Unit Nine: Personality, Testing, and Individual Differences Flashcards
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 (I say word, you say word)
Psychoanalysis
(1) Sigmund 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.
(2) Freud’s therapeutic technique. Freud believed the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist’s interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.
Unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware (shape behavior)
Repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Preconscious
an area where we store temporarily store thoughts, from which we can retrieve them into conscious awareness
mental process you are not currently aware of (tight shoes)
Ego
the largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, 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
(bus driver) partially conscious thoughts, judgments and memories
Superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
(uses guilt and pride to control us)
Id
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
(think about the present, animal)
Manifest content
the remembered content of dreams
Latent content
the dreamer’s unconscious wishes
Psychosexual stages
the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oedipus complex
during the phallic stage boys develop both unconscious sexual desires for their mother and jealousy and hatred for their father, whom they consider a rival. Given these feelings, thought boys also experience guilt and a lurking fear of punishment, perhaps by castration, from their father.
Electra complex
the female version of the Oedipus complex
Identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents’ (same-sex) values into their developing superegos, used to deal with Oedipus complex
Gender identity
our sense of being male or female
Defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Defense mechanism-Regression
retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
(temper tantrums, thumb sucking)
Defense mechanism-reaction formation
switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites
gay anti-gay crusader
Defense mechanism-projection
disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others, lowers anxiety
(stupid test)
Defense mechanism-rationalization
offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions
(rational but false reasons, blame on somebody else)
Defense mechanism-displacment
shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
(chopping wood, hard workout)
Defense mechanism-sublimation
transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially values motives
(put frustrations into work)
Defense mechanism-denial
refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities
most primitive, occurs with death, illness, drug problems
Personality
a person’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Psyche
Freud’s term for personality (id, ego, superego)
Libido
life energy, drive
Eros
life instinct
Thanatos
death instinct
Paraphilia (Freud)
Freud-homosexuality, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, masochisim are all caused by problems in the genital stage
Psychodynamic theories of personality
view our behavior as emerging from the interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts
Collective unconscious (psychologist)
Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history
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 and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach inkblot test
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
False consensus effect (Freud’s projection)
the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and our behaviors
(I am trustworthy, other people are too)
Terror-management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
Alfred Adler
inferiority complex, much of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer childhood inferiority feelings, creative self/we form our own personality, dream interpretation, birth order
Karen Horney
childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security, women do not have weak superegos or penis envy, overcome helplessness
Self-actualization
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
Self-transcendence
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 achieve meaning, purpose, and communion beyond the self
Carl Rogers
people are basically good and are endowed with self-actualizing tendencies. Unless thwarted by an environment that inhibits growth, each of us is like an acorn, primed for growth and fulfillment, his person-centered perspective (also called clientcentered perspective) held that a growth-promoting climate required three conditions: Genuineness, Acceptance, and Empathy
Unconditional positive regard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance
Self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Carl Jung
collective unconscious, persona, analytic psychology (bring god into it), personal unconscious, individualism, shadow self, two forces-anima and animus (female and male principle)
Archetypes
a universal idea, image, or pattern found in the collective unconscious (universal stories) (journey of the hero, big bad/little good, wise old man)
