Unit 7 Review

OVERVIEW
Module 52- Motivational Concepts
Module 53- Hunger Motivation
Module 54- Sexual Motivation
Module 55- Affiliation and Achievement
Module 56- Theories and Physiology of Emotion
Module 57- Expressing Emotion
Module 58- Stress and Illness
Module 59- Health and Happiness
Module 60- Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Theories
Module 61- Humanistic Theories
Module 62- Trait Theories
Module 63- Social-Cognitive Theories
Module 64- Exploring the Self

Study Resources

Crash Course

https://youtu.be/9hdSLiHaJz8?si=4PAQAowHIulLwgOw

https://youtu.be/mUELAiHbCxc?si=BGVyPbcfFFMHNcLN

https://youtu.be/sUrV6oZ3zsk?si=THzpzkd3kEwdaVFV

https://youtu.be/gAMbkJk6gnE?si=VQl2wfoupbodFjWC

Unit 7 Review 1
 https://youtu.be/4KbSRXP0wik?si=G4qm3pXt9J54uMxu

https://youtu.be/Qymp_VaFo9M?si=iK468HyspTKtp6sy

Module 52- Motivational Concepts

motivations: a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Motivation Perspectives:

instinct theory (evolutionary perspective)

instinct: a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species

and is unlearned

genetic predispositions as the source of our motivations

ex: a mother will instinctively feel the urge to comfort their crying child.

drive-reduction theory: the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused

state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

physiological needs: a basic bodily requirement

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.

incentives: a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates

behavior.

need (food, water) → drive (hunger, thirst) → drive-reducing behavior

if you’re thirsty, you drink water to reduce the drive.

arousal theory

human motivation aims not to eliminate arousal but to seek optimum levels
of arousal

Unit 7 Review 2
 optimum arousal theory: some behaviors (such as those driven by
curiosity) do not reduce physiological needs but rather are prompted
by a search for an optimum level of arousal.

Yerkes-Dodson law: the principle that performance increases with arousal

only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

moderate arousal leads to optimal performance

ex: when prepping for an exam, optimum level of arousal (you are
motivated to study, but not too stressed to the point where you’re health is
jeopardized) will lead to the best performance.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: beginning at the base with physiological needs

that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then
psychological needs become active.

addresses the idea that some needs take priority

Unit 7 Review 3
 Module 53- Hunger Motivation
Hunger’s pangs (physical symptoms of hunger) correspond to the stomach’s
contractions, but hunger also has other causes.

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.

Neural areas in the hypothalamus, monitor blood chemistry and information about
the body’s state.

lateral hypothalamus: stimulation of this structure stimulates hunger. lesioning

(surgically removing) inhibits hunger signals.

direct relationship

ventromedial hypothalamus: stimulation of this structure inhibits hunger.

lesioning inhibits satiety (full) signal.

inverse relationship

appetite hormones

ghrelin: hormone secreted by empty stomach; send “I’m hungry” signals to

the brain.

ghrelin sounds like gremlin 👹 which is hungry

insulin: hormone secreted by pancreas; controls blood glucose.

orexin: hunger-triggering hormone produced by hypothalamus.

leptin: protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, causes brain
to increase metabolism and decrease hunger.

PYY (petide tyrosine tyrosine): digestive tract hormone; sends “I’m not
hungry” signals to the brain.

Unit 7 Review 4
 set point: the point at which your “weight thermostat” may be set.

when your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered
metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight.

if weight drops below a set point/settling point, the brain triggers

hunger and metabolism.

some researchers prefer the term settling point to indicate the level at
which a person’s weight settles in response to caloric intake and
expenditure.

basal metabolic rate: the body’s resting rate of energy output.

Unit 7 Review 5
 Hunger also reflects our memory of when we last ate and our expectation of when
we should eat again.

Humans as a species prefer certain tastes (such as sweet and salty), but our
individual preferences are also influenced by conditioning, culture, and situation.

acquired taste

Some taste preferences, such as the avoidance of new foods or of foods that have
made us ill, have survival value.

situational influences on eating:

arousing appetite

friends and food

serving size

selections/food variety

nudging nutrition

Physiological factors and environmental factors interact to produce obesity.

