Personality Psychology Exam 1: Chapters 9, 10, 11
Carol Dweck
emphasized that it's more adaptive to believe that abilities are changeable (growth mindset): this will cause people to have higher nAch because they'll be motivated to put in more effort to achieve their goals. -her study revealed that training students to think intelligence is changeable lead to increases in their grades.
humanistic tradition approach to motivation
emphasizes conscious awareness of needs, choice, and personal responsibility; they emphasize the role of choice in human life, as well as the influence of responsibility on creating a meaningful and satisfying life. -also emphasizes the human need for growth and the realization of one's full potential -provides an optimistic counterpoint to psychoanalysis by stressing the process of positive growth toward a desired human potential -this tradition views much of motivation as being based on a need to grow, to become who one is meant to be.
object relations theory
emphasizes social relationships and their origins in childhood. This theory assumes that: -the internal wishes, desires, and urges of a child aren't as important as his/her developing relationships with significant external others. -the others, particularly the mother, become internalized by the child in the form of mental objects; child creates an unconscious mental representation of the mother, giving them an unconscious "mother" to whom they can relate: allows the child to have a relationship with this internalized object, even in the absence of the real mother. *if things are going well between the mother and the child, then the child will internalize a caring, nurturant, trustworthy mother object. This image then forms the fundamentals for how children come to view others with whom they develop relationships. *if things are going poorly between the mother and the child, then the child will internalize an untrustworthy mother object, perhaps because they've often been left alone, neglected. This can cause them to have trouble learning to trust people later in life.
adults seeking long-term relaitonships
identify as most-attractive in potential dating partners responsive caregiving qualities such as attentiveness, warmth, and sensitivity
5th stage: identity vs. role confusion
identity achievement = one of the most important goals of development. Experimenting is common at this time (adolescence); teens are searching for identity in many ways and places. -People who fail at this stage develop role confusion and enter adulthood without a solid sense of who they are or what they want out of life/what the meaning of their life is. These people bounce around all sorts of roles and are generally unstable in their relationships, in their jobs, and in their goals and values.
1st stage: trust vs. mistrust
if children are well taken care of, if their needs are met, then they'll develop a sense of trust in their caregivers. This sense of trust then forms the basis for future relationships. Infants who aren't well taken care of and who never receive the love and care they need, may develop a sense that others are not to be trusted and may develop a lifelong pattern of mistrust in others, suspiciousness, feelings of estrangement, isolation, or social discomfort.
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality -they're unconscious -repression and displacement are the _____ involved in most other _____ -they're a compromise in terms of discharge of energy -they're not altogether bad
non-neurotic persons
in these people, all 3 trends can be expressed, as circumstances warrant -not mutually exclusive -flexible in behaviors and attitudes and they can adapt to changing situations
neurotic persons
in these people, one of the trends is present and dominant (compliant, aggressive, detached), but others are also present. -the other two trends need to be actively repressed -conflicts in a personality seem to arise due to the incompatibility of the 3 trends in the individual
2nd stage: autonomy vs. shame and doubt
in this stage, children begin experimenting with their new abilities, trying to answer the question, "how much of the world do I control?" -Good outcome: when a child feels a sense of control and mastery over things and develops self-confidence and a sense of autonomy that lets the child explore and learn. -If a parent inhibits such autonomy, perhaps by being overly-strict, restrictive, or punishing when the child is independent, then the child may feel shame and doubt over the goals he/she is contemplating; overly-protective parents hinder the child's natural urge to explore/encounter a wide variety of life experiences. Ex: parents who prevent their child from rough and tumble play with other children may cause their child to grow up doubting his/her ability to get along with others.
psychoanalytic theory
in this theory, the source of individual differences lies in how the child comes to resolve conflicts in each of the stages of development.
securely attached infants
infants endured the separation and went about exploring the room, waiting patiently or even approaching the stranger. When the mothers returned, these infants were glad to see them. -they seemed confident that the mothers would return
anxious-ambivalent attached infants
infants were very anxious about the mother's leaving. Many cried and protested before the mother had even left the room. When they were gone, the babies were difficult to calm. When the mothers returned, the infants displayed both anger and the desire to be close to mom. They approached their mothers but then resisted them by squirming and resisting being held.
avoidantly attached infants
infants who avoided their mothers when they returned. They typically seemed unfazed when the mothers left and they typically didn't give them much attention when they returned.
narcissism
inflated self-admiration and constant attempts to draw attention to the self and to keep others focused on oneself. When this is carried to extremes it becomes _________ personality disorder. -It's characterized by: -extreme self-focus -sense of being special -feelings of entitlement -constant search of others to serve as one's own private fan club * In contemporary psychoanalysis, this is seen as a disturbance in the sense of self that has many implications for creating problems with living and relating to others. -problems associated with this: ex: when criticized/challenged, they may behave aggressively, trying to achieve respect by attacking/belittling their critics; by contrast, people with healthy levels of self-esteem don't become distressed or aggressive when insulted
motives
internal states that arouse and direct behavior toward specific objects or goals. They're also often caused by a deficit or lack of something (e.g. if a person hasn't eaten for hours, they're motivated by hunger). These differ in: -type -amount -intensity *they're often based on needs: these propel us to perceive, think, and act in specific ways that satisfy our needs
moral anxiety
is caused by a conflict between the ego and the superego. Ex: people who suffer from eating disorders; people who punish themselves; people with low self-esteem who constantly feel worthless and ashamed over not living up to "proper" standards. They have an overly powerful superego, constantly challenging them to live up to higher expectations.
underlying psychoanalysis
is the assumption that personality is shaped largely by forces that act within a person's unconscious.
castration anxiety
little boys come to believe that their fathers might take away their penis; this fear of losing his penis drives the boy into giving up his sexual desire for his mommy.
