CHP 14 Flashcards
What is ‘personality’?
An individual’s enduring pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Name 3 broad approaches that shape our view of personality.
- Psychodynamic
- Humanistic
- Trait (plus social-cognitive)
How did Freud’s therapy shape his theory?
Free-association with neurotic patients led him to infer an unconscious mind influencing behavior.
Freud’s personality structure?
- Id (pleasure)
- Ego (reality)
- Superego (ideals)
Freud’s psychosexual stages (in order)?
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- Latency
- Genital
Two classic ego defenses against anxiety?
- Repression (banish thoughts)
- Projection (attribute to others)
One big idea Freud’s followers kept?
Importance of unconscious & early childhood influences.
One big idea they rejected?
Overemphasis on sexual motivations and fixed stages.
Modern verdict on Freud?
Pioneered talk therapy & unconscious, but theories lack testability and predictive power.
How do today’s researchers view the ‘unconscious’?
As automatic information-processing (priming, implicit memories, schemas), not a repressed vault of desires.
Maslow’s self-actualizing person?
Motivated by hierarchy of needs, culminating in fulfilling one’s potential.
Rogers’s person-centered perspective—3 conditions?
- Genuineness
- Acceptance (unconditional positive regard)
- Empathy
Positive self-concept means…?
Actual self ≈ ideal self; promotes confidence and well-being.
Assessing the self (humanistic tools)?
Open-ended self-reports & therapeutic conversations, not scores.
Major influence of humanism?
Launched positive-psych, counseling approaches, focus on growth.
Main criticisms of humanism?
- Concepts are vague
- Naive about evil
- Can foster self-centeredness
What is a ‘trait’?
Stable, measurable characteristic that describes behavior.
Common myth about introverts?
They are shy/antisocial; reality: they need lower external stimulation.
What is a personality inventory?
Questionnaire (e.g., MMPI, Big Five) scoring multiple traits.
Strength vs. weakness of inventories?
- Easy to administer & score
- But self-report bias and situational influences.
List the Big Five (OCEAN).
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
Which Big Five traits are most informative?
Conscientiousness & Neuroticism best predict health, work, relationship outcomes.
Are traits consistent over time?
Rank-order stability is high after age 30, but specific behaviors still vary by situation.
Social-cognitive view of personality?
Behavior shaped by interaction of traits, cognition, and environment.
