4.4 Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality Flashcards
Personality
The enduring characteristics/behaviors that compromise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.
Conscious
Ex) Think and talk about rationally.
Contains all the thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes of which we are aware at any given moment.
Preconscious
Ex) Memories and stored knowledge that is retrievable.
Latent parts of the brain that are readily available to the conscious mind, although not currently in use.
Unconscious
Ex) Fears, immoralities, irrational wishes, desires, shameful experiments, or selfish needs.
Repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits, thoughts, desires, and reactions that are sometimes too painful, embarrassing, shameful, or even distressing to consciously face.
ID
The fully conscious part of the mind that seeks to bring pleasure. (Aggression or sexual pleasures)
Superego
Mostly unconscious part acts as a conscience. Created by society and the norms that influence our lives.
Ego
The partly conscious part that makes up the rational self. It decides what actions to take. (Aware of reality. Acts on what is believed as right situationally)
Defense Mechanisms
unconscious psychological strategies used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety or distressing thoughts and emotions by distorting reality, often through behaviors or mental processes that are not readily apparent to the conscious mind
Denial
Ex) Refusal to accept an alcohol addiction
Refusing to accept events that are unpleasant.
Displacement
Ex) Being angry at your brother but instead getting mad at a random passer-by.
Transferring inappropriate urges onto a less threatening target.
Projection
Ex) Cheating because you suspect the other already is.
Attributing unacceptable desires to others.
Rationalization
Ex) You fail the test for not studying but think instead believe the prof. hates you.
Justifying behaviors for substituting in less-acceptable real reasons.
Reaction Formation
Ex) Mad about a person’s actions but affirming them to their face.
Reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own beliefs.
Regression
Ex) After failing a big test you spent days in bed cuddling an old childhood toy.
Coping with less mature stages of development.
Repression
Ex) Not remembering a loved one’s passing even when you were present.
Suppressing painful memories and thoughts.
Sublimation
Ex) Desire for revenge on those who hurt you channeled through therapy, helping yourself and others deal with the pain.
Redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels.
Free Association
Ex) Word association, automatic writing, or thematic apperception tests
Ways of “tricking” your conscious mind to bring out the unconscious
Projective Tests
Ex) Rorscharch Inkblot Test
Ambiguous stimuli the interpretations of which Freud believed demonstrated the contents of the subjects subconscious.
Hypnosis
Believed to free the unconscious mind to open up and reveal vivid details of the past.
Dream Analysis
Dreams are the unconscious mind talking to you. making dreams symbolic.
Transference
Occurs when a person directs feelings for another onto a completely different person.
