Comprehensive Psychology: Personality Theories, Defense Mechanisms, and Self-Concept

Personality

An individual's unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

First formal theory of personality, includes ideas about the unconscious, psychosexual stages, and defense mechanisms used to control anxiety.

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

Conscious

What you are aware of.

Preconscious

Information that can be brought to awareness.

Psychoanalysis

The techniques used to treat psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

Free Association

Patient says whatever comes to mind; reveals unconscious connections.

Dream Analysis

Dreams are the 'royal road to the unconscious.'

Manifest content

The remembered story line of a dream.

Latent content

The symbolic, hidden meaning of a dream.

Id

Unconscious energy that strives to satisfy basic drives (sex & aggression).

Pleasure principle

Seeks immediate gratification.

Ego

The 'executive' that balances id and superego.

Reality principle

Satisfies id in realistic ways.

Superego

The moral conscience, internalized ideals; produces pride or guilt.

Ideal principle

Strives for perfection.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Stages of development characterized by different focuses and ages.

Oedipus Complex

Boys feel unconscious desire for mother and jealousy toward father.

Electra Complex

Parallel desire in girls for father.

Fixation

Lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier stage (e.g., oral fixation from early weaning).

Ego Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious tactics that reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

Banishes anxiety-provoking thoughts from awareness.

Regression

Retreating to an earlier stage of development.

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

Projection

Attributing one's impulses or faults to others.

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations instead of real reasons.

Displacement

Diverting impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object.

Denial

Refusal to acknowledge painful realities.

Undoing

Attempting to 'undo' a hurtful action by overcompensating.

Intellectualization

Avoiding emotion by focusing on logic or abstract thinking.

Alfred Adler

Behavior driven by efforts to conquer childhood inferiority.

Healthy Inferiority

Using inferiority as motivation to improve.

Unhealthy Inferiority

Striving for superiority at others' expense.

Karen Horney

Stressed importance of human relationships in personality.

Low Self-Worth

Focused on overcoming low self-worth, not inferiority.

Faulty Parenting

Blamed faulty parenting for unhealthy personalities.

Carl Jung

Agreed about unconscious but added the collective unconscious: inherited, universal images reflecting evolutionary history.

Three Levels of Consciousness

Believed three levels exist: conscious, unconscious, and collective unconscious.

Abraham Maslow

Humans are innately good and strive for self-determination and self-realization.

Hierarchy of Needs

Developed Hierarchy of Needs: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization, Self-Transcendence.

Self-Actualization

The desire to fulfill one's potential.

Carl Rogers - Person-Centered Theory

Actualizing tendency: innate drive to maintain and enhance the human organism.

Conditions for Growth

Three conditions for growth: Genuineness, Acceptance, Empathy.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Being loved without conditions leads to a healthy personality.

Conditional Positive Regard

Being loved with conditions leads to low self-worth or inauthenticity.

Fully Functioning Person

Open, realistic, flexible, evolving self-concept.

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Personality = interaction between traits, situations, and behaviors.

Reciprocal Determinism

Behavior, environment, and cognition influence each other.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in one's ability to meet challenges effectively.

Positive Psychology

Studies optimal human functioning using scientific methods.

Possible Selves

Imagined versions of who we might become or fear becoming.

Trait Perspective

Describes personality through traits: enduring behavioral tendencies.

The Big Five Personality Factors

OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Projective Tests

Ambiguous stimuli assess unconscious motives, conflicts, and traits.

Self-Report Inventories

Standardized questionnaires measuring traits compared to norms.

Observational learning

Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.

Cognitive processes

Mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension.

Self-efficacy beliefs

Beliefs in one's ability to meet challenges effectively.

Person-Situation Controversy

The idea that personality traits are stable over time but may vary across situations.

Health Psychology

A branch of psychology studying how biological, behavioral, and social factors influence health, illness, and treatment.

Stress

A negative emotional state that arises when demands exceed a person's ability to cope.

Stress Appraisal

The evaluation of whether an event is threatening or manageable.

Appraisal Model

The model that states stress depends on perception of the event, not just the event itself.

Stressor

Any event seen as threatening or challenging.

Traumatic events

Negative, extreme, unexpected experiences.

Physiological Responses to Stress

The body's response to stress, including activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A model describing the body's three stages of response to stress: Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion.

Psychophysiological Illnesses

Stress-related physical illnesses such as hypertension and headaches.

B lymphocytes

Bacteria fighters in the immune system.

T lymphocytes

Virus and cancer fighters in the immune system.

Stress hormones

Hormones, especially corticosteroids, that suppress lymphocyte activity and weaken the immune system.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The study of the interaction among psychology, nervous and endocrine systems, and immunity.

Type A Personality

A personality type characterized by competitiveness, impatience, hostility, and urgency, associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

Type B Personality

A personality type characterized by being relaxed and easygoing, associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

Anger and hostility

The strongest predictors of heart problems.

Loss of control

A factor that lowers immunity and increases stress hormones, leading to illness and learned helplessness.

Daily hassles

Small, cumulative stressors that add up and cause strain over time.

Coping

Efforts to alleviate stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

Problem-Focused Coping

Changing or removing the stressor itself.

Emotion-Focused Coping

Managing emotional response to the stressor.

Perceived Control

The belief that you can influence outcomes, leading to less stress response.

Personal Control

The feeling of being in charge of your own life.

External Locus of Control

The belief that outcomes are determined by outside forces.

Internal Locus of Control

The belief that outcomes are determined by your own actions.

Explanatory Style

The way individuals explain events, influencing their resilience and health.

Optimistic Explanatory Style

Characterized by external, unstable, specific explanations, leading to healthier and more resilient outcomes.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Characterized by internal, stable, global explanations, leading to helplessness and illness.

Social Support

Emotional, tangible, and informational help from others that reduces stress and boosts immunity.

Resilience

The ability to adapt, recover, and grow stronger after adversity.

Finding Your Power

The process of developing optimism, control, and social connections.