AP Psych Unit 4 Part 2 and 3

Personality

A person's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Psychodynamic view of personality

Freud's theory that personality is driven by unconscious motives and past experiences

Preconscious

a level of consciousness containing information that is not currently in conscious awareness but can be readily brought into consciousness if attention is directed towards it

Humanistic psychology

a perspective that emphasizes human potential, self-actualization, and the drive for personal growth

Self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, specifically in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

Self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

Big Five Theory

a trait theory of personality that identifies five broad, foundational dimensions that describe the essential elements of human personality

Conscientiousness

one of the "Big Five" personality factors (part of the CANOE

Extraversion

a personality trait characterized by outgoing, sociable, energetic, and talkative behavior

Agreeableness

Agreeableness refers to the tendency to be compassionate, cooperative, trusting, and helpful rather than suspicious, antagonistic, or antagonistic.

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.

Arousal theory

humans are motivated to maintain an optimal level of stimulation (arousal)

Incentive Theory

behavior is motivated by an organism's desire to attain external rewards and avoid punishments

superego

The division of personality containing the conscience and developing by incorporating the perceived moral standards of society.

Ego

The largely conscious, 'executive' part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality

Display rules

a social group or culture's informal norms about when, where, and how one should—or should not—appropriately express emotions

Instincts

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

Ghrelin

a hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

Leptin

a protein hormone secreted by fat cells (adipose tissue) that acts as a long-term "satiety signal" to the brain

External factors

influences that come from outside an individual—such as the environment, social context, or specific circumstances—that affect their behavior, rather than internal traits or dispositions

Emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving three core components: physiological arousal (bodily responses), expressive behaviors (actions), and conscious experience (thoughts and feelings)

Defense mechanisms

the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Denial

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which people refuse to believe or even perceive painful realities

Displacement

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Projection

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses or unwanted characteristics by attributing them to others.

Rationalization

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

Reaction formation

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism where the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

Regression

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile (childlike) psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Repression

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

Sublimation

a psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which people rechannel their unacceptable impulses or energies into socially admirable or productive outlets

Sensation-seeking theory

a personality trait characterized by the active pursuit of novel, complex, and intense experiences and feelings.

Experience seeking

the desire to seek new sensory or mental experiences through unconventional choices

Thrill or adventure

one of the four components of sensation-seeking (or thrill-seeking), which is the pursuit of novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences

Disinhibition

the inability to withhold, suppress, or manage inappropriate or unwanted behaviors, often leading to impulsive, risky, or socially unacceptable actions

Boredom susceptibility

an intolerance of, or aversion to, repetition, routine, and monotonous situations.

Optimal arousal

the motivation to maintain a balanced, ideal level of physiological stimulation—neither too bored nor too stressed—to maximize performance

Self-actualizing tendency

the innate, inborn drive within all humans to grow, develop their unique potential, and move toward greater complexity, integration, and personal fulfillment

Drive-reduction theory

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

Intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Homeostasis

maintenance of a steady internal state.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

Self-determination theory

the theory that we are motivated to satisfy three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—in order to foster personal growth, flourishing, and well-being

Extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Eating motivation

a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors that drive individuals to seek food and eat

Id

true animalistic wants and desires, exists entirely in the unconscious

Facial-feedback hypothesis

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

Social-Cognitive view of personality

the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context

Reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition (personal factors), and environment

Broaden-and-build theory

positive emotions broaden awareness, encourage new thoughts and actions , build skills and resources, while negative emotions narrow thinking, reduce awareness, limit potential responses

Role of the unconscious

reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

Trait view on personality

personality is made up of broad traits or dispositions that tend to lead to characteristic responses - meaning people act in certain ways based on these traits

Projective tests to assess personality

a personality test, such as the TAT or Rorschach, that provides ambiguous information designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics and explore the preconscious and unconscious mind

Unconditional (positive) regard (UPR)

a caring, accepting, non-judgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Openness to experience

measures creativity, curiosity, imagination, and willingness to try new things

Emotional stability (neuroticism)

Measures emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness

Personality inventories (none specifically listed)

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

Hypothalamus and pituitary gland

the hypothalamus maintains homeostasis by regulating hunger, thirst, and body temperature, while controlling the "master" pituitary gland, which releases hormones to manage growth and other endocrine glands

Hunger and satiety

hunger is the physiological/psychological drive to eat (motivated by low energy, governed by the lateral hypothalamus), while satiety is the feeling of fullness and satisfaction that stops eating

Universality of emotional expression (anger, disgust, sadness, happiness, surprise, fear)

the theory that basic facial expressions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise) are innate, biologically hardwired, and recognized across all cultures

Approach-approach

choice of 2 attractive goals (less stressful)

Approach-avoidance

a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects…results in vacillation, or going back and forth

Avoidance-avoidance

choice of 2 unattractive goals (most stressful)