Psychology and Sociology: Chapter 6 Flashcards
Self-concept
our awareness of ourselves as distinct from others and our own internal list of answers to the question Who am I?
Self-schema
a self-given label that carries switch it a set of qualities
Identity
the individual components of our self-concept related to the groups to which we belong
Hierarchy of Salience
we let the situation dictate which identity holds the most importance for us at any given moment
Self-discrepancy theory
-maintains that each of us has three selves and that perceived differences between these selves lead to negative feelings
-Actual self, ideal self, and ought self
-Generally, the closer these three selves are to one another, the higher our self-esteem will be
Actual self (self-discrepancy theory)
the way we see ourselves as we currently are
Ideal self (self-discrepancy theory)
the person we would like to be
Ought self (self-discrepancy theory)
our representation of the way others think we should
Self-efficacy
-our belief in our ability to succeed
-Overconfidence can lead us to take on tasks for which we are not ready, leading to frustration, humiliation, or sometimes even personal injury
-Learned helplessness: an individual can develop a perceived lack of control over the outcome of a situation
Zone of proximal development
-refers to those skills and abilities that have not yet fully developed but are in the process of development
-Gaining these skills successfully requires the help of a “more knowledgeable other”, typically an adult
Role-taking
-experimenting with identities by taking on the roles of others
-This allows a child to begin to understand the perspectives and roles of others
Theory of mind
the ability to sense how another’s mind works
Looking-glass self
our understanding of how others see us, which relies on perceiving a reflection of ourselves based on the words and actions of others
Reference group
the group that we use as a standard to evaluate ourselves
The collective unconscious (Jung)
-a powerful system that is shared among all humans and considered to be a residue of the experiences of our early ancestors
-Its building blocks are images of common experiences, such as having a mother and a father
-These images invariably have an emotional element, and are referred to as archetypes
Persona (Jung archetype)
the aspect of our personality we present to the world
Amina (Jung archetype)
a “man’s inner woman”
Animus (Jung archetype)
a “woman’s inner man”
Shadow (Jung archetype)
unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings, and actions experienced in the unconscious mind
3 Dichotomies of Personality (Jung)
Extraversion, Sensing, and Thinking
Extraversion (Jung)
Extraversion (E, orientation toward the external world) vs. introversion (I, orientation toward the inner, personal world
Sensing (Jung)
Sensing (S, obtaining objective information about the world) vs. intuiting (N, working with information abstractly)
Thinking (Jung)
Thinking (T, using logic and reason) vs. feeling (F, using a value system or personal beliefs)
Psychoanalytic Perspective
Contain some of the most widely varying perspectives on behavior, but they will all have in common the assumption of unconscious internal states that motivate the overt actions of individuals and determine personality
Carl Jung
Jung identified the ego as the conscious mind, and he divided the unconscious into two parts: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious
Alfred Adler
theory focus on the immediate social imperatives of family and society and their effects on unconscious factors
Inferiority complex (Adler)
-an individual’s sense of incompleteness, imperfection, and inferiority both physically and socially
-Striving for superiority drives the personality
Creative self (Adler)
the force by which each individual shapes his uniqueness and establishes his personality
Style of life (Adler)
represents the manifestation of the creative self and describes a person’s unique way of achieving superiority
Fictional finalism (Adler)
the notion that an individual is motivated more by his expectations of the future than by past experiences
Kern Horney
-argued that personality is a result of interpersonal relationships, and adamantly disagreed with many of Freud’s assumptions about women, such as the concept of penis envy
-Postulated that individuals with neurotic personalities are governed by one of ten neurotic needs
-While healthy people have these needs to some degree, Horney emphasized that these needs become problematic if they fit at least one of four criteria: they are disproportionate in intensity, they are indiscriminate in application, they partially disregard reality, or that they have a tendency to provoke intense anxiety
Basic anxiety (Horney)
vulnerability and helplessness
Basic hostility (Horney)
neglect and rejection
3 Strategies to overcome basic anxiety for children (Horney)
-Moving toward people to obtain the goodwill of people who provide security
-Moving against people, or fighting them to obtain the upper hand
-Moving away, or withdrawing, from people
Object relations theory (Horney)
object refers to the representation of parents or other caregivers based on subjective experiences during early infancy. These objects then persist into adulthood and impact our interactions with others, including social bonds we create and our predictions of other’s behavior
