Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Psychology 2e

Key Terms

Psychology 2eKey Terms

Menu
Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. 1 Introduction to Psychology
    1. Introduction
    2. 1.1 What Is Psychology?
    3. 1.2 History of Psychology
    4. 1.3 Contemporary Psychology
    5. 1.4 Careers in Psychology
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  3. 2 Psychological Research
    1. Introduction
    2. 2.1 Why Is Research Important?
    3. 2.2 Approaches to Research
    4. 2.3 Analyzing Findings
    5. 2.4 Ethics
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  4. 3 Biopsychology
    1. Introduction
    2. 3.1 Human Genetics
    3. 3.2 Cells of the Nervous System
    4. 3.3 Parts of the Nervous System
    5. 3.4 The Brain and Spinal Cord
    6. 3.5 The Endocrine System
    7. Key Terms
    8. Summary
    9. Review Questions
    10. Critical Thinking Questions
    11. Personal Application Questions
  5. 4 States of Consciousness
    1. Introduction
    2. 4.1 What Is Consciousness?
    3. 4.2 Sleep and Why We Sleep
    4. 4.3 Stages of Sleep
    5. 4.4 Sleep Problems and Disorders
    6. 4.5 Substance Use and Abuse
    7. 4.6 Other States of Consciousness
    8. Key Terms
    9. Summary
    10. Review Questions
    11. Critical Thinking Questions
    12. Personal Application Questions
  6. 5 Sensation and Perception
    1. Introduction
    2. 5.1 Sensation versus Perception
    3. 5.2 Waves and Wavelengths
    4. 5.3 Vision
    5. 5.4 Hearing
    6. 5.5 The Other Senses
    7. 5.6 Gestalt Principles of Perception
    8. Key Terms
    9. Summary
    10. Review Questions
    11. Critical Thinking Questions
    12. Personal Application Questions
  7. 6 Learning
    1. Introduction
    2. 6.1 What Is Learning?
    3. 6.2 Classical Conditioning
    4. 6.3 Operant Conditioning
    5. 6.4 Observational Learning (Modeling)
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  8. 7 Thinking and Intelligence
    1. Introduction
    2. 7.1 What Is Cognition?
    3. 7.2 Language
    4. 7.3 Problem Solving
    5. 7.4 What Are Intelligence and Creativity?
    6. 7.5 Measures of Intelligence
    7. 7.6 The Source of Intelligence
    8. Key Terms
    9. Summary
    10. Review Questions
    11. Critical Thinking Questions
    12. Personal Application Questions
  9. 8 Memory
    1. Introduction
    2. 8.1 How Memory Functions
    3. 8.2 Parts of the Brain Involved with Memory
    4. 8.3 Problems with Memory
    5. 8.4 Ways to Enhance Memory
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  10. 9 Lifespan Development
    1. Introduction
    2. 9.1 What Is Lifespan Development?
    3. 9.2 Lifespan Theories
    4. 9.3 Stages of Development
    5. 9.4 Death and Dying
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  11. 10 Emotion and Motivation
    1. Introduction
    2. 10.1 Motivation
    3. 10.2 Hunger and Eating
    4. 10.3 Sexual Behavior, Sexuality, and Gender Identity
    5. 10.4 Emotion
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  12. 11 Personality
    1. Introduction
    2. 11.1 What Is Personality?
    3. 11.2 Freud and the Psychodynamic Perspective
    4. 11.3 Neo-Freudians: Adler, Erikson, Jung, and Horney
    5. 11.4 Learning Approaches
    6. 11.5 Humanistic Approaches
    7. 11.6 Biological Approaches
    8. 11.7 Trait Theorists
    9. 11.8 Cultural Understandings of Personality
    10. 11.9 Personality Assessment
    11. Key Terms
    12. Summary
    13. Review Questions
    14. Critical Thinking Questions
    15. Personal Application Questions
  13. 12 Social Psychology
    1. Introduction
    2. 12.1 What Is Social Psychology?
    3. 12.2 Self-presentation
    4. 12.3 Attitudes and Persuasion
    5. 12.4 Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience
    6. 12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination
    7. 12.6 Aggression
    8. 12.7 Prosocial Behavior
    9. Key Terms
    10. Summary
    11. Review Questions
    12. Critical Thinking Questions
    13. Personal Application Questions
  14. 13 Industrial-Organizational Psychology
    1. Introduction
    2. 13.1 What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology?
    3. 13.2 Industrial Psychology: Selecting and Evaluating Employees
    4. 13.3 Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work
    5. 13.4 Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design
    6. Key Terms
    7. Summary
    8. Review Questions
    9. Critical Thinking Questions
    10. Personal Application Questions
  15. 14 Stress, Lifestyle, and Health
    1. Introduction
    2. 14.1 What Is Stress?
    3. 14.2 Stressors
    4. 14.3 Stress and Illness
    5. 14.4 Regulation of Stress
    6. 14.5 The Pursuit of Happiness
    7. Key Terms
    8. Summary
    9. Review Questions
    10. Critical Thinking Questions
    11. Personal Application Questions
  16. 15 Psychological Disorders
    1. Introduction
    2. 15.1 What Are Psychological Disorders?
    3. 15.2 Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders
    4. 15.3 Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
    5. 15.4 Anxiety Disorders
    6. 15.5 Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
    7. 15.6 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
    8. 15.7 Mood and Related Disorders
    9. 15.8 Schizophrenia
    10. 15.9 Dissociative Disorders
    11. 15.10 Disorders in Childhood
    12. 15.11 Personality Disorders
    13. Key Terms
    14. Summary
    15. Review Questions
    16. Critical Thinking Questions
    17. Personal Application Questions
  17. 16 Therapy and Treatment
    1. Introduction
    2. 16.1 Mental Health Treatment: Past and Present
    3. 16.2 Types of Treatment
    4. 16.3 Treatment Modalities
