theory real Flashcards
What is personality?
Relatively enduring predispositions that influence our behavior across many situations.
How do behavior-genetic methods attempt to disentangle the effects on personality?
By considering genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and nonshared environmental factors.
What is the role of birth order in personality?
Most research has failed to find a link between personality and order of birth, except possibly for acceptance of radical scientific ideas.
What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory?
Psychic determinism, symbolic meaning, and unconscious motivation.
According to Freud, what are the components of the psyche?
Id (basic instincts), ego (decision maker), and superego (morality).
How does the ego minimize anxiety according to psychoanalytic theory?
Through defense mechanisms.
What are some examples of defense mechanisms according to psychoanalytic theory?
Repression, denial, and projection.
What are the stages of psychosexual development according to Freud?
Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.
What are some criticisms of psychoanalytic theory?
Unfalsifiable, failed predictions, questionable conception of unconscious, unrepresentative samples, and emphasis on shared environment.
How do Neo-Freudians differ from Freud’s theories?
They emphasize social drives over sexuality and are more optimistic about personal growth.
How do behavioral approaches explain personality differences?
They attribute differences to learning histories and acquired habits.
What are some key ideas of social learning theories?
Emphasis on reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and individuals’ locus of control.
What are some components of Carl Rogers’ personality theory?
The organism, the self, and conditions of worth.
What is self-actualization according to Carl Rogers?
The core motive in personality, involving creativity, spontaneity, and acceptance of oneself and others.
What are trait models primarily interested in?
Describing and understanding the structure of personality.
What are the Big Five traits in the Big Five model of personality?
Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
How do traits manifest in different individuals?
Same traits can manifest in very different ways.
Can personality change?
Some variability prior to age 30, but little thereafter.
What are some issues with personality assessment methods?
Lack of reliability and validity in methods such as phrenology, physiognomy, and Sheldon’s body types.
What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?
A paper-and-pencil test consisting of true-false questions, used for personality assessment.
What are projective tests?
Tests that ask examinees to interpret or make sense of ambiguous stimuli.
What is the Rorschach Inkblot Test?
A projective test consisting of symmetrical inkblots used to assess personality traits.
What are some pitfalls in personality assessment?
The PT Barnum effect, accepting high base rate descriptors as accurate, and lack of reliability and validity in some methods.
What is psychic determinism according to psychoanalytic theory?
The idea that all psychological events have a cause and are not random.
How does Freud describe the symbolic meaning in psychoanalytic theory?
Believes that many symbols in dreams are specific to the dreamer’s experiences.
What is unconscious motivation in psychoanalytic theory?
The idea that many of our behaviors are driven by unconscious desires and conflicts.
What are some key aspects of the structure of personality according to Freud?
The id (basic instincts), ego (decision maker), and superego (sense of morality).
How does conflict between the id, ego, and superego manifest in personality?
It can cause distress and lead to psychological issues.
How did Freud believe dreams reflected unconscious struggles?
Believed that dreams reflected unconscious desires and conflicts, often in disguise.
How does the ego minimize anxiety according to psychoanalytic theory?
Through the use of defense mechanisms.
How does Freud describe the stages of psychosexual development?
Believed that individuals pass through stages focused on different erogenous zones.
What are some criticisms of psychoanalytic theory regarding scientific evaluation?
Unfalsifiable, failed predictions, questionable conception of unconscious, unrepresentative samples, and emphasis on shared environment.
How do Neo-Freudians differ from Freud’s theories?
They place less emphasis on sexuality and more on social drives, and they are more optimistic about personal growth.
What is Adler’s theory of personality?
Adler emphasized the “style of life” and the “inferiority complex” as key components of personality.
What is Jung’s theory of personality?
Jung proposed the idea of the collective unconscious and archetypes as key elements of personality.
How do behaviorists explain personality differences?
They attribute differences to learning histories and acquired habits.
What do behaviorists believe personality is?
They view personality as bundles of habits acquired by classical and operant conditioning.
What are some key ideas of social learning theories?
They emphasize reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and individuals’ locus of control.
Who is Sigmund Freud?
Viennese neurologist who developed the first comprehensive theory of personality, known for psychoanalytic theory.
What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud?
Psychic determinism, symbolic meaning, and unconscious motivation.
Who is Carl Jung?
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, known for the concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes.
Who is Alfred Adler?
Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of individual psychology, known for his theory of the inferiority complex and style of life.
Who is Carl Rogers?
American psychologist and one of the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology, known for his theory of self-actualization.
What are humanistic theories in psychology?
They emphasize personal growth, free will, and the innate goodness of individuals.
Who is Carl Rogers and what is his contribution to humanistic psychology?
Carl Rogers rejected determinism and embraced free will, proposing self-actualization as a core motive in personality.
What is self-actualization according to humanistic psychology?
Self-actualization refers to the tendency for individuals to fulfill their potential and become the best version of themselves.
What are some common personality traits according to psychologists?
Some common personality traits include introversion, extraversion, thinking, feeling, and conscientiousness.
What is the difference between the nomothetic and idiographic approaches to studying personality?
The nomothetic approach seeks general laws that determine behavior, while the idiographic approach focuses on unique characteristics or life histories.
How is personality defined?
Personality is defined as an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions that characterize them in various situations over time.
What is situationism in personality psychology?
Situationism challenges the idea of stable personality traits, suggesting that behavior depends on the interaction of long-term personality traits and the current situation.
What are some factors that account for differences in personality?
Genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors all contribute to differences in personality.
What are some key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud?
Psychic determinism, symbolic meanings, and unconscious motivation are key assumptions of psychoanalytic theory.
What are the three structures of personality according to Freudian theory?
The id, ego, and superego are the three structures of personality according to Freudian theory.
What is the role of the id in personality according to Freud?
The id is the inborn, unconscious portion of personality that operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification.
How does the ego differ from the id in personality according to Freud?
The ego is the rational, reasoning part of personality that develops through experience with reality, seeking to satisfy the id’s impulses in a realistic way.
What is the role of the superego in personality according to Freud?
The superego is the part of personality that represents morality or conscience, providing moral standards and internalizing society’s rules.
What are defense mechanisms in Freudian theory?
Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety by distorting reality.
What are Freud’s psychosexual stages of personality development?
Freud’s psychosexual stages include the oral stage (birth to 1 year), anal stage (1-3 years), phallic stage (3-5 years), latency period (6-puberty), and genital stage (11-18 years).
What are some criticisms of the psychoanalytic approach to personality?
Criticisms include lack of falsifiability, failed predictions, overemphasis on innate drives, and reliance on case studies.
Who are the neo-Freudians, and what distinguishes their theories from Freud’s?
The neo-Freudians developed their own theories, placing less emphasis on sexuality and posing more optimistic theories than Freud.
