Identity and Personality Flashcards
Self-schema
Self-given label that carries with it a set of qualities
Self concept
Goes beyond self schema, includes our appraisal of our past and future selves
Identity
Individual components of our self-concept that are related to the groups that we belong to
-we have 1 self concept but multiple identities that define who we are
Gender identity
Person’s appraisal of themselves on the scales of masculinity and femininity
-usually well developed by age 3
Androgyny
State of being simultaneously very masculine and very feminine
Undifferentiated
State of achieving a low score on both femininity and masculinity
Ethnic identity
One’s ethnic group in which people share ancestry, heritage, and language
Nationality
Defined by political borders
- not necessarily an identity we are born into
- shared history, media, cuisine, national symbols
Hierarchy of salience
Dictates which identity holds the most importance for un in a particular situation
-the more salient the identity, the more we conform to the role expectations
Self-discrepancy theory
Each person has three selves
- Actual self: made up of our self concept
- Ideal self: person we want to be
- Ought self: representation of the way others think we should be
*the closer these 3 are, the higher our self esteem/self worth
Self esteem is a measure of?
How we feel about ourselves
Self efficacy is a measure of?
Our belief in our ability to succeed
-too high = overconfidence
Learned helplessness
state of hopelessness and resignation resulting from being unable to avoid repeated negative stimuli
-often used as a model of depression
Locus of control
Way we characterize the influences in our lives
- Internal: taking responsibility/control of own fate
- External: events are caused by luck/outside influences
Freud’s theory of Psychosexual development
Libido is present at birth, the driving force of psychological development is the desire to reduce libidinal tension
Fixation (freud)
Occurs when a child is overindulged or overly frustrated during a state and develops anxiety
-this leads to a neurosis in adulthood
Neurosis
Functional mental disorder caused by fixation in one of the psychosexual development stages
Oral stage
0-1 years
- gratification: comes from putting things in the mouth
- fixation: results in being overly dependent as an adult
Anal stage
1-3 years
- gratification: elimination/retention of waste materials
- fixation: excessive orderliness or messiness as an adult
Phallic stage
3-5 years (also known as the oedipal stage)
Oedipus (or Electra) complex: child envies their same sex parent and wants to possess the opposite sex parent.
- child passes this stage by internalizing morals, establishing sexual identity, and sublimating the libido
- then enters latency
Latency
Period after the phallic stage that lasts until puberty
Genital stage
Puberty- into adulthood
If prior development was normal, person will enter a normal heterosexual relationship
Psychosocial development theory
Developed by Erik Erikson
Development of personality is due to a series of crises that derive from conflicts between needs and social demands
Trust vs. Mistrust stage
Age 0-1 year
- Success: child trusts themselves and the environment
- Fail: child will often be suspicious of the world
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt stage
Age 1-3 years
- Success: child feels able to exert control over the world, able to exercise both choice and self-restraint
- Fail: sense of doubt, persistent external locus of control`
Initiative vs. Guilt stage
Age 3-6 years
- Success: sense of purpose, able to initiate activities, enjoy accomplishment
- Fail: fear of punishment = overly restrictive or show off
Industry vs. Inferiority stage
Age 6-12
- Success: feel competent, able to exercise intelligence and capabilities
- Fail: sense of inadequacy, low self esteem
Identity vs. Role confusion stage
Age 12-20 - includes the physiological revolution
- Success: fidelity, feel like a unique and integrated person
- Fail: identity confusion, amorphous personality
Intimacy vs. Isolation stage
Age 20-40
- Success: Love, intimate relationships, commitment to others and to own goals
- Fail: avoidance of commitment, alienation from others and own ideals (only superficial relationships)
Generativity vs. Stagnation stage
Age 40-65
- Success: being productive, caring, contributing member of society
- Fail: becomes bored, self centred, self-indulgent
Integrity vs. Despair stage
Age 65+
- Success: wisdom (detached concern with life), dignity, acceptance of death, feelings of a worthwhile life
- Fail: Bitterness about one’s life, feeling that life was worthless, fear over death
Moral reasoning theory
Developed by Lawrence Kohlberg
Development of personality is linked to the development of moral thinking
-as our cognitive abilities grow, so do our abilities to think about the world in more complex ways
Separated into 3 phases
-each with 2 stages (6 total stages)
Preconventional morality
-2 associated stages
First phase, typical of preadolescent thinking
-places emphasis on consequences of moral choice
Stage 1: Obedience
-avoiding punishment
Stage 2: Self-interest (instrumental relativist stage)
- gaining rewards
- reciprocity and sharing (tit for tat)
Conventional morality
-2 associated stages
Second phase, develops in early adolescence
-understanding and accepting social rules
Stage 3: Conformity
-seeking approval of others - “good boy and nice girl” orientation
Stage 4: Law and order
-maintains the social order in the highest regard
Postconventional morality
-2 associated stages
Third phase, not everyone is capable of achieving
-based on how social mores may conflict with laws
Stage 5: Social contract
- moral rules are conventions that are designed to ensure the greater good
- reasoning is focused on individual rights
Stage 6: Universal human ethics
-decisions should be made in consideration of abstract principles
Biosocial development theory
Developed by Lev Vygotsky
Children’s internalization of various aspects of culture was what drove cognitive development
Zone of proximal development
Skill and abilities that are not fully developed but are in the process of developing (child is able to develop them)
-gaining those skills requires a more knowledgable person (usually parent/adult figure)
Theory of Mind
Ability to sense how another person’s mind works
-development of this allows us to recognize/react to how others think about us
Looking-glass self
The construct created which relies on others reflecting out selves back to ourselves
-relies on the theory of mind
Reference group
related concept
-our self concept is often dependent on who we compare ourselves to
Personality
Set of thoughts, feelings, traits, and behaviours that are characteristic of an individual across time and place
Identity = who we are Personality = how we act and react
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic theory of personality
Has a lot of varying ideas
-common: assumption of unconscious internal states that motivate the action of the individual
Freud, Jung….
