Chapter 10: Personality

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Question 2

psychodynamic theories

Answer 2

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

Question 3

psychoanalysis

Answer 3

(1) Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. (2) Sigmund Freud’s therapeutic technique used in treating psychological disorders. Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist’s interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight

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 unaware

Question 5

free association

Answer 5

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 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 id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

Question 7

id

Answer 7

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 8

superego

Answer 8

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

Question 9

psychosexual stages

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Oedipus complex

Answer 10

according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Question 11

identification

Answer 11

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos

Question 12

fixation

Answer 12

(1) in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving. (2) in personality theory, according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

Question 13

defense mechanisms

Answer 13

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Question 14

collective unconscious

Answer 14

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

Question 14

repression

Answer 14

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

Question 15

projective test

Answer 15

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Question 16

Thematic Apperception Test

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Rorschach inkblot test

Answer 17

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

Question 18

terror-management theory

Answer 18

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

Question 19

humanistic theories

Answer 19

theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Question 20

hierarchy of needs

Answer 20

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

Question 21

self-actualization

Answer 21

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Question 22

self-transcendence

Answer 22

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

Question 23

unconditional positive regard

Answer 23

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Question 24

self-concept

Answer 24

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

Question 25

trait

Answer 25

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

Question 26

personality inventory

Answer 26

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 26

social-cognitive perspective

Answer 26

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

Question 27

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Answer 27

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

Question 28

empirically derived test

Answer 28

a test (such as the MMPI) created by selecting from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups

Question 29

self

Answer 29

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

Question 29

behavioral approach

Answer 29

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Question 30

reciprocal determinism

Answer 30

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Question 31

self-esteem

Answer 31

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Question 32

spotlight effect

Answer 32

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

Question 33

self-efficacy

Answer 33

one’s sense of competence and effectiveness

Question 34

self-serving bias

Answer 34

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Question 35

narcissism

Answer 35

excessive self-love and self-absorption

Question 36

individualism

Answer 36

giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Question 37

collectivism

Answer 37

giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly