Identity and Personality

MCAT Prep: Behavioral Sciences Part 6

Self-concept

the sum of the ways in which we describe ourselves: in the present, who we used to be, and who we might be in the future

Identities

individual components of our self-concept related to the groups to which we belong

Self-esteem

our evaluation of ourselves

Self-efficacy

the degree to which we see ourselves as being capable of a given skill in a given situation

Locus of control

a self-evaluation that refers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives. Either internal or external

Internal locus of control

success or failure is a result of our own actions

External locus of control

success or failure is a result of outside factors

Freud’s stages of psychosexual development

based on tensions caused by the libido, with failure at any given stage leading to fixation

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

• stem from conflicts that are the result of decisions we are forced to make about ourselves and the environment around us at each phase of our lives

  • stages are trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, integrity vs. despair

Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning development

• describes the approaches of individuals to resolving moral dilemmas

  • six stages are divided into three main phases: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional

Vygotsky’s theory of cultural and biosocial development

zone of proximal development

Zone of proximal development

area of learning where one cannot progress on their own, but can with assistance from a “knowledgeable other”

Psychoanalytic perspective

personality results from unconscious urges and desires

Freud

id, superego, ego (psychoanalytic perspective)

Jung

collective unconsciousness, archetypes (psychoanalytic perspective)

Humanistic perspective

emphasizes internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive toward happiness and self-realization

Maslow

hierarchy of needs (humanistic perspective)

Rogers

unconditional positive regard (humanistic perspective)

Type and trait theory

personality can be described as a number of identifiable traits that carry characteristic behaviors

Type theories of personality

ancient Greek humors, Sheldon’s somatotypes, division into Types A and B, and the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

Psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism

Eysenck’s three major traits

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN)

trait theorists’ Big Five

cardinal, central, and secondary

Allport’s three basic types of traits