chp 10

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

The organized combination of attributes, motives, values, and behaviors that is unique to each individual.

Question 2

Dispositional traits

Answer 2

Relatively enduring dimensions or qualities of personality along which people differ (e.g., extraversion, aloofness).

Question 3

Characteristic Adaptations

Answer 3

Compared to traits, more situation-specific and changeable aspects of personality; ways in which people adapt to their roles and environments, including motives, goals, plans, schemas, self-conceptions, stage-specific concerns, and coping mechanisms

Question 4

Life Stories

Answer 4

Unique and integrative life narratives that we construct about our lives— past, present, and future—to give ourselves an identity and our lives meaning; sometimes called narrative identities.

Question 5

Self-Concept

Answer 5

People’s perceptions of their unique attributes or traits.

Question 6

Self-Esteem

Answer 6

People’s overall evaluation of their worth as based on an assessment of the qualities that make up the self-concept.

Question 7

Psychosocial Theory

Answer 7

Erikson’s highly influential theory of lifelong personality development, emphasizing social influences beyond parents, the rational ego and its adaptive powers, possibilities for overcoming harmful early experiences, and the potential for growth and change throughout the life span.

Question 8

Identity

Answer 8

A self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society.

Question 9

Id

Answer 9

A psychoanalytic term for the inborn component of the personality that is driven by instincts or selfish urges.

Question 10

Ego

Answer 10

Psychoanalytic term for the rational component of the personality.

Question 11

Superego

Answer 11

The psychoanalytic term for the component of the personality that consists of the individual’s internalized moral standards.

Question 12

Trust vs. Mistrust

Answer 12

The psychosocial conflict of infancy in which infants must learn to trust others to meet their needs in order to trust themselves; the first stage in Erikson’s theory.

Question 13

Trait Theory

Answer 13

A theory that defines personality as a set of dispositional trait dimensions. Traits are thought to be genetically and environmentally influenced, consistent across situations, and relatively enduring throughout life.

Question 14

Big Five

Answer 14

A theory that defines personality as a set of dispositional trait dimensions. Traits are thought to be genetically and environmentally influenced, consistent across situations, and relatively enduring throughout life.

Question 15

Self-recognition

Answer 15

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph, which occurs in most infants by 18–24 months of age.

Question 16

Categorical Self

Answer 16

A person’s classification of the self along socially significant dimensions such as age and sex.

Question 17

Individualistic Culture

Answer 17

A culture in which individuals define themselves as individuals and put their own goals ahead of their group’s goals and in which children are socialized to be independent and self-reliant.

Question 18

Collectivist Culture

Answer 18

A culture in which people define themselves in terms of group memberships, give group goals higher priority than personal goals, and socialize children to seek group harmony.

Question 19

Surgency/extraversion

Answer 19

Dimension of temperament that involves the tendency to actively and energetically approach new experiences in an emotionally positive way (rather than to be inhibited and withdrawn).

Question 20

Negative Affectivity

Answer 20

Dimension of temperament that concerns the tendency to be sad, fearful, easily frustrated, and irritable (as opposed to laid-back and adaptable).

Question 21

Effortful Control

Answer 21

Dimension of temperament pertaining to being able to sustain attention, control one’s behavior, and regulate one’s emotions (as opposed to unable to regulate one’s arousal and stay calm and focused).

Question 22

Goodness of fit

Answer 22

The extent to which the child’s temperament and the demands of the child’s social environment are compatible or mesh, according to Thomas and Chess; more generally, a good match between person and environment.

Question 23

Social Comparison

Answer 23

The process of defining and evaluating the self through comparisons with other people.

Question 24

Self-control

Answer 24

The ability to control or regulate one’s desires, impulses, and behavior.

Question 25

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Answer 25

The psychosocial conflict in which toddlers attempt to demonstrate their independence from and control over other people; the second of Erikson’s stages.

Question 26

Initiative vs. Guilt

Answer 26

The psychosocial conflict in which preschool children must learn to initiate new activities and pursue bold plans or become self-critical; the third of Erikson’s stages.

Question 27

Industry vs. Inferiority

Answer 27

The psychosocial conflict in which school-aged children must master important cognitive and social skills or feel incompetent; the fourth of Erikson’s stages.

Question 28

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Answer 28

The psychosocial conflict in which adolescents must form a coherent self-definition or remain confused about their life directions; the fifth of Erikson’s stages.

Question 29

Moratorium Period

Answer 29

A period of time in high school or college when young adults are relatively free of responsibilities and can experiment with different roles to find their identities.

Question 30

Diffusion Status

Answer 30

Identity status characterizing individuals who have not questioned who they are and have not committed themselves to an identity.

Question 31

Foreclosure Status

Answer 31

An identity status characterizing individuals who appear to have committed themselves to a life direction but who have adopted an identity prematurely, without much thought.

Question 32

Moratorium Status

Answer 32

Identity status characterizing individuals who are experiencing an identity crisis or actively exploring identity issues but who have not yet achieved an identity.

Question 33

Identity Achievement Status

Answer 33

An identity status characterizing individuals who have carefully thought through identity issues and made commitments or resolved their identity issues.

Question 34

Ethnic/Racial Identity

Answer 34

A sense of personal identification with one’s ethnic or racial group—or more than one—and its values and cultural traditions.

Question 35

Ideal Self

Answer 35

Idealized expectations of what one’s attributes and personality should be like.

Question 36

Ageism

Answer 36

Prejudice and discrimination against older adults.

Question 37

Self-stereotyping

Answer 37

Applying stereotypes of one’s group (e.g., negative stereotypes of older adults) to oneself.

Question 38

Age Attributes

Answer 38

Blaming old age for any limitations one has.

Question 39

Maturity Principle

Answer 39

A shift toward greater emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in personality from adolescence to middle adulthood.

Question 40

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Answer 40

The psychosocial conflict in which young adults must commit themselves to a shared identity with another person or remain aloof and unconnected to others; the sixth of Erikson’s stages.

Question 41

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Answer 41

The psychosocial conflict in which middle-aged adults must gain the sense that they have produced something that will outlive them and genuinely care for younger generations to avoid self-preoccupation; the seventh of Erikson’s stages.

Question 42

Midlife Crisis

Answer 42

A period of major questioning, inner struggle, and reevaluation hypothesized to occur in an adult’s early 40s.

Question 43

Integrity vs. Despair

Answer 43

The psychosocial conflict in which older adults attempt to find a sense of meaning in their lives and to accept the inevitability of death; the eighth of Erikson’s stages.

Question 44

Life Review

Answer 44

Process in which older adults reflect on unresolved conflicts of the past and evaluate their lives; it may contribute to a sense of integrity and readiness for death.

Question 45

Successful Aging

Answer 45

An aging experience that is better overall than typical aging; it has been defined by Rowe and Kahn as freedom from disease and disability, good cognitive and physical functioning, and active engagement with life, but can be defined in other ways.

Question 46

Psychological well-being

Answer 46

A positive state involving subjective well-being (feeling happy or having high life satisfaction) or personal self-fulfillment (fulfilling one’s potential as a human being).

Question 47

Activity Theory

Answer 47

A theory of successful aging emphasizing the value of remaining active in later life by either continuing or replacing previous activities.

Question 48

Disengagement Theory

Answer 48

Theory of successful aging emphasizing that our needs change in later life and that successful aging involves a mutual withdrawal of the individual and society.