Personality (Modules 45-57) Flashcards
Personality
All the consistent, stable, enduring and unique ways in which the behavior of one person differs from that of others
Why is Freud important in psychology?
He founded psychoanalysis.
What was Freud’s main technique?
Free association, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing
What is the point of free association?
To allow people to retrace their line of memories to be released
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; techniques used in treating psychological disorders by interpreting the unconscious
Conscious
A reservoir of mostly acceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories with which we are comfortable to acknowledge
Preconscious
Thoughts may be stored here temporarily and can be retrieved and brought into conscious awareness
Unconscious
Under Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories; in contemporary times, information processing of which we are unaware
Give an example of what Freud meant by saying that nothing is ever accidental.
The unconscious influences us greatly, expressing itself in our core beliefs, our daily habits an dour troubles. Freud believed that he could glimpse into one’s unconscious through free association.
Id
“Shoulder devil” – conscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
Pleasure principle
The demand for immediate gratification
Ego
Largely conscious “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, superego and reality
Reality principle
Satisfying the id’s desires in a way that will realistically bring pleasure, no pain
Superego
“Shoulder angel” – the part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and future ideals
Psychosexual Stages
The childhood stages of development during which the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic (Oedipus complex & Electra complex)
- Latency - dormant sexual feelings
- Genital - maturation of sexual feelings
What did Freud believe most influences our developing identity, personality and frailties?
Early childhood relations, especially with parents and caregivers
Fixate
A lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage in which conflicts were unresolved
Ex. Fixation at the oral stage may manifest itself in smoking or excessive eating
Defense Mechanisms
The ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Repression
Unknowingly placing an unpleasant memory or thought in the unconscious
Ex. Not remembering a traumatic incident in which you witnessed a crime
Regression
Reverting back to immature behavior from an earlier stage of development
Ex. Throwing tantrums as an adult when you don’t get your way
Reaction Formation
Acting in exactly the opposite way to one’s unacceptable impulses
Ex. Being overprotective of an unwanted child
Projection
Attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others and not yourself
Ex. Accusing your significant other of cheating because you want to cheat on your significant other
Rationalization
Creating false excuses for one’s unacceptable feelings, thoughts or behaviors
Ex. Justifying cheating on an exam by saying everyone else cheats
Displacement
Redirecting unacceptable feelings from the original source to a safer substitute target
Ex. Taking your anger toward your boss out on your children by yelling at them
Sublimation
Replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behavior
Ex. Channeling aggressive drives into playing football
Denial
Rejecting a fact or its seriousness
Ex. Spouses may deny evidence of their partner’s affairs
On what beliefs do neo-Freudians differ from Freud?
1) Neo-Freudians placed more emphasis on the conscious mind’s role in interpreting experience and in coping with the environment.
2) Neo-Freudians doubt that sex and aggression are all-consuming motivations.
What does Adler believe behavior is driven by?
Childhood social tensions (not sexual ones) are crucial for personality formation. Our behavior, striving for superiority and power, is driven by efforts to combat feelings of childhood inferiority.
What did Horney say childhood anxiety triggers?
Caused by the dependent child’s sense of helplessness, childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security.
Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious
A shared, inherited reservoir of memory travels from our species’ history
Projective tests
A personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics (ex. TAT and the Rorschach Inkblot Test)
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
A projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interest through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach Inkblot Test
The most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
Is repression as common as Freud’s supporters believe?
No, there is no empirical evidence that repression has happened or that it is even possible. More likely, traumatic experiences enhance memory.
False Consensus Effect
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors
Terror-Management Theory
A theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
What is the most serious problem with Freud’s theory?
Freud’s theory fails to predict behaviors and traits; it only serves as an after-the-fact explanation of any characteristic.
Humanistic Theorists
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
How is humanistic theory different from behaviorism?
Humanistic theory studies people through their own self-reported experiences and feelings.
List the hierarchy of needs from bottom to top.
Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, Self-actualization, Self-transcendence
Self-actualization
One of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential
What kind of people did Maslow study to form his theory?
Healthy, creative people (as opposed to troubled clinical cases)
Roger’s Person-Centered/Client-Centered Perspective focuses on what three conditions being met?
Genuineness, Acceptance and Empathy
Genuineness
The quality of being open with one’s own feelings; the state of being transparent and self-disclosing
Acceptance
An attitude that values ourselves and others even when putting failure into consideration
Unconditional Positive Regard
An attitude of total acceptance toward another person
Empathy
The quality of sharing and mirroring our feelings and reflecting on the meanings of those feelings
Self-concept
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
What happens when the ideal and actual self are alike?
Our self-concept is positive.
What are the three main criticisms against humanist psychology?
1) Concepts are vague and subjective
2) Individualism can lead to selfishness
3) Naive; fails to recognize humanity’s capacity for evil
Traits
Characteristic patterns of behavior or disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
What is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) usually used for?
Counseling and coaching
What is factor analysis?
A statistical procedure used to identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence (such as spatial ability or verbal skill)
What are Eysenck’s two personality dimensions?
Extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability
Personality Inventories
A questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of behaviors; used to assess personality traits
Minnesota Multiphastic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders.
What are Costa and McCrae’s Big Five dimensions of personality?
Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion (CANOE)
What is the person-situation controversy?
Are our personality traits stable and enduring, or does our behavior depend on where and with whom we find ourselves?
Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Perspective
Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social contexts
Behavioral Approach
Focusing solely on how our environment controls us
Ex. A hostile environment may make one more aggressive
Reciprocal Determinism
The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition and environment
Ex. TV viewing habits influence viewing preferences which influence how television affects behavior
Personal Control
The extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
Internal locus of control
The perception that you control your own fate
External locus of control
The perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate
Learned helplessness
The passive resignation learned when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
List two effects of having a pessimistic attributional style.
May attribute poor performance to lack of ability or situations beyond their control
What can happen if you have excessive optimism?
May make one ignorant of real risks and/or promote complacency. This can also lead to risky behavior when one refuses to consider consequences.
Positive Psychology
The scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
What do critics say about social-cognitive theories?
The theory focuses so much on the situation that it overlooks the person’s inner traits.
Self
Assumed to be the center of personality; the organizer of our thoughts, feelings and actions
Spotlight effect
Overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)
Self-esteem
One’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Self-efficacy
One’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in certain situations or accomplish a task
Self-serving bias
A readiness to perceive oneself favorably
Ex. When receiving a bad test score, students often blame the test more so than themselves.
Narcissism
Excessive interest in oneself
