Unit 10 vocab

Question 0

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

Answer 0

free association

Question 1

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

Answer 1

personality

Question 2

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

Answer 2

psychoanalysis

Question 3

according to Freud a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories. According to contemporary psychologists info processing of which we are unaware

Answer 3

unconscious

Question 4

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that according to Freud strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggresive drives. This operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

Answer 4

id

Question 5

the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego and reality. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realisically bring pleasure rather than pain

Answer 5

ego

Question 6

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

Answer 6

superego

Question 7

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

Answer 7

psychosexual stages

Question 8

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

Answer 8

Oedipus complex

Question 9

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

Answer 9

identification

Question 10

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

Answer 10

fixation

Question 11

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

Answer 11

defense mechanisms

Question 12

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

Answer 12

repression

Question 13

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

Answer 13

regression

Question 14

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

Answer 14

reaction formation

Question 15

psychoanalystic defense mechanism by which ppl disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Answer 15

projection

Question 16

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

Answer 16

rationaliation

Question 17

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggresive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

Answer 17

displacement

Question 18

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-chaneel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

Answer 18

sublimation

Question 19

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

Answer 19

denial

Question 20

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

Answer 20

collective unconscious

Question 21

a personality test such as the Rorschach or TAT that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Answer 21

projective test

Question 22

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

Answer 22

Thematic Appercetion Test TAT

Question 23

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

Answer 23

Rorschach inkblot test

Question 24

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

Answer 24

terror-management theory

Question 25

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

Answer 25

self-actualization

Question 26

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

Answer 26

unconditional positive regard

Question 27

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

Answer 27

self-concept

Question 28

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

Answer 28

trait

Question 29

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which ppl respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

Answer 29

personality inventory

Question 30

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered it most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes

Answer 30

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory MMPI

Question 31

a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

Answer 31

empirically derived test

Question 32

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

Answer 32

social-cognitive perspective

Question 33

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition and environment

Answer 33

reciprocal determinism

Question 34

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

Answer 34

personal control

Question 35

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

Answer 35

external locus of control

Question 36

the perception that you control your own fate

Answer 36

internal locus of control

Question 37

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

Answer 37

positive psychology

Question 38

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

Answer 38

self

Question 39

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

Answer 39

spotlight effect

Question 40

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Answer 40

self-esteem

Question 41

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Answer 41

self-serving bias

Question 42

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

Answer 42

individualism

Question 43

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

Answer 43

collectivism