Chapter 10 (Personality) Pt. 1 Flashcards
What did Sigmund Freud believe in terms of personality?
He believed that one’s personality was set in early childhood.
What is Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality called?
Psychosexual stage theory of personality
What does stage theory mean?
1) A theory in which development is thought to be discontinuous (stepwise - you move from one stage to the next)
2) All people go through the same stages in the same order
What are the 4 stages of Freud’s theory?
1) Oral stage
2) Anal stage
3) Phallic stage
(optional stage in between)
4) Adult genital stage
What is each of Freud’s theories named after?
The part of the body that derives sexual pleasure at each stage
At what stage does the Oedipus/Electra crisis happen?
Phallic stage
What does a fixation at one of Freud’s stages result from?
Being undergratified or overgratified
According to Freud’s theory of personality, a child who was not fed regularly would fixate at which stage?
The oral stage
According to Freud’s theory of personality, adults who overeat, chew gum obsessively, and have an addiction to smoking are fixated at which stage?
The oral stage
People who are fixated in the Anal phase are of 2 types:
1) Anal expulsive personality (under organized)
2) Anal retentive (too organized)
According to Freud’s theory of personality, someone who is excessively sexually assured and aggressive is fixated in which stage?
The phallic stage
Freud believed that much of people’s behavior is controlled by:
The unconscious
Freud said that the personality consists of 3 parts:
1) Id (Pleasure principle)
2) Ego (Reality principle)
3) Superego (Conscience)
At which age does the id exist?
From birth
At which age does the ego exist?
Around 2-3 years of age
At which age does the superego exist?
Around age 5
In which region of the mind does the id exist?
The unconscious
In which region of the mind does the ego exist?
Partly in the conscious and partly in the conscious
In which region of the mind does the superego exist?
Partly in the conscious and partly in the conscious
You want to go party, but you need to study. In the end, you come to a compromise where you’ll study for 2 hours, and then go to the party. Which is the id, ego, and superego?
Id: Your desire to go to the party
Superego: Your desire to do what you’re socially supposed to
Ego: Your compromise to study AND go to the party
What is the ego’s function?
Protects the conscious mind from bad thoughts from the unconscious
How does the ego protect us?
By using defense mechanisms
List the defense mechanisms.
1) Repression
2) Denial
3) Displacement
4) Projection
5) Reaction formation
6) Regression
7) Rationalization
8) Intellectualization
9) Sublimation
What is repression?
Banishing unwanted thoughts to the unconscious (from the conscious)
What is denial?
Not accepting the ego-threatening truth
Muffy broke up with Biff, yet he still continues to act as if they’re together. Which defense mechanism is he using?
Denial
What is displacement?
Redirecting one’s feelings towards another person or object.
After your teacher yelled at you, you went home and yelled at your sibling. Which defense mechanism are you using?
Displacement
What is projection?
Believing that the feelings one has towards someone are actually held by the other person and directed at himself.
Jason’s girlfriend is nice and loving, yet Jason believes she doesn’t love him and wants to break up. In reality, Jason actually doesn’t love her and wants to break up. Which defense mechanism is he using?
Projection
What is reaction formation?
Expressing the opposite of how one truly feels
Stacy hates Julie, yet when she talks to her, she acts overly nice. Which defense mechanism is she using?
Reaction formation
What is regression?
Returning to an earlier, comforting form of behavior
Ray is stuck in traffic and begins to throw a tantrum. Which defense mechanism is he using?
Regression
Howard went through a traumatic event and has begun sleeping with his favorite childhood blanket again. Which defense mechanism is he using?
Regression
What is rationalization?
Coming up with a beneficial result of an undesirable occurrence (uses excuses)
You can’t reach the red, juicy apple in a tall tree. You say, “whatever, it isn’t that red or juicy anyway.” and you give up. Which defense mechanism is this?
Rationalization
What is intellectualization?
Undertaking an academic, unemotional study of a topic. (Trying to understand why someone is doing something by researching).
Amy is rude to Olivia. When Olivia goes home, she starts looking up possible reasons as to why someone may be rude. Which defense mechanism is she using?
Intellectualization
After Sue broke up with Jeff, he went home and started reading about failed relationships. Which defense mechanism is he using?
Intellectualization
What is sublimation?
Channeling one’s frustration to a more socially acceptable goal. (Healthy defense mechanism)
An angry and frustrated child grew up to be a surgeon. Which defense mechanism is this?
Sublimation
After Mary broke up with Joey, he started going to a boxing gym to cope with his anger and sadness. Which defense mechanism is this?
Sublimation
What are some criticisms of Freud?
1) Little empirical evidence supports it (can’t verify)
2) Little predictive power (can’t predict future problems)
3) Overestimates the importance of early childhood and of sex (personality doesn’t stop at childhood)
4) Feminists believe that Freud assumed men were superior to women
Which 2 other scientists developed offshoots of the psychosexual theory?
1) Carl Jung
2) Alfred Adler
