chapter 12 - personality Flashcards
define personality
unique characteristics that account for patters of inner experience and outward behaviour - a collection of stable states and characteristics
what is the psychodynamic perspective that Freud had?
it emphasizes the unconscious influence on behaviour, and states that we often don’t know why we feel/act the way we do
what are the three levels of consciousness suggested by Freud?
unconscious: content we are unaware of / cant become aware of (majority of mind content, important to development of personality)
preconscious: thoughts, memories, and ideas that can be brought into conscious mind with some effort (birthday, middle name, etc.)
conscious: thoughts and feelings we are currently aware of
what are the three central forces of personality according to Freud?
the id, the ego, and the superego
what is the id?
represents innate basic drives, has no regard for consequence or reason (“immature” “mindless”), based on the pleasure principle (UNCONSCIOUS) - e.g. sex, food, comfort
what is the ego?
helps satisfy drives while also complying with environmental constraints placed on behaviour, has the reality principle (develops with age) (CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS) - the mediator
what is the superego?
determines which drives are acceptable and which aren’t, essentially a conscience, wants you to be perfect all the time despite drives and urges (“perfectionist”) - (CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS)
what are Freud’s psychosexual stages influenced by?
sexuality and aggression, and they focus on pleasure producing areas
what are the 5 psychosexual stages?
oral: places focus on oral satisfaction (weaning)
anal: focuses on anal satisfaction (toilet training)
phallic: attraction to opposite sex parent, penis envy, castration anxiety, hatred towards same sex parent out of jealousy
latency: repress of sexual impulses, identifying with the same sex parent
genital: mature sexual relations, social maturity
what is neurosis?
an abnormal behaviour pattern caused by unresolved conflict among the id, ego, and superego
what are defense mechanisms?
unconscious tactics employed by the ego to protect an individual from anxiety (self-deception)
what is repression?
keeping unpleasant memories/thoughts buried deep within the unconscious mind (“it didn’t happen”)
what is denial?
refusing to acknowledge an existing situation (“it might be happening but i want to ignore it”)
what is rationalization?
coming up with justifications for an unacceptable behaviour (“everyone else does it”)
what is reaction formation?
not acknowledging unacceptable urges and overemphasizing the opposite (overpraising when in reality you dislike them)
what is projection?
transferring unacceptable qualities onto someone else (you believe no one trusts you, but you don’t trust anyone else)
what is displacement?
diverting impulses to a more acceptable target (mad at your boss but you take it out on your family)
what is regression?
reverting to immature ways of responding (pouting, slamming the door)
what is sublimation?
channeling unacceptable impulses to other activities (aggression -> sports)
what is identification?
enhancing self-esteem by forming alliances or imagining relationships (relating to celebrities, joining gangs)
what are some criticisms of Freud’s theory?
they are untestable, he only focused on a select population, not often generalized as he focused on special case studies
what was Alfred Adler’s psychodynamic theory?
he believed that conscious thoughts are more important than unconscious desires and sexual needs (disagreed with Freud), and that feelings of inferiority drive behaviour towards a strive for superiority
what is Carl Jung’s psychodynamic theory?
he believed in the idea of personal / collective consciousness, and that there are things called archetypes that are inherited memories shared by all of humanity, and that unconsciousness has drives towards joy, harmony and creativity
what was Karen Horney’s psychodynamic theory?
she believed that basic anxiety developed in children who experience helplessness and isolation, and this sets the stage for neurosis, she disagreed with Freud in that he was wrong in his theory about penis envy and its interpretation
what was Maslow’s idea of self-actualization?
it is the need to fulfill potential, and achieve full use of talents and abilities