    5. 16.4 Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders: A Special Case
    6. 16.5 The Sociocultural Model and Therapy Utilization
    7. Key Terms
    8. Summary
    9. Review Questions
    10. Critical Thinking Questions
    11. Personal Application Questions
  18. References
  19. Index
anal stage
psychosexual stage in which children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements
analytical psychology
Jung’s theory focusing on the balance of opposing forces within one’s personality and the significance of the collective unconscious
archetype
pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across cultures and societies
collective unconscious
common psychological tendencies that have been passed down from one generation to the next
congruence
state of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are very similar
conscious
mental activity (thoughts, feelings, and memories) that we can access at any time
Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks Test (C-TCB)
projective test designed to be culturally relevant to African Americans, using images that relate to African-American culture
culture
all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society
defense mechanism
unconscious protective behaviors designed to reduce ego anxiety
displacement
ego defense mechanism in which a person transfers inappropriate urges or behaviors toward a more acceptable or less threatening target
ego
aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others
Five Factor Model
theory that personality is composed of five factors, including openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
genital stage
psychosexual stage in which the focus is on mature sexual interests
heritability
proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics
id
aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex
ideal self
person we would like to be
incongruence
state of being in which there is a great discrepancy between our real and ideal selves
individual psychology
school of psychology proposed by Adler that focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority
inferiority complex
refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to others’ or to society’s standards
latency period
psychosexual stage in which sexual feelings are dormant
locus of control
beliefs about the power we have over our lives; an external locus of control is the belief that our outcomes are outside of our control; an internal locus of control is the belief that we control our own outcomes
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
personality test composed of a series of true/false questions in order to establish a clinical profile of an individual
neurosis
tendency to experience negative emotions
oral stage
psychosexual stage in which an infant’s pleasure is focused on the mouth
personality
long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways
phallic stage
psychosexual stage in which the focus is on the genitals
projection
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety disguises their unacceptable urges or behaviors by attributing them to other people
Projective test
personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires
psychosexual stages of development
stages of child development in which a child’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on specific areas of the body called erogenous zones
rationalization
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety makes excuses to justify behavior
reaction formation
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety swaps unacceptable urges or behaviors for their opposites
real self
person who we actually are
reciprocal determinism
belief that one’s environment can determine behavior, but at the same time, people can influence the environment with both their thoughts and behaviors
regression
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral state
repression
ego defense mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious
Rorschach Inkblot Test
projective test that employs a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist in an effort to reveal the person’s unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)
projective test that is similar to a word association test in which a person completes sentences in order to reveal their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
selective migration
concept that people choose to move to places that are compatible with their personalities and needs
self-concept
our thoughts and feelings about ourselves
self-efficacy
someone’s level of confidence in their own abilities
social-cognitive theory
Bandura’s theory of personality that emphasizes both cognition and learning as sources of individual differences in personality
sublimation
ego defense mechanism in which unacceptable urges are channeled into more appropriate activities
superego
aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience
TEMAS Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test
projective test designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths, using images and storytelling that relate to minority culture
temperament
how a person reacts to the world, including their activity level, starting when they are very young
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
projective test in which people are presented with ambiguous images, and they then make up stories to go with the images in an effort to uncover their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
traits
characteristic ways of behaving
unconscious
mental activity of which we are unaware and unable to access
Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jun 28, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.