AP Psychology – Unit 4 Part 2 Vocab

personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

psychodynamic theories

Theories that view personality focusing on the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences.

psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories, according to Freud.

free association

A method of exploring the unconscious where a person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind.

id

A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy striving to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives.

ego

The partly conscious ‘executive’ part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, the superego, and reality.

superego

The part of personality representing internalized ideals and providing standards for judgment.

defense mechanisms

Ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

repression

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

collective unconscious

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

terror-management theory

A theory of death-related anxiety exploring emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of impending death.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test where people express inner feelings through stories about ambiguous scenes.

projective test

A personality test that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Rorschach inkblot test

A projective test seeking to identify inner feelings by analyzing interpretations of inkblots.

humanistic theories

Theories focusing on the potential for healthy personal growth in personality.

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s levels of human needs, visualized as a pyramid prioritizing needs as they are satisfied.

self-actualization

The ultimate psychological need to fulfill one’s potential, arising after basic needs are met.

self-transcendence

Striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self.

unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting attitude believed by Carl Rogers to help develop self-awareness.

self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in response to 'Who am I?'

trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

personality inventory

A questionnaire designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The most widely researched and clinically used personality test.

empirically derived test

A test created by selecting items that discriminate between groups.

Big Five factors

Five traits describing personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

social-cognitive perspective

A view of behavior influenced by the interaction of traits and social context.

behavioral approach

Focuses on the effects of learning on personality development.

reciprocal determinism

The interaction between behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

self

The center of personality, organizing thoughts, feelings, and actions.

spotlight effect

Overestimating the extent to which others notice our appearance and performance.

self-esteem

Our feelings of high or low self-worth.

self-efficacy

Our sense of competence and effectiveness.

self-serving bias

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

narcissism

Excessive self-love and self-absorption.

individualism

A cultural pattern emphasizing personal goals over group goals.

collectivism

A cultural pattern prioritizing the goals of important groups.

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 need

A basic bodily requirement.

drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that motivates behavior.

homeostasis

The tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

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.

affiliation need

The need to build and maintain relationships and feel part of a group.

self-determination theory

The theory that we feel motivated to satisfy our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

intrinsic motivation

The desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

extrinsic motivation

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

ostracism

Deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

achievement motivation

Desire for significant accomplishment and mastery of skills.

grit

In psychology, passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals.

glucose

The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides energy for body tissues.

set point

The point at which the 'weight thermostat' may be set.

basal metabolic rate

The body's resting rate of energy output.

obesity

Defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher.

emotion

A response of the whole organism involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.

polygraph

A machine used to detect lies, measuring emotion-linked changes.

facial feedback effect

The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings.

behavior feedback effect

The tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts and feelings.