UNIT 2: Personality, Motivation, and emotion Flashcards
Psychodynamic theory
personality views human behaviour as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind, including associated motivates and conflicts
Unconscious mind processes
the psychodynamic approach believes that the driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious mind. If we have problematic or challenging behaviour then we must access the unconscious mind to sort it out.
conscious
the part of our mind that we know about and are aware of; the ‘tip of the iceberg’
preconscious
this section of the mind is actually between the conscious and unconscious. It is not conscious awareness, but wishes, feelings and memories can be stored temporarily in this area to be retrieved for conscious thought. We may become aware of information in our preconsciousness during dreaming or ‘slips of the tongue’. Modern slang terms these as ‘Freudian slip’.
unconscious
vast storehouse of biological drives, wishes, feelings, memories and instincts that has a significant influence on our behaviour and personality. Also contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed, or locked away and forgotten because they are too unsettling to acknowledge.
the id
a primitive part of our personality. Only the id is present at birth. Throughout life, the id is entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs.
pleasure principle
the id gets what it wants and drives instincts.
the ego
A persons sense of** self esteem/importance**. Develops at age 2. Managed by defense mechanisms.
moral principle
it represents moral standards and punishes the ego for wrong-doing (through guilt).
superego
is formed at around the age of 5. It is our internalised sense of right and wrong
defense mechanisms
These are unconscious and ensure that the ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas. Often involve some sort of distortion of reality.
repression
Pushing away threatening thoughts/feelings/and memories into the unconscious mind
repression example
Not remembering a traumatic incident in which you witnessed/experienced a crime.
regression
going back to childish ways
regression example
throwing a temper tantrum as an adult when you do not get your ways.
displacement
Shifting/redirecting unacceptable thoughts/feelings from the original source to a less threatening object/source
displacement example
Taking your anger toward your boss out on your partner or children by yelling at them and not your boss.
denial
refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities
denial example
a husband may refuse to recognize obvious signs of his wife’s infidelity
sublimation
Redirection of unacceptable sexual or aggressive impulses into more socially acceptable behaviors.
sublimation example
Redirecting aggressive impulses into boxing.
reaction formation
Acting in a manner exactly opposite to our true feelings.
OPPOSITE
reaction formation example
A woman who really wants to be back at work as a high paid lawyer, but instead stays at home, showing her newborn with attention.
projection
Attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others and not yourself.
projection example
Accusing your boyfriend of cheating on you because you have yourself actually been cheating.
rationalization
Creating false excuses for one’s unacceptable feelings, thoughts or behaviour.
EXCUSE
rationalization example
Justifying cheating on an AP exam by saying that the teacher was too lazy to be watching you the whole 60mins.
projective tests
a personality test that asks participants to describe an ambiguous image or tell a story about it. Any hopes, desires or fears that the person describes are actually projections of their own inner feelings or conflicts.
projective test example
The Rorschach Inkblot Test. It is a set of 10 inkblot images which an individual needs to describe when shown.
humanistic psychology
humans are self determining and have free will, does not mean that people are not affected by external/internal influences. We are able to determine our own personality and development
humanistic psychologists
regard personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human
Maslows hierarchy of needs
ways people strive for self actualisation
self actualisation
becoming what you are capable of
unconditional positive regard
offering compassion to people even if they did something wrong. A lack in this may lead to feelings of worthlessness as a adult.
conditions of worth
parents who set boundaries/limits on their love for their child
trait
relatively permanent characteristic of our personality that can be used to predict our behaviour.
trait theory
personality as a consequence of a person’s traits, rather than some deep underlying unconscious process or growth need.
self esteem
one’s feelings of self-worth
ex: I am an academic weapon in that class
-excessive self love can lead to narcissism
self efficacy
one’s sense of ability to complete the necessary steps to do something well
ex: I know that I can block off my whole Sunday next weekend, make flashcards and get someone to test me on them so that I can do well for the upcoming end of unit test
self concept
the way you see yourself
ex: I am a good student
factor analysis
statistical procedure that identifies clusters of traits that are similar and make up your personality. Personality tests derive from this analysis.
personality inventories
often used to assess personality. These are questionnaires whereby people respond to items on a list. They respond using true/false or agree/disagree. E.g. ‘I am a confident person’ (T/F).
Big 5 test
most well used personality test. It defines human personality as the combination of 5 personality traits or factors – Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Extraversion and Neuroticism (making the acronym – OCEAN). Scores are related on a low to high scale for each dimension.
social cognitive perspective
emphasises the interaction of an individual’s traits and their thinking, with the social environment. We are a product of learning
social learning
personality development states that we are a product of learning - we learn our behaviours through social learning.
vicarious reinforcement
Imitation only occurs if the behaviour is seen to be rewarded (reinforced) rather than punished
Reciprocal determinism
coined by Albert Bandura, is a key concept within social-cognitive theory in which cognitive processes, behaviour, and the environment all interact; each simultaneously influencing and being influenced by the others. The interaction between all 3 factors shape self-concept and self-esteem and make up our self-concept
Locus of control
describe how individuals view their relationship to the environment. Refers to our beliefs about the power we have over our lives, and is a cognitive factor that affects personality development.
internal locus of control
“I can determine my future!”
