AP Psych Unit 7 Flashcards
instinct
a complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species.
motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
drive-reduction theory
the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.
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.
incentive
a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
Yerkes-Dodson law
the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.
hierarchy of needs
Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.
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.
set point
the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
basal metabolic rate
the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.
sexual response cycle
the four states of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
sexual dysfunction
a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.
Hormones (estrogen, testosterone)
Estrogen - sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
Testosterone - the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of male sex characteristics during puberty.
emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
James-Lange theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.
Cannon-Bard theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.
two-factor theory
the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.
polygraph
a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes) accompanying emotion.
facial feedback effect
the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.
stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
tend and befriend response
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).
psychophysiological illness
literally, “mind-body” illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.
psychoneuroimmunology
the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.
personality
an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
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
psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the technique used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
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
id, ego, superego
Freud said that there was conscious, which you could control, and the subconscious. He said that the Id was living in the subconscious was just had primordial desires that wanted stuff like food and sex. Then there was the Superego that did not want pleasures of love, and was just pure intellect and rationality. The ego is the middle ground, the referee between the two different things, Id and Superego. All of this is going on the subconscious.
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
Oedipus Complex
according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos
fixation
according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved
psychodynamic theory
Freudian theory that unconscious forces determine behavior
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
repression
the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
regression
defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
reaction formation
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
projection
defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
rationalization
defense mechanism that offers self-justifiying explanations in place of the real, more threatneing unconscious reasons for one’s actions
displacement
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
sublimation
defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities
projective test
a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach Inkblot test
the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
false consensus effect
the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors
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
an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior of a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
personality inventory
a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
developed to identify emotional disorders
empirically derived test
developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
reciprocal determinism
the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
positive psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
self-efficacy
An individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing a task.
self-serving bias
a readiness to perceive oneself favorably
narcissism
excessive self-love and self-absorption
collectivistic vs individualistic cultures
Individualistic cultures are taught that their primary responsibility is to the themselves. Collectivist cultures believe their primary responsibilities is to their families, community, and employers.
abraham maslow
Humanistic psychologist known for his “Hierarchy of Needs” and the concept of “self-actualization”
Carl Rogers
Humanistic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard and client centered therapy
Alfred Adler
Neo-Freudian; introduced concept of “inferiority complex” and stressed the importance of birth order
Karen Horney
Neo-Freudian; offered feminist critique of Freud’s theory
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian who created concept of “collective unconscious” and wrote books on dream interpretation
Robert McCrae and Paul Costa
psychologists who came up with the Big Five personality factors
Martin Seligman
Conducted experiments with dogs that led to the concept of “learned helplessness”