7th stage: generativity vs. stagnation
main question of this stage concerns whether or not the person has generated something that he/she really cares about in life, which often takes the form of a career that one cares about or a family. -crisis at this stage: if people don't have anything they really care about, they may feel that their lives don't really matter -people who are just "going through the motions" are often seen as phonies
fundamental attribution error
may be interpreted as a specific form of denial; the tendency to blame events on the situation outside one's control for failure, but to accept responsibility for success.
plumbing system metaphor
metaphor for the structure of personality; pressure = the psychic energy from sexual and aggressive instincts, which build up and demand release.
psychic determinism
nothing happens by chance; Freud maintained that everything we do, think, say, and feel is an expression of the mind: the conscious, preconscious, or unconscious.
fixation
occurs if a child fails to fully resolve a conflict at a particular stage of development, causing them to potentially get stuck in that stage. If a child is stuck at a stage, he/she exhibits a less mature approach to obtaining sexual gratification.
identity foreclosure
occurs if a person does not have a crisis, or if he/she forms an identity without exploring alternatives, such as accepting the values of parents. People in this are often moralistic and conventional, but they often can't provide a good rationale for their beliefs and opinions. -taking on values without really exploring them
imagination inflation effect
occurs when a memory is elaborated upon through imagination, leading the person to confuse the imagined event with events that actually happened. Ex: By showing people an ad. suggesting that they shook hands with Mickey Mouse as a child, those people later had higher confidence that they had personally shaken hands with Mickey Mouse.
neurotic anxiety
occurs when there is a direct conflict between the id and the ego. The danger is that the ego may lose control over an unacceptable desire of the id. Ex: a woman who becomes anxious whenever she is sexually attracted to someone and who panics at the thought of sexual arousal.
self-serving biases
our common tendency to take credit for success yet to deny responsibility for failure.
6th stage: intimacy vs. isolation
people in the later half of the teen years express a need to develop relationships that are mutually satisfying and intimate. -isolation = the result of failure to find or maintain intimacy -failure to achieve a satisfying intimate relationship is often a serious impairment to one's happiness
anxiety (Rogers)
people who aren't moving forward in self-actualization experience frequent episodes of this. This = the result of having an experience that doesn't fit with one's self-conception. Rogers believed that people need to defend themselves against this, to reduce the discrepancy between their self-concept and their experiences. -a fully functioning person could change his/her self-concept to incorporate the experiences -the defense mechanism of distortion could also be used: persons modify their experiences rather than their self-image to reduce the threat (i.e. saying that the professor is unfair when they get a bad grade)
biting
people who fixate on biting at the oral stage might develop hostile adult personalities; they might draw gratification from being psychologically biting and verbally attacking.
conditional positive regard
positive regard that is given only when the person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish; positive regard when it must be earned by meeting certain conditions -children who experience many conditions of worth may lose touch with their own desires and begin living their lives in an effort to please others; they move away from the ideals of a fully functioning person. As an adult, they remain preoccupied with what others think of them and they've lost touch with their self-direction and are no longer moving towards self-actualization
Murray
proposed a list of fundamental human needs and each is associated with: -a specific desire/intention -a particular set of emotions -specific action tendencies Example: the need for affiliation: -desire = to win and maintain associations with people -set of emotions = interpersonal warmth, cheerfulness, and cooperativeness - action tendencies = accepting people, spending time with others, and making the effort to maintain contact with others. *He believed that each person has a unique hierarchy of needs
cognitive unconscious view
readily acknowledge that information can get into our memories without our ever being aware of the information. Ex: subliminal perception phenomenon
state levels of a need
refer to a person's momentary amount of a specific need, which can fluctuate with specific circumstances. Ex: a person who's failing at a task (e.g. a baseball player on a team that's losing 5-4 in the 9th) might experience a sharp increase in the state of achievement motivation.
trait levels of a need
refers to measuring a person's average tendency, or their set point, on the specific trait. The idea is that people differ in their typical/average amount of specific needs.
moratorium
refers to taking time to explore options before making a commitment to an identity. In some ways, college can be thought of as a socially acceptable time to explore a variety of roles and responsibilities before taking any one set on "for real". -active identity exploration without commitment
motive dynamic
refers to the mutual influence of forces within a person. In this case, the interaction of various motives within a person.
power stress
refers to when people high in nPow don't get their way/their power is challenged, they're likely to show strong responses. -McClleland hypothesized that people high in nPow were vulnerable to various ailments and diseases because of the stresses associated with inhibited power. Ex: in a college student study, researchers found that when power motives were inhibited or stressed, the subjects immune function became less efficient and they reported more frequent illnesses
explicit/self-attributed motivation
reflects primarily a person's self-awareness of his/her own conscious motives; reflect a person's conscious awareness about what's important to him/her; they represent part of the individual's conscious self-understanding -better predictors of responses to immediate and specific situations and to choice behaviors and attitudes (e.g. questionnaire-assessed need for achievement is the better predictor of how hard a person will work to obtain a reward in a psych experiment, and questionnaire-assessed need for power is the better predictor of a person's self-reported attitudes about social inequality)
conditions of worth
requirements set forth by parents or significant others for earning their positive regard. Children may become preoccupied with living up to these conditions rather than discovering what makes them happy. They'll behave in ways to earn the love, respect, and positive regard of parents and significant others.
false consensus effect
similar to projection; refers to the tendency many people have to assume that others are similar to them. Ex: extraverted people assume many other people are extraverted. =evidence for denial
identity exploration
sorting through potential identity alternatives
needs
states of tension within a person. As one is satisfied, the state of tension is reduced. -according to Murray, this is a potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances. These organize perception, guiding us to see what we want to see (e.g. someone who has a high nPow/need to influence others may see social situations as opportunities to boss others around) -Murray also stressed that it was the process of reducing tension that the person found satisfying. He believed that people might actually seek to increase tension (e.g. going on a rollercoaster) in order to experience the pleasure of reducing that tension (e.g. the ride ending)
instincts
strong innate forces that provide all the energy in the psychic system
adult attachment style research
studied 1. the way people think about their relationships compared with 2. their memories for what their relationships with their parents are like
genital stage
the 5th and final stage of the psychosexual stages; puberty- adult life; people only reach this stage if they've resolved the conflicts at the prior stages. Here the libido is focused on the genitals, but not in the manner of self-manipulation associated with the phallic stage; not accompanied by a specific conflict. -adult sexual development begins at puberty
emotional intelligence
the ability to know one's own emotions, to regulate those emotions, to motivate oneself, to know how others are feeling, and to influence how others are feeling. -this is correlated with self-actualization tendency -people may get off the path towards self-actualization because they've gotten out of touch with their emotions
priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response -making that associated material more accessible to conscious awareness
law of conservation of energy
the amount of psychic energy an individual possessed remained constant throughout his/her lifetime. Personality change was viewed as a redirection of a person's psychic energy.
empathy
understanding the other person from his/her point of view. Client-centered therapist conveys this understanding by simply listening to the client and reflecting what they say back, so that the client can then examine their thoughts in full and undistorted detail.
