Psychology Unit 7

personality

Individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feelings, and acting.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

founder of psychoanlysis

drive

motivational tension, or arousal, that energizes behavior to fulfill a need

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

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality; also, a therapeutic technique that attempts to provide insight into thoughts and actions by exposing and interpreting the underlying unconscious motives and conflicts.

physiological needs

lowest level need, most basic, in the hierarchy of needs

safety needs

the needs addressed after physiological needs are met, need for shelter

love and belongingness needs

the middle of the hierarchy of needs, need to have meaningful relationships

esteem needs

the fourth level need in the hierarchy of needs, there is only one level above this need, it is the desire to feel competent and take pride in the work that you complete

glucose

aka blood sugar that is the major source of energy for the body's tissues; elevating the level of this in the body will reduce hunger

free association

Method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

ghrelin

what is the hormone secreted on an empty stomach?

orexin

what is the hunger-triggering hormone released by the hypothalamus?

PYY

what is the digestive tract hormone that signals fullness?

leptin

what is the chemical secreted by bloated fat cells?

unconscious

Region of the mind that is a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

id

Part of personality that consists of unconscious, psychic energy and strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives; operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

satiety

Condition of being too full or too satisfied

supergo

Part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.

fat cells

the number of these it genetically determined, you can increase the number but not decrease the amount that you have

ego

Largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, supergo and reality; operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desire in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

defense mechanisms

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

Repression

Defense mechanism by which anxiety-provoking thoughts and feelings are forced to the unconscious.

Regression

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

Rationalization

defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions

Reaction formation

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

task leadership

goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals

Displacement

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

Projection

Defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

james lange theory of emotion

we feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress. the body change and our mind recognizes the feeling (arousal first, then emotion)

cannon bard theory of emotion

theory that the physiological change and cognitive awareness of an emotion must occur simultaneously; believed it was the thalamus (switchboard) that helps this happen

two factor theory of emotion

schachter believes that emotions happen at the same time but that people who are already physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions than unaroused people when both groups are exposed to the same stimuli

facial feedback hypothesis

emotional expressions can cause the emotional experiences they signify

display rules

cross-cultural guidelines for how and when to express emotions

catharsis

the process of rapidly releasing negative emotions

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

adaptation-level phenomenon

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

Sublimation

Finding a socially acceptable outlet for a behavior

psychosexual stages

Childhood stages of development (oral, anal phallic, latency, genital) during which the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on different parts on the body.

Oral stage

Freud's first stage of personality development, from birth to about age 2, during which the instincts of infants are focused on the mouth as the primary pleasure center.

Anal stage

(18-36 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic stage

Freud's third stage of personality development, from about age 4 through age 7, during which children experience the Oedipus/Electra Complex.

Latency stage

the fourth psychosexual stage, in which the primary focus is on the further development of intellectual, creative, interpersonal, and athletic skills

Genital stage

Freud's last stage of personality development, from the onset of puberty through adulthood, during which the sexual conflicts of childhood resurface (at puberty) and are often resolved during adolescence).

Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

Neo-Freudian who thought social tensions were more important than sexual tensions in the development of personality, wrote about the inferiority complex.

inferiority complex

According to Adler, a condition that comes from being unable to compensate for normal inferiority feelings.

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Neo-Freudian who believed that humans share a collective unconscious.

collective unconscious

Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our ancestors.

Karen Horney (1885-1952)

Neo-Freudian who found psychoanalysis negatively biased toward women and believed cultural variables are the foundation of personality development, believed childhood experiences led us to look for relationships that provide love and security.

projective test

Personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli to trigger projection of inner thoughts and feelings.

Thematic Aperception 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 to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

humanistic psychology

Perspective that focuses on the study of conscious experience, the individual's freedom to choose, and the individual's capacity for personal growth.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Humanistic psychologist who proposed the hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization as the ultimate psychological need.

self-actualization

According to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological is achieved; the motivation to fulfill potential.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

Humanistic psychologist who stressed the importance of acceptance, genuineness, and empathy in fostering human growth.

Growth Promoting Environment

genuineness, acceptance, empathy

unconditional positive regard

According to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

self-concept

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

trait

Aspects of personality that are relatively consistent.

Gordon Allport (1897-1967)

American psychologist and trait theorist who researched the idea that individual personalities are unique.

personality inventories

Questionnaires (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a range of feelings and behaviors; used to asses selected personality traits.

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance or personality that underlie a person's total score.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Most widely researched and colonially used of all personality tests; originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Myers-Briggs

a personality inventory that focuses on 4 characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types

Hans Eysenck (1916-1997)

German psychologist who researched the genetically influenced dimensions of personality, including extraversion and introversion.

social-cognitve perspective

Perspective stating that understanding personality involves considering how people are affected by a particular situation, by what they have learned, by how they think, and by how they interact socially.

Albert Bandura (1925-)

Canadian-American psychologist who developed the social-congnitive perspective and believed that to understand personality one must consider the situation and the person's thoughts before, during, and after an event.

reciprocal determinism

Mutual influences between personality and environmental factors.

external locus of control

Perception that chance, or forces beyond your control, determines your fate.

internal locus of control

Perception that you control your own fate.

learned helplessness

Hopeless feeling when an animal or human can't avoid repeated bad events.

alarm reaction

first stage of stress, the shock stage, the sympathetic nervous system is activated

resistance

second stage of stress, when you are engaged in fight or flight, the sympathetic nervous system is fully engaged

exhaustion

third stage of stress, when you are most likely to get sick

hans selye

who discovered the general adaptation syndrome?

general adaptation syndrome

selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three stages; alarm, resistance, exhaustion

lymphocytes

two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system

psychophysiological illness

also known as "mind-body illness" that is correlated to any stress-related physical illness which includes some forms of hypertension and headaches

adrenal

which gland creates the body's reaction to stress

coronary heart disease

the clogging of the vessels that nourish the hart muscle; leading cause of death in many developed countries

b lymphocytes

these form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections

t lymphocytes

these form in the thymus, and among other duties, attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances

Type B personalities

term for easy-going and relaxed

biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle psychological state which measures reaction to stressors found in blood pressure and muscle tension

Type A personalities

term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people

health psychology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine

stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events and appraise as threatening or challenging

behavioral medicine

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

Why does stress cause illness?

diverts energy away from your immune system, you stop producing lymphocytes

motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct theory

we are motivated by our automated behaviors

drive reduction theory

we are motivated by biological needs. we want to maintain homeostasis; when we are not, we have a need that creates a drive which are referred to as our primary vs secondary drives

yerkes dodson law

we are motivated to seek an optimum level of arousal. Easy tasks are best performed with high arousal, difficult tasks with low arousal.

increases

when glucose levels drop, hunger \_________

lateral hypothalamus

when this is stimulated, you become hungry; if lesioned, you would never be hungry again

ventromedial hypothalamus

when this is stimulated, you feel full; if lesioned you would never be full

set point theory

theory that the body has an internal control mechanism located in the lateral hypothalamus that regulates metabolism to maintain a certain level of body fat. Your body's weight thermostat.

anorexia

eating disorder that causes one to starve themselves 85% below their normal body weight; they see themselves as fat and most of them are women

bulimia

eating disorder characterized by binging and purging