Twin and adoption studies indicate that body weight is also genetically
influenced.

Environmental influences include sleep loss, social influence, and food and
activity levels.

Obesity is associated with increased depression, bullying, and some physical

health risks.

obesity: a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above

Those wishing to lose weight are advised to make a lifelong change in habits.

Begin only if you feel motivated and self-disciplined, exercise and get enough
sleep, minimize exposure to tempting food cues, limit variety and eat healthy
foods, reduce portion sizes, space meals throughout the day, beware of the binge,
plan eating to help monitor yourself during social events, forgive the occasional
lapse, and connect to a support group.

Unit 7 Review 6
 Module 54- Sexual Motivation
asexual: having no sexual attraction to others.

sex hormones

testosterone: the most important male sex hormone. both males and females
have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the
male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex
characteristics during puberty.

estrogens: sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex

characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males.
estrogen levels peak during ovulation. in nonhuman mammals, this promotes
sexual receptivity.

These hormones direct sexual development in the prenatal period; trigger

development of sexual characteristics in adolescence; and help activate sexual
behavior form puberty to late adulthood.
hormonal surges or declines

the pubertal surge in sex hormones triggers the development of sex

characteristics and sexual interest

in later life, sex hormone levels fall

women experience menopause as their estrogen levels decrease

males experience a more gradual change

for some, surgery or drugs may cause hormonal shifts

sexual response cycle: the four stages of sexual responding described by

Masters and Johnson

excitement

plateau

orgasm

resolution

Unit 7 Review 7
 refractory period: a resting period that occurs after orgasm, during
which a person cannot achieve another orgasm.

External stimuli can trigger sexual arousal in both men and women.

believing rape is acceptable

reducing satisfaction with a partner’s appearance or with a relationship

desensitization

Imagined stimuli (dreams and fantasies) help trigger sexual arousal.

Module 55- Affiliation and Achievement

affiliation need: the need to build relationships and to feel part of a group.

Social bonds help us to be healthier and happier. Feeling loved activates brain
regions associated with reward and safety system.

ostracism: deliberate social exclusion of individuals or groups.

Social isolation can put us at risk mentally and physically. People suffer when
socially excluded, and they may engage in self-defeating or antisocial behaviors.

We connect with others through social networking, strengthening our relationships

with those we already know.

people tend toward increased self-disclosure

narcissism: excessive self-love and self-absorption

Working out strategies for self-control and disciplined use can help people
maintain a healthy balance between their real-world and online time.

achievement motivation: a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery

of skills or ideas, for control, and for attaining a high standard.

grit: passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

Unit 7 Review 8
 Module 56- Theories and Physiology of
Emotion
emotions: a response of the whole organism, involving:

bodily arousal

expressive behaviors

conscious experience and feelings

James-Lange theory: the theory that our experience of emotion is our

awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus.

arousal comes before emotion

physiological responses occur first and are the cause of emotions.

stimulus → arousal → emotion

“we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because
we tremble.”

ex: if you run into a snake and your heart rate increases, the increase is
what makes you realize you are afraid.

Cannon-Bard theory: the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus

simultaneously triggers (1) physiological response and (2) the subjective
experience of emotion.

arousal and emotion occur simultaneously, one does not cause the other.

ex: seeing a snake might prompt both the feeling of fear (emotion) and a
racing heartbeat (physiological response/arousal).

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor theory: the theory that to experience emotion

one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.

arousal + label = emotion

physical reactions and our thoughts (perceptions, memories, and

interpretations)

Unit 7 Review 9
 the cognitive labels we put on our states of arousal are an essential
ingredient of emotion.

how we interpret our experiences matters

ex: if a man notices an increased heart rate and trembling (arousal) just
before an exam, he might interpret this physiological response as
nervousness or anxiety (label).

spillover effect: arousal spills over from one event to the next

Zajonc; LeDoux: some embodied responses happen instantly without

conscious appraisal.

ex: when you automatically get startled by a sound in the forest before
labeling it as a threat.

