Chapter 13: Personality Flashcards
our personality resides in the unconscious and early childhood experiences lay the foundation for adult personality
psychoanalytic theory
unique and relatively enduring set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives that characterize that individual
personality
two key components of personality
uniqueness and consistency
a disposition to behave in a particular way
trait
the points at which a person moves from not having a particular response to having one
behavioral thresholds
personality is _______ distributed across a population
normally distributed
_____’s theory is that the idea that the unconscious is the most powerful force in personality
Freud’s
what we are aware of at any given moment
conscious
just below the surface of awareness
preconscious
contains all the drives, urges, or instincts that are outside awareness but nonetheless motivate most of our speech, thoughts, or actions
unconscious
people are encouraged to speak about anything on their minds without censoring their thoughts
free association
Freud developed an elaborate system for interpreting the meaning of ___, as they were the best way to understand a person’s unconscious
dreams
Three “provinces” or regions involved in the control and regulation of impulses
id, ego, superego
Id: age of first development
birth
Id: core characteristcis
- based on pleasure-desire
- impulse driven
- “do it”
Freud’s personality theory that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflict’s
psychoanalysis
Ego: core characteristics
- based on realistic constraints
- sense of “self,” “me,” “I”
Ego: age of first development
2 or 3 years old
Superego: core characteristics
- based on what should be
- right-wrong (conscience)
- impulse control
- “don’t do it”
superego: age of first development
3 or 4 years old
the seat of impulse and desire; the part of our personality that we do not yet own; it owns or controls us; “pleasure principle”
Id
a sense of self; the only part of the mind that is in direct contact with the outside world; operates on the “reality principle”
ego
the part of the self that monitors and controls behavior, “stands over us” and evaluates actions in terms of right and wrong; our conscience
superego
people who are overly impulsive and pleasure seeking have an uncontrolled _____
id
unconscious strategies the mind uses to protect itself from anxiety by denying and distorting reality in some way
defense mechanisms
the unconscious act of keeping threatening thoughts, feelings, or impulses out of consciousness
repression
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: pleasure centers on the mouth - sucking, biting, chewing
oral (0-18 months)
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
anal (18-36 months)
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings
phallic (3-6 years)
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: a phase of dormant sexual feelings
latency (6 to puberty)
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: maturation of sexual interests
genital (puberty on)
during phallic stage, boy’s sexual desire towards mother; jealousy and hatred towards father; castration anxiety
oedipus complex
girl’s development of penis envy; attachment to father; fear of mother
electra complex
Defense Mechanism:
retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixed
regression
Defense Mechanism:
switching unacceptable impulse into their opposites
reaction formation
Defense Mechanism:
disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
projection
Defense Mechanism:
offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions
rationalization
Defense Mechanism:
shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object to a person
displacement
Defense Mechanism: refusing to believe or perceive painful realities
denial
Defense Mechanism:
express socially unacceptable impulses in a socially acceptable way
sublimination
Ex: little boy reverts to oral comfort of sucking his thumb on the way to his first day of school
regression
Ex: repressing angry feelings, a person displays exaggerated friendliness
reaction formation
ex: “the thief thinks everyone else is a thief”
projection
Ex: a habitual drinker says she drinks with her friends “just to be social”
rationalization
Ex: a little girl kicks her dog after her mother sends her to her room
displacement
Ex: a partner denies evidence of his loved one’s affair
denial
Ex: football or boxing as an outlet for violence
sublimination
optimistic about human nature, believing that humans are naturally interested in realizing their full potential
humanistic approach
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Top:
Self-actualization
Esteem
Love and belonging
Safety needs
Physiological needs
the inherent drive to realize one’s full potential
self-actualization
- spontaneity, simplicity, naturalness
- problem-centered
- creativity
- deep interpersonal relations
- resistance to enculturation
characteristics of someone who is self-actualized
acceptance of another person regardless of their behavior
unconditional positive regard
personality involves stable and consistent behavior, but does not believe people are consistent in their reactions across all situations
social-cognitive learning theory
interactions influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
reciprocal determinism
extent to which we perceive control over our environment
personal control
perception that our fate is controlled by chance or outside forces that are beyond our personal control
external locus of control
perception that we control our own fate
internal locus of control
ability to control impulses and delay short term gratification for greater, long term rewards
self control
hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
learned helplessness
Ex: electric floor with dog - when one side was turned off, dog didn’t care and just laid down
learned helplessness
Big Five
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
High: imaginative, prefers variety, independent
Low: practical, prefers routine, conforming
openness
High: organized, careful, disciplined
Low: disorganized, careless, impulsive
conscientiousness
High: sociable, outgoing, affectionate
Low: retiring, sober, reserved
extraversion
High: soft hearted, trusting, helpful
Low: ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative
agreeableness
High: anxious, insecure, self satisfied
Low: calm, secure, self satisfied
neuroticism
looks for location on genes that might be associated with particular behaviors
quantitative trait loci (QTL)
anxiety is a (quantitative/qualitative) trait because people experience wide ranges of anxiety
quantitative
Twin studies indicate that genetics accounts for ____-____% of most traits
50-60%
living conditions that individuals have in common
shared environment
living conditions that individuals do not have in common
non-shared environment
high heart rate at 36 weeks gestation foreshadowed
- less predictable eating and sleeping habits 3 to 6 months after birth
- less emotionality at 6 months after birth
high activity levels at 36 weeks gestation predicted
- slow to adapt to new people or situations
- more irregular eating and sleeping habits
- more difficult and fussy
collectivist (asian) cultures focus on
how individual actions affect others
individualistic cultures (western) focus on
personal gain
