Personality Psychology Flashcards
What is the id?
Reservoir of all psychic energy and consists of everything psychological that’s present at birth; functions according to the pleasure principle (opposite of delayed gratification); imagining what the body wants = wish fulfillment
What is the ego?
operates according to the reality principle (called secondary process); the aim of the reality principle is to postpone the pleasure principle until the actual object that will satisfy the need has been discovered or produced; interrupts the id, but in the service of the id; their interaction encourages the growth of perception, memory
What is the superego?
not directly in touch with reality (like id) but strives for the ideal rather than the real
a. conscience: whatever a child is punished for is incorporated here
b. ego-ideal: whatever a child is rewarded for is incorporated here
Ultimately, a system of right and wrong is subbed for parents’ reward/punishment system
What are instincts according to Freud?
Instinct: an innate psychological representation (wish) of a bodily (biological) excitation (need)
Instincts are the propelling aspects of Freud’s dynamic theory of personality
Two types of instincts: life (Eros) and death (Thanatos)
What are defense mechanisms according to Freud?
- The ego’s recourse to releasing excessive pressure due to anxiety is referred to as defense mechanisms: all deny, falsify, or distort reality; and all operate subconsciously
1. repression
2. suppression
3. projection
4. reaction formation
5. rationalization
6. regression
7. sublimation
8. displacement
What was Carl Jung’s theory of personality?
psycholoanalytic + interpersonal, sociological and cultural influences
ego = conscious mind;
ego – personal unconscious (painful or threatening memories) + collective unconscious (archetypes; explain similarities between cultures)
major archetypes:
- Persona: mask
- Anima: feminine
- Animus: masculine
- Shadow
Distinguished between two major personality orientations:
- introversion
- extroversion
Four psychological functions:
- thinking
- feeling
- sensing
- intuiting
What was Alfred Adler’s theory of personality?
downplayed the importance of the unconscious and focused on the role of the ego
believed people motivated by fear of failure and desire to be superior to others; coined the term “inferiority complex”
also known for his work about the importance of birth order in shaping personality
creative self and style of life enable individuals to developed their uniqueness; family environment crucial for this; coined the term lifestyle
fictional finalism: individuals motivated ore by expectations of future than data from past
What was Karen Horney’s theory of personality?
believed that the neurotic personality is governed by one of ten needs; ex: need for affection/approval; exploit others; self-sufficiency/independence
difference between healthy and neurotic:
- disproportionate in intensity
- indiscriminate in application
- partially disregard reality
- tendency to provoke anxiety
child seeks to overcome anxiety and achieve basic security
- move toward others to obtain good will of those who provide security
- moving against others to achieve the upper hand
- moving away/withdrawing
basic concept: primary anxiety; strategies carry over into adulthood
What was Anna Freud’s contribution to psychology?
extended Freud’s theories through work with children
augmented understandings of defense mechanisms
considered founder of ego psychology
What is the behaviorist’s theory of personality?
the reinforcement contingencies to which one is exposed creates one’s personality; by changing the environment, can change personality
What is the social-cognitive theory of personality?
Meld behaviorism and cognitive psychology; personality is created by an interaction between the person (traits), the environment, and the person’s behavior: triadic reciprocality/reciprocal determinism
What is the theory of triadic reciprocality/reciprocal determinism?
personality is created by an interaction between the person (traits), the environment, and the person’s behavior
Bandura
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Learning occurs not only by having behavior enforced (Skinner), but also by having others’ behavior enforced
What is the main approach of cognitive behavioral therapy?
tries to change/restructure distorted/irrational thoughts; do not believe symptom relief is adequate therapy; new symptoms will develop to replace old ones: called symptom substitution (ex: replacing alcohol with exercise)
What is the theory of hierarchy of needs?
People strive for higher-level needs only when lower-level needs are met; Highest order: self-actualization – more likely to have peak experiences – profound experiences with lasting impacts (compare with Levine)
Maslow
Kay Deaux
found that women’s successes at stereotypical “male” tasks are attributed to luck, while men’s successes are attributed to skill
Sandra Bem
studied androgeny; created that Bem Sex Role Inventory
Matina Horner
suggested that females shunned masculine-type successes not because of fear of failure or lack of interested, but because they feared success and its negative repercussions, such as resentment and rejection
Alice Eagly
found an interaction between gender and social status with regard to how easily an individual might be influence or swayed
Eleanor Macoby and Carol Jacklin
scrutinized studies of sex differences and found that relatively few existed that could not be explained away by simple social learning; most consistent difference: women – verbal; men – spatial/visual
Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman
studied Type A personality
Grant Dahlstrom
linked Type A to heart disease
Barnum effect
tendency to agree with and accept personality interpretations that are provided
Hans Eyesneck
phlegmatic; melancholic; choleric; sanguine
Henry Murray
developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT); consists of ambiguous story cards; tell story; project their own “needs”
Objective personality inventories:
o Objective tests do not allow subjects to make up their own answers
• Structure: often seen as more objectively scored than projective tests
Q-sort or Q-measure: technique of sorting cards into a normal distribution
Each card is a statement about personality
One side: not at all like me
Other: very much like me
Center: neutral
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
550 true/false/not sure
Able to discriminate between different disorders