Personality Flashcards
Personality
The set of thoughts, feelings, traits, and behaviors that are characteristic of an individual across time and different locations
Psychodynamic Theory of Personality
Personality is shaped by the unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires and past memories; driven by libido and death instinct
Libido
The motivation for growth, survival, and pleasure
Death instinct
Driving force for aggression fuelled by the unconscious wish to die
Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Personality
Part of the psychodynamic perspective; personality is constructed by the interactions of the id, ego, and superego. They all interact with each other to make personality
Id
All of the basic, primal urges to survive and reproduce; operates on the pleasure principle (immediate gratification); entirely unconscious
Pleasure principle
The aim is to achieve gratification to relieve tension; wish fulfillment occurs through mental imagery
Ego (Freud)
Operates on the reality principle – postpones pleasure principle until satisfaction can actually be obtained (long term gratification); it receives its power from the id
Superego
The moral conscience; advocates for what is morally correct to do
Freudian Slip
A manifestation of a mental conflict between the id, ego, and superego that provides a window to the unconscious
Freudian Preconscious
Thought and cognition that we are not currently aware of
Freudian Unconscious
Thought and cognition that has been repressed
Defense Mechanisms
The ego’s toolbox for relieving tension between the id and the superego
Repression
A defense mechanism – unconsciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness
Suppression
A defense mechanism – consciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness
Regression
A defense mechanism – reverting back to an earlier stage of Freudian development
Reaction Formation
A defense mechanism – transforming an unacceptable impulse into its opposite
Projection
A defense mechanism – attributing wishes, desires, thoughts, or emotions onto someone or something else
Rationalization
A defense mechanism – Justifying actions, behaviors, or beliefs
Displacement
A defense mechanism – targetting your emotions onto someone or something else
Sublimation
A defense mechanism – transforming the unacceptable impulse into something more acceptable
Personal Unconscious
Carl Jung’s idea of Freud’s unconscious
Collective Unconscious
A residue of experiences from our ancestors shared by all humans
Archetype
Jung’s idea of images containing emotional elements
Persona
An archetype of the personality that we present to the world
Anima
Inappropriate feminine behaviors in males
Animus
Inappropriate masculine behaviors in females
Shadow archetype
The appearance of unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts
Self
The point of intersection between the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious, and the conscious mind
Jung’s Three Dichotomies of Personality
Extraversion vs introversion
Sensing vs intuiting
Thinking vs Feeling
Inferiority Complex
The sense of incompleteness, imperfection, and inferiority
Creative Self
The force by which each person shapes his uniqueness and establishes his personality
Style of Life
Manifestation of creative self
Fictional Finalism
Individuals are motivated by expectations of the future more than expectations of the past
Object Relations Theory of Personality
The representation of parents and other caregivers based on experiences in early infance impact interactions with others into adulthood and affect personality
Humanistic Theory of Personality
Humans are instinctively good and are all striving towards self-actualization; everyone has free will; focus on the conscious elements of personality as one strives for self-actualization and not the individual behaviors
Gestalt Therapy
Taking a look at the holistic self during therapy
Carl Roger’s Humanistic Theory of Personality
Growth towards self-actualization is nurtured when the individual is genuine and accepted (unconditional positive regard); there must be congruency between self-concept and actions
Self Concept
A central point of Humanism Theory of Personality; the ideas and beliefs regarding one’s self
Biological Theory of Personality
Major components of our personality are determined biologically or inherited through genes; dispositional approach
Behaviorist Theory of Personality
Personality is the result of learned experiences from the environment. It is entirely deterministic; thoughts and feelings do not affect anything. It focuses on observable behaviors
Trait Theory of Personality
A trait is a stable tendency or pattern towards a consistent behavior. These traits define our behavior
PEN Model Trait Theory of Personality
Three overarching traits: psychoticism (nonconformity), extraversion, and neuroticism (emotional arousal under stress)
Big Five Model of Personality
Five traits of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
Factor Analysis
Statistical method to categorize personality into traits
Cardinal traits
Traits around which a person organizes their life (Gordon Allport)
Central traits
Major characteristics that are easy to infer
Secondary traits
Characteristics that are limited in expression to certain situations
Functional Autonomy
A behavior can continue despite satisfaction of the original drive that caused that behavior
Observational Learning
We learn from the experience of others and shape our personality from there; supported by mirror neurons
Social Cognitive Theory
Our behavior is shaped by our environment and how we interact with it as well
Reciprocal Determinism
Our thoughts, feelings, behavior, and environment all interact to determine our actions in a given situation
Learning-Performing Distinction
One can learn a behavior without performing it
Type Theory
Personalities can be divided into general types; Type A is compulsive and aggressive, while Type B is relaxed and laid-back
