Psych Ch. 6: Personality, Motivation, Attitudes, and Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Psychoanalytic Theory
Personality (made up of patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors) is shaped by a person’s unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories
- -> these unconscious elements are derived from past experiences, particularly interactions with primary care givers.
- -> According to this theory, the existence of the unconscious is inferred from behaviors such as dreams, slips of the tongue, posthypnotic suggestions, and free associations
Psychoanalysis developed by _____
Sigmund Freud
Libido
Life instinct that drives behavior focused on survival, growth, creativity, pain avoidance, and pleasure.
Death instinct
Drives aggressive behaviors fueled by an unconscious wish to die or to hurt oneself or others
3 personality components that function together: (remember Mrs. Sheckell!!)
Id, ego, and superego
Id
Unconscious, source of energy and instincts; ruled by the pleasure principle-seeks to reduce tension, avoid pain, and gain pleasure
- Does NOT use logical or moral reasoning, and does NOT distinguish mental images from external objects
- According to Freud, young children function almost entirely from the id
Ego
Preconscious level, ruled by the reality principle, uses logical thinking and planning to control consciousness and the id; tries to find realistic ways to satisfy the id’s desire for pleasure
Superego
Unconscious, inhibits the id and influences the ego to follow moralistic and idealistic goals rather than just realistic goals; the superego strives for a “higher purpose”
-Based on social values learned from parents, the superego makes judgements of right and wrong and strives for perfection; seeks to gain psychological rewards such as feelings of pride and self-love, and to avoid psychological punishment such as feelings of guilt and inferiority
Ego Defense Mechanisms
People develop this to cope with anxiety and protect the ego; they unconsciously deny or distort reality
Ego defense mechanisms include:
Repression, denial, reaction formation, projection, displacement, rationalization, regression, and sublimation
Freud’s psychosexual stages and Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages
Know theses 2 theories of developmental stages
There are 5 psychosexual stages:
Freud believed that sexual energy is present from infancy and each person matures through 5 stages (each correspond to which part of the body is the focus of sensual pleasure):
- Oral stage
- Anal stage
- Phallic stage
- Latency stage:
- Genital stage
Oral stage
Child seeks sensual pleasure through oral activities such as sucking and chewing
Anal stage
Child seeks sensual pleasure through control of elimination
Phallic stage
Child seeks sensual pleasure through the genitals
- -> child is attracted to the opposite sex parent and hostile toward the same sex parent, who is seen as a rival==>Oedipus complex in boys, Electra complex in girls
- -> girls also experience penis envy during this stage (as they discover that they do not have penises)
Latency stage
Sexual interests subside and are replaced by interests in other areas such as school, friends, and sports
Genital stage
Begins in adolescence, when sexual themes resurface and a person’s life/sexual energy fuels activities such as friendships, art, sports, and careers
Psychologically fixated
Happens to children if parents become frustrated or overindulge child’s expression of sensual pleasure at a certain stage so that child does not resolve that stage’s developmental conflicts, which causes them to seek sensual pleasure through behaviors related to that stage as an adult
Erik Erikson’s 8 stages
He added social and interpersonal factors
1st stage: trust vs mistrust
Infant’s task is to resolve this crisis; if their physical and social needs aren’t met, as an adult they may mistrust the world and interpersonal relationships
2nd stage: autonomy vs shame and doubt
Toddler, if their needs to explore, make mistakes, and test limits are not met, as an adult they may be dependent rather than autonomous
3rd stage: initiative vs guilt
Preschool age; if young child’s needs to make decisions is not met, as an adult they may feel guilty taking initiative and instead allow others to choose
4th stage: industry vs inferiority
School age; if child’s needs to understand the world, develop a gender-role identity, succeed in school, and set and attain personal goals are not met, as an adult they may feel inadequate
5th stage: identity vs role confusion
Adolescence; if an adolescent does not test limits and clarify his or her identity, goals, and life meaning, he or she may develop role confusion
6th stage: intimacy vs isolation
young adult; if a person does not form intimate relationships at this stage, he or she may become alienated and isolated
7th stage: generatively vs stagnation
middle age; if a person does not feel productive by helping the next generation and resolving differences btw actual accomplishments and earlier dreams, they may become stuck in psychological stagnation
8th stage: integrity vs despair
later life; if a person looks back with regrets and a lack of personal worth at this stage, they may feel hopeless, guilty, resentful, and self-rejecting
Psychoanalytic therapy
uses various methods to help a patient become aware of their unconscious motives and to gain insight into the emotional issues and conflicts that are presenting difficulties
-one of the goals of therapy is to help the patient become more able to choose behaviors consciously
-another goal is to strengthen the ego so choices can be based on reality rather than on instincts (id) or guilt (superego)
psychoanalysts believe that childhood events and unconscious feelings, thoughts, and motivations play a role in mental illness and maladaptive behaviors; they also use other techniques like free association, role-play, and dream interpretations
Humanistic Theory
Focuses on healthy personality development. Humans are seen as inherently good and as having free will rather than having their behavior determined by their early relationships
Actualizing Tendency