Lazarus: cognitive appraisal sometimes without our awareness—defines

emotion.

ex: a kid is playing outside when they see a snake in the grass (stimulus).
they see that it is 3 feet long and looks dangerous (cognitive appraisal).
the kid feels scared (emotion) and her pulse increases (arousal).

many important emotions arise from our inferences.

In the two-track brain, sensory may be routed (a) to the cortex—via the thalamus
—for analysis and then transmission to the amygdala or (b) directly to the
amygdala—via the thalamus—for an instant emotional response.

“high road”: stimulus would be analyzed and labeled before response

command is sent out, via amygdala

complex feelings (hatred, love)

“low road”: a neural shortcut that bypasses the cortex. stimulus would travel
directly to amygdala

simple likes, dislikes, and fears

Unit 7 Review 10
 Caroll Izard’s 10 primary emotions:

joy

interest/excitement

surprise

sadness

anger

disgust

contempt

fear

shame

guilt

Unit 7 Review 11
 The arousal component of emotion is regulated by the autonomic nervous
system’s sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) divisions.

The large-scale body changes that accompany fear, and anger, and sexual
arousal are very similar (increased perspiration, breathing, and heart rate), though
they feel different. Emotions may be similarly arousing, but some subtle
physiological responses, such as facial muscle movements, distinguish them.

More meaningful differences have been found in activity in some brain pathways
and cortical areas.

Polygraphs which measure several physiological indicators of emotion, are not

accurate enough to justify widespread use in business and law enforcement. The
use of guilty knowledge questions and new forms of technology may produce
better indications of lying.

Module 57- Expressing Emotion

Much of our communication is through body movements, facial expressions, and
voice tones. Even seconds-long filmed slices of behavior can reveal feelings.

Women tend to read emotional cues more easily and to express more empathy.

They meaning of gestures varies with culture, but facial expressions, for primary
emotions, such as happiness and fear, are common the world over, as Darwin’s
evolutionary theory explained.

Cultures also differ in the amount of emotion they express.

facial feedback effect: the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger

corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

smiling typically makes individuals happier, and frowning sadder

Unit 7 Review 12
 behavior feedback effect: the tendency of behavior to influence our own and
others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Module 58- Stress and Illness

stress: the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events,
called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

catastrophes

significant life changes

daily hassles—including social stress

A stress reaction is one’s physical and emotional responses during a stressful

experience.
Kurt Lewin explained that stress is compounded when we experience motivational
conflicts.

Walter Cannon viewed the stress response as a “fight-or-flight” system.

ex: someone running away when seeing a snake in their garden.

Later researchers identified an additional stress response system in which the

adrenal glands secrete glucocorticoid stress hormones, such as cortisol.

general adaptation syndrome (GAS): Hans Selye’s concept of the body’s

adaptive response to stress in three phases.

alarm: sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated.

resistance: temperature, blood pressure, and respiration remain high.

exhaustion: body becomes more vulnerable to illness.

ex: (alarm) you have trembling hands and increased heart rate prior to the
start of an important exam. (resistance) you finished your exam but you’re
having trouble switching gears and focusing on other things. (exhaustion) your
exam is in the past but you still feel anxious and are having trouble sleeping.

Unit 7 Review 13
 Prolonged stress can damage neurons, hastening cell death.
Facing stress, women may have a tend-and-befriend response; men may
withdraw socially, turn to alcohol, or become aggressive.

tend-and-befriend response: under stress, people (especially women) often

provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others
(befriend).

health psychology: a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s

contribution to behavioral medicine.

psychoneuroimmunology: the study of how psychological, neural, and

endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.

Four types of cells are active in searching for and destroying invaders in the body;
B and T lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells.

lymphocytes: a type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system

B cells: produce antibodies that are used to attack invading bacteria,

viruses, and toxins.

T cells: help your immune system fight germs and protect you from
disease.

Stress diverts energy from the immune system, inhibiting the activities of its B and
T lymphocytes, macrophages, and NK cells.

Unit 7 Review 14
 carcinogens: cancer-producing substances

coronary heart disease: the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart
muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries.

