Psych Unit 12 Flashcards
Id
part of our personality
we’re born with it, biological, our urges and desires come from the id
- sexual energy that motivates us to do everything we do
ex: if we’re hungry the id says “I want food now”
Superego
comes out of society, develops from social interactions
- our internalized sense of morality (right vs. wrong)
ex: we want to cheat but we don’t because the superego tells us not to
Ego
stuck between the id and superego
- sense of self, tries to mediate the tension between the id and superego
*the ego has to balance the unrealistic demands of the Id (pleasure) and the needs of the superego (reality)
Unconscious
the Id – primal instincts that direct behavior
- if it feels good, do it and do it now
Preconscious
ego and superego – internalization of morality
- you can access this information in your mind with little effort
- in between the unconscious and the conscious
Conscious
ideas, thoughts, and feelings that you aren’t aware of
ex: retrieving info from memory
Defense Mechanism
- use this when things threaten our egos
- protective behaviors of the ego
- manages threats to the balance of the superego and id
- we unconsciously do this to protect our ego
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Denial
denying reality
ex: someone has Type 1 diabetes and instead of dealing with it they say they don’t have it
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Repression
we take a traumatic event and repress it (we can’t consciously recall it)
- this happens unconsciously
ex: being abused in childhood and not remembering
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Projection
we take the feelings about ourselves and attribute them to someone else
projection = happens verbally
displacement = happens with actions
ex: men that are homophobia have homosexual tendencies
- they don’t like being gay so they are homophobic
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Displacement
you take feelings and channel them into an action
ex: doing bad on a test and taking those feelings and screaming at spouse
ex: person yells at kid after having a bad day at work
ex: hitting your TV from being angry
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Reaction Formation
we behave the opposite way we feel
ex: getting cut off in traffic and smiling at them instead of screaming
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Rationalization
using logic and reason to justify what we’re doing
ex: someone doesn’t pay their taxes and says “everyone doesn’t pay their taxes”
ex: someone failed an exam and rationalized it by saying they were sick
Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Sublimation
we take the way we’re feeling and channel it into a prosocial activity
ex: your boss yells at you at work, so you go home and channel that into cleaning your house
Freud Psychosexual Stages of Development
- during development, the labito is channeled into different erogenous zones (that part of the body that is stimulated when touched)
- how the developing personality deals with sexual impulses of the id
Psychosexual stages and focuses
oral: labito focuses toward mouth
- pleasure from sucking on things
- get fixations from not getting fed enough or getting over fed
ex: chewing on nails/gum
anal: control of bowels and bladder
- get fixated if potty training is too loose or too strict
- you can become disorganized or very organized (ex: you’re very anal)
Phallic: focus on genitals
- develop romantic feelings
- cope with incestuous feelings
- fixation: people become over-confident
Latency: labito doesn’t do anything
- no fixations
- gender identity
- dormant (asleep) sexual feelings
Genital: labito focuses on finding a romantic partner
- from this stage on, personality is fixed
- no fixations
Freudian Slip
our unconscoius can sneek into consciousness and make us say things we don’t want to
- the ego tries to hold what we say in check, but sometimes it just comes out
- verbal or memory mistake
ex: freudian slips happen to the breast of us – instead of the best of us
ex: calling your current boyfriend your ex-boyfriend’s name
Freud Ideas that are still Used
- most psychologists say there’s an unconscious but it’s not as important as Freud believed it to be
- therapists still use defense mechanisms
Freud Ideas that are NOT Used Anymore
Freud focused too much on sex
- too much emphasis on sexual issues as the root of personality types and psych problems
Neo-Freudians
- they thought that social competence was a major motivation instead of sexuality for behavior
Carl Jung: believed there were a few unconsciouses
- thought there was a collective unconscious that was encoded in our DNA
- he coined introversion and extroversion
Karen Horney:
- thought they should focus on positive aspects
- thought envy worked differently
Behaviorist Approach
learning influences personality
- could be classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning
- all these types of learning differ our personality
ex: we can learn to be conscientious through operant conditioning
Humanistic Approach
- humanism is a response to negativity
- humanists think people are good – what people do isn’t necessarily bad, but they mean to do well
- deemphasize abnormal behavior – instead, focus on success
Trait Theory
trait: personality characteristic that meets 3 criteria
- consistent – remains the same in different situations
- Stable – over time, we express the trait now and will express it in the future
- it varies from person to person – traits are on a continuum and can go from high to low
- clusters of characteristics explain people’s personalities
- factor analysis – using math to cluster items together
Eysenck’s Model: Early Trait Theory
people have varying degrees of arousal within the autonomic nervous system
- they transfer into introversion/extroversion and emotional stability (stable/unstable)
neurotic: people experience negative emotions
extrovert: socially outgoing
introvert: being social drains them
ex: if someone is outgoing and talkative, we characterize them as sociable
The Big 5
- everything is on a high to low continuum
Openness: openness to experience
- high = imaginative, thrill-seeker, likes change
- low = likes routine, consistency
Conscientiousness: degree of organization that a person has
- high = organized, careful, has to-do lists
- low = disorganized, doesn’t plan, low self-discipline
Extroversion:
- high = social, fun, loving
- low = sober, reserved
Agreeableness: how well you get along with others
- high = works well in groups, trusting, helpful
- low = lone wolf, suspicious, ruthless
Neurotism: emotional reactivity
- high = insecure, self-pitying
- low = secure, calm
**everyone has all 5 – degree varies
**OCEAN ACRONYM
Biological Basis of Personality
Temperament: Kagan’s Reactivity test (babies temperament predicted their personality later)
- born with a temperament which then forms into personality
- differences in activity level, emotion, and socialness drive temperament
Genetics:
- MZ twins = 99% same DNA and DZ twins = 50% same DNA
- MZ twins have a higher # of shared traits than DZ twins
**tells us that some parts of the personality are biological
- twins adopted by different families still act similarly even though raised apart
Heritability: degree of variation that is due to genetics
ex: if you have 30% degree of openness, that means 30% is due to genetics
ex: if everyone has black hair, 0% variability because there’s no variety
Evolutionary Approach of Personality
personality traits are adaptive – they help us survive (survival of the fittest)
roots of personality are in animal temperament
ex: all dogs have similar behaviors when they’re happy – they wag their tails
Self-Report Inventory
if it’s a self-report test, the answers have to be tested for reliability (get same results each time) and validity (measuring what we’re supposed to measure)
problem: people can lie – relies on people being honest
problem: social desirability – people can paint themselves in a way that makes us more attractive/desirable
ex: getting a statement and having to pick true or false based on yourself
Projective Tests
people have to project the way they feel onto a card
- participants are shown series of ambigious stimuli (the photos look like 2 or more things)
- the test is designed to reveal parts of the person’s personality
- participants project personalities as they describe what they see
Locus of Control
external locus of control: you expect that most of your outcomes happen because of chance, luck, or factors that are beyond your control
internal locus of control: you believe that most of your outcomes happen because of your own talent and effort
internal:
- people manage stress better
- seek shelter in response to tornados
- wear seat belts
- can be less sympathetic to others
Reciprocal Determinism
a person’s behavior influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment
- people influence the environment through their behavior
