Studied by 3 people
personality
an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
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.
psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist's interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.
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.
preconscious
latent parts of the brain that are readily available to the conscious mind, although not currently in use
conscious
an organisms awareness of something either internal or external to itself
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.
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.
superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.
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.
Oedipus complex
complex according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.
electra complex
a girls sexual desires toward her father and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival mother
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.
fixation
(1) the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. (2) according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.
defense mechanisms
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.
regression
psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated.
reaction formation
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
projection
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.
rationalization
psychoanalytic defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions.
displacement
psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet.
sublimation
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.
denial
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.
psychodynamic theories
modern-day approaches that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences
collective unconscious
Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history.
projective test
a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.
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.
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.
false consensus effect
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and our behaviors.
terror-management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.
humanistic theories
view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth
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.
unconditional positive regard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"
trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.
personality inventory
a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.
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.
empirically derived test
a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.
barnum effect
the phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them, despite the fact that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone
social-cognitive perspective
views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.
reciprocal determinism
the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.
positive psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.
self
in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
spotlight effect
overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).
self-esteem
one's feelings of high or low self-worth.
self-serving bias
a readiness to perceive oneself favorably.
social desirability bias
the tendency to underreport socially undesirable attitudes and behaviors and to over report more desirable attributes
narcissism
excessive self-love and self-absorption
individualism
giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.
collectivism
giving priority to goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.
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