AP Psychology - Unit 7

motivation

need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct

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

drive-reduction theory

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

homeostasis

tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; regulation of any aspect of body chemistry (ex. blood glucose) around a particular level

incentive

positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid; physiological needs must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

glucose

form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues; hungry when low

set point

point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set; when the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore lost weight

basal metabolic rate

body’s resting rate of energy expenditure

anorexia nervosa

eating disorder in which a person diets and characteristically becomes 15% or more underweight, yet continue to starve

bulimia nervosa

eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

binge-eating disorder

over eating episodes followed by distress, disgust, or guilt but without the compensatory purging, fasting, or exercise that marks bulimia nervosa

sexual response cycle

four stages described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

refractory period

resting period after orgasm during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm

estrogens

sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics; in nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity

testosterone

most important male sex hormone; additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

sexual orientation

enduring sexual attraction to one’s own gender (homosexual) or another gender (heterosexual)

emotion

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

James-Lange theory

theory that our experience of emotion is awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Cannon-Bard theory

theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus spontaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experiences of emotion

two-factor theory

Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

polygraph

machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (ex. perspiration, cardiovascular/ breathing changes)

facial feedback

effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness intensifies feelings of anger or happiness

catharsis

emotional release; hypothesis maintains that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

people’s tendency to be helpful when they are already in a good mood

well-being

self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life; used along with other factors (ex. physical and economic indicators) to evaluate quality of life

adaptation-level phenomenon

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

relative deprivation

perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves

behavioral medicine

interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease

health psychology

subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine

stress

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

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases - alarm, resistance, exhaustion

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; leading cause of death in North America

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

psychophysiological illness

“mind-body” illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches

psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

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

lymphocytes

two types of white blood cells that are part of the immune system; B __ form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T __ form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances

personality

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

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

psychoanalysis

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

id

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

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 conscious) and for future aspirations

psychosexual stages

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

Oedipus complex

a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of hatred and jealousy for the rival father

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parent’s values into their developing superegos

fixation

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

defense mechanisms

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

repression

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

regression

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

reaction formation

defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites; people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

projection

people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

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

displacement

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

sublimation

rechanneling unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

denial

people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities

collective unconscious

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

projective test

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)

projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Rorschach inkblot test

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

terror- management theory

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

self- actualization

one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; motivation to fulfill one’s potential

unconditional positive regard

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

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves; “who am i”

trait

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

personality inventory

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)

most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests; originally developed to identify emotional disorder, this test is now used for many other screening purposes

empirically derived test

test (such as 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 thinking) and their social context

reciprocal determinism

interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

personal control

extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

external locus of control

perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

internal locus of control

perception that you control your own fate

positive psychology

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

self

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

spotlight effect

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

self-esteem

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

self-serving bias

readiness to perceive oneself favorably

individualism

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

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one’s group (extended family, work, etc) and defining one’s identity accordingly

personality

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

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

psychoanalysis

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

id

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

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 conscious) and for future aspirations

psychosexual stages

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

Oedipus complex

a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of hatred and jealousy for the rival father

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parent’s values into their developing superegos

fixation

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

defense mechanisms

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

repression

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

regression

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

reaction formation

defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites; people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

projection

people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

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

displacement

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