Untitled Flashcards Set

53. personality: an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

54. psychodynamic theories: theories that view personality with a focus on

the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences.

55. psychoanalysis (theory): Freud’s theory of personality that attributes

thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in

treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious

tensions.

56. 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.

57. 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.

58. id: a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives

to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure

principle, demanding immediate gratification.

59. ego: the partly conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to

Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, the 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.

60. 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.

61. defense mechanisms: in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods

of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

62. repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that

banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

63. collective unconscious: Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of

memory traces from our species’ history.

64. terror-management theory: a theory of death-related anxiety; explores

people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending

death.

65. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): a projective test in which people express

their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous

scenes.

66. projective test: a personality test, such as the TAT or Rorschach, that provides

ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics and

explore the preconscious and unconscious mind.

67. Rorschach inkblot test: a projective test designed by Hermann Rorschach;

seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 inkblots.

68. humanistic theories: theories that view personality with a focus on the potential

for healthy personal growth.

69. hierarchy of needs: Maslow’s levels of human needs, beginning at the base

with physiological needs. Often visualized as a pyramid, with needs nearer the base

taking priority until they are satisfied.

70. self-actualization: according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs

that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is

achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential.

71. self-transcendence: according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and

purpose beyond the self.

72. unconditional positive regard: a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude,

which Carl Rogers believed would help people develop self-awareness and self-

acceptance. (Also known as unconditional regard.)

73. self-concept: all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the

question, “Who am I?”

74. trait: a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in

certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

75. 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; used to assess selected personality traits.

76. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): the most widely re-

searched and clinically 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.

77. empirically derived test: a test (such as the MMPI) created by selecting

from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups.

78. Big Five factors: five traits — openness, conscientiousness,

extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — that describe personality.

(Also called the five-factor model.)

79. social-cognitive perspective: a view of behavior as influenced by the

interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social

context.

80. behavioral approach: focuses on the effects of learning on our

personality development.

81. reciprocal determinism: the interacting influences of behavior, internal

cognition, and environment.

82. self: in modern psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the

organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

83. spotlight effect: overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our

appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on

us).

84. self-esteem: our feelings of high or low self-worth.

85. self-efficacy: our sense of competence and effectiveness.

86. self-serving bias: a readiness to perceive ourselves favorably.

87. narcissism: excessive self-love and self-absorption.

88. individualism: a cultural pattern that emphasizes people’s own goals

over group goals and defines identity mainly in terms of unique personal

attributes.

89. collectivism: a cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups

(often one’s extended family or work group).

90. motivation: a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

91. instinct: a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species

and is unlearned.

92. physiological need: a basic bodily requirement.

93. drive-reduction theory: the idea that a physiological need creates an

aroused state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

94. 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.

95. incentive: a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates

behavior.

96. Yerkes-Dodson law: the principle that performance increases with arousal

only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

97. affiliation need: the need to build and maintain relationships and to feel part

of a group.

98. self-determination theory: the theory that we feel motivated to satisfy

our needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

99. intrinsic motivation: the desire to perform a behavior effectively for its

own sake.

100. extrinsic motivation: the desire to perform a behavior to receive

promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

101. ostracism: deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

102. achievement motivation: a desire for significant accomplishment, for

mastery of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard.

103. grit: in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term

goals.

104. glucose: the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the

major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

105. set point: the point at which the “weight thermostat” may be set. When the

body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may

combine to restore lost weight.

106. basal metabolic rate: the body’s resting rate of energy output.

107. obesity: defined as a body mass index (BMI) measurement of 30 or higher,

which is calculated from our weight-to-height ratio. (Individuals who are

overweight have a BMI of 25 or higher.)

108. emotion: a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological

arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and, most importantly, (3) conscious

experience resulting from one’s interpretations.

109. polygraph: a machine used in attempts to detect lies; measures

emotion-linked changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing.

110. facial feedback effect: the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger

corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

111. behavior feedback effect: the tendency of behavior to influence our own

and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.