Friedman and Rosenman Personalities:

Type A: term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive,

an anger-prone people.

linked to coronary heart disease

secrete more stress hormones

Type B: term for easygoing, relaxed people.

catharsis: the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or

fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

doesn’t work to reduce the anger that can be so harmful to our health, but
waiting, distracting, and distancing do.

Chronic stress also contributes to persistent inflammation, which is associated

with heart and other health problems, including depression.

Stress may not directly cause illness, but it does make us more vulnerable, by
influencing our behaviors and our physiology.

Module 59- Health and Happiness

Studies of people with an optimistic outlook show that their immune system is
stronger, their blood pressure does not increase as sharply in response to stress,
their recovery from heart bypass surgery is faster, and their life expectancy is
longer.

Social support promotes health by calming us, reducing blood pressure and stress
hormones, and by fostering stronger immune functioning.
We can significantly reduce our stress and increase our health by having
relationships with family and friends, and by finding meaning even in difficult

Unit 7 Review 15
 times.

aerobic exercise: sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness;
also helps alleviate depression and anxiety.

It increases arousal, leads to muscle relaxation and sounder sleep, triggers the
production of neurotransmitters, and enhances self-image. It can relieve
depression and, in later life, is associated with longer life and better cognitive
functioning in later and longer life.

Relaxation and meditation have been shown to reduce stress by relaxing muscles,
lowering blood pressure, improving immune functioning, and lessening anxiety
and depression.

mindfulness meditation: a reflective practice in which people attend to current

experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner.

strengthens connections among brain regions.

activates brain regions associated with more reflective awareness.

calms brain activation in emotional situations.

Massage therapy also relaxes muscles and reduces depression.

The faith factor is the finding that religiously active people tend to live longer than
those who are not religiously active. Possible explanations may include the effect
of intervening variables:

healthy behaviors

social support

positive emotions often found among people who regularly attend religious
services.

feel-good, do-good phenomenon: people’s tendency to be helpful when in a

good mood.

Unit 7 Review 16
 positive psychology: the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals
of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that hep individuals and
communities to thrive.

positive well-being

positive character

positive groups, communities, and cultures

subjective well-being: self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. used

along with measures of objective well-being (eg. physical/economic
indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.

adaptation-level phenomenon: our tendency to form judgments (of sounds,

of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

relative deprivation: the perception that one is worse off relative to those with
whom one compares oneself.

Some individuals seem genetically predisposed to be happier than others.

Cultures, which vary in the traits they value and the behaviors they expect and
reward also influence personal levels of happiness.
Tips for increasing happiness levels:

take charge of your schedule

act happy

seek meaningful work and leisure

buy shared experiences rather than things

exercise

sleep enough

foster friendships

focus beyond the self

nurture gratitude and spirituality

Unit 7 Review 17
 Module 60- Psychoanalytic and
Psychodynamic Theories
personality: an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and
acting.

psychoanalytic theory: childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations

influence personality

psychodynamic theories: theories that view personality with a focus on the

unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

psychoanalysis: Freud’s theory of personality and the associated treatment

techniques.

Psychoanalytic (and later psychodynamic) theory and humanistic theory have

become part of Western culture. They laid the foundation for later theories, such
as trait and social-cognitive theories of personality.

Psychodynamic theories view personality from the perspective that behavior is a

lively (dynamic) interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind. The
theories trace their origin to Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis.

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.

free association: a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person

relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or
embarrassing.

Personality Structure

id: a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic

sexual and aggressive drives. the id operates on the pleasure principle,
demanding immediate gratification.

unconscious mind

Unit 7 Review 18
 ego: the largely conscious “executive” part of personality that, according to
Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego
operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will
realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

conscious mind

because the superego’s demands often oppose the id’s, the ego struggles
to reconcile the two.

superego: the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents

internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and
for future aspirations.

preconscious

Psychologists have used an iceberg image to illustrate Freud’s idea that the mind
is mostly hidden beneath the conscious surface.

Unit 7 Review 19
 psychosexual stages: the childhood stages of development during which,
according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct
erogenous zones.

