Term 1: A Comprehensive Glossary of Psychology Terms, Quizzes of Psychology

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Personality

an outcome of genetic, intrauterine (within womb), parenting, peer influences, life stressors and plain luck. TERM 2

Fundamental attribution error

DEFINITION 2 the tendency to attribute too much of others behavior to their personalities and not enough to the situations they confront TERM 3

traits

DEFINITION 3 relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across many situations TERM 4

adoption studies

DEFINITION 4 permit investigators to separate the effects of genes and environments by examining children who were separated at an early age from their biological families TERM 5

somatogenic

DEFINITION 5 physiologically caused

catharsis

feeling of relief followed by a dramatic outpouring of emotion TERM 7

psychogenic

DEFINITION 7 Originating in the mind or in mental or emotional processes; having a psychological rather than a physiological origin. TERM 8

id

DEFINITION 8 (basic instincts) psyche containing our impulses, particularly sexual drive and aggressive drive, operates by the pleasure principle (wanting immediate gratification) TERM 9

ego

DEFINITION 9 (the boss) principle decision maker, primary tasks are interacting with the real world and finding ways to resolve the competing demands of the other two psychic agencies, governed by the reality principle (delays gratification until there is a proper outlet for it) TERM 10

superego

DEFINITION 10 (moral standards) sense of right and wrong

defense mechanisms

unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety TERM 12

repression

DEFINITION 12 most critical defense mechanism in psychoanalytical theory, motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses TERM 13

regression

DEFINITION 13 act of returning psychologically to a younger age, typically early childhood when life was simpler and safer TERM 14

reaction-formation

DEFINITION 14 transformation of an anxiety-provoking emotion into its opposite; observable emotion we see actually reflects the opposite emotion the person feels unconsciously TERM 15

projection

DEFINITION 15 unconscious attribution of our negative characteristics to others ex. deep down one wishes to harm others, but because he or she can't accept these impulses this person perceives others as wanting to harm them

displacement

we direct an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a safer and more socially acceptable target TERM 17

rationalization

DEFINITION 17 provides a reasonable-sounding explanation for our unreasonable behaviors or failures TERM 18

intellectualization

DEFINITION 18 we avoid the emotions associated with anxiety-provoking experiences by focusing on abstract and impersonal thoughts TERM 19

identification with the aggressor

DEFINITION 19 process of adopting the characteristics of individuals we find threatening TERM 20

sublimation

DEFINITION 20 transforms a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired goal

reciprocal determinism

a form of causation whereby personality and cognitive factors, behavior and environmental variables mutually influence one another TERM 22

locus of control

DEFINITION 22 describes the extent to which people believe reinforcers and punishers lie inside or outside of their control TERM 23

internal locus of

control

DEFINITION 23 idea that life events are due largely to one's own efforts and personal characteristics TERM 24

external locus of

control

DEFINITION 24 idea that life events are largely a product of chance and fate TERM 25

self-actualization

DEFINITION 25 drive to develop our innate potential to the fullest possible extent

peak experience

transcendent moment of intense excitement and tranquility marked by a profound sense of connection to the world TERM 27

factor analysis

DEFINITION 27 analyzes the correlations among responses on personality inventories and other measures and tries to identify the underlying "factors" that give rise to these correlations TERM 28

extraversion

DEFINITION 28 extraverted people tend to be social and lively TERM 29

neuroticism

DEFINITION 29 neurotic people tend to be tense and moody TERM 30

conscientiousness

DEFINITION 30 conscientious people tend to be careful and responsible

agreeableness

agreeable people tend to be friendly and easy to get along with TERM 32

openness to experience

DEFINITION 32 sometimes just called "openness"-open people tend to be intellectually curious and unconventional TERM 33

implicit personality theories

DEFINITION 33 intuitive ideas concerning personality traits and their associations with behavior TERM 34

individualism-collectivism

DEFINITION 34 people from largely individualistic cultures like the US tend to focus on themselves and their personal goals, whereas people from largely collectivist cultures, primarily in Asia, tend to focus on their relations with others TERM 35

basic tendencies

DEFINITION 35 underlying personality traits

sensation seeking

tendency to seek out new and exciting stimuli TERM 37

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

DEFINITION 37 controls alertness and is responsible for keeping us awake TERM 38

reliability

DEFINITION 38 refers to consistency of measurement and validity to which a test measures what it purports to measure TERM 39

face

validity

DEFINITION 39 refers to the extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring TERM 40

Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

(MPQ)

DEFINITION 40 assesses 3 major self-reported personality traits related to (1) positive emotions (2) negative emotions and (3) impulse control

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

perhaps the most widely administered personality test in the world, sorts respondents into one of two groups on four categories: introversion-extraversion, sensing-intuiting, thinking-feeling and judging-perceiving, yields a total of 16 personality types TERM 42

projective tests

DEFINITION 42 consists of ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots, drawings of social situations or incomplete sentences that examinees must interpret or make sense of TERM 43

projective hypothesis

DEFINITION 43 hypothesis assumes that in the process of interpreting ambiguous stimuli, people inevitably project aspects of their personality onto the stimulus TERM 44

Rorschach Inkblot Test

DEFINITION 44 consists of 10 symmetrical inkblots, 5 black and 5 containing color, asks respondents to look at each inkblot and say what it resembles, examiners then score their answers for numerous characteristics of inkblots supposedly associated with personality traits TERM 45

incremental

validity

DEFINITION 45 the extent to which a test contributes information beyond other, more easily collected measures

human figure drawings

such as Draw-A-Person test which requires respondents to draw a person in any way they wish TERM 47

sentence completion tests

DEFINITION 47 asks respondents to complete a sentence stem, predictive of delinquency, moral development and other important characteristics TERM 48

illusory

correlation

DEFINITION 48 the perception of nonexistent statistical associations between variables TERM 49

P.T. Barnum Effect

DEFINITION 49 tendency of people to accept high base rate descriptions- descriptions that apply to almost everyone-as accurate TERM 50

graphology

DEFINITION 50 the psychological interpretation of handwriting