Psych Unit 12

Question 1

Id

Answer 1

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”

Question 2

Superego

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Ego

Answer 3

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)

Question 4

Unconscious

Answer 4

the Id – primal instincts that direct behavior
- if it feels good, do it and do it now

Question 5

Preconscious

Answer 5

ego and superego – internalization of morality
- you can access this information in your mind with little effort
- in between the unconscious and the conscious

Question 6

Conscious

Answer 6

ideas, thoughts, and feelings that you aren’t aware of
ex: retrieving info from memory

Question 7

Defense Mechanism

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Denial

Answer 8

denying reality
ex: someone has Type 1 diabetes and instead of dealing with it they say they don’t have it

Question 9

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Repression

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Projection

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Displacement

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Reaction Formation

Answer 12

we behave the opposite way we feel

ex: getting cut off in traffic and smiling at them instead of screaming

Question 13

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Rationalization

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Freud Defense Mechanism Examples: Sublimation

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Freud Psychosexual Stages of Development

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

Psychosexual stages and focuses

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Freudian Slip

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Freud Ideas that are still Used

Answer 18

• most psychologists say there’s an unconscious but it’s not as important as Freud believed it to be
• therapists still use defense mechanisms

Question 19

Freud Ideas that are NOT Used Anymore

Answer 19

Freud focused too much on sex
- too much emphasis on sexual issues as the root of personality types and psych problems

Question 20

Neo-Freudians

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Behaviorist Approach

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Humanistic Approach

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

Trait Theory

Answer 23

trait: personality characteristic that meets 3 criteria

1. consistent – remains the same in different situations
2. Stable – over time, we express the trait now and will express it in the future
3. 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

Question 24

Eysenck’s Model: Early Trait Theory

Answer 24

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

Question 25

The Big 5

Answer 25

• 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

Question 26

Biological Basis of Personality

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Evolutionary Approach of Personality

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Self-Report Inventory

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Projective Tests

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Locus of Control

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Reciprocal Determinism

Answer 31

a person’s behavior influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment

• people influence the environment through their behavior