Mary Ainsworth
very involved in the scientific study of love and how it develops. She conducted numerous studies, observing mother and child interactions (responsiveness to crying, close body contact, face to face encounters, separation and reunion behaviors, and examples of infant cooperation or disobedience) for extended periods of time in both home and lab.
separation anxiety
when infants react negatively to separation and become agitated and distressed when the mother leaves the room (strange situation test); they can be calmed only by the mothers return (Bowlby and Ainsworth)
unconditional positive regard
when parents or significant others accept the child without conditions, communicating that they love and value the child because the child just is. With enough of this, children learn to accept, rather than deny, experiences; they don't have to fit a model of what others want; they're free to accept themselves, even their weaknesses; they're able to give themselves unconditional positive regard; they begin to take on characteristics of a fully functioning person and begin to self-actualize
wish-fulfillment
when something unavailable is conjured up and the image of it is temporarily satisfying. Ex: if an angry person didn't have the ability to attack the target of their anger, they may produce an imagined revenge fantasy. -this strategy only works temporarily to gratify the id because the need isn't satisfied in reality.
secure adult relationships
these people have few problems with developing satisfying relationships and friendships. -they trust others and easily bond with them -they're comfortable depending on their partner -they're comfortable having their partner depend on them -they don't worry about being abandoned nor do they worry about getting too close to others
moving away from people: the detached type
these people keep an emotional distance from others; they need privacy. -they strive to be self-sufficient -they try to find peace by avoiding others and escaping conflict -their need for independence makes them sensitive to attempts to influence -they put a great emphasis on reason, logic, and intelligence.
moving toward people: the compliant type
these people need affection and approval and they'll do what others want in order to obtain that approval. -they usually need a dominant person to guide/take care of them -they're concerned with living up to ideals of others -they become very dependent -they have repressed hostile impulses, which cause them to become very subservious
avoidant adult relationships
these relationships are characterized by difficulty in learning to trust others. These people remain suspicious of the motives of others, and they're afraid of commitment. They're afraid of depending on others because they anticipate being disappointed, abandoned, or being separated.
anxious/ambivalent adult relationships
these relationships are characterized by vulnerability and uncertainty about relationships. These adults become overly dependent and demanding on/of their partners and friends. They display high levels of neediness in their relationships and are high maintenance in that they need constant reassurance and attention.
men high in nPow
they rate their "ideal" wives" as those who are under the men's control and dependent on them, perhaps because such relationships offer them a sense of superiority.
romantic relationships: ambivalents
they tend to have frequent, but short-lived romantic relationships. They're desperate in relationships and they show fear of losing their partners. They're focused on keeping their partner happy and are often quick to change/compromise themselves for the sake of avoiding conflict. They find separation from their partners to be very stressful.
romantic relationships: avoidants
they tend to shun romance, believing that love is rare and never lasts. They fear intimacy and rarely develop deep emotional commitments. They tend not to be very emotionally supportive of their partners.
primary process thinking
thinking without logical rules of conscious thought or an anchor in reality. Ex's: dreams and fantasies -the id operates using this.
disorganized infants
this category was discovered later by one of Ainsworth's former students. These babies were utterly overwhelmed by the strange situation experience; some seemed momentarily terrified by their parents re-entry, others approached them and then retreated, unable to make an organized response. -they found that most of these babies had been raised in a traumatic household -these children have been found to be at the highest risk for behavioral, emotional, and relationship problems as they get older.
the case of Anna O
to Freud, hysterical symptoms/mental illness did not occur by chance. He believed that for a psychological symptom to be cured, the unconscious cause of the symptom must be discovered. The process often involves discovering an unpleasant/traumatizing hidden memory that has been repressed and pushed into the unconscious.
needs related to social power: abasement
to accept injury, criticism, and blame. To submit passively to external force, to resign oneself to fate. To admit inferiority, error, or wrongdoing. To confess and atone and seek pain and misfortune.
needs related to social power: blame-avoidance
to avoid humiliation at all costs. To avoid situations that may lead to embarrassment or belittlement. To refrain from action because of fear of failure or worry over the scorn, derision, or indifference from others.
ambition needs: exhibition
to be seen and heard. To be the center of attention. To make an impression on others and to excite, fascinate, entertain, intrigue, amuse, entice, or amaze others.
social affection needs: affiliation
to enjoy cooperation or reciprocal interaction with similar others. To draw near to others. To please and win affection of those you like. To remain loyal to friends.
ambition needs: achievement
to master, manipulate, or organize others, objects, or ideas. To accomplish difficult tasks, and to do this as rapidly and independently as possible. To overcome obstacles and excel and to surpass rivals by exercising talent.
needs related to social power: aggression
to overcome opposition forcefully. To avenge an injury. To attack, injure, or kill another. To forcefully punish or oppose another.
ambition needs: order
to put things in orderly arrangement, to desire cleanliness, organization, balance, neatness, and precision.
social affection needs: succor
to receive aid from others. To have one's needs gratified by another, to be nursed, supported, protected, advised, indulged, loved, and consoled. To always have a supporter or a devoted protector.
needs to defend status: dominance
to seek to influence or direct the behavior of others by persuasion, command, suggestion, or seduction. To control one's environment, particularly the social environment. To restrain or prohibit others.
needs related to social power: autonomy
to shake off restraint, break out of confines. To get free, to resist coercion and restriction. To avoid being domineered. To be free to act according to one's wishes and to remain unattached.
social affection needs: nurturance
to take care of others in need, to give sympathy and gratify the needs of helpless others, such as a child, or someone who's weak, disabled, inexperienced, infirm, humiliated, lonely, dejected, or confused. To assist persons in danger. To help, support, console, protect, comfort, nurse, feed, and heal others.
responsibility training
Life experiences that provide opportunities to learn to behave responsibly, such as having younger siblings to take care of while growing up. Moderates the gender difference in impulsive behaviors associated with need for power. Makes "profligate impulsive" behaviors such as drinking, aggression, and sexual exploitation less likely to occur. -these findings led researchers to argue that socialization, not biological sex per se, determines whether nPow will be expressed in these maladaptive behaviors.
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; according to Harlow, this occurs between the primary caregiver and the infant; this requires physical contact with a warm and responsive mother; it's vitally important to the psychological development of the infant. -________ to caregiver during the 1st 6 months of life = crucial -this begins when the human infant develops a preference for people over objects
negative identity
an identity founded on undesirable social roles, such as a street gang member.
anxiety
an unpleasant state signaling that something is not right and something must be done. It's a signal that the control of the ego is being threatened by reality, by impulses from the id, and/or by harsh controls exerted by the superego. -a well balanced mind (free from this), is achieved by having a strong ego; if one of the competing forces (id or superego) overwhelms the ego, this will arise.
dream analysis
another technique for revealing the unconscious; Freud's technique for uncovering the unconscious material in a dream by interpreting the dream's content. -manifest content: what the dream actually contains vs. latent content: what the elements of the dream represent -psychoanalysts interpret dreams by deciphering how the unacceptable impulses and urges are transformed by the unconscious into symbols; ex: parents may be represented as a king and queen.
preconscious mind
any piece of info that you're not presently thinking about, but that could easily be received and made conscious.
