10- Personality Flashcards
the individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
personality
what we are aware of
conscious
outside of our awareness, but accessible
preconscious
a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories
unconscious
information processing of which we are unaware
contemporary view of unconscious
a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to their mind no matter how trivial or embarrassing
free association
Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
psychoanalysis
a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
id
demanding immediate gratification
pleasure principle
the largely conscious “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of id, superego, and reality
ego
satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
reality principle
the part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement and for future aspirations
superego
the childhood stages of development during which the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
psychosexual stages
pleasure centers on the mouth
oral stage (0-18 months)
pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
anal stage (18-36 months)
pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings
phallic stage (3-6 years)
dormant sexual feelings
latency stage (6-puberty)
maturation of sexual intents
genital stage (puberty on-)
a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
Oedipus complex
the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos
identification
parallel to Oedipus complex but in girls
electra complex
a pleasure sensitive area of the body
erogenous zone
a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies of an easier psychosocial stage, in which conflicts were unresolved
fixation
the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
defense mechanism
the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
repression
mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage
regression
mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites
reaction formation
mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
projection
mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions
rationalization
mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulsed toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
displacement
mechanism by which people re-channeled their unacceptable impulses into socially approached activities
sublimation
mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities
denial
m
Adler
a
Horney
;
Jung
a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history
collective unconscious
childhood shapes personality and attachments; much of mental life is unconscious; struggle with inner conflicts among our wishes, fears, and values
psychodynamic theory
a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
projective test
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
most widely used projective test; a set of 10 inkblots; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
Rorschach inkblot test
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
terror-management theory
one of the ultimate psychological needs that rises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved
self-actualization
go beyond ordinary consciousness
peak experiences
genuineness, acceptance, and empathy
sources of growth promoting climate
an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
unconditional positive regard
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
self-concept
vague, subjective, individualistic, Western biased, naïve
criticisms to the humanistic perspective
a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act; description rather than explanation
trait
Introversion vs extroversion
Emotional stability vs instability
Personality questionnaire
Eysenck and Eysenck
Frontal love activity is _____ in extroverts and brain arousal is ____ in extroverts as well
Less; low
Questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors
Personality inventory
The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests; originally developed to identify emotional disorders
Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI)
A test developed by testing a pool if items and then selecting those that discriminate groups
Empirically derived test
Conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, extroversion
Big five factors
Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits and their social context
Social-cognitive perspective
Bandura’s thought that the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
Reciprocal determinism
The extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
Personal control
1- correlate people’s feelings of control with their behaviors and achievements
2- experiment by raising or lowering people’s sense of control
Ways to study personal control
Perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate
External locus of control
The perception that you control your own fate
Internal locus of control
The ability to control impulses and delay gratification
Self-control
Experiencing no control over repeated bad events leads to feeling hopeless
Learned helplessness
Having limitless experiences or choices brings information overload and a greater likelihood that we will feel regret over some of the unchosen options
Tyranny of choice
The scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
Positive psychology
Assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions
Self
Overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders
Spotlight effect
One’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Self-esteem
A readiness to perceive oneself favorably
Self-serving bias
Giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s idenity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
Individualism
Giving priority to the goals of one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly
Collectivism
