AP Psychology: Unit 10: Personality

personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, & acting

free association

a method of exploring the unconscious in which a person relaxes & says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality & therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts & actions to unconscious motives & conflicts

unconscious

Freud: a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, & memories; modern: information processing of which we are unaware

id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual & aggressive desires; operates on the pleasure principle which demands instant gratification

ego

the largely conscious & "executive" part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, superego, & reality; operates on the reality principle which satisfies the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

the part of personality that represents internalized ideals & provides standards for judgement (the conscience) & for future aspirations

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development during which the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother & feelings of jealousy & hatred towards the rival father

identification

the process by which children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos

fixation

a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

defense mechanisms

the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

repression

the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, & memories from consciousness

regression

a defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixed

reaction formation

a defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

projection

a defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

a defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one's actions

displacement

a defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object/perso

sublimation

a defense mechanism by which people channel their unacceptable impulses into socially-approved activities

denial

a defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even perceive painful realities

collective unconscious

Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history

projective test

a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

TAT (Thematic Appreciation Test)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings & interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely-used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots that seek to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

terror-management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional & behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

self-actualization

the motivation to fulfill one's potential; one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical & psychological needs are met & self-esteem in achieved

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgemental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness & self-acceptance

self-concept

all our thoughts & feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question "Who am I?"

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel & act, as assessed by self-report inventories & peer reports

personality inventory

a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings & behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)

the most widely-researched & clinically-used of all personality tests; originally developed to identify emotional disorders

empirically derived test

a test developed by testing a pool of items & then selecting those that discriminate between groups

social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between peoples' traits (including thinking) & social context

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, & environment

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover & promote strengths & virtues that enable individuals & communities to thrive

self

assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, & actions

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing & evaluating our appearance, performance, & blunders

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals & defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

collectivism

giving priority to goals of one's group & defining one's identity accordingly