Chapter 12- Personality Flashcards
Personality
an individual’s characteristic style of behaving, thinking and feeling
self-report
series of answers to a questionnaire that asks people to indicate the extent to which sets of statements or adjectives accurately describe their own behavior or mental state
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI-2)
a well researched, clinical questionnaire used to asses personality and psychological problems
projective techniques
standard series of ambiguous stimuli designed to elicit unique responses that reveal inner aspects of an individual’s personality
Rorschach inkblot test
a projective personality test in which individual interpretations of the meaning of a set unstructured inkblots are analyzed to identify a respondent’s inner feelings and interpret his or her personality structure
thematic apperception test (TAT)
projective personality test in which respondents reveal underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world through the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people
trait
relatively stable disposition to behave in a particular and consistent way
big five
traits of the five-factor model: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion
psychodynamic approach
approach that regards personality as formed by needs, strivings, and desires, largely operating outside of awareness - motives that can also produce emotional disorders
dynamic unconscious
active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, the person’s deepest instincts and desires, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces.
ID
part of the mind containing the drives present at birth; it is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives
ego
component of personality, developed through contact with the external world, that enables us to deal with life’s practical demands
superego
mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly learned as parents exercise their authority
defense mechanism
unconscious coping mechanisms that reduce anxiety generated by threats from unacceptable impulses
rationalization
defense mechanism that involves supplying a reasonable sounding explanation for unacceptable feelings and behavior to conceal (mostly from oneself) ones underlying motives or feelings
reaction formation
defense mechanism that involves unconsciously replacing threatening inner wishes and fantasies with an exaggerated version of their opposite
projection
defense mechanism that involves attributing one’s own threatening feelings, motives or impulses to another person or group
regression
defense mechanism in which the ego deals with internal conflict and perceived threat by reverting to an immature behavior or earlier stage of development
displacement
defense mechanism that involves shifting unacceptable wishes or drives to a neutral or less-threatening alternative
identification
defense mechanism that helps deal with feelings of threat and anxiety by enabling us unconsciously to take on the characteristics of another person who seems more powerful or better able to cope
sublimation
defense mechanism that involves channeling unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives into social acceptable and culturally enhancing activities
psychosexual stages
distinct early life stages through which personality is formed as children experience sexual pleasures from specific body areas and caregivers redirect or interfere with those pleasures
fixation
phenomenon in which a person’s pleasure-seeking drives become psychologically stuck, or arrested, at a particular psychosexual stage
oral stage
1st psychosexual stage, in which experience centers on the pleasures and frustrations associated with the mouth, sucking and being fed
anal stage
2nd psychosexual stage, which is dominated by the pleasures and frustrations associated with the anus, retention and expulsion of feces and urine and toilet training
phallic stage
3rd psychosexual stage, during which experience is dominated by the pleasure, conflict and frustration associated with the phallic-genital region as well as powerful incestuous feelings of love, hate, jealousy and conflict
oedipus conflict
developmental experience in which a child’s conflicting feelings toward the opposite sex parent is (usually) resolved by identifying with the same-sex parent
latency stage
4th psychosexual stage, in which primary focus is on the further development of intellectual, creative, interpersonal and athletic skills
genital stage
final psychosexual stage, a tie for the coming together of the mature adult personality with a capacity to love, work and relate to others in a mutually satisfying and reciprocal manner
self-actualizing tendency
human motive toward realizing our inner potential
existential approach
school of thought that regards personality as governed by an individual’s ongoing choices and decisions in the context of the realities of life and death
social cognitive approach
approach that views personality in terms of how the person thinks about the situations encountered in daily life and behaves in response to them
person-situation controversy
question of whether behavior is caused more by personality or by situational factors
personal constructs
dimensions people use in making sense of their experiences
outcome expectancies
person’s assumptions about the likely consequences of a future behavior
locus of control
person’s tendency to perceive the control rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment
self-concept
person’s explicit knowledge of his or her own behaviors, traits, and other personal characteristics
self-verification
tendency to seek evidence to confirm the self-concept
self-esteem
extent to which an individual like’s, values and accepts the self
self-serving bias
people’s tendency to take credit for their successes but downplay responsibility for their failures
narcissism
trait that reflects a grandiose view of the self combined with a tendency to seek admiration from and exploit others.
