Module 7 Lesson 3 - Personality

Question 1

Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 1

Formulated by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, this theory seeks to understand the unconscious motivation

Freud sought to understand the influences of repressed thoughts, desires, and/or implications on our conscious thoughts and behaviors.

Question 2

What did Freud develop?

Answer 2

He developed three methods to uncover conscious processes:

• Free Association
• Dream Interpretation
• Freudian Slips

Question 3

Free Association

Answer 3

Freud would promote clients to discuss any thoughts or images that would wander into their head, assuming that this free-flowing of uncensored discussion could provide clues into the unconscious mind.

Question 4

Dream Interpretation

Answer 4

Freud developed a technique of analyzing dreams based on the assumption that they contain hidden messages or symbols that could provide clues to unconscious thoughts and desires.

Question 5

What are the two major distinguishing characteristics of dreams?

Answer 5

1. Manifest Content: obvious story or plot in dreams
2. Latent Content: a dream’s hidden or disguised meaning or symbols which is where the unconscious mind can be observed.

Question 6

Freudian Slips

Answer 6

Freud thought that mistakes or slips of the tongue in everyday speech (that at times can be awkward or embarrassing) were actually reflections of unconscious thoughts, wishes, or desires that could then be analyzed.

Question 7

What are the key parts of the mind according to Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory?

Answer 7

1. The ID
2. The Ego
3. The Superego

Question 8

What is ID (Freud)

Answer 8

Represents the primitive unconscious reservoir that houses the basic motives, drives, and instinctual desires that determine our personality.

Always acts on impulse and seeks immediate pleasure

Is the only part of our personality at birth

Follows the pleasure principle

Question 9

What is the pleasure principle? (Freud)

Answer 9

The ID: To satisfy the needs and desires without concern for moral restrictions or societal restrictions.

Question 10

What is Ego (Freud)?

Answer 10

Regulates the continuous conflict between the ID and the Superego.

Only exists to find ways to satisfy our desires without violating our moral or social code.

Satisfies desires in a socially acceptable way; if this balance is not attained, a mental disorder may be present.

Question 11

Superego

Answer 11

Section of the mind responsible for morals and values learned from society

Forms as a child forms an internal set of rules based on external experiences and expectations.

Conflict ensues with the ID as the ID wants only to do what feels good, while the Superego wants to do what is right and normal.

Question 12

What are defense mechanisms (Freud)?

Answer 12

Conflict between the ID and Superego resulted in defense mechanisms forming to help protect the ego from being overcome by anxiety

Anxiety is the uncomfortable feeling resulting from the inner conflict between ID and Superego

Question 13

What are the types of Defense Mechanisms of Freud?

Answer 13

1. Repression
2. Rationalization
3. Denial
4. Projection
5. Reaction Formation
6. Displacement
7. Sublimation

Question 14

Repression

Answer 14

The Ego excludes unacceptable or inappropriate thoughts and/or feelings from our conscious awareness.

Question 15

Rationalization

Answer 15

The act of hiding true reasons for actions, thoughts, or feelings by making up excuses and/or incorrect explanations.

Question 16

Denial

Answer 16

Refusing to recognize anxiety provoking events or anxiety inducing information that is clear and obvious to others.

Question 17

Projection

Answer 17

Taking your own unacceptable feelings, traits, or thoughts and attributing those to someone else in order to externalize those unacceptable feelings, traits, or thoughts.

Question 18

Reaction

Answer 18

The act of removing behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that are in opposition to socially unacceptable ones.

Question 19

Displacement

Answer 19

Concerns the transfer of feelings about ( or response to) an object or person that causes anxiety onto another person or object that is less threatening.

Question 20

Sublimation

Answer 20

Channeling one’s frustration toward a different goal.

Question 21

Cognitive Theory

Answer 21

The belief that the human mind should be studied as an information processor. Cognitive psychologists use perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness to study how a person’s mind processes information.

Question 22

How did Cognitive Theory develop?

Answer 22

1. It is purely based on science and mainly reliant on laboratory experiments
2. First major cognitive psychologist was George Miller, who thought that the mind worked similar to a computer and thus should be studied as an information processor.
3. Its benefit is that the results are very controlled and well tested, but often fail to consider emotions.

Question 23

How does the human mind compare to a computer processor?

Answer 23

The human mind can be rationalized by how the mind processes inputs of information. The mind receives, stores, and retrieves information similar to a computer so the behavior is determined in reaction to the processing of information.

Question 24

Behaviorist Psychology and its development

Answer 24

Takes the opposite approach of cognitive psychologists.

1. John B. Watson thought that behaviorist psychology was concerned with observable stimulus and postulated that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
2. They agree people are born with a blank mind or a blank slate.
3. This means that every person’s individual personality is uniquely programmed via personal interaction with environmental factors.
4. Behaviorists believe that all behavior is based upon stimulus-response association and that our personality is the result of this association.

Question 25

Humanistic Psychology

Answer 25

Optimistic about the core of human nature

Personality is driven by needs to adapt and learn, rather than unconscious conflicts or defense mechanisms and anxiety

Mental disorders are likely to occur when a person enters an unhealthy situation that causes low self-esteem and unmet needs.

Question 26

Who is perhaps the most famous humanist psychologist?

Answer 26

Abraham Maslow, who is responsible for creating the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, which sought to understand how individuals pursue higher ideals and the hierarchy is an attempt to explain this behavior.

Question 27

What does the humanism pyramid illustrate?

Answer 27

The growth that needs to occur before a self-actualizing personality can be attained

A personality that has had its basic needs met and then are free to be themselves and realize their own potential

Maslow believed that one could not progress to the next level without meeting the previous level.

Question 28

Who founded Social-Cognitive Theory?

Answer 28

Albert Bandura, who postulated this theory after observing 72 children playing with Bobo dolls. He thought that behavior was influenced by interactions between people and their social context.

Question 29

What did Bandura call the interacting process between people and their social context?

Answer 29

He called it reciprocal determinism and believed there were three ways individual situations and environments interact.

Question 30

What are the three ways individual situations and environments interact?

Answer 30

1. Differing people choose differing environments - people tend to go towards more familiar environments
2. An individual’s personality shapes how they interpret and react to different stimuli
3. Our personalities can enable us to create situations to which we react to in differing ways.

Question 31

What does Social-Cognitive Theory suggest?

Answer 31

That we are all products of observational learning and individual personalities are the result of learned behavior patterns.

Question 32

What is personal control?

Answer 32

The sense of an individual to control their own environment rather than acquiescing to feeling helpless and/or out of control.