Chapter 6: Identity and personality

Question 1

self-concept

Answer 1

sum of the thoughts and feelings about oneself; includes self-schemas and appraisal of one’s past and future self

Question 2

identity

Answer 2

a piece of an individual’s self concept based on the groups to which that person belongs and their relationships with other; we have multiple identities that shape who we are; ONE self-concept

Question 3

Gender identity

Answer 3

appraisal on scales of masculinity and femininity; androgyny: both very masculine & feminine; undifferentiated: low on both scales

Question 4

Ethnic identity

Answer 4

common ancestry, language, culture

Question 5

nationality

Answer 5

based on political borders; shared history, cuisine, national symbols

Question 6

Hierarchy of salience

Answer 6

we let the situation dictate which identity is most important to us at a given moment in order to distinguish ourselves; more salient identities bring us to conform more to role expectations of those identities

Question 7

Self-discrepancy theory

Answer 7

we have three selves: actual self (self-concept), ideal self (who we want to be), and ought self (our representation of the way others think we should be); closer these selves are to one another, the higher the self-esteem

Question 8

self-efficacy

Answer 8

our belief in our ability to succeed

Question 9

learned helplessness

Answer 9

results from being unable to avoid negative consequences, lack of control; possible model of depression

Question 10

Freud’s theory of psychosocial development

Answer 10

5 stages, based on libido (sex drive): first oral stage (gratification through putting things in your mouth, anal stage (focus on eliminating waste, toilet training), phallic/Oedipal stage (male envies father’s relationship with mother, daughter jealous of not having penis), latency stage (until puberty, and genital stage (enters into normal heterosexual relationships; fixation=frustration in any of these stages

Question 11

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Answer 11

emphasizes emotional development and interaction with the social environment; mastery of each stage not required to move on to the next; ex. first stage: trust vs. mistrust-should I trust the world? then autonomy vs. shame-is it ok to be me?

Question 12

Kohlberg’s theory of personality development

Answer 12

focuses on the development of moral thinking and growth of cognitive abilities; stage 1-preconventional morality (preadolescent thinking), stage 2-conventional morality (normal adults), stage 3-requires level of reasoning that few are capable of

Question 13

Vygotsky thoery of development

Answer 13

concept of zone of proximal development-skills and abilities that are in the process of development, require help of a more knowledgable other

Question 14

Theory of mind

Answer 14

ability to sense how another person is thinking/feeling; being able to step inside someone else’s shoes

Question 15

looking-glass self

Answer 15

ability to recognize how other think about us and respond to these judgments; relies on others reflecting our selves back to ourselves

Question 16

reference group

Answer 16

who we are comparing ourselves to

Question 17

personality

Answer 17

how we act and react to the world around us; traits and behaviors that are characteristic of an individual throughout time

Question 18

Psychoanalytic theories of personality

Answer 18

unconscious internal states motivate actions and determine personality

Question 19

Freud’s personality model

Answer 19

consists of id, ego, and superego; id: basic urges to survive, aims to achieve pleasure in the now; ego:operates according to the reality principle- aims to postpone pleasure until satisfaction can be achieved, secondary process, also moderates desires of superego; superego: focused on idealism and being a perfectionist

Question 20

Rorschach inkblot test

Answer 20

used to gain insight into a patient’s mind; ambiguous shapes are interpreted by a patient, who supposedly projects their unconscious feelings onto the shape

Question 21

thematic apperception test

Answer 21

consists of a series of pictures presented to client, who is asked to make up a story about each one

Question 22

rationalization

Answer 22

justification of behaviors in a way that is acceptable to the self and society

Question 23

displacement

Answer 23

transfer of undesired urge from one person/thing to another; ex. someone angry at their boss holds it in but snaps at spouse when they get home

Question 24

sublimation

Answer 24

transfer of unacceptable urges into socially accepted behaviors

Question 25

repression

Answer 25

unconsciously removing an idea/thought from consciousness

Question 26

suppression

Answer 26

consciously removing an idea/thought from consciousness

Question 27

Jung division of unconscious

Answer 27

personal unconscious and collective unconscious (powerful system shared between all humans from ancestors, building blocks are images of common experiences, such as having a mother and a father); these images=archetypes- include persona: how we present ourselves to world, anima-“man’s inner woman” and animus-“woman’s inner man”

Question 28

Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

Answer 28

classic personality test, each of Jung’s three dichotomies-extra vs introverted, sensing vs intuiting, thinking vs feeling, as well as judging vs perceiving

Question 29

inferiority complex

Answer 29

individual’s sense of incompleteness, imperfection, inferiority; striving for superiority drives personality

Question 30

fictional finalism

Answer 30

individual is more motivated by expectations of future than by past experiences

Question 31

Gestalt therapy

Answer 31

treat a holistic view of the self, rather than reducing to individual behaviors/drives

Question 32

Big 5 personality traits

Answer 32

openness, conscientiousness (organized, dependable, aim for achievement), extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (tendency to express negative emotions easily)

Question 33

projection

Answer 33

individuals attribute their undesired feelings to others

Question 34

Humanistic theories

Answer 34

focus on value of individuals and take a more person-centered approach, associated with Gestalt therapy, believe our personality is result of attempts to attain our needs and goals

Question 35

Client-centered therapy- humanistic approach

Answer 35

believes that people have freedom to control their own behaviors, not slaves to unconscious; rather than giving solutions/diagnosis, helps patient work on problems to determine their own destiny

Question 36

Type theorists of personality

Answer 36

create a taxonomy of personality types

Question 37

Trait theorists of personality

Answer 37

describe individual personality based on sum of person’s characteristic behaviors

Question 38

Type A personality

Answer 38

behavior that tends to be competitive and compulsive

Question 39

Type B personality

Answer 39

behaviors that tend to be laid-back and relaxed

Question 40

Cardinal traits

Answer 40

traits around which an individual organizes their life

Question 41

central traits

Answer 41

major characteristics of the personality, which are easy to infer

Question 42

secondary traits

Answer 42

personality characteristics that tend to only occur in certain situations

Question 43

functional autonomy

Answer 43

a behavior continues despite satisfaction of drive that initially prompted behavior

Question 44

Behaviorist perspective

Answer 44

based on skinner’s operant conditioning