All AP Psych

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct

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

physiological needs

those relating to the basic biological necessities of life: food, drink, rest, and shelter

drive-reduction theory

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

Arousal Theory

A theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation.

Sensation Seeking Theory

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

Thrill and Adventure Seeking

People who want to do dangerous and exciting things

Experience Seeking

People who want to do new things (travel, music, food, etc.)

Disinhibition

People who like partying, drugs, and gambling

Boredom Susceptibility

intolerance for repetitive experience

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

incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Yerkes-Dodson Law

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

hierarchy of needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience

facial feedback effect

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

behavior feedback effect

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others' thoughts, feelings, and actions

Display Cues

Culturally defined expectation of how emotions are expressed

Elicitors

Culturally influenced causes of emotions

Broaden and Build Theory

positive emotions prompt people to consider novel solutions to their problems and think more openly

Stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

eustress

A positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal

Distress

negative stress, debilitating and harmful

Kurt Lewin

Believed in three levels of stressors and that daily hassles create motivational conflicts

Catastrophe

a large-scale disaster, misfortune, or failure

LIfe Changes

any significant alterations in one's living circumstances that require readjustment

Daily Hassles

everyday minor events that annoy and upset people

approach-approach conflict

Conflict that results from having to choose between two attractive alternatives

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Conflict that results from having to choose between two distasteful alternatives

approach-avoidance conflict

A conflict in which there are both appealing and negative aspects to the decision to be made.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion

tend-and-befriend response

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine

Psychoneuroimmunology

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries

hypertension

high blood pressure

immune supression

a decrease in the production of antibodies

Type A

Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

Type B

Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people

Catharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety

mindfulness meditation

a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

subjective well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.

Positive objective experiences

An experience that is enjoyable and based on facts, rather than personal feelings or opinions

Wisdom, Humanity, Justice, Courage, Temperance, Transcendence

6 major virtues that make up a more nuanced view of happiness

Self-determination theory

Theory that autonomy, relationships, and competence increase intrinsic motivation and quality of life

adaptation-level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

Personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

psychodynamic theories

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

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

free association

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

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos

Fixation

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Sublimation

Defense mechanism, negative feelings are converted into prosocial behavior

Reaction Formation

Negative feelings/thoughts are converted to the opposite

Repression

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

Freudian Slip

an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings

Denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Projection

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

Regression

return to an earlier or less advanced condition

Rationalization

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

Displacement

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

collective unconscious

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

projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

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

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

terror management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

unconditional positive regard

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

Trait

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

personality inventory

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)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Meyers-Briggs

personality test, determines dominate personality traits: extroversion versus introversion, sensing versus intuition, thinking versus feeling, judgement versus perception

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.

Big 5 Personality Traits

Gold standard of personality testing today, using 5 traits

Conscientiousness

organized, disciplined vs disorganized, impulsive

Agreeableness

trusting, helpful vs. suspicious

Neuroticism

calm, self-satisfied, stable vs anxious, self-pitying, unstable

Openness

Imaginative, independent, open to new things vs practical, conforming

Extroversion

affectionate, fun loving, outgoing vs. reserved, sober, introverted

empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

behavioral approach

in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

Possible Selves

representations of what we could become, what we would like to become, and what we are afraid of becoming

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications