Unit 4: Personality

Question 1

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Answer 1

personality

Question 2

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

Answer 2

psychodynamic theories

Question 3

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Answer 3

psychoanalysis

Question 4

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Answer 4

unconscious

Question 5

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Answer 5

free association

Question 6

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Answer 6

id

Question 7

the partly conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Answer 7

ego

Question 8

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

Answer 8

superego

Question 9

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Answer 9

defense mechanisms

Question 10

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Answer 10

repression

Question 11

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history

Answer 11

collective unconscious

Question 12

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

Answer 12

terror management theory

Question 13

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Answer 13

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Question 14

personality assessments that present ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind

Answer 14

projective tests

Question 15

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

Answer 15

Rorschach inkblot test

Question 16

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Answer 16

humanistic theory(CARL ROGERS)

Question 17

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Answer 17

self-actualization

Question 18

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

Answer 18

self-transcendence

Question 19

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Answer 19

unconditional positive regard

Question 20

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Answer 20

self-concept

Question 21

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Answer 21

trait

Question 22

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

Answer 22

personality inventory

Question 23

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

Answer 23

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Question 24

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

Answer 24

empirically derived test

Question 25

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

Answer 25

Big Five Factors(OCEAN)

Question 26

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

Answer 26

social-cognitive perspective

Question 27

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Answer 27

behavioral approach

Question 28

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Answer 28

reciprocal determinism

Question 29

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

Answer 29

self

Question 30

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

Answer 30

spotlight effect

Question 31

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Answer 31

self-esteem

Question 32

one’s sense of competence and effectiveness(belief in our own abilities

Answer 32

self-efficacy

Question 33

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Answer 33

self-serving bias

Question 34

excessive self-love and self-absorption

Answer 34

narcissism

Question 35

a cultural pattern that emphasizes people’s own goals over goals and defines identity mainly in terms of unique personal attributes

Answer 35

individualism

Question 36

a cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups (often one’s extended family or work group)

Answer 36

collectivism

Question 37

avoiding thoughts by forcing them into the back of our mind

Answer 37

repression

Question 38

refusing to perceive reality in order to protect ourselves from it

Answer 38

denial(motivated forgetting)

Question 39

diverting sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable person or object

Answer 39

displacement

Question 40

disguising your own threatening impulses and attributing them to others

Answer 40

projection

Question 41

creating logical explanations of our behavior in order to justify it

Answer 41

rationalization

Question 42

make unacceptable impulses into their opposite, acceptable form

Answer 42

reaction formation

Question 43

retreating to behavior or thinking like a child in order to avoid adult issues

Answer 43

regression

Question 44

expending energy on prosocial activities in order to avoid undesired activities

Answer 44

sublimination

Question 45

reducing anxiety by thinking about events in a cold, clinical way

Answer 45

intellectualization