Ch.15 Personality

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

An individuals characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Question 2

Free Association

Answer 2

In psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Question 3

Psychoanalysis

Answer 3

Frauds 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.

Question 4

Unconscious

Answer 4

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are aware.

Question 5

Id

Answer 5

Contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The Id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Question 6

Ego

Answer 6

The largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the Id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the ids desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Question 7

Superego

Answer 7

The part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement( the conscious) and for future aspirations.

Question 8

Psychosexual Stages

Answer 8

The childhood stages of development(oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the ids pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Question 9

Oral (0-18months)

Answer 9

Pleasure centers on the mouth – sucking,biting, chewing

Question 10

Anal(18-36 months)

Answer 10

Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control.

Question 11

Phallic(3-6years)

Answer 11

Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings.

Question 12

Latency(6 to puberty)

Answer 12

Dormant sexual feelings.

Question 13

Genital(puberty on)

Answer 13

Maturation of sexual interests

Question 14

Oedipus Complex

Answer 14

According to Freud, a boys sexual desires towards his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

Question 15

Identification

Answer 15

The process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents values into their developing superegos.

Question 16

Fixation

Answer 16

According to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Question 17

Defense Mechanisms

Answer 17

In psychoanalytic theory, the egos protective methods reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Question 18

Repression

Answer 18

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Question 19

Regression

Answer 19

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, which some psychic energy remains fixated.

Question 20

Reaction Formation

Answer 20

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.

Question 21

Projection

Answer 21

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Question 22

Rationalization

Answer 22

Defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for ones actions.

Question 23

Displacement

Answer 23

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual and aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet.

Question 24

Collective Unconscious

Answer 24

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history.

Question 25

Alfred Adler

Answer 25

Inferiority complex; a reaction of avoiding feelings of inadequacy, rather than overcoming the sources.

Question 26

Karen Horney

Answer 26

Social, not sexual tensions are crucial for personality formation

Question 27

Carl Jung

Answer 27

Collective unconscious; psychoanalytic psychologists

Question 28

Abraham Maslow

Answer 28

Self-Actualization,hierarchy of needs

Question 29

Projective Test

Answer 29

A personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of ones inner dynamics.

Question 30

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Answer 30

A projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Question 31

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Answer 31

The most widely used projective test, a set of 10 ink blots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

Question 32

Terror-Management Theory

Answer 32

Proposes that faith in ones worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death.

Question 33

Unconditional Positive Regard

Answer 33

According to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

Question 34

Self-Concept

Answer 34

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Question 35

Trait

Answer 35

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Question 36

Personality Inventory

Answer 36

A questionnaire(often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Question 37

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality inventory(MMPI)

Answer 37

The most widely researched and clinically used to all personality tests. Originally developed to identity emotionally disorders(still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Question 38

Empirically Derived Test

Answer 38

A test(such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

Question 39

The Big Five Factors

Answer 39

Conscientiousness(Organized-Disorganized,Careful-Careless)
Agreeableness(Soft-Hearted-Ruthless,Trusting-Suspicious)
Neuroticism(Calm-Anxious,Secure-Insecure)
Openness(Imaginative-Practical, Independent-Conforming)
Extraversion(Sociable-Retiring, Fun-Loving- Sober)

Question 40

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Answer 40

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons(and their thinking) and their social context.

Question 41

Reciprocal Determination

Answer 41

The interacting influences between personality and environmental factors

Question 42

Personal Control

Answer 42

Our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless.

Question 43

External locus of control

Answer 43

The perception that chance or outside forces beyond ones personal control determine ones fate.

Question 44

Internal locus of control

Answer 44

The perception that one controls ones own fate.

Question 45

Learned Helplessness

Answer 45

The helplessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Question 46

Spotlight Effect

Answer 46

Overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders(as if we presume a spotlight shines on it)

Question 47

Self-Esteem

Answer 47

Ones feelings of high or low self-worth

Question 48

Self-Serving Bias

Answer 48

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.