Personality, Motivation, Attitudes, and Psychological Disorders Flashcards
what are the main theories/perspectives on personality? (6)
psychoanalytic perspective humanistic perspective behaviourist perspective social cognitive perspective trait perspective biological perspectives
what are the types of therapies used to treat personality disorders?
psychoanalytic therapy, humanistic/person-based therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy
psychoanalytic theory
personality is shaped by a person’s unconscious thoughts, feelings and memories, associated with Sigmund Freud, two instinctual drives motivate human behaviour (libido/life instinct and death instinct)
psychoanalytic perspective believes psychic energy is distributed among what 3 personality components?
id (the unconscious source of energy and instincts, ruled by pleasure principles), the ego (ruled by the reality principle, uses logical thinking and planning to control consciousness and the id), the superego (inhibits the id and influences the ego to follow moralistic and idealistic goals)
ego defence mechanisms
unconscious denials or distortions of reality in order to cope with anxiety (from awareness of repressed feelings/memories/desires/experiences) and to protect the ego
what are some ego defence mechanisms?
repression, denial, reaction formation, projection, displacement, rationalization, regression, sublimation
repression
lack of recall of an emotionally painful memory
denial
forceful refusal to acknowledge an emotionally painful memory
reaction formation
expressing the opposite of what one really feels, when it would feel too dangerous to express the real feeling
projection
attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to another person
displacement
redirecting aggressive or sexual impulses from a forbidden action or action onto a less dangerous when
rationalization
explaining and intellectually justifying one’s impulsive behaviour
regression
reverting to an earlier, less sophisticated behaviour
sublimation
channeling aggressive or sexual energy into positive, constructive activities
Freud’s psychosexual developmental theory (5 stages, sexual energy is present from infancy)
oral stage, anal stage (pleasure through control of elimination), phallic stage (seeks sensual pleasure through the genitals-Oedipus and Electra complex, penis envy), latency stages (sexual interests subside and are replaced by interests in other areas), genital stage (sexual themes resurface and person’s life/sexual energy fuels other activities in life), saw the first 3 stages as most important and determining of adult personality, can lead to psychological fixation in one of the early stages
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stages (8)
- trust vs. mistrust (birth to 1)
- autonomy vs shame/doubt (1-3)
- initiative vs. guilt (3-6)
- industry vs. inferiority (6-12)
- identity vs. role confusion (12-18)
- intimacy vs. isolation (18-35)
- generativity vs. stagnation (35-60)
- integrity vs. despair (60+)
psychoanalytic therapy
uses various methods to help a patient become aware of his or her unconscious motives and to gain insight into the emotional issues and conflicts that are presenting difficulties
humanistic theory
focuses on healthy personality development, humans are seen as inherently good and as having free will (rather than having their behaviour determined by their early relationships), motive of all people is the actualizing tendency, associated with Carl Rogers
actualizing tendency
innate drive to maintain and enhance the organism
self-actualization
realizing his or her human potential
self-concept
the child’s conscious, subjective perceptions and beliefs about themselves, will choose behaviour consistent with self-concepts
according to humanistic perspective, what is the root of psychopathology?
discrepancy between conscious introjected values and unconscious true values
humanistic therapy (person-centered therapy)
to provide an environment that will help clients trust and accept themselves and their emotional reactions, so they can learn and grow from their experiences
behaviourist perspective
personality is a result of learned behaviour patterns based on a person’s environment, behaviourism is deterministic and proposes that people begin as blank slates but environmental reinforcement and punishment (learning by classical and operant conditioning) completely determine an individual’s subsequent behaviour and personalities