ap psych the psychoanalytic perspective

unconditional positive regard

-an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

the ego

-develops after the id -works on the reality principle -negotiates between the id and the environment -in our conscious and unconscious minds -it is what everyone sees as our personality

the superego

-develops last at about the age of 5 -it is our conscience (what we think the difference is between right and wrong)

the id

-exists entirely in the unconscious (so we are never aware of it) -our hidden true animalistic wants and desires -works on the pleasure principle -avoid pain and receive instant gratification

psychoanalysis

-freud's theory of personality that attributes our thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts -techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

TAT test

-giving the subject a picture that is ambiguous (can have several meanings) and ask them what is occurring -their answers reveal the manifest content -they can then discover the latent content

criticisms of freud

-he only wanted to study wealthy woman in australia -his results are not verifiable -no predictive power

free association

-in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious -person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

psychosexual stages

-the childhood stages of development during which the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

positive psychology

-the scientific study of optimal human functioning -aims to discover and promote conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive

self actualization

-the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self esteem is achieved -the motivation to fulfill one's potential

oedipus complex

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

fixation

a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved

self concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, "who am i?"

maslow's hierarchy of needs

begins at the base with the physiological needs that must first be satisfied -then higher-level safety needs become active -then psychological needs become active

projection

believing that the feelings one has toward someone else are actually held by the other person and directed at oneself (defense mechanism)

sublimation

channeling one's frustration toward a different goal sometimes a healthy defense mechanism - the only positive one

rationalization

coming up with a beneficial result of an undesirable outcome (defense mechanism)

unconscious

deep hidden reservoir that holds the true "us" - all of our desires and fears (submerged part of the iceberg)

reaction formation

expressing the opposite of how one truly feels -cootie stage (defense mechanism)

carl rogers

focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals -genuineness -acceptance -empathy

individualism

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

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group

denial

not accepting the ego-threatening truth (defense mechanism)

self esteem

one's feelings of high or low self worth

personal control

our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless

spotlight effect

overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

repression

pushing thoughts into our unconscious (defense mechanism)

self serving bias

readiness to perceive oneself favorably

displacement

redirecting one's feelings toward another person or object -often displaced on less threatening things (defense mechanism)

regression

returning to an earlier, comforting form of behavior (defense mechanism)

abraham maslow

studied self actualization processes of productive and healthy people -stressed positive qualities and the self -humanistic

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

MMPI

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests -originally developed to identify emotional disorders -now used for many other screening purposes

rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test -a set of 10 inkblots deigned to identify people's feelings when they are asked people's feelings when they are asked to interpret what they see in the inkblots

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate

internal locus of control

the perception that one controls one's own fate

identification

the process by which children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos

conscious

things we are aware of (top of the iceberg)

preconscious

things we can be aware of if we think of them (water level of the iceberg)

intellectualization

undertaking an academic, unemotional study of a topic (defense mechanism)

self efficacy

when we regulate our own behavior, we engage in self observation -we evaluate our ongoing performances in terms of our standards and goals -concerned with judgments of personal capabilities