Psych Adj Chapters 1-3

Positive reinforcement

A positive event or stimulus is introduced.

What is your self? What is self theory?

According to Rogers, the self is an organized and consistent way in which a person perceives his or her "I" in relation to others. Self theory begins by assuming the existence of the self and each person's unique frame of reference. The self attempts to actualize (develop its unique potential) and does so best when the person receives unconditional positive regard. Conditions of worth may lead to a distorted self-concept, to disavowal of parts of the self, and to anxiety.

What is adjustment?

Adjustment is behavior that permits us to meet the challenges of life. Adjustment is also referred to as coping or coping behavior.

What is the difference between adjustment and personal growth?

Adjustment is reactive—coping with the challenges of life. Personal growth is proactive. It involves conscious, active self-development.

How do irrational beliefs create or compound stress?

Albert Ellis shows that negative activating events (A) can have more aversive consequences (C) when irrational beliefs (B), such as tendencies to catastrophize negative events, compound their effects. Two common irrational beliefs are excessive needs for social approval and perfectionism. Both set the stage for disappointment and increased stress.

Punishment (application of aversive stimulus)

An aversive stimulus is applied.

Negative reinforcement

An aversive stimulus is removed.

What is an ethnic group?

An ethnic group comprises people who share factors such as cultural heritage, history, race, and language in common. Minority ethnic groups have frequently experienced prejudice and discrimination by members of the dominant culture.

Reaction Formation

Assumption of behavior in opposition to one's genuine impulses in order to keep impulses repressed

Why is it important to study human diversity?

Awareness of the richness of human diversity enhances our understanding of the individual and enables students to appreciate the cultural heritages and historical problems of various ethnic groups. Knowledge of diversity helps psychologists understand the aspirations and problems of individuals from various groups so that they can successfully intervene to help group members.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Biological needs. Water, food, elimination, warmth, rest, avoidance of pain, sexual release, and so forth. 2. Safety needs. Protection from the physical and social environment by means of clothing, housing, and security from crime and financial hardship. 3. Love and belongingness needs. Love and acceptance through intimate relationships, social groups, and friends. Maslow believed that in a well-fed and well-housed society, a principal source of maladjustment lies in the frustration of needs at this level. 4. Esteem needs. Achievement, competence, approval, recognition, prestige, status. 5. Self-actualization. Personal growth, the development of our unique potentials. At the highest level are also needs for cognitive understanding (as found in novelty, understanding, exploration, and knowledge) and aesthetic experience (as found in order, music, poetry, and art).

How do humanistic psychologists differ from psychodynamic and behaviorist theorists?

Both psychodynamic and behaviorist theorists believe that our behavior is determined either by internal forces within the personality, as Freud believed, or by external forces in the environment as the behaviorists maintained. But humanistic psychologists believe that people can exercise personal choice and strive for self-actualization.

What views on personality are attributed to some other psychodynamic theorists?

Carl Jung's theory, analytical psychology, focuses on a collective unconscious and archetypes, both of which reflect the history of our species. Alfred Adler's theory, individual psychology, focuses on the inferiority complex and the compensating drive for superiority. Karen Horney's theory focuses on parent-child relationships and the possible development of feelings of anxiety and hostility. Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development highlights the importance of early social relationships rather than the gratification of childhood sexual impulses. Erikson extended Freud's five developmental stages to eight, including stages that occur in adulthood.

What is classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning is a simple form of associative learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus, or CS) comes to elicit the response evoked by a second stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus, or US) as a result of repeatedly being paired with the second stimulus.

How does critical thinking "protect" us from the claims of astrology and other pseudosciences?

Critical thinking guides us to examine the evidence for and against astrology and other pseudosciences.

What are some of the major features of critical thinking?

Critical thinking involves examining the definitions of terms, examining the premises or assumptions behind arguments, and scrutinizing the logic with which arguments are developed. Critical thinkers are cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence. They do not oversimplify or overgeneralize.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the adoption of a skeptical questioning attitude and evaluation of arguments or claims in the light of evidence. Critical thinking is a hallmark feature of psychology and other sciences.

What is the experimental method?

Experiments are used to discover cause and effect—that is, the effects of independent variables on dependent variables. Experimental groups receive a specific treatment, whereas control groups do not. Blinds and double blinds may be used to control for the effects of the expectations of the subjects and the researchers. Results can be generalized only to populations that have been adequately represented in the research samples.

Why is Freud's theory of personality deemed a psychodynamic model?

Freud's theory is termed psychodynamic because it assumes that we are driven largely by unconscious motives and forces within our personalities. People experience conflict as basic instincts of hunger, sex, and aggression come up against social pressures to follow rules and moral codes. At first this conflict is external, but as we develop, it is internalized.

How do contemporary trait models conceptualize the underlying dimensions of personality?

Hans Eysenck described personality in terms of two broad personality dimensions: introversion-extraversion and emotional stability-instability (neuroticism). The major contemporary model, the five-factor model, posits five key factors of personality: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.

How do environmental factors such as noise, temperature, pollution, and crowding affect our adjustment?

