AP Psychology Unit 8: Personality, Motivation, & Emotion Review

1. personality: the unique and consistent

patterns of thoughts, feelings, and

behaviors that distinguish one person

from another

2. psychodynamic model of the

personality: emphasizes the influence

of the unconscious mind, early

childhood experiences, and sexual and

aggressive instincts

3. conscious: the part of the mind that

holds what we are currently aware of

and thinking about

4. preconscious: contains thoughts and

feelings that are not currently in our

conscious awareness but can be easily

brought to the conscious mind

5. unconscious: the part of the mind that

contains thoughts, memories, desires,

and feelings that are not accessible to

our conscious mind because they are

repressed or deemed unacceptable

6. id: the irrational part of the psyche that

is driven by the pleasure principle

without consideration of social norms

7. superego: the part of the psyche

encompassing our moral standards

which strives for perfection and control

the id’s impulses

8. ego: the rational part of the personality

that balances the desires of the id with

the constraints of the real world and

moral guidelines of the superego

9. ego defense mechanisms:

psychological strategies used by the

ego to manage anxiety and

unconscious conflict

10. denial: refusing to accept reality of

facts, thereby blocking external events

from awareness

11. displacement: redirecting emotions or

impulses from a threatening target to a

safer one

12. projection: attributing one’s own

unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or

motives to another person

13. rationalization: creating logical

explanations for behaviors or feelings

that are actually driven by unconscious

impulses

14. regression: reverting to behaviors

characteristic of an earlier stage of

development when faced with stress or

anxiety

15. repression: the process of pushing

unacceptable thoughts, memories, or

desires into the unconscious

16. sublimation: channeling unacceptable

impulses or drives into socially

acceptable or even admirable activities

17. projective tests: personality tests that

that provide ambiguous stimuli

designed to trigger projection of one’s

inner dynamics

18. Rorschach inkblot test: a series of 10

inkblots onto which individuals project

their own interpretation

19. thematic apperception test: a series

of 31 images of ambiguous scenes onto

which individuals project their own

interpretation

20. unconditional positive regard:

accepting and valuing a person without

conditions or judgments

21. self-actualizing tendency: the

inherent drive in individuals to realize

their full potential and to develop and

express their capacities and talents to

the fullest

22. congruence: the extent to which a

person’s actual and ideal selves align

with one another

8.2 Social-Cognitive & Trait Theories of Personality

23. social-cognitive theory of

personality: a theory of personality that

focuses on the importance of cognitive

processes and social learning in

shaping personality

24. reciprocal determinism: the dynamic

and reciprocal interaction between an

individual's behavior, personal factors

(including cognitive, emotional, and

biological events), and environmental

influences

25. self concept: the overall understanding

and perception of oneself

26. self-efficacy: one's belief in their ability

to succeed in specific situations or

accomplish a task

27. self esteem: the overall value or worth

one places on oneself

28. trait theories: a model of personality

that focuses on identifying and

measuring individual personality

characteristics, known as traits

29. Big 5 model of personality: a trait-

driven model of personality that

proposes that personality can be

understood through five broad

dimensions (OCEAN)

30. openness: reflects a person’s degree

of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and

openness to new ideas and

experiences

31. conscientiousness: refers to the

extent to which individuals are

organized, responsible, dependable,

and goal-oriented

32. extraversion: captures the level of

sociability, assertiveness, and positive

emotionality

33. agreeableness: reflects the tendency

to be compassionate, cooperative, and

empathetic toward others

34. neuroticism: measures the degree of

emotional instability, anxiety, and

vulnerability to stress

35. personality inventory: 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

36. factor analysis: a statistical technique

used to identify patterns in data by

reducing the number of variables and

grouping them into underlying factors

8.3 Motivation

37. motivation: a need or desire that

energizes or directs behavior

38. drive-reduction theory: the idea that a

physiological need creates an aroused

tension state (a drive) that motivates an

organism to satisfy the need

39. homeostasis: a person’s biological

equilibrium

40. arousal theory: people are driven to

perform actions in order to maintain an

optimum level of physiological arousal

41. Yerkes-Dodson law: the principle that

performance increases with arousal

only up to a point, beyond which

performance decreases

42. self-determination theory: posits that

people have three basic psychological

needs that, when satisfied, contribute to

intrinsic motivation, personal growth,

and well-being: autonomy, competence,

& relatedness

43. intrinsic motivation: performing an

action or behavior because you enjoy

the activity itself

44. extrinsic motivation: behavior that is

driven by external rewards such as

money, fame, grades, and praise

45. instinct: a complex, unlearned

behavior, usually related to survival or

primitive environmental responses

46. motivational conflicts theory: when

an organism is in conflict between two

opposite motives

47. approach-approach: a conflict

between two favorable outcomes

48. approach-avoidance: a conflict

between one favorable outcome and an

unfavorable one (usually an obligation)

49. avoidance-avoidance: a conflict

between two unfavorable outcomes

50. sensation-seeking theory: a

personality theory that suggests

individuals differ in their tendency to

seek out novel, varied, and intense

experiences

51. experience-seeking: pursuing new

and unconventional experiences, ideas,

and sensations

52. thrill or adventure seeking: seeking

out exciting and adventurous

experiences

53. disinhibition: seeking social and

sensory excitement through impulsivity,

spontaneity, and lack of restraint

54. boredom susceptibility: tendency to

avoid monotony and seek stimulation

when feeling bored or understimulated

55. eating behavior: the idea that

individuals are motivated to eat for

various physiological, psychological,

and social reasons

8.4 Emotion

56. emotion: a complex psychological and

physiological response to internal or

external stimuli that typically involves a

combination of subjective feelings,

physiological arousal, expressive

behaviors, and cognitive appraisal

57. appraisal: the cognitive process

through which individuals evaluate or

assess the significance, meaning, and

implications of events, situations, or

stimuli for their well-being, goals, and

values

58. facial-feedback hypothesis: the

tendency of facial muscle states to

trigger corresponding feelings such as

fear, anger, or happiness

59. broaden-and-build theory of

emotion: suggests that positive

emotions play a key role in broadening

individuals' momentary thought-action

repertoires and building enduring

personal resources over time

60. universal emotions: suggests that

certain emotions are universally

recognized and expressed across

cultures, regardless of social or

environmental factors

61. display rules: refer to culturally specific

norms or guidelines that dictate how

individuals should express or suppress

emotions in social interactions

62. emotional elicitors: also known as

emotional triggers or stimuli; events,

situations, or stimuli that provoke or

evoke emotional responses in

individuals

63. cross-cultural displays of emotions:

variations in how emotions are

expressed, interpreted, and regulated

across different cultural contexts