4th stage: industry vs. inferiority
around age 4, children begin comparing themselves and many develop a sense of competence and achievement. The sense of industry- feeling as if they can work to achieve what they want- sets children on their way to become productive members of society. -with enough failures, they might develop a sense of inferiority, feeling that they don't have the talent or ability to get ahead in life.
secure base
baby used mother as this, from which they can then move off of and explore when he/she feels comfortable.
implicit motivation
based on needs, such as the need for achievement, the need for power, and the need for intimacy and they're all measured in fantasy-based (TAT) measures. When the TAT is used to measure these motives, they're referred to as this because the people writing the stories aren't explicitly telling the psychologist about themselves, they're telling stories about other people. The stories are thought to express/reflect the implied motives of the person- their unconscious desires and aspirations, their unspoken needs. -these motives predict long-term, spontaneous behavioral trends over time (e.g. the TAT assessed needs for achievement is the better predictor of long term entrepreneurial success.)
attachment theory
basic premise: secure babies who cried less at home often cried more in the lab; they reacted to the loss of their haven of safety by becoming visibly upset. -baby's behavior upon reunion with mother = the most important part: -securely attached babies tended to go to their mothers to be picked up and they were quickly soothed and happy to return to exploring.
motive psychologists
believe that fantasies, free associations, and responses to projective tests reveal unconscious motivations. They stress that -people differ from one another in type and strength of their motives -these differences are measurable -these differences cause or are associated with important life outcomes -differences among people in the relative amounts of various motivates are stable over time -motives may provide one answer to the question "why do people do what they do?"
3rd stage: initiative vs. guilt
children at this stage often imitate adults, receive their first practice in adult tasks during play. When they play, they practice adult skills such as teamwork, following leaders, and resolving disputes by organizing games, choosing leaders, and forming goals. During school activities, they take the initiative to accomplish goals and to work with a purpose. -if all goes well, children at this stage develop a sense of initiative, which translates into ambition and goal-seeking. -if things go poorly, they may become resigned to failure or to not even take to initiative to pursue goals.
psychosexual stage theory
children seek gratification at each stage by investing libidinal energy in a specific body part. Each stage in the developmental process is named after the body part in which sexual energy is invested. -Freud's theory that states that we're all born with a drive for sexual pleasure, but that the constraints of civilized society limit the ways we can satisfy that drive. -stages are focused on erogenous zones -at each of the first 3 stages, children must resolve specific conflicts *successful personality development is defined by this theory as the ability to be productive and to maintain mature adult sexual relationships.
client-centered therapy
client is never given an interpretation of his/her problem; therapist makes no attempts to change the client directly. Instead, the therapist tried to create the right conditions in which the client can change him/herself: 3 core conditions: 1. an atmosphere of genuine acceptance on the part of the therapist; must genuinely be able to accept the client 2. therapist must express unconditional positive regard for the client; they accept everything the client says without passing judgement; the atmosphere is safe for the client to explore their concerns 3. empathic understanding: client must feel that the therapist understands him/her; the therapist attempts to know the client's thoughts and feelings as if they were his/her own
multi-motive grid
combines features of the TAT with features of self-report questionnaires. 14 pictures are selected to arouse one of the big 3 motives (achievement, power, or intimacy) presented with questions about important motivational states. The idea is that the photo will arouse the motive, which will then influence how the person will respond to the questions.
identity crisis
comes from Erikson's work; refers to the desperation and confusion a person feels when he/she hasn't developed a strong sense of identity -Erikson emphasized identity as an important developmental achievement in everyone's personality -identity = a story that answers the questions: who am I? What is my place in the adult world? What are the unifying themes in my life? What is the purpose of my existence?
psychosocial conflicts
crises of learning to trust our parents; learning to be autonomous from them; learning from them how to act as an adult
identity commitment
deciding on and adhering to a specific set of goals, values, and beliefs.
intellectualization
defense mechanism; distancing oneself from it by "studying it"
humor
defense mechanism; may release the tension between the conscious and unconscious
undoing
defense mechanism; performing a ritualistic act to "undo" an unacceptable act or thought
Freud
"the original archeologist of the human mind"
superego
"the restraining force"; regulates the id; prevents chaos; the upholder of societal values and ideals; the part of the mind that internalizes the values/morals/ideals of society; generally instilled into a child by society's social agents such as parents, schools, and organized religions. -develops around age 5 -functions on the idealistic principle -works against the id by inflicting guilt; the part of the brain that makes us feel guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed when we do something "wrong" and proud when we do something "right" -it determines right vs. wrong and sets moral goals and ideals of perfection -the source of our judgements about what things are good and what are bad. -what people refer to as our conscience -like the id, it's not bound to reality; it's free to set standards for virtue and self-worth, even if they're unrealistic, perfectionistic, and harsh. -it's mainly, but not entirely unconscious.
characteristics of self-actualizing persons
-Efficient perception of reality: they don't let their own desires color their perceptions; they're able to detect the deceitful and the fake -Acceptance of themselves, others, and the nature of fate; they realize that people, including themselves, make mistakes. They accept natural events, such as disasters, as part of life. -Spontaneity: their behavior is marked by simplicity and honest naturalness; they trust their impulses. -Problem focus: petty issues hold little interest to them; they have interest in larger problems -Affinity for solitude: they're comfortable being alone -Independence from culture and environment: they don't go in for fads; they prefer to follow their self-determined interests -Continued freshness of appreciation: they have a "beginners mind", for which every event, no matter how common is experienced as it is for the first time; they appreciate the ordinary -More frequent peak experiences: momentary feelings of extreme wonder -Genuine desire to help the human race -Deep ties with relatively few people: prefer privacy -Democratic values: respect and value all people and they don't stereotype -Ability to discriminate between means and ends: they enjoy doing things for their own sake rather than doing them for the goals they activity can fulfill -Philosophical sense of humor -Creativity -Resistance to enculturation: they remain detached from culture-bound rules
nAch and childhood experiences (women)
-among women: nAch is associated with a stressful/difficult early family life -mother high in nAch were found to be critical of their daughters and to be aggressive and competitive towards them -mothers of high-achieving schoolgirls were also less nurturant and affectionate toward their daughters han the mothers of less academically successful girls
factors that contribute to our personalities
-experiences -different individuals react differently to same situation -people choose their situation -people alter the situations they enter. Ex: when you're having a convo with someone and another person comes in, you may stop talking/change the subject.
nInt associated with certain benefits and positive life outcomes
-for women, nInt is associated with happiness and satisfaction with life -for men, nInt is associated with less strain in life -women, on average, have a higher nInt than men have
individuals low in nAch
-individuals low in nAch are more likely to choose really difficult or really easy courses -in the difficult courses, they choose them because they really don't care if they do poorly in the class because they believe that no one does well in such a difficult class. -they don't get involved in difficult tasks for the challenge.
sex differences in nAch
-men and women high in nAch are similar in their preference for moderate challenges, personal responsibility for the outcome, and tasks with feedback. -research on men has focused primarily on achievement in business as a typical life outcome predicted by nAch -research on women has identified different "achievement trajectories" depending on whether the women value having a family or having both a family and work goals. -women who value both: nAch is related more to achieving better grades and completing college, marrying and starting a family later than it is among women low in nAch with career and family interests. -women more exclusively focused on family: nAch is seen in the women's investment in activities related to dating and courtship, such as greater emphasis on appearance and talking with friends about boyfriends. -researchers found that even in settings where women perform just as well as men, they're less likely to want to engage in direct competition with others. Women may be more selective in how they express their achievement strivings, especially when winning for oneself means that others lose.
research findings on Maslow's hierachy
-negative reactions were strongest when subjects though about not attaining the lower goals such as food and safe shelter -they reported more positive emotions when they thought about meeting their self-actualization goals *idea is that the lower needs are "prepotent" - imperative for sheer survival;- and therefore, they're stronger than the higher needs when they're unfulfilled -people value gratifying the higher needs more -in terms of happiness, it doesn't appear to matter what level of need a person is working on.
sex differences in nPow
-no sex differences in average levels of nPow -men and women don't differ in the life outcomes associated with nPow -most consistent difference is that high nPow men, but not women, perform a variety of aggressive and impulsive behaviors. -men high in nPow are more likely to have dissatisfying relationships, arguments with others, and higher divorce rates. They're also more likely to engage in the sexual exploitation of women, have more sex partners, and engage in sex at an earlier age. -they're also more likely to abuse alcohol
importance of Ainsworth's work
-one of the first empirical demonstrations of how attachment behavior is patterned in both safe and frightening situations -empirical taxonomy of individual differences in infant attachment patterns -demonstrated that the individual differences were correlated with infant parent interaction
ways into the unconscious
-projective tests -hypnosis -free association -parapraxes -dream analysis
war & peace & nPow
-researchers found that increases in power images preceded military actions, whereas decreases in power imagery preceded decreases in military threat.
adjustment
-secure infants tend to be the most well-adjusted (resilient)
conscious mind
-the part of the brain that contains all the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that you are presently aware of. -whatever you're currently thinking about/perceiving is in this part of the brain.
individuals high in nAch
-these people will choose a task that will give them feedback; they want honest feedback so that they can continue to improve -they'll choose tasks for which they're personally responsible -they choose tasks that are of moderate difficultly; they tend to work more diligently on moderately difficult tasks; they don't want to engage in tasks that are too challenging nor do they want to engage in tasks that are too easy. -they tend to be promoted quickly early in their careers -avoiding the more challenging tasks can interfere with good performance; they want to know they can get the task done -may not be willing to delegate tasks to others which could also interfere will getting the job done since they may not get the help they really need -more attracted to getting economic feedback -this doesn't mean that some of these people won't be good managers; just means that these characteristics might interfere -persistent in the face of failure -relates to task performance and grade in school
children (Horney's view)
-they have a need for safety -security being undermined leads to hostility. The child may repress the hostility due to a sense of helplessness, fear of parents, desire to please parents, etc., but the act of repressing hostility leads to basic anxiety.
defense mechanisms in everyday life
-they may be useful in coping with disappointing events that occur in everyday life. -they can also make circumstances worse *you know a behavior is a problem if it begins inhibiting your ability to be productive or if it begins limiting your ability to maintain relationships.
mothers of securely attached infants
-they provide more affection and stimulation to their babies -they're generally more responsive than the mothers of the other infant groups
adult attachments
-we should observe the same kind of individual differences in adult relationships as in infant-caregiver relationships -the way adult relationships "work" should be similar to the way infant-caregiver relationships work -whether an adult is secure or insecure in his/her adult relationships may be a partial reflection of his/her attachment experiences in early childhood
impact of divorce on nAch
-women whose parents had divorced when they were children had higher nAch scores than women whose parents had stayed together -opposite outcome for men -living with a single mom may provide an achieving role model for young girls, whereas for boys it may demonstrate that men are unnecessary to family life and perhaps even to be resented
Roger's contributions
Focused on ways to foster and attain self-actualization; developed a theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy -his theory explains how people lose their direction and he proposes techniques for helping people get back on track toward achieving their potential. He strongly believed that the primary motive in life was to self-atualize
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
1. Self-actualization 2. Esteem: from self and others; we want others to respect us and we want to feel good about ourselves 3. Belongingness: strong need to belong to groups (family, greek organization, religious group, sports team, etc.) 4. Safety: shelter and security (having a home and being free from danger) 5. Physiological: basic survival needs such as food, water, and air. -we typically must satisfy the lower needs before we can satisfy the higher needs. -this hierarchy emerges during the course of human development; it's meant to apply to the average person
Freud's conclusions about human development
1. personality is shaped in the 1st few years of life. 2. the resolution of psychosexual conflicts is the key contributor to personality.
properties of traits
1. stability over time and 2. consistency across situations
insight
2nd part of psychoanalysis process; refers to an intense emotional experience that accompanies the release of repressed material. When this material is reintegrated into conscious awareness, and the person experiences the emotions associated with the previously repressed material, then we say that some degree of insight has been achieved.
anal stage
2nd psychosexual stage; occurs between 18 months and 3 years of age; the anal sphincter is the source of sexual pleasure at this stage. The child obtains pleasure from 1. expelling feces and then 2. retaining feces during toilet training. -conflicts that arise during this stage: toilet training; some kids achieve too little control and grow up to be sloppy and dirty (anal-explosive). Other children develop too much control and begin to take pleasure in little acts of self-control (anal-retentive). -adults who are compulsive, overly-neat, rigid, and never messy are likely to be fixated at this stage.
resistance
3rd part of psychoanalysis process; the forces that have worked to repress disturbing material/trauma now work to resist the psychoanalytic process; ex's: patient may forget their appointments, show up super late, forget to pay their analyst's bill, etc. = a welcomed sign; signifies to the analyst that progress is being made, that important unconscious material is coming to the fore.
