chapter 13 Flashcards
free association
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
personality
an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
psychoanalysis
Freuds theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts
unconscious
according to freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories.
id
contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives (freud)
ego
the largely conscious part of personality that according to Freud mediates among the demands of the ID and superego. reality principle
superego
the part of personality that according to Freud represents internal judgment and for future aspirations
psychosexual stages
the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phalic,latency,genital) during which the IDs pleasure seeking energies focus on district erogenous zones
Oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boys sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred to the father
identification
the process by which according to Freud children incorporate their parents values into their developing superegos
fixation
a lingering focus on pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage in which conflicts were unresolved
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the egos protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings and memories from consciousness
regression
psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
recreation formation
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites.
projection
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
rationalization
defense mechanism that offered self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions
displacement
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
denial
defense mechanism by which people refuses to believe or even to perceive painful realities
collective unconscious
Carl Jung concept of a shared inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history
projective test
a personality test such as the Rorschach or TAT that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
thematic apperception test
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach inkblot test
the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feeling by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
terror-management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explorers people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
self-actualization
according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic psychical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved.
unconditional positive regard
according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves
trait
a characteristic of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
personality inventory
a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors: used to asses selected personality traits
Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory
the most widely used researched and clinically used of all personality tests. originally used to identify emotional disorders
empirically derived test
a test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
social-cognitive perspective
cries behavior as influenced by the interaction between peoples traits and their social context
reciprocal determinism
the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
personal control
the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate
internal locus of control
the perception that you control your own fate
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
positive psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
self
in contemporary psychology assumed to be the center of personality the organizer of our thoughts, feelings and actions
spotlight effect
overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders
self-esteem
one’s feelings of high or low self- worth
self-serving bias
a readiness to perceive favorably