Stage Focus

oral (0-18 months) mouth—sucking, biting, chewing

bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for

anal (18-36 months)
control

phallic (3-6 years) genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

latency (6 to puberty) a phase of dormant sexual feelings

genital (puberty on) maturation of sexual interests

Oedipus complex: a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of
jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

identification: the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values

into their developing superegos.

Electra complex: girls experience a parallel to the Oedipus complex.

fixate: a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier

psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

defense mechanisms: in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods

of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

regression: retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some

psychic energy remains fixated.

reaction formation: switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

projection: disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them

to others.

rationalization: offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real,

more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions.

displacement: shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more

acceptable or less threatening object or person.

Unit 7 Review 20
 sublimation: transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued
motives.

denial: refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities.

repression: the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness

anxiety=arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Freud’s early followers, the Neo-Freudians, accepted many of his ideas. They
differed in placing more emphasis on the conscious mind and in stressing social
motives more than sexual or aggression motives.
Neo-Freudians

Alfred Adler

inferiority complex idea

believed that much of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer

childhood inferiority feelings that trigger our strivings for superiority and
power.

Karen Horney

said childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security.

opposed Freud’s assumptions that women have weak superegos and

suffer “penis envy,” and attempted to balance his masculine bias.

Carl Jung

believed the unconscious contains more than our repressed thoughts and
feelings.

collective unconscious: Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited

reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history.

a common reservoir of images, or archetypes, derived from our

species’ universal experiences.

Contemporary psychodynamic theorists and therapists reject Freud’s emphasis on

sexual motivation. They stress, with support from modern research findings, the

Unit 7 Review 21
 view that much of our mental life is unconscious, and they believe that our
childhood experiences influence our adult personality and attachment patterns.
Many also believe that our species’ shared evolutionary history shaped some
universal predispositions.

projective tests: a personality test that provides ambiguous images designed

to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): a projective test in which people

express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up
about ambiguous scenes.

Henry Murray: “As a rule, the subject leaves the test happily unaware
that he has presented the psychologist with what amounts to an X-ray
of his inner self.”

provides a valid and reliable map of people’s implicit motives.

responses have been shown to be consistent over time.

Rorschach inkblot test: 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.

people tell what they see in a series of symmetrical inkblots. some who
use this test are confident that the interpretation of ambiguous images
will reveal unconscious aspects of the test-taker’s personality.

has low reliability and validity, but some clinicians value it as a source
of suggestive leads, an icebreaker, or a revealing interview technique.

Today’s psychologists give Freud credit for drawing attention to the vast
unconscious, to the struggle to cope with anxiety and sexuality, and to the conflict
between biological impulses and social restraints, and for some forms of defense
mechanisms.
But Freud’s concept of repression, and his view of the unconscious as a collection
of repressed and unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories, have
not survived scientific scrutiny.

Unit 7 Review 22
 Freud offered after-the-fact explanations, which are hard to test scientifically.
Research does not support many of Freud’s specific ideas, such as the view that
development is fixed in childhood.
Research confirms that we do not have full access to all that goes on in our mind.

Today’s science views the unconscious as a separate and parallel track of

information processing that occurs outside our awareness.
Schemas, perceptions, priming, implicit memories of learned skills, instantly
activated emotions, and stereotypes filter our information processing of others’
traits and characteristics.

terror-management theory: a theory of death-related anxiety; explores

people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending
death.

Module 61- Humanistic Theories

humanistic theories: theories that view personality with a focus on the
potential for healthy personal growth.

people’s striving for self-determination and self-realization

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

once our physiological needs are met, we become concerned with safety.
once we achieve a sense of security, we seek to love, to be loved, and to love
ourselves. once our love needs are satisfied, we seek self-esteem.

once self-esteem is achieved, we seek:

self-actualization: the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

self-transcendence: the striving for identity meaning, and purpose

beyond the self.