phallic stage
3rd psychosexual stage; occurs between 3-5yrs; when the child discovers that he has (or she does not have) a penis. Children discover their genitals and that pleasure can be derived from touching them. -the awakening of sexual desire directed outward, and according to Freud, it's first directed toward the parent of the opposite sex. -fixation at this stage can result in a character or personality type that evidences strong narcissism
transference
4th stage of psychoanalysis; the patient begins reacting to the analyst as if he/she were an important figure from the patient's own life; ex: patient might feel/act toward the analyst the way he felt and acted toward his father -the idea behind this is that the interpersonal problems between a patient and the important people in his/her life will be reenacted in the therapy session with the analyst (known as repetition compulsion)
setting challenging standards for children
= another way parents can promote nAch in children. Idea is for parents to provide goals that challenge the child, support the child in working towards these goals, and reward them when the goal is attained.
establishing identity
= the primary function of the ego; identity is an inner sense of who we are or what makes us unique; a sense of continuity over time and a feeling of wholeness
key factor in establishing secure attachments during infancy
Ainsworth believed that the sensitivity of the primary caregiver in terms of picking up cues from the baby and responding to them appropriately is probably the key factor in establishing secure attachments during infancy -sensitive caregivers seemed to adjust themselves to the individual characteristics of their baby
haven of safety
Ainsworth concluded that this sensitive caregiving led a baby to treat his attachment figure as this when things seemed unsafe and overwhelming
the strange situation test: patterns of attachment
Ainsworth discovered that babies whose mother's responded to their cries quickly and sensitively during the 1st 6 months of life, cried much less as 1 year olds. They were also more compliant and obedient later in the 1st year. They also explored more and developed more cognitive skills than babies whose mothers had been less sensitive to their early needs. -mothers who allowed their babies to set the timing and pace of feedings tended to have less difficult and more secure children by the end of the 1st year.
the narcissistic paradox
Although the narcissist appears high in self-esteem, he or she has doubts about his or her worth as a person; although they appear confident, the person needs constant praise, reassurance, and attention from others and although they appear to have a grandiose sense of self-importance, they're very vulnerable to criticism and blows to the self-esteem
working models
Early experiences and reactions of the infant to the parents, particularly the mother, become what Bowlby called __________ ___________ for later adult relationships. These expectations about relationships are thought to become part of our unconscious and thereby they exert a powerful influence on our adult relationships
dreams
Freud believed that the direct expressions of desires and wishes would be so disturbing that it would waken the dreamer; the ego is still somehow at work during sleep and it succeeds in disguising the disturbing content of our unconscious; the wishes + unacceptable desires have to be disguised in order to allow us to keep sleeping, which is necessary, but yet must be expressed in order to satisfy desires. Ex: having a dream about killing one's father might be so disturbing that is would awaken a boy with an Oedipal fixation. -Freud called these "the royal road to the unconscious" -they serve 3 functions: 1. allows for wish-fulfillment + gratification of desires; 2. provide a safety valve by allowing someone to release unconscious tension by expressing his/her deepest desires; 3. dreams = guardians of sleep; although tension is being released, no anxiety is being aroused; person sleep without interruption
reality principle
Freud described this as the ego's means to satisfy the id while taking the reality of the situation into account.
life instinct
Freud's combination of self-preservation and sexual instincts -aka the libido: any need-satisfying, life-sustaining, or pleasure-oriented urge.
oral stage
Freud's first stage of psychosexual development; occurs during the first 18 months of life; main sources of pleasure and tension reduction are the mouth, lips, and tongue. -The main conflict during his stage is weaning; withdrawing from the breast or bottle; the child must give up breast feeding; this conflict has a biological an psychological component. -biologically: the id wants the immediate gratification associated with taking in nourishment and obtaining pleasure through the mouth. -psychologically, the conflict is one of excessive pleasure versus dependency, with the fear of being lift to fend for oneself. -adults who still obtain pleasure from "taking in", especially through the mouth, might be fixated at this stage. Ex: people who smoke or overeat, bite their nails, suck their thumb, chew pencils, etc might be fixated in this stage. -drug addiction may be a sign of oral fixation
inverted hostility theory
Freud's theory exploring how depressive people, being too frightened to express their rage for their rejection outwardly, turn their anger inward on parts of their own egos.
fear of success
Horney's idea that many women felt that if they were to succeed they'd lose their friends, causing them to have an unconscious fear of success. -she held that men, on the other hand, believed they would actually gain friends by being successful; therefore, they weren't afraid to strive and pursue achievement.
need for intimacy
McAdams defines this need as the recurrent preference or readiness for warm, close, and communicative interaction with others. People high in this want more intimacy and meaningful human contact in their day-to-day lives than people low in this need. People high in this need have been found to: -spend more time during the day thinking about relationships -report more pleasant emotions when around others -smile, laugh, make more eye contact -start up convos more and write more love letters -person high in this is more likely to be someone with few very good friends, preferring sincere and meaningful conversations over wild parties.
independence training
McClleland believed that parents can behave in ways that promote autonomy and independence in their children. Ex: young child who's taught to feed him/herself becomes independent of the parents during feeding time. -training child to be independent in various life tasks promotes a sense of mastery and confidence in the child -this is one way that parents can promote nAch in children
press
Murray used this term to refer to need-relevant aspects of the environment. Ex: someone with a high need for affiliation might be sensitive to the social aspects of his/her environment (how many people are present, whether they're interacting, whether they look approachable, etc). People with a high need for affiliation would be more likely to notice others and to see more opportunities for interaction than someone with a low need for affiliation
hierarchy of needs
Murray's pyramid of human needs; he believed that people's various needs can be thought of as existing at different levels of strength (e.g. a person might have a high need for dominance, an average need for affiliation, and a low need for achievement)
Erik Erikson
Neo-Freudian who moved psychoanalytic thought beyond childhood. He said that adolescence is the particularly turbulent time of life and identity development. Developed 8 "psychosocial" stages of development. -less emphasis on sex -less emphasis on the unconscious -more emphasis on the interpersonal
Karen Horney
Neo-Freudian; offered feminist critique of Freud's theory. She taught that the penis was a symbol of social power, rather than an organ women actually desired. She argued that girls realize, at an early age, that they're being denied social power because of their gender. They don't have a secret desire to become boys, but rather, they desire the social power and preference given to boys at the time. -less emphasis on sex in her viewpoint -believed with Freud that the unconscious was very important -more emphasis on the interpersonal (social and cultural differences): she stressed that although biology determines sex, cultural norms are used to determine what is acceptable for a typical male and female in that culture. She's partly why we use the terms "masculine" and "feminine" to refer to differences in such culturally ascribed roles today. We also refer to traits as gender differences not sex differences. -questioned Freud's male-centric ideas of psychoanalysis. -believed that the concept of penis envy was exaggerated
projective techniques
Projective hypothesis: people are thought to project their own personalities into what they report seeing in an ambiguous stimulus; ex: a hostile and aggressive person might see teeth, blood, and claws in an inkblot and someone with an oral fixation might see food or people eating. -inkblot technique often criticized for scant scientific evidence to its reliability and validity -drawing tests: what someone draws might be a projection of his/her own conflicts
Erikson and his 8 stages of development
he believed that the development of personality lasted well into adulthood. He also believed that the conflicts we face at each stage were of a social nature, rather than a sexual or aggressive nature.
