Personality Development

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Most widely used projective test with 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach that seeks to identify inner feelings through analysis of blot interpretations

Id

Reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives; operates on the pleasure principle demanding immediate gratification

Ego

Largely conscious "executive" part of personality that mediates among demands of id, superego and reality; operates on reality principle to satisfy desires in realistic ways

Superego

Part of personality representing internalized ideals that provides standards for judgment and future aspirations

Defense Mechanisms

Ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Regression

Defense mechanism where an individual retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage when faced with anxiety

Repression

Basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Reaction Formation

Defense mechanism where ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

Projection

Defense mechanism where people disguise threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization

Defense mechanism offering self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening unconscious reasons for actions

Displacement

Defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Sublimation

Defense mechanism by which people rechannel unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities

Projective Test

Personality test providing ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of inner dynamics (e.g., Rorschach, TAT)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Projective test where people express inner feelings through stories made up about ambiguous scenes

Trait

Characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act, assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Openness

Big Five personality trait featuring imagination, insight, and broad range of interests

Conscientiousness

Big Five personality trait characterized by thoughtfulness, good impulse control, organization, and goal-directed behaviors

Extraversion

Big Five personality trait including excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and emotional expressiveness

Agreeableness

Big Five personality trait including trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors

Neuroticism

Big Five personality trait where high scores indicate emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness

Personality Inventory

Questionnaire used to assess selected personality traits through responses to items gauging feelings and behaviors

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Most widely researched clinical personality test, originally developed to identify emotional disorders

Reciprocal Determinism

Bandura's concept of interacting influences between personality traits, behavior, and environmental factors

External Locus of Control

Perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate

Internal Locus of Control

Perception that one controls one's own fate

Ideal Self vs. Real Self

Ideal self is the person you want to be; real self is who you actually are; congruence between them leads to greater self-worth

Unconditional Positive Regard

Concept of acceptance and support regardless of behavior; allows full self-actualization, contrasted with conditional positive regard where love depends on meeting conditions