Personality 1 Flashcards
personality
the unique way in which each individual thinks, acts, and feels throughout life
character
the value judgements made about a person’s morals or ethical behavior
temperament
the enduring characteristics with which each person is born, such as irritability or adaptability
based in biology
basis upon which larger personality built
personality combination of
temperaments, personal history of family, culture, time which person grew up
psychodynamic perspective
freud
focuses on role of unconscious mind in development of personality
heavily focused on biological causes of personality differences
behaviorist perspective
based on theories of learning
focuses on effect of environment on behavior and includes aspects of social cognitive theory in that interactions with others and personal thought processes also influence learning and personality
humanistic perspective
reaction against psychoanalytic and behaviorist
focuses on role of each person’s conscious life experiences and choices in personality development
trait perspective
concerned with end result, characteristics themselves
some but not all assume traits biologically determined
difference between psychodynamic, behaviorist, and humanistic and trait perspective
psych, bx, and human all seek to explain process that causes personality to form into unique characteristics
trait more concerned with end result
unconscious mind
part of mind hidden at all times, surfacing only in symbolic form in dreams and in some of bx people engage in without knowing why they have done so
most important determining factor in human bx and personality
three parts of mind freud
preconscious, conscious, unconscious
three parts of personality freud
id, ego, superego
id
first and most primitive part
completely unconscious, pleasure-seeking, amoral part of personality
exists at birth
contains all of basic biological drives
want needs satisfied immediately, don’t care about others,
pleasure principle
pleasure principle
desire for immediate gratification of needs with no regard for the consequences
if it feels good, do it
ego
develops to deal with reality
mostly conscious
more rational, logical, and cunning than id
reality principle
sometimes decides to deny id its desires bc consequences would be too painful/unpleasant
reality principle
need to satisfy demands of id only in ways that will not lead to negative consequences
if it feels good, do it, but only if you can get away with it
superego
third and final part
moral center of personality
develops as preschool kid learns rules, customs, and expectations of society
conscience
conscience
the part of the personality that makes people feel guilt when they do the wrong thing
not until this develops that kids have sense of right and wrong
moral anxiety
guilt
conflict
id makes demands, superego restricts demands, ego has to satisfy both
id or superego doesn’t get way, anxiety for ego
constant state of conflict results in disordered bx if too much
psychological defense mechanisms
ways of dealing with anxiety through unconsciously distorting one’s perception of reality
important tool for dealing with anxiety
psychosexual stages
freud
personality development occurs in a series of these
determined by developing sexuality of child
erogenous zone for age becomes important and can become source of conflicts
erogenous zone
area of the body that produces pleasurable feelings
fixation
conflicts that aren’t fully resolved
getting stuck to some degree in a stage of development
child grows into adult but will still carry emotional and psychological baggage from earlier fixated stage