flow
a subjective state that people report when they're completely involved in something to the point of forgetting time, fatigue, and everything other than the activity itself. -in these states, a person is functioning at his/her fullest capacity
Oepidal conflict
a boy's unconscious wish to have his mother all to himself by eliminating the father.
rationalization
a defense mechanism that involves generating acceptable reasons for outcomes that might otherwise appear socially unacceptable. The goal is to come up with an explanation for an event that is easier to accept than the real reasons. Ex's: a student who gets an F on a paper/test might explain it by blaming the teacher for not giving her clear directions; a girl explaining that she never really liked the guy after he breaks up with her.
denial
a defense mechanism that involves refusing to see the facts. A person in _____ insists that things are not the way they seem. Ex: a man whose wife has left him may still set a place for her at the table, insisting that she will come home. Can also be less extreme; when someone reappraises an anxiety-provoking situation so that it seems less daunting; ex: man denying that his wife freely chose to leave him, that she had to leave him for some specific reason.
conversion reaction
a defense mechanism where a conflict is converted to a symptom (physical) such as illness or weakness. The symptoms help the person avoid the anxiety.
reaction formation
a defense mechanism; in an attempt to stifle the expression of an unacceptable urge, someone might continually display a behavior that indicates the opposite impulse. Ex: a woman who is angry with her boss might go out of her way to be overly friendly and kind to him; "killing someone with kindness" -this makes it possible for psychoanalysts to predict that sometimes people will do exactly the opposite of what you think they'd do. -also alerts us to be sensitive to instances when a person is doing something in excess.
sublimation
a defense mechanism; the most adaptive defense mechanism; the channeling of unacceptable sexual or aggressive instincts into socially desired activities. Ex's: going out to chop wood when angry instead of acting on that anger; watching football or boxing is more socially acceptable than beating someone up. -the positive feature of this is that it allows for some limited expression of the id tendencies so that the ego doesn't have to invest energy into holding the id in check.
projection
a defense mechanism; the notion that sometimes we see in others the traits and desires we find most upsetting in ourselves. We literally project (attribute) our own unacceptable qualities onto others. We can hate them instead of hating ourselves for having those qualities. Ex: married men that have affairs are more suspicious of their wives being unfaithful. -what a person really dislikes about or gets upset with others about is often revealing his/her innermost insecurities.
repression
a defense mechanism; the process of preventing unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or urges from reaching conscious awareness. Through this, a person avoids the anxiety that would arise if the unacceptable thoughts were made conscious. -all other defense mechanisms involve a degree of this. -this is occasionally used as an explanation for: PTSD, repressed memories, and false memories. *doesn't destroy the drive
free association
a technique for revealing the unconscious; letting your mind wander and saying whatever comes into your mind; by relaxing the censor that screens our everyday thoughts, this technique allows potentially important material into conscious awareness. -patients are encouraged to say whatever comes into their mind, not matter how absurd -psychoanalysts is likely to be subjected to a lot of trivial info before finding an important clue to an unconscious conflict; "searching through lots of ordinary material in order to find clues to past conflicts/traumas" -psychoanalyst must be able to recognize subtle signs that something important has just been mentioned; a slight quiver, a halting sentence, a nervous laugh, long pause, etc.
need for achievement
a fundamental human motive; the desire to do better, to be successful, and to feel competent. It's energized by the incentives of challenge and variety and it's accompanied by feelings of interest and surprise. It's associated with the subjective state of being curious and exploratory. -people motivated by a high need for this obtain satisfaction from accomplishing a task or from the anticipation of accomplishing a task. They cherish the process of being engaged in challenging activities. -in terms of trait levels, people high in this prefer moderate levels of challenge, not too high or too low -they enjoy tasks in which they're personally responsible for the outcome -they prefer tasks for which feedback on their performance is available -they have positive feelings about success and negative feelings about failure -it seems that persons high in this are drawn to careers that have more potential risk and uncertainty, where success if a matter of personal responsibility and where emergency problem solving is routine. -relates to job satisfaction, but apparently not to other aspects of life.
identity confusion
a period in which people lack a strong sense of who they really are; being unable to maintain lasting commitments and lacking a clear sense of purpose -identity = something that must be achieved, otherwise it will most likely be shallow and changeable
fully functioning person
a person on his or her way to self-actualization. They may not be self-actualized yet, but he/she isn't blocked or side-tracked in moving toward this goal. Characteristics that describe this person -open to new experiences -enjoy diversity and novelty in daily lives -centered in the present; they don't dwell on the past or past regrets -they also don't live in the future -when faced with a decision, they trust themselves to decide -often unconventional, setting their own obligations and accounting to themselves
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 -participants are encouraged to tell a creative story with a beginning, middle, and an end. The psychologist then codes these stories for the presence of various types of imagery associated with particular motives. * Essential Features: -subject is given an ambiguous stimulus -asked to describe and interpret what's going on
Kenick's evolution based model
a re-interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: 1. parenting 2. mate retention 3. mate acquisition 4. status/esteem 5. affiliation 6. self-protection 7. immediate physiological needs
psychic energy
a source of energy proposed by Freud that is within each person, motivating all human activity -operates according to the law of conservation of energy -according to Freud, because this energy exists in a fixed and limited amount within each person, it can be directed and redirected in various ways.
personality trait
a stable psychological disposition to behave in a certain way that people have to different degrees.
psychoanalysis
a theory of personality + a method of psychotherapy; a technique for helping individuals who are experiencing a mental disorder or even relatively minor problems with living. -can be thought of as a method for deliberately restructuring the personality. -principles of this therapy are based directly on Freud's psychoanalytic theory about the structure and functioning of personality -goal of this therapy is to make the unconscious conscious -first aim of this is to identify these unconscious thoughts and feelings -second aim is to enable the person to deal with the unconscious urges, memories, or thoughts realistically and maturely.
