AP Psychology Unit 10 Key Terms

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

Unconditional positive regard

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

Collective unconscious

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

Psychoanalysis

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

Individualism

Giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's own identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Collectivism

Giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

Sublimation

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

Trait

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

Projective test

a 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)

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

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

Self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

Terror-management theory

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

Oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Fixation

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

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

Self-concept

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

Personality

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

Id

contains 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

Denial

defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities

Rationalization

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

Self

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

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

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Defense mechanisms

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

Self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

Spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

Projection

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

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

Regression

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

Displacement

psychoanalytic 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

Psychosexual stages

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

Personal control

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

Reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Ego

the 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

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched 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

Rorschach inkblot test

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

Superego

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

External locus of control

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

Internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

Identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos

Positive psychology

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

Social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context