Id
id: basic primal, inborn urges
- controlled by pleasure principle
- primary process: obtain satisfaction now
- wish fulfillment: daydreaming to fulfill need for satisfaction
Ego
Operates according to the reality principle
- guides or inhibits the activity of the id to meet demands of objective reality
- secondary process: guiding the id
- postpone the pleasure principle
- organizer of the mind -receives power from the id
Superego
Personality’s perfectionist
-focused on the needs of the ideal self
Conscience: collection of the improper actions for which a child is punished
Ego-ideal: collection of proper actions for which a child is rewarded
3 main stages of access in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
- Unconscious: thoughts that have been repressed
- Preconscious: thoughts that we are not currently aware of
- Conscious: thoughts to which we have access
Instinct (freud)
Innate psychological representations of a biological need
Life instincts (eros) - promote quest for survival, sex, thirst
Death instincts (thanatos) - unconscious wish for death and destruction
Defense mechanisms
Ego’s response to relieve anxiety caused by clash between id and superego
- deny, falsify, or distort reality
- operate unconsciously
- 8 different defense mechanisms
Repression
Ego forces unwanted thoughts and urges into the subconscious
- unconscious form of forgetting
- aims to disguise unwanted thoughts that may come back into the conscious
Suppression
Deliberate, conscious form of forgetting
Regression
reversion to an earlier developmental state
Reaction formation
Suppressing urges by unconsciously converting them into their exact opposites
Projection
Individuals attribute their undesired feelings to others
- many tests make use of projection to gain insight into the patient
- ex: Rorschach inkblot test or thematic apperception test
Rationalization
Justification of behaviours in a manner that is acceptable to the self and society
Displacement
Transference of an undesired urge from one person or object to another
-ex: being angry at your boss but taking it out on your friend
Sublimation
Transformation of socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behaviours
Carl Jung - differences from Freud in terms of libido
Thought of libido more as psychic energy, not just rooted in sexuality
Carl Jung - 2 divisions of the unconscious
- Personal unconscious: similar to Freud’s notion
- Collective unconscious: shared among all humans
- residue of the experiences of our early ancestors
- build on images and common experiences = archetypes
Jungian archetypes
Persona: “mask” we wear in public
-part of the personality that we present to the world
Amina/Animus: sex inappropriate activities (ex: feminine behaviours in males)
- Anima is the repressed female in men
- Animus is the repressed male in women
Shadow: responsible for unpleasant/socially reprehensible thoughts or actions
Self (Jung)
The intersection between the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious and the conscious mind
Jung saw the self as a….
Mandala- reconciliation of opposites and promotion of harmony
Jung’s 3 dichotomies of personality
- Extraversion vs. Introversion
- Sensing vs. Intuiting
- Thinking vs. Feeling
Projection
Individuals attribute their undesired feelings to others
- many tests make use of projection to gain insight into the patient
- ex: Rorschach inkblot test or thematic apperception test
Rationalization
Justification of behaviours in a manner that is acceptable to the self and society
Displacement
Transference of an undesired urge from one person or object to another
-ex: being angry at your boss but taking it out on your friend
Sublimation
Transformation of socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behaviours
Carl Jung - differences from Freud in terms of libido
Thought of libido more as psychic energy, not just rooted in sexuality
Carl Jung - 2 divisions of the unconscious
- Personal unconscious: similar to Freud’s notion
- Collective unconscious: shared among all humans
- residue of the experiences of our early ancestors
- build on images and common experiences = archetypes
Jungian archetypes
Persona: “mask” we wear in public
-part of the personality that we present to the world
Amina/Animus: sex inappropriate activities (ex: feminine behaviours in males)
- Anima is the repressed female in men
- Animus is the repressed male in women
Shadow: responsible for unpleasant/socially reprehensible thoughts or actions
Self (Jung)
The intersection between the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious and the conscious mind
Jung saw the self as a….
Mandala- reconciliation of opposites and promotion of harmony
Object relations theory
Refers to the representation of parents/caregivers (objects) based on subjective experiences during childhood
-these can affect the interactions we have with others in adulthood (including social bonds and our prediction of how others will act)
Humanistic/phenomelogical theory main point
Focuses on the value of the individual
-how healthy people strive towards self actualization
Personality is the result of the conscious feelings we have for ourselves as we attempt to attain our goals
Creative self
Force by which each individual shapes his uniqueness and establishes his personality
Force Field theory
Developed by Kurt Lewin
Does not focus on past, future, or constraints on personalities (fixed traits, habits…)
Focuses on situations of the present
- how the forces acting on a person in the present moment give the current state of mind
- forces either assist or block the path to attaining goals
Alfred Adler’s theory of personality - components
Inferiority complex
Style of life
Creative self
Fictional finalism
Fictional finalism
An individual is motivated more by the expectations of the future than past experiences
-“life would be perfect if only…”
Karen Horney & neuroticism
Dissenting student of Freud
Disagreed with Freud about “penis envy”
Postulated that neurotic personalities are governed by one of 10 neurotic needs that are directed towards making life more bearable
Basic anxiety
Inadequate parenting can result in vulnerability and helplessness
Basic hostility
Neglect and rejection in parenting can lead to anger, called basic hostility
Trait theorists
Prefer to describe individual personality as the sum of a person’s characteristic behaviours
-tend to use clusters of behaviours to describe individuals
Object relations theory
Refers to the representation of parents/caregivers (objects) based on subjective experiences
Humanistic/phenomelogical theory main point
Focuses on the value of the individual
-how healthy people strive towards self actualization q
Gestalt therapy
Practitioners taking a more holistic view of the self
Peak experiences
Defined by Abraham Maslow as profound and deeply moving experiences in a person’s life that have important and lasting effects
Personal construct psychology
Developed by George Kelly
An individual acts as a scientist in devising and testing predictions about the behaviour of significant people in his or her life
Client centred/nondirective therapy
Developed by Carl Rogers
Thought that people were not slaves to the unconscious nor subjects of faulty learning => have the freedom to control their own behaviour
Therapy was focused on reflecting on problems, generating solutions and having positive action
Rogers developed the ideas of the real and ideal self
-therapy was designed in reconciling differences between the 2
Unconditional positive regard
Carl Rogers
Therapy technique where the therapist accepts the client completely in order to promote a positive environment
Type theorist
attempt to create a taxonomy of personality types
Functional autonomy
where a behaviour continues despite satisfaction of the drive that originally created the behaviour
Somatotypes
Idea that personality type was dependent on body type
Proposed by William Sheldon
Type A/B
Type A: behaviour that is competitive and compulsive
Type B: generally laid back and relaxed
PEN model of personality
Psychoticism: measure of nonconformity/deviance
Extraversion: measure of tolerance for social interaction and stimulation
Neuroticism: measure of emotional arousal in stressful situations
Big 5 model of personality (OCEAN)
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Gordon Allport theory
3 basic types of traits or dispositions
- cardinal, central, and secondary
- functional autonomy
Cardinal traits
traits around which a person organizes their life
Central traits
Major characteristics of a person’s personality that are easy to infer
Secondary traits
Personal characteristics that are more limited in occurrence
-only appear in certain situations
Behaviourist perspective
BF skinner
based heavily on the concepts of operant conditioning
-personality is a reflection of behaviours that have been reinforced over time
Token economies
Often used in therapies to reward positive behaviour
- tokens can be exchanged for privileges, treats, etc
- operant conditioning technique
Social cognitive perspective
One step further than the behaviourist approach
-Albert Bandura
Central idea is reciprocal determinism
-idea that our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and environment all interact to determine our actions in a given situation
Locus of control is another important part of this theory
Biological perspective
Personality can be best explained by a genetic expression in the brain
Dispositional approach
Behaviour is primarily determined by an individuals personality
Situational approach
Behaviour is primarily determined by the environment and context