“My passion and hardwork help me achieve my goals!”
“I am in control of my life and its direction!”
I make things happen!
External locus of control
“there is nothing I can do about my future”
“Why bother trying?”
“Whatever is meant to happen will happen”
“I go with the flow. Luck, flow, and religion control my future”
Things happen to me
motivation
a need or desire that directs behaviour
instincts
some human motives are rooted in instincts: innate, genetic based behaviours which cannot be unlearnt.
drive reduction theory
suggests that behaviour is motivated by the need to reduce imbalances or drives such as hunger, thirst, or sex
-Bodily needs are triggered when there is a deficit, such as a lack of food or water, and the body is in disequilibrium
homeostasis
-drive reduction based on it
-the body’s need to maintain a steady and balanced state.
Sensation-seeking theory
the tendency to seek out novel, stimulating, and often risky experiences
Experience seeking
-a desire for novel sensory or mental experiences
-apart of sensation seeking theory
Thrill or Adventure seeking
-an attraction to risky or fear inspiring activities such as skydiving
-apart of sensation seeking theory
Disinhibition
-a loss of self control
-apart of sensation seeking theory
Boredom susceptibility
-the inability to tolerate monotony or repetition
-apart of sensation seeking theory
arousal theory
The Yerkes-Dodson law states that we usually perform most activities best when moderately aroused, and efficiency of performance is usually lower when arousal is either very high or very low.
yerkes dodson law
perform difficult or newly learned tasks better at a lower level of arousal, but we tend to perform very easy or well learned tasks at a higher level of arousal.
Self Determination Theory of Motivation
The idea behind this theory is that motivation stems from a willingness to satisfy 3 needs:
Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness
Competence
the ability, strength or intellect to accomplish a task
Autonomy
the feeling of being in charge of your own goals and behaviour
Relatedness
a sense of social belonging
intrinsic motivation
-motivation to perform a behaviour for one’s own sake
incentive theory
argues we are driven by external rewards. We are extrinsically motivated
extrinsically motivated
-performing behaviours only due to the promise of some reward or to avoid punishment
-Rewards are positive incentives: e.g earning an achievement award for high performance
-Punishments are negative incentives: e.g to avoid being punished by your teacher, you are motivated to complete your homework
Lewins motivational conflicts theory
a person experiences a conflict when two main tendencies of their behavior collide, leaving you feeling frustrated and stressed.
approach-approach conflicts
which are situations involving two positive options, only one of which you can have.
approach approach conflict example
you are accepted to both Harvard and Yale and must decide which to attend.
Avoidance-avoidance conflicts
situations involving two negative options, one of which you must choose.
avoidance-avoidance conflicts example
choosing between surgery or radiation treatments for cancer, or choosing between a lower salary at work or unemployment
Approach-avoidance conflicts
whether or not to choose an option that has both positive and negative consequences.
Approach-avoidance conflicts example
For example, ordering Dieci pizza ruins your diet plan, but satisfies a craving.
Hunger motivation
regulated by the hypothalamus via the pituitary gland (see Biological Basis unit), influence feelings of hunger. The hypothalamus is able to register hormone levels via blood vessels that connect it to the Endocrine System.
increases apetite
Ghrelin: a hormone secreted by an empty stomach - sends ‘I am hungry’ signals to the brain.
decreases hunger
Leptin: a protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when there is lots of leptin, the brain increases metabolism and decreases hunger.
theories of emotion
An emotion (also known as an ‘affect’) is a complex psychological process that is distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
Arousal Comes BEFORE Emotion
According to this theory, external stimuli produce specific patterns of physiological changes for different emotions. Put it simply, emotions result from bodily activity.
facial-feedback hypothesis
our facial expressions affect our emotional experiences. Smiling seems to result in positive moods and frowning seems to result in negative moods.
Arousal and Emotion Occur SIMULTANEOUSLY
physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently
Cognition can Define the Emotion
Some cognitive theorists argue that emotions are made up of i) physical arousal and ii) cognition. An emotional experience requires a conscious interpretation of the arousal
cognitively labelling
Labeling is a cognitive distortion in which we generalize by taking one characteristic of a person and applying it to the whole person.
Ex: Because I failed a test, I am a failure.
Conscious Cognition Does Not Define the Emotion
cognitive appraisal theory, our emotional experience does not require conscious thinking. Emotions arise when we appraise (interpret) an event as either harmless or dangerous - a mental function we are not aware we are performing.
Broaden and Build Theory
positive emotions do much more than make us feel good in the moment. Long term effects.
display rules
standards as to how individuals display feelings within their given societies
elicitors for emotions
a facial emotional expression
