chapter 13 Personality recall

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

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

Question 2

psychodynamic theories

Answer 2

view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

Question 3

free association

Answer 3

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 4

psychoanalysis

Answer 4

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

Question 5

unconscious

Answer 5

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 6

id

Answer 6

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

Question 7

ego

Answer 7

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 was that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Question 8

superego

Answer 8

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

Question 9

psychosexual stages

Answer 9

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 10

Oedipus complex

Answer 10

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

Question 11

identification

Answer 11

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

Question 12

fixation

Answer 12

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

Question 13

defense mechanisms

Answer 13

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

Question 14

repression

Answer 14

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

Question 15

collective unconscious

Answer 15

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

Question 16

projective test

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Rorschach inkblot test

Answer 17

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 18

Terror-management theory

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Humanistic theories

Answer 19

view personality with a focus on the potential of healthy personal growth.

Question 20

Self-actualization

Answer 20

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 21

unconditional positive regard

Answer 21

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

Question 22

Self-concept

Answer 22

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

Question 23

trait

Answer 23

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

Question 24

personality inventory

Answer 24

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 25

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Answer 25

the most widely research 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.

Question 26

empirically derived test

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Social-cognitive perspective

Answer 27

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

Question 28

reciprocal determinism

Answer 28

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

Question 29

personal control

Answer 29

the extend to which perceive control over our environment.

Question 30

external locus of control

Answer 30

the perception that change or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate.

Question 31

Internal locus of control

Answer 31

the perception that you control you own fate.

Question 32

Self-control

Answer 32

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

Question 33

learned helplessness

Answer 33

the hopelessness and passive resignation on animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Question 34

positive psychology

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Self-serving bias

Answer 35

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

Question 36

narcissism

Answer 36

excessive self-love and self-absorption.