The humanistic perspective
Humanistic or phenomenological theorists focus on the value of individuals and take a more person-centered approach, describing those ways in which healthy people strive toward self-realization
Gestalt Therapy
practitioners tend to take a holistic view of the self, seeing each individual as a complete person rather than reducing him to individual behaviors or drives
Kurt Lewin
-Force field theory puts very little stock in constraints on personalities, such as fixed traits, habits, or structures such as the id, ego, and superego
-Focused little on an individual’s past or future, focused on situations in the present
-Lewin defined the field as one’s current state of mind, which was simply the sum of the forces (influences) on the individual at that time
Abraham Maslow
-Identified several characteristics that brilliant people of the past had in common, including a non hostile sense of humor, originality, creativity, spontaneity, and a need for some privacy
-Peak experiences: profound and deeply moving experiences in a person’s life that have important and lasting effects on the individua
-Believed that self-actualized people are more likely to have to have these experiences
George Kelly
-Personal construct psychology
-Thought of an individual as a scientist, a person who devises and tests predictions about the behavior of significant people in his or her life
-The individual constructs a scheme of anticipation of what others will do based on his or her knowledge, perception, and relationships with these other people
-psychotherapy is a process of insight whereby the individual acquires new constructs that will allow him or her to successfully predict troublesome events
Carl Rogers
-Client-centered, person-centered, or nondirective therapy
-Believed that people have the freedom to control their own behavior, and are neither slaves to the unconscious nor subjects to faulty learning
-Rather than providing solutions or diagnoses, the therapist helps the client reflect on problems, make choices, generate solutions, take positive action, and determine his or her own destiny
Unconditional positive regard (Rogers)
the therapist accepts the client completely and expresses empathy in order to promote a positive therapeutic environment
Type theorists
attempt to create a taxonomy of personality types
Trait theorists
prefer to describe individual personality as the sum of a person’s characteristic behaviors
William Sheldon
-Proposed personality types based on body type called somatotypes
-Short, stocky people were jolly, all tall people were high-strung and aloof, and people in between were strong and well-adjusted
Type A Personalities
characterized by behavior that tends to be competitive and compulsive
Type B Personalities
characterized by behavior that is laid back and relaxed
PEN Model (Eysencks)
-Psychoticism: a measure of nonconformity or social deviance
-Extraversion: a measure of tolerance for social interaction and stimulation
-Neuroticism: a measure of emotional arousal in stressful situations
Five Factor Model
-Openness: describes the openness to experience, or willingness to engage with the world and desire to try new things
-Conscientiousness: analogous to self-control, with high conscientiousness associated with high impulse control
-Agreeableness: refers to the degree to which a person is concerned about maintaining peace and harmony in their interactions with others
-Neuroticism: a measure of emotional arousal in stressful situations
-Extraversion: a measure of tolerance for social interaction and stimulation
3 Basic Traits (Allport)
-Cardinal traits: traits around which a person organizes his or her life
-Central traits: represent major characteristics of the personality that are easy to infer, such as honesty or charisma
-Secondary traits: other personal characteristics that are more limited in occurrence; aspects of one’s personality that only appear in close groups or specific social situations
Functional autonomy
a behavior continues despite satisfaction of the drive that originally created the behavior
David McClelland
-Identified a personality trait that is referred to as the need for achievement (N-Ach)
-People who are rated high in N-Ach tend to be concerned with achievement and have pride in their accomplishments
-Avoid high risks (to avoid failing) and low risks (because easy tasks will not generate a sense of achievement)
Behaviorist perspective of personality
-Championed by B.F. Skinner
-Based heavily on the concepts of operant conditioning
-Skinner reasoned that personality is simply a reflection of behaviors that have been reinforced over time
Social Cognitive perspective of personality
-Focuses not just on how our environment influences our behavior, but also on how we interact with that environment
-People choose environments that suit their personalities, and their personalities determine how they will feel about and react to events in those environments
Albert Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism
refers to the idea that our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and environment all interact with each other to determine our actions in a given situation
Biological perspective of personality
Holds that personality can be explained as a result of genetic expression in the brain