An innate drive to maintain and enhance the organism
Carl Rogers (humanistic theory)
Self-concept, child will strive for caregiver’s approval by adopting their values and still see themselves and caregiver as good
Self-concept
Made up of child’s consciousness, subjective perceptions and beliefs about themselves; the child’s true values remain but are unconscious, as the child pursues experiences consistent with the introjected values rather than the true values
Goal of humanistic theory (also called person-centered theory):
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
Behaviorist Perspective
Personality is a realist of learned behavior patterns based on a person’s environment
- -> behaviorism is deterministic
- -> occurs through classical and operant conditioning
Deterministic
People begin as blank slates, and environmental reinforcement and punishment completely determine an individual’s subsequent behavior and personalities
Behavioral Therapy
Uses conditioning to shape a client’s behaviors in the desired direction
–>Use ABC model-determine antecedents (A) and consequences (C) of behavior (B)
Social Cognitive Perspective
Personality is formed by a reciprocal interaction among behavior, cognitive, and environmental factors
–>Observational (vicarious) learning
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
From cognitive perspective, a person’s feelings and behaviors are seen as reactions not to actual events, but to the person’s thoughts about those events. Each person lives with self-created, subjective beliefs about themselves, other people, and the world, and those beliefs color the person’s interpretations of events
- ->Beliefs are formed during childhood and are often unconscious
- ->beliefs are usually irrational and dysfunctional, so goal of therapy is to have client substitute those with rational and accurate beliefs, which will lead to more functional feelings and behavior
Personality Trait
A generally stable predisposition toward a certain behavior
Surface traits
evident from a person’s behavior
Source traits
The factors underlying human personality and behavior; these are fewer and more abstract
ex. extroversion and introversion=continuum, not binary
Raymond Cattell
Used factor analysis with hundreds of surface traits to identify which traits were related to each other
Global factors (source traits)
extroversion, anxiety, receptivity, accommodation, and self-control
Five-Factor Model
McCrae and Costa; 5 factors are: extroversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Cattell vs McCrae and Costa)
Biological Perspective
Much of what we call personality is at least partly due to innate biological differences among people; support is found from heritability of basic personality traits and correlations btw personality traits and certain aspects of brain structure and function
Hans Eysenck
Proposed that a person’s level of extroversion is based on individual differences in the reticular formation-which mediates arousal and consciousness
- ->introverts are more easily aroused and require less stimulation, but extroverts need more stimulation
- ->also proposed that a person’s level of neuroticism is based on individual differences in the limbic system-which helps mediate emotion and memory
Jefferey Alan Gray
Proposed that personality is governed by interactions among 3 brain systems that respond to rewarding and punishing stimuli
–>fearfulness and avoidance are linked to the fight or fight sympathetic nervous system, worry and anxiety are linked to the behavioral inhibition system, and optimism and impulsivity are linked to the behavioral approach system
C. Robert Cloninger
Also linked personality to brain systems involved with reward, motivation, and punishment; proposed that personality is linked to the level of acuity of certain Its in 3 interacting systems
- low DP activity correlates with higher impulsivity and novelty seeking
- low norepinephrine activity correlates with higher approval seeking and reward dependence
- low serotonin activity correlates with risk avoidance
Person-situation controversy (trait vs state controversy)
Considers the degree to which a person’s reaction in a given situation is due to their personality (trait) or id due to the situation itself(state)
-traits are internal and stable across situation, states are situational, influenced by external environment
Instincts
behaviors that are unlearned and present in fixed patterns throughout a species
–>represent the contribution in genes, which predispose species to particular behaviors
Drive
An urge originating from a physiological discomfort such as hunger, thirst, or sleepiness
- ->alerts that you are no longer in a state of homeostasis-something is lacking
- ->Often work through negative feedback systems
Drive-reduction theory
suggests that a physiological need creates an aroused state that drives the organism to reduce that need by engaging in some behavior
need–>drive–>drive-reducing behaviors
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of needs; if needs are met then you can move to the next level; motivated to satisfy higher level needs only if lower-level needs are met
physiological needs–>safety needs–>love and belongingness–>esteem needs–>self-actualization
Primary control center for detecting changes in temp and receives input from skin receptors
Hypothalamus
Cold body causes:
Vasoconstriction (conserves heat) and shivering
Hot body causes:
Vasodilation (heat loss) and sweating
Intake of fluids is stimulated by specialized ____ i the brain that detect _____
osmoreceptors, dehydration
Osmoreceptors communicate with the ____ to stimulate the release of ____, which communicate with the kidney to _____ by reclaiming ____
pituitary gland, ADH, reduce urine production, H2O
When blood volume is low, hunger for ____ is stimulated to ____ the concentration of salt in the blood, and ____ to replace lost fluid
Sodium, increase, thirst
The ___ hypothalamus brings on hunger, while the ____ hypothalamus depresses hunger
lateral, ventromedial
___, released by the stomach and pancreas, heightens the sensation of hunger, while ___, a HORMONE released by white adipose tissue (fat), reduces hunger
Ghrelin, leptin
