Personality Flashcards
Personality
An individual characteristic pattern of thinking , feeling , & acting
Free association
A method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes & says whatever comes to mind , no matter how trivial or embarrassing
Psychoanalysis
Freuds theory of personality that attributes thoughts & actions to unconscious motives & conflicts ; the techniques used in testing psychological disorders by seeking to expose & interpret unconscious tensions
Id
At birth
Unconscious
Pleasure
Irrational , instinctual , immediate
Ego
Comes w experience Reality Part conscious Organized , rational , acceptable ways to desire Mediator
Superego
Morals
Partly conscious
Value , acceptable behavior
Guilt , shame , anxiety
Psychosexual stages
The childhood stages of dev , during which the ID’s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oedipus complex
A boys sexual desires toward his mother & feelings of jealousy & hatred for the rival father
Identification
The process by which , children incorporeal their parents values into their developing superegos
Fixation
A lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage , in which conflicts were unresolved
Defense mechanisms
The egos protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Repression
The basic defense mechanism that vanishes from consciousness anxiety arosuing thoughts , feelings , & memories
Seven defense mechanisms
Regression Reaction formation Projection Rationalization Displacement Sublimation Denial
Regression
Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage where some psychic energy remains fixated
A lil boy reverts to the oral comfort of thumb sucking in the car on the way to his first day of school
Reaction formation
Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites
Repressing angry feelings , a person displays exaggerated friendliness
Projection
Disgusting one own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
The thief thinks everyone is a thief
Rationalization
Offering self justifying explanations in plan of the real , more threatening unconscious reasons for one actions
A habitual drinker says she drinks with her friends “ just to be sociable “
Displacement
Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
A lil girl kicks the family dog after her mother sends her to her room
Sublimation
Transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives
A man w aggressive urges becomes a surgeon
Denial
Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities
A partner denies evidence of his loved one affair
Collective unconscious
Carl Jung concept of a shared , inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history
Projective test
A personality tests , that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one inner dynamics
Thematic apperception test
A projective test in which people express their inner feelings & interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach inkblot test
The most widely used projective test , a set of ten inkblots , designed by Herman Rorschach ; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of blots
False consensus effect
The tendency to overstimulate the extent to which others share our beliefs & our behaviors
Terror management theory
A theory of death related anxiety ; explores people’s emotional & behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
Humanistic theories
View personality w a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth
Self actualization
According to Maslow , one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical & psychological needs are met & self esteem is achieve ; the motivation to fulfill one potential
Unconditional positive regard
According to rogers , an attitude of total accepts Andre toward another person
Trait
A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel & act , as assessed by self report inventories & peer reports
Personality inventory
A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings & behaviors ; used to assess selects personality of traits
Minnesota multiphase personality inventory
The most widely researched & clinically used of all personality tests
Originally developed to identify emotional disorders , this test is now used for many other screening purposes
Empirically derived test
A test developed by testing a pool of items & then selecting those that discriminate between groups
Social cognitive perspective
Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s frauds & their social context
Behavioral approach
In personality theory , this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development
Reciprocal determinism
The interacting influences of behavior , internal cognition , & environment
Positive psychology
The study of optimal human functioning ; aims to discover & promote strengths & virtues that enable individuals & communities to thrive
Self
To be the center of personality , the organizer of our thoughts , feelings , & actions
Spotlight effect
Overstimulating others noticing & evaluating our appearance , performance , & blunders
Self esteem
One feelings of high or low self worth
Self efficacy
One sense of competence & effortiveness
Self serving bias
A readiness to perceive one self favorably
