personality- exam2 Flashcards
Freud’s Topographical Model
Conscious: accessible thoughts
Preconscious: easily retrievable information
Unconscious: hidden desires and fears
Freud’s structural model
Id: unconscious, driven by pleasure principle, seeks immediate gratification
Ego: mediator, operates on reality principle, considers practicality
Superego: moral conscience, contains ideals and guilt
psychoanalysis
Focuses on uncovering unconscious conflicts
Techniques: free association, dream analysis
Aims to resolve repressed thoughts causing psychological symptoms
id, ego, superego
Id: primal urges and desires
Ego: balances between desires and reality
Superego: internalized societal rules and moral standards
pleasure principle
Drives the id’s need for immediate gratification
Ignores long-term consequences and reality
reality principle
Governs the ego
Delays gratification by considering reality and practicality
freudian slips
Verbal or behavioral mistakes revealing unconscious desires
Example: saying “bed” instead of “bet” reflects hidden thoughts
Highlights the conflict between id and superego
dream analysis
Manifest content: literal, conscious dream elements
Latent content: hidden, unconscious meaning behind the dream
Dreams act as disguised expressions of unconscious desires
psychosexual stages
Oral stage: pleasure from the mouth (sucking, biting)
Anal stage: focus on bowel control (orderliness or messiness)
Phallic stage: focus on genitals; Oedipus complex emerges
Latency period: sexual impulses dormant
Genital stage: maturation of sexual interests
fixation
Stuck in a particular psychosexual stage due to unresolved conflict
Example: fixation in the oral stage leads to adult oral habits
oedipus complex
Child’s unconscious desire for the opposite-sex parent
Resolved through identification with the same-sex parent
defense mechanisms
Repression: blocking painful thoughts from awareness
Denial: refusing to acknowledge reality
Projection: attributing one’s own feelings to others
Reaction Formation: expressing the opposite of unacceptable impulses
Rationalization: justifying behaviors with plausible reasons
Displacement: shifting emotional impulses to a safer target
Sublimation: channeling unacceptable impulses into productive activities
humanistic theories
Emphasizes personal growth and potential (Rogers)
Self-actualization: achieving one’s fullest potential (Maslow)
Focus on positive aspects of human nature
real vs. ideal self
Real self: how you perceive yourself currently
Ideal self: how you would like to be
Incongruence: gap between real and ideal self; hinders self-actualization
unconditional positive regard
Acceptance and love without conditions
Promotes healthy self-esteem and congruence
conditional positive regard
Love and acceptance are based on behavior
Can lead to incongruence and self-esteem issues in the child
self actualization
Reaching full potential by using talents and capacities
Final step in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
personality trait
Enduring characteristics influencing behavior
Traits describe consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions
big five of personality
OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
big five explained
Extraversion: sociable, outgoing vs. reserved, introverted
Neuroticism: anxious, emotionally unstable vs. calm, stable
Agreeableness: cooperative, trusting vs. suspicious, antagonistic
Conscientiousness: organized, reliable vs. careless, disorganized
Imaginative, curious vs. practical, preferring routine
Reflects one’s openness to new experiences
consistency of personality traits
Personality traits tend to be stable over time and across situations
Some traits are more consistent than others
heritability of personality traits
Personality traits are partially inherited
Openness and Extraversion have higher heritability than other traits
cognitive social learning theory
Personality shaped by interaction of personal traits, behavior, and environment
Reciprocal determinism: traits, environment, and behavior influence each other
self efficacy
Belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations (Bandura)
High self-efficacy leads to persistence and success
self esteem
Overall sense of self-worth and personal value
Affects confidence and resilience
locus of control
Internal: belief that you control your destiny
External: belief that outside forces determine your fate
