Psychology 2026 | Study
Guide, Practice Questions,
Answers, Rationales &
Exam Review | Complete
Ethics Study Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,personality traits openness to experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness,
neuroticism
psychoanalytic perspective Sigmund Freud, personality shaped by unconscious and childhood
libido- life instinct, drives behavior focused on pleasure, survival, and avoidance of
pain
death instinct- drives dangerous behavior, desire to hurt others/oneself
id- generally unconscious, pleasure principle is to avoid pain and seek pleasure
ego- generally conscious, reality principle uses logic and reality, deals with the id
and the superego, attempts to compromise
superego- morality, right and wrong
consciousness conscious- aware
preconscious- not aware but can be made aware
unconscious- inaccessible instinct and desire
Freud does not speak of subconsciousness
ego defense mechanisms (8) repression- completely forget a memory
denial- refuse to acknowledge a memory
reaction formation- express opposite emotion (I hate her, not sexually attracted to
her)
projection- attribute feelings to someone else or thing (computer is dumb, not you)
displacement- redirect forbidden impulses onto less dangerous one (kick dog, not
boss)
rationalization- justify impulsive behavior
regression-revert to earlier stage in development (adult wets bed after trauma)
sublimation- channel forbidden impulses into positive activities (paint picture, don't
kill)
Freud's stages of development (5) oral- 0-1, mouth, weaning
anal- 1-3, anus, toilet training
phallic- 3-6, genitals, gender, oedipus/electra
latency- 6-12, sexual feelings dormant to focus on friendship
genital- 12+, other people's genitals, intimacy
if a child does not resolve the conflict, he becomes fixated and struggles with things
later in life
, Erikson's stages of development (6) includes social and interpersonal factors
trust/mistrust- infancy
autonomy/shame- early childhood
initiative/guilt- preschool
industry/inferiority- school
identity/role confusion- adolescent
intimacy/isolation- young adult
generativity/stagnation- middle age
integrity/despair- later life
humanist perspective Abraham Maslow says that self-actualization is an innate drive, we have free will
Carl Rogers says that humans are driven to realize their highest potential,
personality conflicts arise when this is blocked
unconditional positive regard from parents is key to self-actualization
goal of development is to establish self-concept
incongruence- contradiction between ideal self and real self
behaviorist perspective B.F. Skinner says that humans learn behaviors based on environment, conditioning
determinism- people are blank slates, personality determined by reinforcement and
punishment
babbling is reinforced by adults, babies learn
behavioral therapy- use conditioning to shape patient's behavior, desensitization
and relaxation techniques
cognitive behavioral therapy- thoughts are behaviors, Beck's cognitive triad
describe how depression comes from negative views of self, world, and future
classical conditioning unconditioned response- original, natural response to stimuli
Ivan Pavlov did first experiment with bell and dog
phobias are conditioned through classical conditioning, can be made extinct through
exposure therapy
extinction gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior
decreasing or disappearing
occurs with both classical and operant conditioning
operant conditioning continuous reinforcement- during initial part of acquisition phase, teach subject
the correct behavior, type of fixed ratio reinforcement
shaping- reinforcing simple steps to condition a more complex behavior
instinctual drift- conditioned responses are replaced by instinctual behavior
primary/secondary reinforcement primary reinforcers- biological like food, drink, and pleasure
secondary reinforcers- conditioned over a lifetime, like money, grades in schools,
and tokens
Guide, Practice Questions,
Answers, Rationales &
Exam Review | Complete
Ethics Study Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,personality traits openness to experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness,
neuroticism
psychoanalytic perspective Sigmund Freud, personality shaped by unconscious and childhood
libido- life instinct, drives behavior focused on pleasure, survival, and avoidance of
pain
death instinct- drives dangerous behavior, desire to hurt others/oneself
id- generally unconscious, pleasure principle is to avoid pain and seek pleasure
ego- generally conscious, reality principle uses logic and reality, deals with the id
and the superego, attempts to compromise
superego- morality, right and wrong
consciousness conscious- aware
preconscious- not aware but can be made aware
unconscious- inaccessible instinct and desire
Freud does not speak of subconsciousness
ego defense mechanisms (8) repression- completely forget a memory
denial- refuse to acknowledge a memory
reaction formation- express opposite emotion (I hate her, not sexually attracted to
her)
projection- attribute feelings to someone else or thing (computer is dumb, not you)
displacement- redirect forbidden impulses onto less dangerous one (kick dog, not
boss)
rationalization- justify impulsive behavior
regression-revert to earlier stage in development (adult wets bed after trauma)
sublimation- channel forbidden impulses into positive activities (paint picture, don't
kill)
Freud's stages of development (5) oral- 0-1, mouth, weaning
anal- 1-3, anus, toilet training
phallic- 3-6, genitals, gender, oedipus/electra
latency- 6-12, sexual feelings dormant to focus on friendship
genital- 12+, other people's genitals, intimacy
if a child does not resolve the conflict, he becomes fixated and struggles with things
later in life
, Erikson's stages of development (6) includes social and interpersonal factors
trust/mistrust- infancy
autonomy/shame- early childhood
initiative/guilt- preschool
industry/inferiority- school
identity/role confusion- adolescent
intimacy/isolation- young adult
generativity/stagnation- middle age
integrity/despair- later life
humanist perspective Abraham Maslow says that self-actualization is an innate drive, we have free will
Carl Rogers says that humans are driven to realize their highest potential,
personality conflicts arise when this is blocked
unconditional positive regard from parents is key to self-actualization
goal of development is to establish self-concept
incongruence- contradiction between ideal self and real self
behaviorist perspective B.F. Skinner says that humans learn behaviors based on environment, conditioning
determinism- people are blank slates, personality determined by reinforcement and
punishment
babbling is reinforced by adults, babies learn
behavioral therapy- use conditioning to shape patient's behavior, desensitization
and relaxation techniques
cognitive behavioral therapy- thoughts are behaviors, Beck's cognitive triad
describe how depression comes from negative views of self, world, and future
classical conditioning unconditioned response- original, natural response to stimuli
Ivan Pavlov did first experiment with bell and dog
phobias are conditioned through classical conditioning, can be made extinct through
exposure therapy
extinction gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior
decreasing or disappearing
occurs with both classical and operant conditioning
operant conditioning continuous reinforcement- during initial part of acquisition phase, teach subject
the correct behavior, type of fixed ratio reinforcement
shaping- reinforcing simple steps to condition a more complex behavior
instinctual drift- conditioned responses are replaced by instinctual behavior
primary/secondary reinforcement primary reinforcers- biological like food, drink, and pleasure
secondary reinforcers- conditioned over a lifetime, like money, grades in schools,
and tokens
