Chapter 13: Personality

psychoanalysis

1) Sigmund Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; views personality consists of pleasure-seeking impulses (the id), a reality-oriented executive (the ego), and an internalized set of ideals (the superego); assessed by free association, projective tests and dream analysis (2) Freud's therapeutic technique used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

trait

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

projective test

A personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

personality inventory

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

self-serving bias

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

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.

empirically derived test

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

terror-management theory

A theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Oedipus complex

According to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

fixation

According to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

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.

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-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

personality

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

collective unconscious

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

Projection

Disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

narcissism

Excessive self-love and self-absorption.

self

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

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.

repression

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

defense mechanisms

In psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions

self-esteem

One's feelings of high or low self-worth.

spotlight effect

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

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Regression

Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

self-control

The ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

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.

personal control

The extent to which people perceive control over their environment

learned helplessness

The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

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.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

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.

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.

superego

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

external locus of control

The perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine your fate.

internal locus of control

The perception that you control your own fate.

identification

The process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.

positive psychology

The scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

psychodynamic theories

View personality with a focus on the interaction of the unconscious and conscious minds and the importance of childhood experiences; views personality is shaped by the dynamic interplay of conscious and unconscious motives and conflicts; assessed by projective tests and therapy sessions

humanistic theories

View personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth; focuses on the ways health people strive for self-realization; if our basic human needs are met, people will strive toward self-actualization. in a climate of unconditional positive regard, we can develop self-awareness and a more realistic and positive self-concept; assessed by questionnaires and therapy sessions

social-cognitive perspective

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

conscientiousness

a big five personality factor (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless)

agreeableness

a big five personality factor (friendly/compassionate vs. analytical/detached)

openness

a big five personality factor (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)

extraversion

a big five personality factor (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)

neuroticism

a big five personality factor (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident)

archetypes

a common reservoir of images in our collective unconscious

Oral Dependent Personality

a personality from Freud's Psychosexual Theory that states fixation early in the oral stage make a person qullible, passive, and need lots of attention

oral aggressive/sadistic personality

a personality from Freud's Psychosexual theory that states fixation later in the oral stage creates an adult who likes to argue, is cynical, and exploits others

Anal retentive personality

a personality from Freud's psychosexual theory that states holding on in the anal stage creates an adult who is obstinate, stingy, orderly, and compulsively clean

anal expulsive personality

a personality from freud's psychosexual theory that states letting go in the anal stage creates an adult who is disorderly, destructive, cruel, or messy

Social-Cognitive Personality Theory

a personality theory that assumes our traits and the social context interact to produce our behaviors; views personality as conditioning and observational learning interact with cognition to create behavior patterns; assessed by seeing how our behavior occurred in past similar situations

Trait personality theory

a personality theory that assumes we have certain stable and enduring characteristics, influenced by genetic predispositions; views personality as the scientific study of traits has isolated important dimensions of personality, such as the Big Five traits; assessed by Personality inventories

objective test

a psychological test that measures an individual's characteristics independent of rater bias or the examiner's own beliefs

Myers Briggs Type Indicator

a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

a questionnaire to assess the personality traits of a person on axes of extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability

penis envy

a stage theorized by Sigmund Freud regarding female psychosexual development, in which female adolescents experience anxiety upon realization that they do not have a penis. beginning the transition from an attachment to the mother to competition with the mother for the attention, recognition and affection of the father

possible selves

a thinking of self encompassing your visions of the self you dream or fear of becoming

unconditional positive regard

according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

tyranny of choice

an excess of choice that contributes to decreasing life satisfaction, increased depression, and sometimes decisional paralysis

inferiority complex

an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere, sometimes marked by aggressive behavior in compensation.

castration Anxiety

anxiety over being literally and figuratively emasculated that emerges during the phallic stage of Freud's Psychosexual Theory

erogenous zones

distinct pleasure-sensitive areas of the body in Freud's Psychosexual Theory

gender identity

our sense of being male or female

Neofreudians

pioneering psychoanalysts who accept Freud's basic ideas, but placed more emphasis on the conscious mind's role in interpreting experience and in coping with the environment and doubted that sex and aggression were all-consuming motivations

positive well-being

positive psychology exploration which assesses exercises and interventions aimed at increasing happiness

positive education

positive psychology exploration which evaluates educational efforts to increase students' engagement, resilience, character strengths, optimism, and sense of meaning

positive neuroscience

positive psychology exploration which explores the biological foundations of positive emotions, resilience, and social behavior

positive health

positive psychology exploration which studies how positive emotions enhance and sustain physical well-being

reality principle

the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly

Barnum Effect

the acceptance of stock, positive descriptions

person-situation controversy

the controversy concerning whether the person or the situation is more influential in determining a person's behavior

Genital

the final part of Freud's Psychosexual Stages from puberty onwards; maturation of sexual interests

Oral

the first part of Freud's Psychosexual Stages from 0-18 months, focusing on the pleasure centers on the mouth-sucking, biting, chewing

The Big Five

the five dimensions that a personality test can accurately use to describe your personality (conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion)

Latency

the fourth part of Freud's Psychosexual Stages from 6-puberty; a phase of dormant sexual feelings

social context

the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops

libido

the instinct energy contained in what Freud called the id

Electra Complex

the parallel of the Oedipus Complex in female psychosexual development where girls feel affection for their father and compete with their mothers, but are less driven to identify with their mother

Anal

the second part of Freud's Psychosexual Stages from 18-36 months; pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

factor analysis

the statistical procedure to identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Phallic

the third part of Freud's Psychosexual Stages from 3-6 years; pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

preconscious area

thoughts we store temporarily in here which we can retrieve into conscious awareness