ap psych unit 4 part II: personality, motivation, and emotion

Psychodynamic

People are viewed as struggling between their animal instincts and the pressures of socialization; Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences 

Psychoanalytic Theory

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; ID, Ego, Superego; Lingering effects of childhood 

Trait Theory

People exhibit consistent psychological traits such as extraversion or deceitfulness, influenced by genetic predispositions; Gordon Allport; Hans Eysenck

Personality

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

Eysenck Personality Inventory

Extraversion-introversion; Emotional stability-instability

Personality Trait

People exhibit consistent psychological traits such as extraversion or deceitfulness, influenced by genetic predispositions

Humanistic Theory

People are viewed as seeking personal growth and striving toward becoming their full selves; Maslow and Carl Rogers 

Behavioral Theory

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development, emphasis on the role of learning like conditioning and imitation 

Social-Cognitive Theory

People behave according to how they cope with social pressures and solve social problems; Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura

Bobo Dolls Experiment conducted, social-cognitive theorist

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s level of human needs, visual pyramid

Self-actualization

One of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic needs and self-esteem, the motivation fulfill one’s potential (Maslow)

Self-transcendence

The striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

Unconditional Regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers thought would help develop self-awareness and acceptance

Spotlight Effect

Overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

Self-esteem

our feelings of high or low self-worth

Self-efficacy

our sense of competence and effectiveness

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories (Freud), information processing of which we are unaware (present-day)

Free Association

A method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever they come to mind in psychoanalysis

Id

the devil on your shoulder 

Superego

the angel on your shoulder 

Ego

the part of you that makes the decision 

Projective Tests

A personality test that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics and explore the preconscious and unconscious mind 

Ego Defense Mechanisms

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

Displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person; Yelling at someone else for no reason because youre upset about something else 

Projection

disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others;Tells everyone how mad his parents are at the coach 

Rationalization

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

Reaction Formation

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites; Ex: turning sadness into anger, gaslighting yourself  

Regression

retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated; Ex: age regression 

Repression

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

Sublimation

transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives, When youre feeling bad or angry, you choose to turn it into good energy 

Denial

refusing to believe the painful reality 

Self Transcendence

The striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self 

Free Association

A method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever they come to mind in psychoanalysis 

Unconditional Positive Regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers thought would help develop self-awareness and acceptance

Self-Actualizing Tendency

One of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic needs and self-esteem, the motivation fulfill one’s potential (Maslow) 

Reciprocal Determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment 

Self-Efficacy

our sense of competence and effectiveness 

Self-Esteem

our feelings of high or low self-worth 

Abraham Maslow

proposed that we are motivated by a hierarchy of needs

Rorschach Inkblot Technique

A projective test designed to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 ink blots

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

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

An indicator test that sorts people into personality types based on archetypes

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely used personality test to identify emotional disorders

Agreeableness

Ruthless vs soft-hearted, suspicious vs trusting, uncooperative vs helpful 

Openness

practical vs imaginative, routine vs variety, conforming vs independent 

Extraversion

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

Conscientiousness

disorganized vs organized, careless vs careful, disciplined vs impulsive 

Personality Inventories

a questionnaire which people respond to based on a wide range of feelings and behaviors and used to assess selected personality traits

Neuroticism

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

Drive Reduction Theory

Physiological: (basic bodily requirements like food/hunger) create an aroused/motivated psychological state that drives person/animal to act in a manner that will reduce tension caused by the unfulfilled need

Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance increases with physiological or mental arousal
(stress) 

• Easy tasks: higher stress

• harder tasks: lower stress 

Homeostasis

tendency to maintain a balanced/constant internal state

Arousal

you need to keep up the arousal level, like going to amusement parks

Drive

Biological instigators in motivation 

Self-Determination Theory

we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, people are motivated by intrinsic/extrinsic motivations 

• Ex: a coach encourages athletes to take responsibility for their own actions, develop skills, etc. 

Motive

an internal mechanism that selects and drives behavior 

Incentive Theory

When there is a biological and incentive (extrinsic reward) to do something

• Ex: a person might work hard bc they enjoy receiving a pay check

Instincts and Evolutionary Theory

an organism is motivated to complete a task bc they are biologically programmed to do so, a genetic basis for unlearned, species-typical behavior 

• Ex: birds will build nests 

Affiliation Need

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

Incentive

positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior 

Instincts

an organism is motivated to perform a task because they are biologically programmed to do so 

• Ex: a bird builds a nest 

Motivational Conflicts Theory

choices create conflicts one must resolve as the basis of motivation

Approach-Approach

two desirable options 

Approach-Avoidance

one desirable option that has positive and negative aspects 

Avoidance-Avoidance

two undesirable options that will result in negative outcomes no matter the choice that is made 

Sensation-Seeking Theory

Thrill-Seeking Theory

seeking adventure and dangerous experiences 

Experience Seeking

seeking new/different mental and physical experiences

Disinhibition

seeking things that are out of control

Arousal Theory

an individual is motivated to maintain a personally preferred level of alertness and excitement, they will be motivated to take action to contain meeting the desired level of arousal 

• Yerkes-Dodson Law 

Boredom Susceptibility

an intolerance of repetition or boring people

Leptin

Insulin and _______ decrease appetite

Ghrelin

Oxhein and _________ increase appetite

Glucose

if blood glucose drops, brain will trigger hunger 

Set point

the point weight at which your weight thermostat may be fixed 

Basal Metabolic Rate

resting rate of energy expenditure for maintaining basic body functions

Broaden-and-Build Theory

positive emotional experiences tend to broaden awareness and encourage new actions and thoughts, negative emotions tend to reduce awareness and narrow thinking action 

Emotion

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