denial A defense mechanism in which a
person denies the existence of a fact.
dependent variable The experimental
variable measured by the experimenter
and used to compare groups.
depressive cognitive triad Three
elements that describe a depressed
person’ s cognitions: negative views of
the self, pessimism, and interpretingevents in a negative manner.
depressive schema A cognitive structure
that allows people to readily make
negative associations.
discriminant validity A method for
establishing a test ’s validity by
demonstrating that its scores do not
correlate with the scores of theoreticallyunrelated measures.
discrimination A learned tendency to
respond only to stimuli that result in
reinforcement and not to similar, but
unrewarded, stimuli.
displacement A defense mechanism in
which a response is directed at a
nonthreatening target instead of the
unconsciously preferred one.
dispositional optimism The extent to
which a person typically adopts an
optimistic or pessimistic approach to
dealing with life ’s challenges.
egoIn Freud ’s structural model, the part
of personality that considers externalreality while mediating between the
demands of the id and the superego.
emotional affectivity The extent to
which people typically experience
positive and negative emotions.
emotional expressiveness The extent to
which people outwardly express their
emotions.
emotion-focused strategies Coping
strategies designed to reduce emotional
distress.
evaluation apprehension A strong
concern about receiving negative
evaluations from others.
face validity A method for establishing a
test ’s validity in which test items appear
to measure what the test was designed to
measure.
factor analysis A statistical procedure
used to determine the number of
dimensions in a data set.
fixation Tying up psychic energy at one
psychosexual stage, which results in
adult behaviors characteristic of that
stage.free association A procedure used in
psychoanalysis in which patients say
whatever comes into their mind.
Freudian slip A seemingly innocent
misstatement that reveals unconscious
associations.
fully functioning person A psycho-
logically healthy individual who is able
to enjoy life as completely as possible.
generalization The tendency to respond
to stimuli similar to the one used in the
initial conditioning.
goodness of fit model A model
proposing that a child performs best
when the demands of the environmentmatch with his or her temperament.
growth need A need that leads to
personal growth and that persists after
the need object is attained.
hierarchy of needs In Maslow ’s theory,
the order in which human needs demand
attention.
Human Figure Drawing test A projective
test
in which test takers are asked simply
to draw a person.
hypothesis A formal prediction about
the relationship between two or more
variables that is logically derived from a
theory.
idIn Freud ’s structural model, the part
of personality concerned with immediate
gratification of needs.
idiographic approach A method of
studying personality through in-depth
analysis of one individual and the
dimensions relevant to that person’ s
personality.
independent variable The experimental
variable used to divide participants into
groups.
individualistic culture Culture that
places great emphasis on individual
needs and accomplishments.
inhibited/uninhibited children Inhibited
children show strong anxiety about
novel and unfamiliar situations;
uninhibited children show very little ofthis anxiety.
intellectualization A defense mechanism
in which the emotional content of
threatening material is removed before itis brought into awareness.
internal consistency The extent to which
test items are interrelated and thus
appear to measure the same construct.
learned helplessness The cognitive,
motivational, and emotional deficits thatfollow a perceived lack of control over
important aversive events.
libido The limited amount of psychic
energy that powers mental activity.
locus of control A personality trait that
divides people along a continuum
according to the extent to which theybelieve what happens to them and others
is controllable.
manipulated independent variable An
independent variable for which
participants have been randomly
assigned to an experimental group.
masculinity –femininity A personality
trait indicating the extent to which a
person possesses sex-typed character-
istics, with masculine characteristics atone end of the trait continuum and
feminine characteristics at the other end.
need for Achievement The motive to
engage in and succeed at entrepreneurial
achievement behavior.
negative cognitive style A style of
processing information in which people
attribute their problems to stable and
global causes, anticipate dreadful
consequences, and believe the problemsreflect their own personal shortcomings.
neodissociation theory Hilgard ’s theory,
which maintains that consciousness is
divided into aware and unaware parts
during hypnosis.
nomothetic approach A method of
understanding personality that
compares many people along the same
personality dimensions.
nonmanipulated independent variable
An independent variable for which
condition assignment is determined by a
characteristic of the participant.
observational learning Learning that
results from watching or hearing about a
person modeling the behavior.
operant conditioning Learning resulting
from the response an organism receives
following a behavior.
optimal experience A state of happiness
and satisfaction characterized by
absorption in a challenging and
personally
rewarding task.
oral stage The psychosexual stage of
development in which the mouth, lips,
and tongue are the primary erogenous
zones.
personal constructs In Kelly ’s theory, the
bipolar cognitive structures through
which people process information.454 GLOSSARY