Unit 7: JUST Personality Flashcards
Sigmund Freud
his psychoanalytic theory proposed that childhood and unconscious motivations influence personality
Personality
an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
psychodynamic theories
theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts & actions to unconscious motives and conflicts;
techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, memories.
info processing we are unaware of
Free Association
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
id
a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual & aggressive drives
id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.
ego
the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, & reality.
ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.
superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
psychosexual stages
the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital)
according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
oral stage
(0-18 months) pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing
Anal stage
(18-26 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination: coping with demands for control
Anal stage
(18-26 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination: coping with demands for control
phalic stage
(3-6 years) pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings
Latent stage
(6 to puberty) a phase of dormant sex feelings
Genital Stage
(adulthood) maturation of sex interests
Oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
can be coped thru identification w/ father
arrested development
failure to develop beyond a particular point of development
identification
children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos (FREUD)
Fixation
a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved (FREUD)
Defense Mechanisms
ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Displacement
defense mechanism that shifts sexual / aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable / less threatening object / person,
as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet
Sublimation
defense mechanism
people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.
reaction formation
defense mechanism
ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites
ppl may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
Regression
defense mechanism
individual faced w/ anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
Acting like a younger age when anxiety was not experienced.
Rationalization
defense mechanism
offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.
Projection
defense mechanism
ppl disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
difference between projection and displacement
projection = when a person credits others for their own undesirable impulses,
while displacement is releasing aggressive impulses toward a less threatening outlet
Repression
basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
incomplete repression
an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is believed to be caused by the unconscious mind
Denial
Defense mechanism
ppl refuse to believe / even to perceive painful realities.
Alfred Adler
Neo-Freudian; introduced concept of “inferiority complex” and stressed the importance of birth order (believed personality = function of birth order)
Strive for superiority
according to Adler, tendency is a result of a need to compensate for our feelings of inferiority.
Inferiority Complex
a pattern of avoiding feelings of inadequacy rather than trying to overcome their source
Karen Horney
offered feminist critique of Freud’s theory
Penis envy
Freud, the female desire to have a penis - a condition that usually results in their attraction to males
womb envy
Horney’s comment than men are likely to feel womb envy because they are unable to bear children
object relations
modern development in psychodynamic theory involving the study of how children incorporate the memories and values of people who are close and important to them.
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian who created concept of “collective unconscious” and wrote books on dream interpretation
personal unconscious
Jung’s term for that portion of the unconscious, consists of painful memories & thoughts a person doesn’t want to confront
collective unconscious
concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history (archetypes)
Archetypes
Jung’s - thought forms common to all human beings, stored in the collective unconscious
animus/anima
biological & psychological aspects of masculinity and femininity, which are thought to coexist in both sexes.
projective test
a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings & interests thru the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
provides a VALID and reliable map of ppls implicit motives
Rorschach inkblot test
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
Critics argue that only few of many Rorschach-derived scores, ex: for cognitive impairment /thought disorder, have demonstrated reliability and validity
Personality inventory
a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings & behaviors;
used to assess selected personality traits.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
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.
terror management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional & behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
Abraham Maslow
Humanistic psychologist known for his “Hierarchy of Needs” and the concept of “self-actualization”
humanistic theories
theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth
Carl Rogers
Humanisic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
congruence
state of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are very similar
incongruence
the discrepancy between our self concept and reality
actualizing tendency
Rogers, the drive of every organism to fulfill its biological potential and become what it is inherently capable of becoming
conditions of worth
Rogers, the conditions we think we must meet in order for other people to accept us as worthy of their love or positive regard.
unconditional positive regard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance
conditional positive regard
positive regard that is given only when the person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish
Trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories & peer reports
Hans Eysenck
personality theorist; asserted that personality is largely determined by genes, used introversion/extroversion
PEN model of personality
Eyesneck theorized that there’re 3 different source traits determined by biology
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 (emotional stability)
Intraversion
A person whose attention is focused inward; a shy, reserved, self-centered person
Extraversion
A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive
Paul Costa & Robert McCrae
came up with the big 5 factor trait, a theory that there are 5 major factors (personality traits):
🧠Openness: open to new experiences, related to ones creativity, flexible thinking
📅Consciousness: dimensions of hard work, responsibility, and organization
💭Agreeableness: easy to get along with others, shows empathy
🗣️Extroversion: Outgoingness; a shy person would have low extraversion
😰Neuroticism: emotional stability; people with high neuroticism might be nervous, depressed, anxious
Openness
Do you like change? Can you adapt to it?
Low score: practical, prefers routine, comforting
High score: imaginative, prefers variety, independent
Consciousness:
Are you organized and careful?
Low score: disorganized, careless, impulsive
High score: organized, careful, disciplined
Agreeableness:
How well do you get along with others?
Low score: ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative
High score: soft-hearted, trusting, helpful
Extroversion
Are you shy or outgoing?
Low score: retiring, sober, reserved
High score: sociable, affectionate, fun-loving
Neuroticism
Are you anxious often?
Low score: calm, secure, self-satisfied
High score: anxious, insecure, self-pitying
emperically derived test
a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
Gordon Allport
trait theory of personality; 3 levels of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary
social cognitive theory
views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context.
Cardinal traits
Traits that are characteristics that direct most of the person’s activities and organizes their life (the person’s dominant traits that influence all of our behaviors)
central traits
traits that represent major characteristics of a person
secondary traits
traits that are more preferences/attitudes
Raymond Cattell
intelligence: fluid & crystal intelligence; personality testing: 16 Personality Factors (16PF personality test)
surface trait
aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person
source trait
a characteristic that can be considered to be at the core of personality
Albert Bandura
Reciprocal Determinism;
believed that personality can change depending on one’s thoughts, environment, & behavior
self-efficacy
one’s sense of competence and effectiveness
self-esteem
one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
social-cognitive perspective
views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context
Julien Rotter
External & Internal Locus of control
internal locus of control
the perception that you control your own fate
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.
Expectancy Theory
ppl will be motivated to the extent to which they believe that their efforts will lead to good performance, that good performance will be rewarded, and that they will be offered attractive rewards
hazel markus
claimed that we use self-schemas (traits) to define ourselves
spotlight effect
overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)
self-serving bias
a readiness to perceive oneself favorably, makes excuses
