AP Pyschology Quiz #10

Personality

A person’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways.

Big Five (OCEAN)

Five major personality dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories; also includes information we process automatically.

Ego

The largely conscious executive part of personality that mediates among the id, the superego, and reality.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious tactics the ego uses to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a safer or more acceptable object or person.

Projection

Attributing one’s own threatening impulses to others.

Reaction formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposite.

Regression

Retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage when faced with anxiety.

Denial

Refusing to believe or perceive painful realities.

Rationalization

Creating self-justifying explanations to hide the real reasons for actions.

Sublimation

Transferring unacceptable impulses into socially valued or productive activities.

Projective tests

Personality tests (like the Rorschach or TAT) that provide ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of inner dynamics.

Humanistic theories

Personality theories that focus on inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment.

Self-actualization

The process of fulfilling one’s potential; the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy.

Unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude that Carl Rogers believed helps people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal thoughts, and the environment.

Self-efficacy

One’s sense of competence and effectiveness.

Self-esteem

One’s overall feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-serving bias

Our tendency to perceive ourselves favorably (e.g., taking credit for good and blaming external factors for bad).

Spotlight effect

Overestimating how much others notice and evaluate our appearance, performance, or mistakes.

Individualism

Giving priority to one’s own goals and defining identity in terms of personal traits.

Collectivism

Giving priority to group goals and defining identity in terms of group identification.