High noise levels are stressful and can lead to health problems such as hearing loss, as well as disturbed sleep, impaired performance, and even heart disease and neurological and intestinal disorders. Extremes of temperature tax the body, are a source of stress, and impair performance. High temperatures are also connected with aggression. Overcrowded living conditions are experienced as aversive and lead to feelings of intrusion into one's personal space. A sense of control or choice—as in choosing to attend a concert or athletic contest—helps us cope with the stress of high density.

What is human diversity?

Human diversity refers to many sources of differences among people, including ethnic or racial differences, gender differences, and differences in disability status and sexual orientation.

What is the humanistic perspective on personality?

Humanistic theorists argue that our personalities are shaped by what we make of our lives. To the humanists, we are all capable of free choice, self-fulfillment, and ethical behavior. Humanistic psychologists draw upon the philosophy of existentialism— the belief that humans are free to determine their lives and cannot escape responsibility for the choices and the meaning or lack of meaning with which they imbue their lives.

How do humanistic-existential theorists view the healthy personality?

Humanistic-existential theorists view the healthy personality as experiencing life here and now, being open to new experience, expressing one's genuine feelings and ideas, trusting one's feelings, engaging in meaningful activities, making adaptive changes, and being one's own person.

What is the meaning of the terms individualism and collectivism?

Individualists define themselves in terms of their personal identities and give priority to their personal goals. Collectivists define themselves in terms of the groups to which they belong and give priority to the group's goals. Many Western societies are individualistic and foster individualism in personality. Many Eastern societies are collectivist and foster collectivism in personality.

How do learning theorists view the healthy personality?

Learning theorists prefer to speak of adaptive behaviors rather than a healthy personality. Nevertheless, they would probably concur that the following will contribute to a "healthy personality": having opportunities for observational learning, acquiring competencies, encoding events accurately, having accurate expectations, having positive self-efficacy expectations, and regulating behavior productively to achieve goals.

Is biology destiny?

No. Genes (nature) may determine the ranges for the expression of traits, but environmental conditions and our chosen behavior patterns minimize the influence of genetic risk factors and maximize our genetic potential.

What are objective tests?

Objective tests, such as the MMPI, present sets of items or questions that allow for only a limited range of responses so that they can be objectively scored. The examiner compares the individual's scores to relevant norms in order to determine how an individual places on particular psychological traits or to identify areas of concern.

Why is sociocultural theory important to the understanding of personality?

One cannot fully understand the personality of an individual without understanding the cultural beliefs and socioeconomic conditions that have affected that individual. Sociocultural theory encourages us to consider the roles of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status in the development of personality and behavior.

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which organisms learn to perform behaviors that are reinforced. Reinforced responses occur with greater frequency.

What is Freud's theory of psychosexual development?

People undergo psychosexual development as psychosexual energy, or libido, is transferred from one erogenous zone to another during childhood. There are five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Fixation in a stage leads to development of traits associated with the stage.

How do predictability and control help us adjust?

Predictability allows us to brace ourselves for stress. Control permits us to plan and execute ways of coping with stress.

What are projective tests?

Projective tests, such as the Rorschach and the TAT, present ambiguous test materials that are answered in ways that may reveal underlying aspects of the individual's personality.

How do psychodynamic theorists view the healthy personality?

Psychodynamic theorists equate the healthy personality with the abilities to love and work, ego strength, a creative self (Jung and Adler), compensation for feelings of inferiority (Adler), and positive outcomes to various psychosocial challenges (Horney and Erikson).

What is psychology?

Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes.

Denial

Refusal to accept the true nature of a threat

How does acculturation affect the adjustment of immigrant groups?

Relationships are complex, with negative outcomes associated with both high and low levels of acculturation. Healthier adjustment may be related to maintaining ethnic identity while balancing the demands of living in the host country.

Is there evidence that social support helps people adjust?

Social support may help bolster resistance to infectious diseases such as colds. It may also help people cope with the stress of cancer and other health problems. The kinds of social support include expression of emotional concern, instrumental aid, information, appraisal, and simple socializing.

How does social-cognitive theory differ from the behaviorist view?

Social-cognitive theory focuses on cognitive and social influences on behavior, such as expectancies and learning by observing others in social environments. To predict behavior, social-cognitive theorists believe we need to consider both situational variables (rewards and punishments) and person variables, such as competencies, expectancies, and self-regulatory processes.

How do sociocultural theorists view the healthy personality?

Sociocultural theorists view the healthy personality as functioning adaptively within one's cultural setting, balancing competing cultural demands, coping with discrimination, and becoming adequately acculturated in a new society while, at the same time, retaining important traditional values and customs.

What characteristics are connected with psychological hardiness?

Suzanne Kobasa found that psychological hardiness among business executives is characterized by high levels of commitment, challenge, and control.

What is the case study method?

The case study method involves the crafting of carefully constructed portraits of individuals to help shed light on their behavior.

Sublimation

The channeling of primitive sexual or aggressive impulses into positive, constructive efforts

What is the difference between the clinical approach and the healthy-personality approach to the psychology of adjustment?

