AP Psychology: Personality Study Guide

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key concepts and terminology related to personality psychology.

Personality

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that is consistent over time and across situations.

Id

The part of personality present at birth that operates on the pleasure principle seeking immediate gratification.

Ego

The component of personality that develops around age 2-3, operating on the reality principle.

Superego

The part of personality that develops around age 5-6, representing internalized societal and parental standards.

Conscious

The level of awareness containing thoughts and feelings we are currently aware of.

Preconscious

The level of awareness containing memories and information we can easily access.

Unconscious

The level of awareness containing hidden thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories that influence behavior.

Oral Stage

The first stage of psychosexual development (0-18 months) focused on pleasure from mouth activities.

Anal Stage

The second stage of psychosexual development (18 months-3 years) focused on pleasure from bowel/bladder control.

Phallic Stage

The third stage of psychosexual development (3-6 years), involving pleasure from genitals.

Oedipus Complex

A child's feelings of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy toward their same-sex parent.

Electra Complex

A girl's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father's affection.

Latency Stage

The fourth stage of psychosexual development (6 years-puberty) where sexual feelings are dormant.

Genital Stage

The final stage of psychosexual development (puberty onward) focused on mature sexual interests.

Repression

The defense mechanism of unconsciously blocking unacceptable thoughts from awareness.

Denial

The defense mechanism of refusing to accept reality.

Projection

The defense mechanism of attributing one's own unacceptable feelings to others.

Displacement

The defense mechanism of redirecting emotions to a safer target.

Rationalization

The defense mechanism of creating logical excuses for behavior.

Reaction Formation

The defense mechanism of acting opposite to true feelings.

Regression

The defense mechanism of reverting to an earlier developmental stage.

Sublimation

The defense mechanism of channeling unacceptable impulses into acceptable activities.

Intellectualization

The defense mechanism of avoiding emotions by focusing on logic.

Identification

The defense mechanism of taking on characteristics of someone else.

Alfred Adler

Founder of Individual Psychology known for concepts like the inferiority complex and compensation.

Karen Horney

Psychologist who challenged Freud's theories and emphasized cultural and social factors.

Collective Unconscious

A concept by Carl Jung referring to shared unconscious across humanity.

Archetypes

Universal symbols found in literature and dream analysis identified by Carl Jung.

Self-Actualization

The process of realizing one's full potential as described in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Acceptance and valuing a person regardless of their behavior, essential for healthy development.

Cardinal Traits

Dominant traits that define a person's life; they are rare.

Central Traits

General characteristics that are common to a person (5-10 per individual).

Secondary Traits

Traits that are situation-specific and vary across different contexts.

Big Five Personality Traits

A widely accepted model including Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Openness to Experience

A personality trait characterized by imagination, curiosity, and creativity.

Conscientiousness

A personality trait associated with organization, responsibility, and dependability.

Extraversion

A personality trait marked by sociability, assertiveness, and high energy.

Agreeableness

A personality trait involving compassion, cooperation, and trust.

Neuroticism

A personality trait related to emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching others, demonstrated by Bandura's Bobo doll experiment.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations.

Behavioral Genetics

The study of the relative contributions of genetics and environment to personality.

Heritability

The extent to which variation in a trait is due to genetic factors.

Projective Tests

Personality tests that present ambiguous stimuli for interpretation.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test using inkblots to assess personality.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test where individuals tell a story based on ambiguous pictures.

Self-Report Inventories

Standardized questionnaires designed to measure personality traits objectively.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)

The most widely used personality test featuring 567 true/false questions.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality test based on Jung's theory that classifies people into 16 personality types.