Personality Flashcards
What are the 3 distinct elements of personality
Uniqueness - traits are specific to each person
Consistency - personality is consistent over time
Explanation - personality provides an explanation to account for behaviour
What are Psychodynamic Perspectives
A Freudian notion that personality is motivated by internal conflicts that people don’t have conscious awareness or control over
What is the preconscious mind
Level of consciousness that contains information that the person may not be thinking but is in the back of their mind, and can easily access it when needed
According to Freud, to understand personality we need to gain access to the unconscious mind. What were his two techniques in doing so.
Hypnosis and Free Association (dream analysis)
What is Free Association
When a person is encouraged to freely share their thoughts or anything that comes to mind without filter or hesitation in order to gain insight on their unconscious
What is the difference between Latent content and Manifest content (dream analysis)
Latent content is the expression of the unconscious mind that reflects a persons true feelings and desires. Manifest content is what the dreamer remembers
What is the Id
The primary driver of personality that lies in the unconscious. Contains the urges and impulses, operates the pleasure principle
What is the Pleasure Principe
The driving force of the id where the focus is on the fulfilment of sexual urges and egressive impulses
The Id contains the Eros and Thanthos, what is the difference between them
The Eros- unconscious sexual impulses (love, creativity, satisfaction)
The Thanthos - death impulse/aggression (destruction, violence)
What is the Superego
A persons moral compass of what is right and what is wrong, based on values, morals, religious beliefs, laws, etc.
What is the Ego
Mediates between the Id and Superego, and decides the course of action. Meets the needs of id in a moral and reasonable way and operates on the reality principle
What is the reality principle
When impulses from the unconscious id is rejected in their natural form and are expressed in a socially acceptable way
What are the three defence mechanisms
Reality anxiety = informs the ego of real danger
Moral anxiety = notifies the superego that the ego is considering violating a moral code
Neurotic anxiety = warns the ego of threatening expression of id impulses ex, wanting to scream out loud
What is repression
When the ego removes a threatening memory from conscious awareness example-a victim of assault may have trouble recalling details of the assault because doing so would trigger emotions
What is sublimation
Transferring inappropriate impulses and motives into socially acceptable ways
Example: developing a career as a scientist studying deviant sexual behaviour to satisfy one’s own sexual desires
