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Unconscious

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories that we are unaware of, according to Freud and contemporary psychologists.

Id

The unconscious reservoir of psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives, operating on the pleasure principle and demanding immediate gratification, according to Freud.

Ego

The largely conscious executive part of personality that mediates between the demands of the id, superego, and reality, operating on the reality principle and satisfying the id's desires in realistic ways, according to Freud.

Superego

The part of personality that represents internalized ideals, provides standards for judgment and future aspirations (the conscience), according to Freud.

Psychosexual stage

The childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones, according to Freud.

Oedipus complex

A boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father, according to Freud.

Identification

The process by which children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos, according to Freud.

Fixation

A lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved, according to Freud.

Defense mechanisms

The ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality, according to psychoanalytic theory.

Repression

The basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness, according to psychoanalytic theory.

Psychodynamic theories

Modern-day approaches that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

Collective unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history.

Projective test

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

Thematic apperception test (TAT)

A projective test in which people express their feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

Rorschach inkblot test

The most widely used projective test, consisting of 10 inkblots, designed to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretation of the blots.

False consensus effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Terror-management theory

A theory of death-related anxiety that explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

Humanistic theories

View personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

Self-actualization

According to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.

Unconditional positive regard

An attitude of total acceptance toward another person, according to Rogers.

Self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

Personality inventory

A questionnaire used to assess selected personality traits, often with true-false or agree-disagree items.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The most widely researched and clinically used personality test, originally developed to identify emotional disorders.

Empirically derived test

A test developed by testing a pool of items and selecting those that discriminate between groups, such as the MMPI.

Social-cognitive perspective

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

Behavior approach

A perspective in personality theory that focuses on the effects of learning on personality development.

Reciprocal determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Positive psychology

The scientific study of optimal human functioning, aiming to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Self

Assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions in contemporary psychology.

Spotlight effect

The tendency to overestimate others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders.

Self-esteem

One's feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-efficacy

One's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Self-serving bias

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

Narcissism

Excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Individualism

Giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

Collectivism: