Lecture 25: Personality Flashcards
What is personality?
A systematic attempt to describe and explain how people are similar, how they are different and why every individual is unique
-an individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving
What are the 4 perspectives of personality theories?
- Psychoanalytic
- Humanistic
- Social cognitive perspective
- Trait
What is the Psychoanalytic perspective of personality?
Emphasized the importance of unconscious processes and influence of early childhood experience
What is the humanistic perspective of personality?
Represents an optimistic look at human nature, emphasizing the self and the fulfillment of a person’s unique potential
What is the social cognitive perspective of personality?
Emphasizes learning and conscious cognitive processes, including the importance of beliefs about the self, goal-setting and self-regulation
What is the trait perspective of personality?
Emphasizes the description and measurement of specific personality differences among individuals
-measurement of trait
What is Freud’s Dynamic Theory of Personality?
Personality and behavior result from a constant interplay between conflicting psychological forces that operate at three levels of awareness
1. All thoughts, feelings, sensations you are aware of at this particular moment represent the conscious level 2. The preconscious contains information which you’re not currently aware, but is easily capable of entiring your consciousness, like childhood memories or your social security number 3. The bulk of Freud’s psychological iceberg is made up of the unconscious (SUBCONSCIOUS), which lies below the waterline of the preconscious and the conscious (shit we are never aware of)
What are ego defense mechanisms?
Reaction patterns, usually unconscious, which serve the purpose of protecting an individual from anxiety, guilt, unacceptable impulses, internal conflicts or other threats to the sense of self
- defense mechanisms to help us avoid anxiety and guilt - keep emotions within bearable limits - handle unresolvable conflicts with others
What is the most fundamental ego defense mechanism?
Repression = unconscious forgetting
-unbeknownst to the person, but can lead you to act out
What is displacement?
An ego defense mechanism
-impulses are redirected to a substitute object or person
-usually one less threatening or dangerous than the original source of conflict
Man yells at woman …. Leads to kid kicking a dog lmao
What are the 4 types of defenses?
- psychotic
- immature
- neurotic
- altruism
What are psychotic defenses?
1. Delusional projection Example: thinking that aliens are going to abduct you 2. Denial Example: denial of tumor presence 3. Distortion
What are immature defenses?
- Projection
- Schizoid fantasy
- Hypochondriasis
- Passive-aggressive
- Acting out
What are neurotic defenses?
- Intellectualization
- Repression
- Displacement
- Reaction formation
- Dissociation
- dissociating emotion from thoughts
What are mature defenses?
- altruism
- humor
- suppression (take a deep breath; not going to freak out)
- anticipation
- sublimation (delayed gratification)
What are the characteristics of humanistic perspective of personality?
Humanistic psychologists contend that the most important factor in personality is the individuals CONSCIOUS, subjective perception of his or herself
- rejects idea that sex drives everything
- see from perspective of patient
What is Maslow’s hierarchy?
Part of humanistic view of personality
Lower needs need to be satisfied
Goes from physiological needs to safety to love needs to esteem needs, etc.
From the humanistic perspective of personality, what is the goal of life?
To become a fully functioning, actualized person
How does one become a functioning actualized person in humanistic perspective?
Consistent experiences of unconditional positive regarde (white people!!)
How is Positive psychology derived?
The pleasant life (life of enjoyment)
The good life (life of engagement)
The meaningful life (life of affiliation)
What is a key feature of Seligman’s humanistic perspective?
Character strengths and virtues such as wisdom, courage, humanity, and justice
-these define positive psychology that allows one to be a fully funciotning, actualized person