Personality 1 Flashcards
What is personality?
An individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms—hidden or not—behind those patterns.
What influences our personalities?
The Id, Superego, and Ego.
What does an overdominant Id lead to?
Recklessness, impulsiveness, and criminality.
What does an overdominant Superego lead to?
A preachy, holier-than-thou personality.
What are the five main approaches to studying personality?
Psychoanalytical, Behavioral, Cognitive, Trait, and Biological.
Who founded the psychoanalytic approach?
Freud
What are the 3 parts of the mind in Freud’s theory?
Id, Ego, Superego.
What does the Id focus on?
Pleasure and immediate gratification of desires.
What does the Id want to satisfy and avoid?
Satisfy desires like food, sleep, and sex; avoid pain.
What does the Id lack?
Morality, patience, sense of right or wrong.
Where does the Id exist?
In the unconscious mind.
When is the Id present?
From birth.
What is the Ego’s role?
To balance the Id and the Superego.
What does the Ego focus on?
Reality.
What is the Ego’s goal?
Find compromise between Id’s desires and Superego’s morals.
Where does the Ego exist?
In both the conscious and unconscious mind.
What kind of decisions does the Ego usually make?
Ones that benefit us in the long term.
What does the Superego focus on?
Morality and doing the right thing.
What does the Superego represent?
Our conscience and internalized values.
Where does the Superego exist?
Mostly in the unconscious, partially in the conscious mind.
When does the Superego begin to form?
Around age 4.
What are psychosexual stages?
Stages Freud proposed that children go through, each related to different pleasure centers and conflicts.
What did Freud believe about childhood experiences?
They led to lasting personality changes.
What is a Freudian Slip?
Saying something like calling a teacher “mom”—revealing unconscious desires or wishes.
