Chapter 12 – Personality

Personality

The enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterizes how a person adapts to the world.

Psychodynamic perspectives

Personality is primarily unconscious, develops in stages, and is shaped by early experiences with parents.

Id

The part of personality operating on the pleasure principle; seeks immediate gratification and contains unconscious drives.

Pleasure principle

The desire for immediate gratification; guides the id.

Ego

The part of personality operating on the reality principle; deals with the demands of reality and is partly conscious.

Reality principle

The principle that balances desires with the demands of reality; guides the ego.

Superego

The moral branch of personality that evaluates right and wrong.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious tactics the ego uses to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

Pushing unacceptable impulses out of awareness.

Displacement

Directing unacceptable impulses toward a less threatening target, such as yelling at someone after being criticized.

Projection

Attributing your own unwanted impulses to someone else.

Reaction formation

Expressing the opposite of your true feelings.

Regression

Behaving as if at an earlier stage of development.

Rationalization

Giving a self-justifying explanation instead of the real, threatening reason.

Sublimation

Redirecting unwanted impulses into socially approved activities.

Oral stage

Freud's psychosexual stage from birth to 18 months; pleasure centers on the mouth.

Anal stage

Freud's psychosexual stage from 18 to 36 months; pleasure centers on elimination.

Phallic stage

Freud's psychosexual stage from ages 3 to 6; pleasure centers on the genitals and involves the Oedipus complex and castration anxiety.

Latency stage

Freud's psychosexual stage from age 6 to puberty; the child represses interest in sexuality.

Genital stage

Freud's psychosexual stage during adolescence and adulthood; sexual interests reawaken.

Fixation

Getting stuck at a psychosexual stage, which shapes adult personality.

Karen Horney

Psychodynamic revisionist who argued that the need for security, not sex, is the primary motive; emphasized social status and power rather than anatomy.

Carl Jung

Psychodynamic revisionist who believed humans share a collective unconscious containing archetypes.

Collective unconscious

Jung's idea that all humans share unconscious psychological patterns and symbols.

Archetypes

Emotionally meaningful symbols shared through the collective unconscious, such as the anima and animus.

Alfred Adler

Psychodynamic revisionist who believed people are motivated by goals, striving for perfection, and overcoming inferiority rather than pleasure.

Humanistic perspectives

Personality theories emphasizing personal growth, positive human qualities, and the ability to control one's own life.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist who developed the hierarchy of needs with self-actualization at the top.

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow's theory that human needs are arranged in levels, with self-actualization at the top.

Self-actualization

Developing one's full potential as a human being.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist who believed people naturally strive toward growth and fulfillment.

Unconditional positive regard

Being accepted and valued no matter what.

Conditions of worth

Being valued only when you behave in certain ways.

Self-concept

Your conscious view of who you are and who you wish to be.

Optimal functioning

Healthy personal development that comes from relationships involving unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness.

Trait

An enduring disposition that produces characteristic patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion.

Openness to experience

A Big Five personality trait associated with being creative, curious, and open-minded.

Conscientiousness

A Big Five personality trait associated with being organized, dependable, and careful.

Extraversion

A Big Five personality trait associated with being sociable, outgoing, and enjoying attention.

Agreeableness

A Big Five personality trait associated with being generous, kind, and altruistic.

Neuroticism

A Big Five personality trait associated with being anxious, worried, and emotionally unstable.

Biological perspective

The view that physiological processes, including the brain and genes, influence personality.