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