Chapter 14 Personality Flashcards
personality
is individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting (what makes you, you)
psychodyamic theories
posit that behavior is dynamic interaction between conscious and unconscious mind
humanistic approach
focus on inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment
trait theory
examine characteristic patterns of behavior
social-cognitive theories
explore interaction between traits and social context
psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used interpret unconscious tensions
conscious
everything we are aware of
preconscious
part of the mind that represents ordinary memory
unconscious
a reservoir of thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories that is outside conscious awareness
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.
ego
Operates on reality principle; seeks to realistically gratify id’s impulses to bring long-term pleasure; contains perceptions, thoughts, judgments and memories (reality-oriented executive) (mediator); ego protects itself with tactics that reduce and redirect anxiety by reality distortion (defense mechanisms)
superego
Focuses on ideal behavior; strives for perfections; acts as moral conscious (internalized set of ideals, or conscience) (social expectations)
Id
a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. Operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification (pleasure-seeking impulses) (basic desire)
pleasure principle
seeking pleasure and avoiding pain
reality principle
ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world
Oral (0-18 months)
pleasure centers on the mouth [sucking, biting, and chewing]
Anal (18-36 months)
pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
phallic (3-6 years)
pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings
latency (6 to puberty)
a phase of dormant sexual feelings
genital (puberty on)
maturation of sexual interests
defense mechanisms
function indirectly and unconsciously
repression
underlies all other defense mechanisms. It is sometimes incomplete and may be manifested as symbols in dreams or slips of the tongue. A retreat to an earlier stage of development
regression
Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. /A little boy reverts to the oral comfort of thumb sucking in the car on the way to his first day of school.
reaction formation
Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites. /Repressing angry feelings, a person’s exaggerated friend
projection
disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. /“The thief thinks everyone else is a thief” (an El Salvadoran saying).
rationalization
Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions./ A habitual drinker says she drinks with her friends “just to be sociable
displacement
Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person. /A little girl kicks the family dog after her mother sends her to her room
denial
Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities. /A partner denies evidence of his loved one’s affair.
reciprocal determinsim
describes interaction and mutual influence of behavior, internal personal factors, and environmental factors
self
viewed as center of personality
spotlight effect
overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us) (e.g., self conscious)
self-esteem
our feeling of self-worth
self-efficacy
our sense of competence on a task
blindness to one’s own incompetence
People are most overconfident when most incompetent; it takes competence to recognize competence
self-serving bias
Involves a readiness to perceive self favorably; Suggests people accept more responsibility for good deeds than for bad, and for successes than for failure
defensive self-esteem
fragile, threatened by failure and criticism, and more vulnerable to perceived threats, which feed anger and feelings of vulnerability.
secure self-esteem
less fragile, less contingent on external evaluations, and more likely to achieve a greater quality of life.
growth mindset
the degree that people accept that their abilities, personalities, identities are flexible and can improve or change with learning and effort
