Chapter 10 Flashcards
Personality
an individuals characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
i. This means it is consistent over time and in different situations
Psychodynamic theory
proposes that unconscious processes influence, and essentially drive, personality
Humanistic theories
focus on our inner capacity for growth and self-fulfillment
Freud: Exploring the Unconscious
○ In treating patients whose disorders had no clear physical explanation, Freud concluded that these problems reflected unacceptable thoughts and feelings that were hidden away in the unconscious mind
Free association
Freud
a method of exploring the unconscious by relaxing and saying whatever comes to mind; the therapist looks for themes
Freud Mind Systems
○ Freud believed that personality results from conflict arising from the interaction among the mind’s three systems
i. Id: Pleasure principle = impulses that demand immediate gratification (devil on your shoulder)
ii. Superego: internalized set of ideas (conscience) - how we ought to behave (angel on your shoulder)
iii. Ego: reality principle = conscious thought; satisfy/mediate id and superego in acceptable way (you and your decisions)
Defense mechanism
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s unconscious tactics that protect the conscious mind
○ The ego cope by using unconscious defense mechanisms to reduce tension, even if it means using self-deception
Repression
pushing away unwanted thoughts
i. Having no memory of an embarrassing thing you did in 3rd grade
Regression
retreating to an earlier immature age
i. Throwing a temper tantrum when friend doesn’t do what you want
Projection
disguising your own thoughts and attributing them to others
i. You think someone is hot so you accuse your bf/gf of having the hots for someone else
Rationalization
self-justification/logical excuses
i. I wasn’t trying hard… I could’ve pinned him if I wanted to
Reaction Formation
adopting behaviors/attitudes/beliefs that are opposite true feelings/desires
i. You hate people but dislike that…so you like everybody and go over the top
Displacement
shifting fear/aggression towards less threatening objects
i. Punching a pillow rather than your dad
Sublimation
acceptable drives are unconsciously channeled into socially acceptable modes of expression
i. Instead of screaming at the person who cut in front of you at the store, you go home and clean with reckless abandon
Denial
refusing to accept/believe reality
i. I’m just a social drinker I’m not an alcoholic
projective tests
Psychodynamic theorists use *
to gain insight to the road into the unconscious…
i. By asking clients to interpret ambiguous images, the psychologist may presume that the client is revealing unconscious thoughts - their hopes, desires, fears, etc.
○ In 1921, Swiss psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach created the most widely used projective test - the Rorschach inkblot test
The Humanistic Perspective
○ By the 1960s, some psychologists had become discontented with both the psychodynamic theory and the behaviorist approach
○ Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers offered approaches that emphasized the ways people strive for self-determination through their experiences and feelings
○ Maslow proposed that people were motivated by a hierarchy of needs
○ Rogers felt that all people are endowed with self-actualizing tendencies, unless they are thwarted by an environment that inhibits growth
○ Roger’s growth-promoting social climate:
i. Acceptance: an accepting person offers unconditional positive regard (attitude of acceptance)
i. You can be yourself and be accepted
ii. If you coach only likes you if you get to Districts, that is conditional positive regard
ii. Genuineness aka congruence: being open/honest with our own feelings (client and therapist)
iii. Empathy: sharing/mirroring/understanding other’s feelings
self-concept
all thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question “who am I”; includes how we view ourselves in relation to others
all the thoughts and feelings about ourselves; includes how we view ourselves in relation to others
i. Focusing on the self may serve as a motivator but it can also lead us to presume too readily that others are noticing and evaluating us
Traits
enduring characteristics of behavior and thought; ie. Displayed over time and across situations
i. Curious, extroverted, moody, lazy, honest, etc.
Personality inventory
a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a range of feelings/behaviors (traits)
Factor analysis
statistical technique that measures correlations between variables) psychologists identify clusters of behavior tendencies that occur together
Temperament
A person’s emotional style and way of dealing with the world; your disposition
The big five personality factors
Sliding scale
Conscientiousness (responsibility, hardworking, organized)
Agreeableness (how you treat others)
Neuroticism (mood consistency)
Openness (creativity, curiosity, willingness)
Extraversion (sociable)
Behaviorist
focusses on the effects of environment on our personality
i. By changing people’s environments, behaviorists believe they can alter people’s personality
The Social-Cognitive
perspective views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including thinking) and their environment
i. This approach, developed by Albert Bandura, focusses on how people react to their situations
Reciprocal determinism
the interacting influence of behavior, cognition, and environment
i. Boiling water turns an egg hard and a potato soft -> a threatening environment turns one person into a hero and another into a victim and another into a scoundrel
Spotlight effect
over-estimation of others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, blunders, etc.
i. We stand out less than we think we do
Self-esteem
one’s feelings of their own value or self-worth
Self-efficacy
a person’s beliefs in their own competence and capabilities
Self-serving bias
individuals will contribute successes to their own abilities/qualifications, but failures are attributed to external forces
i. We often tend to view ourselves rather favorably and better-than-average
ii. Reflects both an over-estimation of the self and a desire to maintain a positive self-view
○ Positive Subjective Experience
i. Gratitude - recognizing and appreciating that someone/something resulted in a positive experience
i. Struggling with challenging crises can even lead to post-traumatic growth - positive psychological changes such as having a greater appreciation for life or changed priorities
six virtues/strengths
Psychologist Martin Seligman studied the major religious and philosophical traditions of the world and found that *were common to most of these cultures over the past three millennia:
i. Wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence
ii. Positive psychologists note that people who exercise these virtues report higher levels subjective and objective well-being
iii. Since the virtues are abstract, psychologists use surveys, behavioral experiments, and observations to measure the strengths
Individualism
giving priority to one’s on goals over group goals, and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes
Collectivism
Giving priority to the goal of one’s group, and shaping identity via group
i. Individualists do share the human need to belong. They join groups, but they are also more inclined to move in and out of social groups
ii. When away from their group, collectivists feel a greater loss of identity