displacement
a threatening or an unacceptable impulse is channeled or redirected from its original source to a non-threatening target. Ex: being angry at one's boss but taking it out on their husband. -can also involve sexual urges that are redirected from a less acceptable to a more acceptable target. -the process of this takes place outside of awareness.
penis envy
according to Freud, little girls blame their moms for their lack of a penis and desire and envy their fathers for their penis; the counterpart of castration anxiety. -Carl Jung termed this stage the Electra Complex
unconscious mind
according to Freud, the largest part of the human mind. Where we hide unacceptable info from the conscious view. The memories, thoughts, feelings, or urges are so troubling/distasteful that being aware of them would make the person anxious. -according to Freud, one way to control our sexual or aggressive instincts (deemed unacceptable by society) is to keep them from entering conscious awareness in the first place.
self-actualization
according to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential, to become everything that one is capable of; to reach your human potential
deliberation without awareness
aka the "let me sleep on it" effect aka unconscious decision making: the idea that if a person is confronted with a difficult decision and they put it out of their conscious mind for some time, their unconscious mind will continue to deliberate on it, outside the person's awareness, helping them to arrive at a "sudden" decision later on.
positive regard
all children are born wanting to be loved and accepted by their parents and others. It's good for parents to have expectations for their children, but it's bad to make their love contingent on the child's meeting those expectations -Rogers believed that this from parents should have no strings attached.
personal identity
amount of self-knowledge, synthesis, and consistency a person possesses over time and across situations
ego
executive of personality; serves to balance the demands of the id and the superego; the "master of compromise"; uses defense mechanisms to protect itself; The part of the mind constrains the id to reality. The mediator between the id and the superego. -develops around ages 2 and 3 -operates according to the reality principle: the ego, while trying to satisfy the id, has to take the reality of the situation into account. -understands that the urges of the id are often in conflict with social and physical reality. -understands that such impulsive actions can lead to problems and that direct expression of id impulses must therefore be avoided, redirected, or postponed, depending on the situation.
"the peer effect"
exemplified by a simulated driving test alone versus with friends; teens were much more likely to run a yellow light and risk a crash when they were with friends than when they were alone; emplified how much teens are influenced by peer pressure.
objective anxiety
fear; this anxiety occurs in response to a real, external threat to the person. Ex: being confronted with in an alley by a man with a knife would elicit this kind of anxiety. -the ego is being confronted/threatened by an external factor.
interpretation
first part of the process of psychoanalysis; the psychoanalyst offers these to the patient, leading them to view problematic thoughts, dreams, behaviors, symptoms, or feelings as all having unconscious roots and as expressions of unconscious conflicts or repressed urges
latency stage
fourth psychosexual stage; age 6-puberty; little psychological development is presumed to occur at this time; it's mainly a period when the child is going to school and learning the skills and abilities to take on the role of an adult. Freud believed that it was a period of psychological rest. This period ends with the sexual awakening brought on by puberty. -libido remains dormant until puberty
Freud's iceberg metaphor
the conscious part of the mind is what's above the waterline, the preconscious is what's below the water but still visible from above, and the unconscious, the largest part of the mind, is hidden well below the surface.
cognitive view of the unconscious
the content of the unconscious mind is assumed to operate just like thoughts in consciousness. Thoughts are unconscious because they're not in conscious awareness, not because they've been repressed or because they represent unacceptable urges or wishes. Ex: we might say that buttoning a shirt is unconscious because we do it without focusing any conscious attention on the act.
thanatos
the death instinct; referred to any urge to destroy, harm or aggress against others or oneself.
need for power
the desire to have an impact on others. People high in this need have a need to impress, influence, or control others, and to be recognizable by others for their power-oriented actions. They want people to react to them with admiration, astonishment, or fear. In the research findings: -this need correlated with facial recognition: most likely how people high in this monitor whether they're being successful in having an impact -this need correlates positively with having arguments with others, being elected to student office in college, taking larger risks in gambling situations, behaving assertively in small-group settings, and acquiring more "prestige possessions" (sports cars, credit cards, etc.) -people high in this prefer friends who aren't well known or popular, perhaps because they don't threaten the person's status/prestige
secondary process thinking
the development strategies for solving problems and obtaining satisfaction. Ex: teasing one's sister because it's more socially acceptable than hitting her; this could possibly satisfy the id's aggressive urge as well. -the ego engages in this. -some urges, however, may remain simply unacceptable, regardless of the situation.
nAch and childhood experiences (men)
the early lives of males high in nAch are characterized by parental support and care
identity synthesis
the extent to which various aspects of one's life and identity fit together
motivated unconscious
the idea that the "little accidents" in life are often expressions of this. Ex: calling someone by the wrong name or missing an appointment. -Freud believed that the reasons behind these "little accidents" can be discovered if the contents of the unconscious can be examined.
basic anxiety
the pervasive and increasing feeling of helplessness and of being lonely in a hostile world. -the foundation of neurosis
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, little boys want to become like their daddy. This marks the beginning of the resolution of the Oedipal conflict and the successful resolution of the phallic stage.
id
the reservoir of psychic energy; the most primitive part of the human mind; the source of all drives/urges that we're all born with. -like a spoiled child: selfish, impulsive, and pleasure-loving. -it operates according to the pleasure principle: the desire for immediate gratification. It can't tolerate any delays in satisfying urges. -this dominates during infancy -it doesn't listen to reason, follow logic, has no values or morals, and has very little patience. -also operates using primary process thinking: thinking without logical roles of conscious thought or an anchor in reality: ex's: include dreams and fantasies. -it's amoral and egocentric, without a sense of time, no logic.
8th stage: integrity vs. despair
the stage where we begin withdrawing from life, pulling back from our adult roles, and preparing to face death. -we look back on and pass judgement on our lives -if we're satisfied with our life, we'll pass with integrity, but if we're dissatisfied we'll be regretful and become bitter.
confirmatory bias
the tendency to look only for evidence that confirms their previous hunch and to not look for evidence that might disconfirm their belief. Therapists can suffer from this bias; Ex: if a therapist believes that childhood trauma is the cause of most adult problems, he/she will most likely probe for memories of childhood trauma.
moving against people: the aggressive/hostile type
these people are hostile toward others; they seek to achieve control over others and superiority -they believe everyone is hostile -they use exploitation and aggressiveness to gain control -they act tough and dominant; they have no regard for others -they're consistently motivated to high performance to gain affirmation from others about their superiority -they view work as a means to an end, the end = achieving control and superiority -they're driven by insecurity, anxiety, and hostility
romantic relationships: secure
these people can be separated from their partners without feeling stressed. They're generally more warm and supportive in their relationships, and their partners report more satisfaction in these relationships. They seek support when they need it.