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Personality

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

Psychodynamic theories (of personality)

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

Psychoanalysis

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

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. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Ego

The partly conscious “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. It operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desire in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Superego

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

Preconscious

The part of the mind of which we are typically unaware but of which we can become aware through focused thought

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

Defense mechanisms

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

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

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

Regression

Retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

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

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

Thematic apperception tests

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

Rorschach test

A projective test that seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 inkblots

Humanistic psychology

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual. It focuses on human potential, self-fulfillment, and personal growth

Unconditional positive regard

A caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude toward others (and ourselves), which humanistic theory believes helps people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Self-actualizing tendency

The process of fulfilling one’s true potential. The humanistic perspective views this as a naturally occurring process that occurs once other basic physical and psychological needs are met.

Social-cognitive theory

A view of behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

Reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Self-concept

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

Self-efficacy

Our sense of competence and effectiveness

Self-esteem

Our feelings of high or low self-worth

Traits

Characteristic patterns of behaviors or dispositions to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Big Five theory

A model that uses five traits–-openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (or emotional stability)–-to describe personality

Agreeableness

A personality trait described as “soft-hearted, trusting, helpful”

Conscientiousness

A personality trait described as “organized, careful, disciplined”

Openness to experience

A personality trait described as “imaginative, preferring variety, independent”

Extraversion

A personality trait described as “sociable, fun-loving, affectionate”

Emotional stability

A personality trait described as “calm, secure, self-satisfied”

Personality inventories

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

Factor analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of test items that tap basic components of a trait

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

Motivation

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

Arousal theory

The idea that we are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal of our central nervous system

Optimal level of arousal

The level of stimulation needed to produce our best performance; differs from person to person

Yerkes-Dodson law

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

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 threatened punishment

Incentive

A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Learned helplessness

A feeling of hopelessness and decreased motivation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid reported aversive events

Sensation-seeking theory

The idea that we are motivated to seek out novel and stimulating experiences, beyond those that just meet physiological needs

Lewin’s motivational conflicts theory

The theory that our drive to move toward or away from a stimulus can create conflicts between competing motivations

Approach-approach conflict

A motivational conflict that occurs when an individual must choose between two equally attractive options

Approach-avoidance conflict

A motivational conflict that arises when a single choice has both positive and negative aspects

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

A motivational conflict that occurs when an individual must choose between two equally unattractive options

Hormones

Chemical messengers of the endocrine system

Leptin

Protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes the brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger

Ghrelin

Hormone secreted by an empty stomach; sends “I’m hungry” signals to the brain

Hypothalamus

Part of the brain that communicates with the endocrine system, performing body maintenance functions including hunger control

Pituitary gland

The “master” of the endocrine system; communicates with the brain and sends hormones through the body

Behavioral feedback effect

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

Polygraph

A machine used in attempts to detect lies; measures emotion-linked changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing

Broaden-and-build theory

Proposes that positive emotions increase our awareness, which over time helps us build novel and meaningful skills and resilience which improve well-being

Universal emotions

Emotions that are expressed, and recognized, similarly across different cultures; there is disagreement about how many of these exist

Anger

Universally expressed by: Eyebrows drawn together and downward, eyes fixed, mouth squarish

Happiness

Universally expressed by: Mouth forming smile, cheeks lifted, twinkle in eyes

Disgust

Universally expressed by: Nose wrinkled, upper lip raised, tongue pushed outward

Fear

Universally expressed by: Eyebrows level, drawn in and up, mouth corners retracted

Sadness

Universally expressed by: Eyebrows’ inner corners raised, mouth corners drawn down

Surprise

Universally expressed by: Eyebrows raised, eyes widened, mouth rounded in oval shape

Display rules

Culturally-determined norms about when and how much one should display certain kinds of emotions