Carl Rogers

person-centered perspective: people are basically good and are endowed

with self-actualizing tendencies. the ingredients of a growth-promoting
environment are:

Unit 7 Review 23
 acceptance

unconditional positive regard: a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental

attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-
awareness and self-acceptance.

genuineness

empathy

self-concept: all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the
question, “Who am I?”

central feature of personality for both Maslow and Rogers.

Some rejected any standardized assessments and relied on interviews and

conversations.
Rogers sometimes used questionnaires in which people described their ideal and
actual selves, which he later used to judge progress during therapy.
When the ideal and the actual self are nearly alike, the self-concept is positive.

Humanistic psychology helped renew interest in the concept of self, and also laid
the groundwork for today’s scientific subfield of positive psychology.
Critics have said that humanistic psychology’s concepts were vague and
subjective, its values self-centered, and its assumptions naively optimistic.

Module 62- Trait Theories

traits: a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in
certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

stable and enduring pattern of behavior

factor analysis is used to identify clusters of behavior tendencies that

occur together.

extraversion—introversion

Unit 7 Review 24
 emotional stability—instability

Western cultures prize extraversion, but introverts have different, equally

important skills.
Introversion does not equal shyness, and extraverts don’t always outperform
introverts as leaders or in sales success.
Introverts often experience great achievement; many introverts prosper.

personality inventories: a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-

disagree items) 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 (MMPI): the most widely

researched and clinically used of all objective personality tests.

empirically derived: a test created by selecting from a pool of items those

that discriminate between groups.

tests are objectively scored, but people can fake their answers to
create a good impression.

objectivity does not guarantee validity.

The “Big Five” Personality Factors—currently offer the clearest picture of

personality

Unit 7 Review 25
 These factors are stable and appear to be found in all cultures. Many genes, each
having small effects, combine to influence our traits, and heritability generally runs
about 40 percent for each dimension.

A person’s average traits persist over time and are predictable over many different
situations. But traits cannot predict behavior in any one particular situation.
Our personality traits get expressed in our:

music preferences

written communication

online and personal spaces

Module 63- Social-Cognitive Theories

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

Albert Bandura

behavioral approach: focuses on the effects of learning on our personality

development.

Social-cognitive researchers apply principles of learning, as well as cognition and

social behavior, to personality.

Unit 7 Review 26
 reciprocal determinism: the interacting influences of behavior, internal
cognition, and environment.
Ways in which individuals and environments interact:

different people choose different environments.

our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events.

our personalities help create situations to which we react.

behavior emerges from the interplay of external and internal influences.

Assessment situations involving simulated conditions exploit the principle that the
best predictor of future behavior is the person’s past behavior patterns in similar
situations.

Social-cognitive theories of personality build on well-established concepts of

learning and cognition, and sensitize researchers to how situations affect, and are
affected by, individuals.
Social-cognitive theorists have been faulted for underemphasizing the importance
of unconscious motives, emotions, and biologically influenced traits.

Unit 7 Review 27
Unit 7 Review 28
 Module 64- Exploring the Self
self: assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts,
feelings, and actions.

spotlight effect: overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our

appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines
on us).

self-esteem: our feelings of high or low self-worth

high is beneficial, but unrealistically high is dangerous (linked to

aggressive behavior) and fragile.

self-efficacy: our sense of competence and effectiveness.

Rather than unrealistically promoting children’s feelings of self-worth, it is better to

reward their achievements, which lead to feelings of competence.

Unit 7 Review 29
 Excessive optimism can lead to complacency and prevent us from seeking real
risks, while blindness to one’s own incompetence may lead us to make the same
mistakes repeatedly.

self-serving bias: a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

narcissism: excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Defensive self-esteem is fragile, focuses on sustaining itself, and views failure or

criticism as a threat. Secure self-esteem is sturdy, enabling us to feel accepted for
who we are.

Although individuals vary, different cultures tend to emphasize either individualism

or collectivism.

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

cultures based on self-reliant individualism tend to value personal

independence and individual achievement.

they define identity in terms of self-esteem, personal goals and attributes,

and personal rights and liberties.

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

cultures based on socially connected collectivism tend to value group

goals, social identity, and commitments.

they define identity in terms of interdependence, tradition, and harmony.

Unit 7 Review 30