Universal Human Tendencies

Michelle L. (United States of America)
59 words 1 learner

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stressful
    extremely irritating to the nerves
    Yet, when we find ourselves in challenging or stressful situations, uncritically relying on these tendencies can limit our options, hold us back, and lead to poor decision-making.
  2. adaptive
    having a capacity for change
    They are our default mode for good reasons, as these tendencies are normally helpful and adaptive.
  3. dynamics
    mechanics concerned with forces that cause motions of bodies
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  4. awareness
    state of elementary or undifferentiated consciousness
    Our tendencies are what we routinely or habitually do without much thought or self-awareness, leading to both intended and unintended consequences.
  5. challenging
    requiring full use of your abilities or resources
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  6. react
    show a response to something
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  7. pervasive
    spreading or spread throughout
    These powerfully influential dynamics are so pervasive that they affect us all, but can be hard to spot without training, and thus are “hidden in plain view.”
  8. dynamic
    characterized by action or forcefulness of personality
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  9. evolutionary
    relating to the development of a species
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  10. rely
    have confidence or faith in
    Yet, when we find ourselves in challenging or stressful situations, uncritically relying on these tendencies can limit our options, hold us back, and lead to poor decision-making.
  11. challenge
    a call to engage in a contest or fight
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  12. transform
    change or alter in appearance or nature
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  13. dictate
    a guiding principle
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  14. rejection
    the act of turning something down
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  15. divert
    turn aside; turn away from
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  16. default
    an option that is selected automatically
    They are our default mode for good reasons, as these tendencies are normally helpful and adaptive.
  17. automatically
    in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  18. accessible
    capable of being reached
    These tools are accessible, easy to master, and simple to understand.
  19. category
    a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  20. label
    a brief description given for purposes of identification
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  21. technique
    a practical method or art applied to some particular task
    Recent research in social and educational psychology has uncovered tools and techniques we can put to good use in understanding and changing our reactions to these social forces.
  22. normally
    under normal conditions
    They are our default mode for good reasons, as these tendencies are normally helpful and adaptive.
  23. psychology
    the science of mental life
    Recent research in social and educational psychology has uncovered tools and techniques we can put to good use in understanding and changing our reactions to these social forces.
  24. psychological
    mental or emotional as opposed to physical in nature
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  25. option
    one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen
    Yet, when we find ourselves in challenging or stressful situations, uncritically relying on these tendencies can limit our options, hold us back, and lead to poor decision-making.
  26. cultural
    relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  27. govern
    exercise authority over, as of nations
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  28. aspect
    a characteristic to be considered
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  29. interpretation
    the act of expressing something in an artistic performance
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  30. unique
    the single one of its kind
    unique approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  31. universal
    applicable to or common to all members of a group or set
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  32. consequence
    a phenomenon that is caused by some previous phenomenon
    Our tendencies are what we routinely or habitually do without much thought or self-awareness, leading to both intended and unintended consequences.
  33. encounter
    come together
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  34. reaction
    an idea evoked by some experience
    Recent research in social and educational psychology has uncovered tools and techniques we can put to good use in understanding and changing our reactions to these social forces.
  35. affect
    have an influence upon
    These powerfully influential dynamics are so pervasive that they affect us all, but can be hard to spot without training, and thus are “hidden in plain view.”
  36. approach
    move towards
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  37. intend
    have in mind as a purpose
    Our tendencies are what we routinely or habitually do without much thought or self-awareness, leading to both intended and unintended consequences.
  38. lead
    take somebody somewhere
    Our tendencies are what we routinely or habitually do without much thought or self-awareness, leading to both intended and unintended consequences.
  39. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  40. limit
    as far as something can go
    Yet, when we find ourselves in challenging or stressful situations, uncritically relying on these tendencies can limit our options, hold us back, and lead to poor decision-making.
  41. environment
    the totality of surrounding conditions
    They can also divert our attention away from important aspects of what is going on immediately around us – our social environment and the psychological dynamics that govern the various situations we encounter on a daily basis.
  42. depend
    be determined by something else
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  43. attention
    the act of concentrating on something
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  44. mode
    how something is done or how it happens
    They are our default mode for good reasons, as these tendencies are normally helpful and adaptive.
  45. positive
    characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance
    These tools can help us to loosen the grip of our unconscious tendencies and can free us up to exercise leadership and help us to be a positive influence in such situations and in the lives of the people around us.
  46. skill
    an ability that has been acquired by training
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  47. influence
    a power to affect persons or events
    These tools can help us to loosen the grip of our unconscious tendencies and can free us up to exercise leadership and help us to be a positive influence in such situations and in the lives of the people around us.
  48. ability
    the quality of having the means or skills to do something
    They can also help lead us into a greater state of awareness, especially our ability to see into the hidden social influences that can help or hinder effective decision making.
  49. research
    a seeking for knowledge
    Recent research in social and educational psychology has uncovered tools and techniques we can put to good use in understanding and changing our reactions to these social forces.
  50. exercise
    the activity of exerting muscles to keep fit
    These tools can help us to loosen the grip of our unconscious tendencies and can free us up to exercise leadership and help us to be a positive influence in such situations and in the lives of the people around us.
  51. event
    something that happens at a given place and time
    They dictate the way that we react to events when we are not paying attention, and set the stage for our behavior during unexpected or challenging situations.
  52. seek
    try to locate, discover, or establish the existence of
    approach, as well as some of the consequences of relying on them uncritically in challenging situations (click on each to learn more): Tendency #1: to react automatically to the things we are not paying close attention to Tendency #2: to rely on labels and categories in making judgments about ourselves and others Tendency #3: to depend on those around us for our own interpretation of what’s going on Tendency #4: to seek acceptance and avoid rejection Tendency #5: to assume that
  53. individual
    being or characteristic of a single thing or person
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  54. train
    educate for a future role or function
    These powerfully influential dynamics are so pervasive that they affect us all, but can be hard to spot without training, and thus are “hidden in plain view.”
  55. plain
    simple
    These powerfully influential dynamics are so pervasive that they affect us all, but can be hard to spot without training, and thus are “hidden in plain view.”
  56. share
    assets belonging to an individual person or group
    Our approach empowers individuals to transform situations by building skills and awareness around five such universal, socially-based tendencies that are a part of our shared evolutionary and cultural heritage.
  57. simple
    having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
    These tools are accessible, easy to master, and simple to understand.
  58. view
    the visual percept of a region
    These powerfully influential dynamics are so pervasive that they affect us all, but can be hard to spot without training, and thus are “hidden in plain view.”
  59. master
    a person who has authority over others
    These tools are accessible, easy to master, and simple to understand.
Created on Wed Jun 05 12:14:29 EDT 2013

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.