The clinical approach focuses on ways in which problems can be corrected, whereas the healthy-personality approach focuses on optimizing our development along personal, social, physical, and vocational lines.

What is the correlational method?

The correlational method reveals relationships between variables but does not determine cause and effect. In a positive correlation, two variables increase together; in a negative correlation, one variable increases while the other decreases.

Repression

The ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from awareness

What is the naturalistic observation method?

The naturalistic observation method involves careful and unobtrusive observation of behavior where it happens—in the "field."

What is the structure of personality in Freud's view?

The personality consists of three mental states: the id, the ego, and the superego. The unconscious id represents psychological drives and seeks instant gratification. The ego, or the sense of self or "I," develops through experience and takes into account what is practical and possible in gratifying the impulses of the id. Defense mechanisms such as repression protect the ego from anxiety by repressing unacceptable ideas or distorting reality. The superego is the moral conscience and develops through the process of identification with important figures in one's life.

Regression

The return, under stress, to a form of behavior characteristic of an earlier stage of development

What is the scientific method?

The scientific method is an organized way of expanding and refining knowledge. Psychologists reach conclusions about their research questions or the accuracy of their hypotheses on the basis of their research observations or findings.

How do psychologists use samples to represent populations?

The subjects who are studied are referred to as a sample. A sample is a segment of a population. There is a historical bias in favor of conducting health research with men. Research samples have also tended to underrepresent minority ethnic groups in the population. Researchers use random and stratified samples to represent populations. In a random sample, each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected to participate. In a stratified sample, identified subgroups in the population are represented proportionately.

What is the survey method?

The survey method involves the administration of questionnaires or interviews to large numbers of individuals to learn more about their attitudes and behavior patterns.

Projection

The thrusting of one's own unacceptable impulses onto others so that others are assumed to harbor them

Displacement

The transfer of ideas and impulses from threatening or unsuitable objects to less threatening objects

Rationalization

The use of self-deceiving justifications for unacceptable behavior

What are the different kinds of disasters? How do they affect us?

There are natural and technical disasters. Not only do such disasters do physical and personal damage when they strike, but they also damage our support systems and our sense of control over our situations and our lives. The effects of disasters may linger for years after the physical damage is done. Terrorism is a source of stress that can shake our sense of living securely in our own homes and communities.

What forms of prejudice have women experienced in our society?

There have been historical prejudices against women. The careers of women have been traditionally channeled into domestic chores, regardless of women's wishes as individuals. Much of the scientific research into gender roles and gender differences assumes that male behavior represents the norm.

What are the major sources of stress?

These include daily hassles; life events; acculturative stress; pain; frustration; conflict; Type A behavior; natural and technological disasters; terrorism; and environmental factors such as noise, extremes of temperature, pollution, and overcrowding.

What are the different types of reinforcers?

These include positive, negative, primary, and secondary reinforcers. A positive reinforcer increases the probability that a response will occur when it occurs following the response. A negative reinforcer increases the probability that a response will occur when it is removed following the response. Primary reinforcers, such as food or sexual pleasure, attain their value because of the organism's biological makeup. Secondary reinforcers, such as money and social approval, attain their value through association with primary reinforcers.

Are negative reinforcement and punishment the same thing?

They are not the same thing. Punishments are aversive stimuli, such as pain, that suppress behavior; punishments decrease the probability that the targeted behavior will occur. Negative reinforcers are also unpleasant stimuli, but they serve to increase the rate of response of behaviors that lead to their removal.

How do behaviorists conceptualize personality?

To behaviorists, personality is the sum total of an individual's response repertoire, which is developed on the basis of experience. Behaviorists believe we should focus on observable behavior rather than hypothesized unconscious forces and that we should emphasize the situational determinants of behavior. They also consider the sense of personal freedom or ability to exercise free will to be an illusion.

How do trait theorists view the healthy personality?

Trait theorists to some degree equate the healthy personality with having the good fortune of inheriting traits that promote adjustment. The focus of trait theory is description of traits people possess, not the origins or modification of traits. To behaviorists, personality is the sum total of an individual's response repertoire, which is developed on the basis of experience. Behaviorists believe we should focus on observable behavior rather than hypothesized unconscious forces and that we should emphasize the situational determinants of behavior. They also consider the sense of personal freedom or ability to exercise free will to be an illusion.

What are traits?

Traits are elements of personality that are inferred from behavior and account for consistency in behavior. Heredity is believed to play a large role in the development of traits.

Punishment (use of unpleasant consequences)

Unpleasant consequences are applied, such as monetary penalties or "timeout."

How is personality assessed?

Various methods are used, including objective and projective tests of personality.

Is there truth to the statement that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine"?

We can't say, because evidence is not conclusive about the potential health benefits of humor or laughter. But we can say that humor does make us feel good, and there is something to be said for feeling good.

How do our self-efficacy expectations affect our adjustment?

When we feel capable of accomplishing tasks and meeting challenges, we are more likely to persist in difficult tasks and to endure discomfort.