Psych Test Review Chapter 14 - Personality Theories

Abraham Maslow

-believed that people recognize their desire to achieve self-actualization -individuals must take risks and follow their own path in quest for continued personal growth

Karen Horney

-childhood experiences play a major role in the development of the adult personality -parent/child relationship is of utmost importance -loving, secure childhood = positive personality, fewer conflicts

John Watson and B.F. Skinner (behaviorism)

-external forces shape behavior (environmental forces condition us) -focus is on observation and positive reinforcement -individuals can also have response tendencies: certain degree of consistency in their behaviors

Erik Erikson

-social relationships are the most important fact in personality development (esp. emotional climate between mom and child) -people are capable of making their own choices during various stages of life (8 stages of man)

Carl Rogers

Believed that people shape their own personalities through freedom of choice and action

Albert Bandura (Social-Learning Theory)

Learning of personality traits/characteristics through observations and imitation of liked/respected individuals

projection

accusing others of faults one cannot acknowledge in one's self

reaction formation

acting contrary to true feelings in order to hide them

extroversion

active expressive gain energy from others, love to be the center of attention

identity crisis

adolescence - search for who you are

repression

anxiety causing ideas are pushed into the subconscious so they do not need to be dealt with directly

self efficacy

belief in one's own capabilities and the fact that each of us can intentionally affect the environment

Alfred Adler

believed in birth order as an influencing factor of personality

The Trait Approach

certain aspects of personality remain reasonably stable (based on behavior)

sublimation

channeling unacceptable impulses into socially unacceptable behaviors

ego

conscious - reality principle, represents good service and reasoning

inferiority complex

feelings of inadequacy and insecurity - individuals are motivated to overcome by striving for goals (source: our small size as children - need to compensate for it)

the sociocultural approach

focuses on the roles of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status in personality development

Humanistic approach

freedom of choice and potential for growth - people choose their behavior/characteristics (and therefore are responsible for their choices) -theory assumes that individuals are self-aware and are always striving for self fulfillment

congruence

healthy state in which our self-concept is similar to our experiences with others

sibling rivalry

jealousies between siblings - fighting for parents' attention, approval, support, resources

defense mechanisms

methods used by the ego to avoid recognizing ideas or emotions that may cause anxiety, they operate unconsciously

superego

morality principle values and standards develops in early childhood

surface traits

obvious personality traits

Carl Jung

placed emphasis on the influences of mysticism and religious upon personality/behavior -believed that individuals must integrate elements of their personalities in order to become a whole person

socialization

process by which people learn society desirable behaviors and adapt them as part of their personality

introversion

quiet, imaginative, look inward for energy, prefer smaller groups

denial

refusing to accept the reality of an upsetting situation

regression

returning to behaviors that is characterizing of an earlier stage of development

source traits

single underlying traits which are the basis of surface traits

collective unconscious

store of human concepts shared by all people across all cultures (universal and inherited) -ex. interest in magic, fear of the dark

procrastination

to put off an unwanted task

displacement

transfer of an impulse from an unacceptable target to a more acceptable

id

unconscious - pleasure principle, represents basic biological drives

rationalization

use self description to justify unacceptable behavior (distortion of ideas)

self-concept

view of one's self as an individual (a combination of sense of self and how we believe others see us)