psychology modules 56-59

psychodynamic theories

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

collective unconscious

carl jungs concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history

Alfred Alder

inferiority complex, the individual feels at home in life and feels his existence to be worthwhile just so far as he is useful to others and is overcoming feelings of inferiority

Karen Horney

the view that women are infantive and emotional creatures, and as such, incapable of responsibility and independence is the work of the masculine tendency to lower womens self respect

Carl Jung

unconscious contains more than our repressed thoughts and feelings, from the living fountain of instinct flows everything that is creative; hence the unconscious is the very source of the creative impulse

projective test

personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of ones inner dynamics

thematic apperception test

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

rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots designed by herman rorschach; seeks to identify peoples inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations 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

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

maslow

self actualization, any theory of motivation that is worthy of attention must deal with the highest capacities of the healthy and strong person as well as with the defensive maneures of cripples spirits

unconditioned positive regard

according to rogers an attitiude of total acceptance toward another person

self concept

all our thoughts and feelings about oursleves in answer to "who am i?"

traits

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act as assessed by self report inventories and peer responses

personality inventory

a questionaire on which people responde to items designed to guage a wide range of feelings and behaviors

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality test

empirically derived test

test developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between peoples traits and their social context

behavioral approach

in personality theory this perspective focuses on the effect of learning on our personality development

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition and environment

positive psychology

scientific study of optimal human functioning

self

in contemporary psych, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts feelings and actions

spotlight effect

overestimating others noticing and evaluating our apperance, performance, and blunders

self esteem

ones feelings of high or low self worth

self efficiancy

ones sense of competence and effectiveness

self serving bias

readiness to perceive oneself favorably

narcissism

excessive self love and self absorption

individualism

giving priority to ones own goals over group goals and defining ones identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of ones group and defining ones identity accordingly

id

parts of the unconscious that contains our needs, drives, instincts, and repressed material

ego

mostly conscious, strives to meet the demands of the id through socially acceptable ways

superego

source of conscience (feelings of guilt) conteracts the impulses od the id (moral principle)