12.3 Psychodynamic and Humanistic Approaches to Personality

Question 1

Conscious mind

Answer 1

your current awareness, containing everything you are aware of right now

Question 2

Unconscious mind

Answer 2

a vast and powerful but inaccessible part of your consciousness, operating without your endorsement or will to influence and guide your behaviours

Question 3

Id

Answer 3

represents a collection of basic biological drives, including those directed toward sex and aggression
- fueled by libido, operates according to the pleasure principle

Question 4

Superego

Answer 4

comprises our values and moral standards

Question 5

Ego

Answer 5

decision maker, frequently under tension, trying to reconcile the opposing urges of the id and superego - operates according to the reality principle

Question 6

Defence mechanisms

Answer 6

unconscious strategies the ego uses to reduce or avoid anxiety

Question 7

Fixation

Answer 7

Involves becoming preoccupied with obtaining the pleasure associated with a particular stage as a result of not being able to adequately regulate themselves and satisfy their needs at that stage

Question 8

Anal retentive

Answer 8

cleanliness, order

Question 9

Anal expulsive

Answer 9

carelessness, irresponsible

Question 10

Oedipus complex

Answer 10

Attachment to mother through oral means

Question 11

Latency stage

Answer 11

calm, development period

Question 12

Projective tests

Answer 12

personality tests in which ambiguous images are presented to an individual to elicit responses that reflect unconscious desires or conflicts

Question 13

Rorschach inkblot test

Answer 13

people are asked to describe what they see in an inkblot, and psychologists interpret this description using a standardized scoring and interpretation method

Question 14

Thematic Apperception Test

Answer 14

asks respondents to tell stories about ambiguous pictures involving various interpersonal situations

Question 15

Analytical psychology

Answer 15

focuses on the role of unconscious archetypes in personality development

Question 16

Personal unconscious

Answer 16

a vast repository of experiences and patterns absorbed during the person’s life

Question 17

Collective unconscious

Answer 17

a separate, non-personal realm of the unconscious that holds the collective memories and mythologies of humankind, stretching deep into our ancestral past

Question 18

Archetypes

Answer 18

are images and symbols that reflect common patterns of experience across all cultures

Question 19

Inferiority complex

Answer 19

the struggle many people have with feelings of inferiority, which stem from experiences of helplessness and powerlessness during childhood

Question 20

Person-centred perspective

Answer 20

founded on the assumption that people are basically good, and given the right environment their personality will develop fully and normally

Question 21

Self-actualization

Answer 21

the point at which a person reaches their full potential as a creative, deep-thinking, and accepting human being