AP Psychology Unit 4.4 - 4.7 - Personality

Personality

Our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Psychodynamic Theories

View human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind

Psychoanalysis

Theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts, as well as, the associated treatment techniques to expose and interpret these unconscious tensions

Unconscious Mind

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

ID

Pleasure principle demands immediate gratification → largely unconscious reservoir of psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives

Ego

Reality principle → conscious mediator between the ID and superego, making goals and actions reasonable and realistic

Superego

Morality principle → represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement and future aspirations

Defense Mechanisms

Tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Displacement

Shifting impulse toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Projection

Disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others / projecting your own feelings onto someone else as if they’re feeling them

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses by acting opposite

Regression

Retreating to an earlier stage rather than handling impulse in a more adult way

Repression

Unconsciously blocking painful memories, distressing thoughts, or feelings

Sublimation

Transferring or unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives, e.g. art, or athletics

Projective Tests

A personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics