Chapter 10 Vocab

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

an individual’s 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

Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

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

id

Answer 5

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on thepleasure 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 id’s 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 judgment (the conscience) 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 id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

Question 9

oedipus complex

Answer 9

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

Question 10

identification

Answer 10

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

Question 11

fixation

Answer 11

(1) the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. (2) according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Question 12

defense mechanisms

Answer 12

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

Question 13

repression

Answer 13

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

Question 14

regression

Answer 14

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

Question 15

reaction formation

Answer 15

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 16

projection

Answer 16

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

Question 17

rationalization

Answer 17

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.

Question 18

displacement

Answer 18

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

Question 19

sublimation

Answer 19

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.

Question 20

denial

Answer 20

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

Question 21

collective unconscious

Answer 21

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

Question 22

projective test

Answer 22

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

Question 23

thematic apperception test TAT

Answer 23

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

Question 24

rorschach inkblot test

Answer 24

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 25

terror management theory

Answer 25

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

Question 26

self actualization

Answer 26

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 27

unconditional positive regard

Answer 27

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

Question 28

self concept

Answer 28

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

Question 29

trait

Answer 29

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

Question 30

personality inventory

Answer 30

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 31

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

Answer 31

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. (p. 496)

Question 32

empirically derived test

Answer 32

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups. (p. 496)

Question 33

social-cognitive perspective

Answer 33

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

Question 34

reciprocal determinism

Answer 34

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Question 35

personal control

Answer 35

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.

Question 36

external locus of control

Answer 36

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

Question 37

internal locus of control

Answer 37

the perception that you control your own fate.

Question 38

positive psychology

Answer 38

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. (p. 508)

Question 39

self

Answer 39

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. (p. 511)

Question 40

spotlight effect

Answer 40

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). (p. 512)

Question 41

self esteem

Answer 41

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth. (p. 512)

Question 42

self serving bias

Answer 42

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably. (p. 513)

Question 43

individualism

Answer 43

giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications. (p. 516)

Question 44

collectivism

Answer 44

giving priority to goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly. (p. 516)

Question 45

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

Answer 45

personality

Question 46

# reversed 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.

Answer 46

free association

Question 47

# reversed Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

Answer 47

psychoanalysis

Question 48

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

Answer 48

unconscious

Question 49

# reversed a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on thepleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Answer 49

id

Question 50

# reversed 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.

Answer 50

ego

Question 51

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

Answer 51

superego

Question 52

# reversed 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.

Answer 52

psychosexual stages

Question 53

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

Answer 53

oedipus complex

Question 54

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

Answer 54

identification

Question 55

# reversed (1) the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. (2) according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Answer 55

fixation

Question 56

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

Answer 56

defense mechanisms

Question 57

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

Answer 57

repression

Question 58

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

Answer 58

regression

Question 59

# reversed 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.

Answer 59

reaction formation

Question 60

# reversed psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Answer 60

projection

Question 61

# reversed psychoanalytic defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.

Answer 61

rationalization

Question 62

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

Answer 62

displacement

Question 63

# reversed psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.

Answer 63

sublimation

Question 64

# reversed psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

Answer 64

denial

Question 65

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

Answer 65

collective unconscious

Question 66

# reversed a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

Answer 66

projective test

Question 67

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

Answer 67

thematic apperception test TAT

Question 68

# reversed 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.

Answer 68

rorschach inkblot test

Question 69

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

Answer 69

terror management theory

Question 70

# reversed 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.

Answer 70

self actualization

Question 71

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

Answer 71

unconditional positive regard

Question 72

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

Answer 72

self concept

Question 73

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

Answer 73

trait

Question 74

# reversed 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.

Answer 74

personality inventory

Question 75

# reversed 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. (p. 496)

Answer 75

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

Question 76

# reversed a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups. (p. 496)

Answer 76

empirically derived test

Question 77

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

Answer 77

social-cognitive perspective

Question 78

# reversed the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Answer 78

reciprocal determinism

Question 79

# reversed the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.

Answer 79

personal control

Question 80

# reversed the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

Answer 80

external locus of control

Question 81

# reversed the perception that you control your own fate.

Answer 81

internal locus of control

Question 82

# reversed the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. (p. 508)

Answer 82

positive psychology

Question 83

# reversed in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. (p. 511)

Answer 83

self

Question 84

# reversed overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). (p. 512)

Answer 84

spotlight effect

Question 85

# reversed one’s feelings of high or low self-worth. (p. 512)

Answer 85

self esteem

Question 86

# reversed a readiness to perceive oneself favorably. (p. 513)

Answer 86

self serving bias

Question 87

# reversed giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications. (p. 516)

Answer 87

individualism

Question 88

# reversed giving priority to goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly. (p. 516)

Answer 88

collectivism