, regardless of reality or consequences.

Reality principle

The ego’s tendency to delay gratification until it can find a realistic, socially acceptable way to satisfy needs.

Defense mechanism

Unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

Pushing distressing thoughts or feelings into the unconscious to avoid anxiety.

Regression

Reverting to a behavior characteristic of an earlier stage of development when faced with stress.

Reaction formation

Behaving in a way that is opposite to one’s true unacceptable impulses.

Projection

Attributing one’s own undesirable impulses or feelings to someone else.

Rationalization

Creating logical explanations to justify unacceptable behavior or feelings.

Displacement

Redirecting emotions from a threatening target to a safer one.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge reality or painful facts

Neo-Freudians

Psychologists who agreed with Freud’s ideas about the unconscious but emphasized social and cultural influences more than sexual drives.

Alfred Adler

Neo‑Freudian who proposed the concept of the inferiority complex and the importance of striving for superiority.

Karen Horney

Neo‑Freudian who emphasized social relationships and countered Freud’s bias against women.

Carl Jung

Neo‑Freudian who proposed the idea of the collective unconscious and archetypes.

Collective unconscious

Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from humanity’s history.

False consensus effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Terror‑management theory

Explains behavior as a defense against the anxiety of death awareness.

Projective test

A personality test that uses ambiguous stimuli to reveal hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test in which people make up stories about ambiguous pictures, revealing underlying motives or concerns.

Rorschach inkblot test

A projective personality test using inkblots to analyze a person’s inner feelings and thought patterns.

Humanistic psychology

The study of personality that focuses on human potential, self‑growth, and self‑actualization.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist known for the hierarchy of needs and the concept of self‑actualization.

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, from physiological needs to self‑actualization.

Self‑actualization

The drive to fulfill one’s potential and achieve personal growth and self‑fulfillment.

Self‑transcendence

The striving for meaning and purpose beyond the self.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist known for person‑centered therapy and the concept of unconditional positive regard.

Person‑centered perspective

Rogers’s view that growth requires genuineness, acceptance, and empathy.

Unconditional positive regard

An attitude of total acceptance and support for another person regardless of their behavior.

Self‑concept

perception of all the thoughts and feelings we have about ourselves

Life story approach

Research method focused on people’s narratives to understand their identity and personality.

Trait theories

Theories that describe personality in terms of stable and enduring characteristics or traits.

Trait

A consistent pattern of behavior, thought, or emotion.

Myers‑Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality test that classifies people by preferences on four dimensions (e.g., introversion vs. extraversion).

Factor analysis

A statistical method used to identify clusters of correlated traits.

Introversion/extraversion

A personality dimension describing orientation toward inner thoughts (introversion) or external stimulation (extraversion).

Emotional stability/instability

consistency vs variability in emotional responses.

Personality inventory

A questionnaire assessing a wide range of personality traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

A widely used personality test assessing abnormal personality traits.

Empirically derived test

A test developed by selecting items that discriminate between different groups.

Big Five factors

The five major dimensions of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Person‑situation controversy

The debate over whether behavior is more influenced by personality traits or situational factors.

Social‑cognitive perspective

View that behavior is shaped by interactions between personality, thinking, and social environment.

Behavioral approach

Focuses on how learning and environment shape behavior.

Reciprocal determinism

The interaction between behavior, internal cognition, and environment that influences personality.

Self

All the thoughts, feelings, and actions that make up an individual’s sense of personal identity.

Spotlight effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others notice and evaluate our appearance and behavior.

Self‑esteem

One’s overall sense of self‑worth.

Self‑efficacy

Belief in one’s ability to succeed or exert control over events.

Dunning‑Kruger effect

individuals with limited knowledge or competence in a domain greatly overestimate their own expertise

Self‑serving bias

The tendency to perceive oneself favorably, taking credit for success and blaming failures on others.

Group‑serving bias

Tendency to attribute a group’s successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

Narcissism

Excessive self‑love and self‑focus.

Defensive self‑esteem

Self‑worth that is fragile and dependent on external validation.

Secure self‑esteem

Self‑worth that is stable and grounded, not dependent on others’ approval.

Individualism

Prioritizing personal goals and identity over group goals.

Collectivism

Prioritizing group goals and relationships over personal aims.

Motivation

The need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Instinct theory

The view that behavior is driven by innate, biologically determined instincts.

Instinct

A complex, unlearned behavior fixed across a species.

Drive‑reduction theory

The idea that physiological needs create drives that motivate behavior to reduce the need.

Drive

An internal state of tension that motivates an organism to satisfy a physiological need.

Homeostasis

The body’s tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Incentive theory

The idea that behavior is motivated by external rewards or stimuli.

Incentives

Environmental stimuli that attract or repel behavior.

Arousal theory

The view that people seek an optimal level of arousal for performance.

Optimal level of arousal

The state of stimulation that leads to the best performance and satisfaction.

Sensation seeking theory

The idea that some individuals have a chronic need for varied and intense experiences.

Experience seeking

Desire for new experiences through mind‑expanding or cultural activities.

Adventure seeking

Craving for activities involving physical danger or thrill.

Disinhibition

Engaging in impulsive or social activities that provide stimulation.

Boredom susceptibility

Intolerance for monotonous or repetitive experiences.

Yerkes‑Dodson Law

Performance increases with arousal up to a point, after which performance decreases.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s theory showing that basic physiological needs must be satisfied before higher‑level needs.

Affiliation need

The human drive to form and maintain close relationships.

Affiliate

To associate or connect with others socially.

Social identity

The part of an individual’s self‑concept derived from group memberships.

Self‑determination theory

The idea that autonomy, competence, and relatedness foster motivation and psychological growth.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation driven by internal rewards such as enjoyment or satisfaction.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation driven by external rewards such as money or grades.

Ostracism

Deliberate social exclusion of an individual or group.

Achievement motivation

A desire for significant accomplishment, mastery, or control.

Grit

Perseverance and passion for long‑term goals.

Industrial‑organizational psychologist

Psychologist who studies human behavior in the workplace to improve productivity and satisfaction.

Washburn and Cannon study

Research identifying the connection between stomach contractions and hunger.

Glucose

A simple sugar in the bloodstream that provides energy; low levels trigger hunger.

Hormones

Chemical messengers that regulate body processes and behavior.

Hypothalamus

Brain region controlling hunger, thirst, and other homeostatic systems.