Theories of Personality

trait

an aspect of personality that is considered to be reasonably table

learning approach

broad school of psychology that believes that personality is a learned characteristic

collectivists

define themselves in terms of the groups to which they belong and give priority to the goals of their group

introversion

people with this personality characteristic have high cortical arousal, leading them to avoid stimulation according to Allport

extroversion

people with this personality dimension tend to be active and self-expressive and gain energy from interacting with other people

ego

psychoanalystic appraoch; develops because a child's demands for instant gratification cannot be met or beacuse meeting these demands may be harmful

superego

psychoanalytic approach; develops throughout early childhood. It functions according to the moral principle; like our conscience

id

psychoanalytic approach; represents the basic drives, such as hunger, and demands pleasure through instant gratification and pays no attention to laws, social customs, or the needs of others

humanistic approach

psychological approach; individuals seek to learn aboue their environment and have a certain degree of control over reinforcement

Erik Erikson

psychologist who placed great emphasis on the mother-infant relationship in terms of personality development

collective unconscious

storage of human concepts shared by all people across all cultures

physiological

the most important need in Maslow's hierarchy of needs triangle

socialization

the process by which peeople learn the socially desirable behaviors of their particular culture and adopt them as a part of their personalities

genital stage

Freudian stage of development; sexual urges are awakened and adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers