Intrapsychic Theories and Personality

Flashcards covering intrapsychic theories of personality, specifically Freudian psychology, psychoanalytic concepts, defense mechanisms, and contemporary theories including narcissism and the Dark Triad.

Sigmund Freud

A medical professional and psychiatrist who was heavily influenced by Darwinian and evolutionary theory to theorize that humans have innate urges out of conscious control.

Hydraulic System

The Freudian belief that the human mind operates by internal pressures and that personality change occurs with a redirection of a person's psychic energy.

Instinct Model

Freud's theory referring to innate forces providing energy to the psychic system, initially consisting of two classes: self preservation (survival) and sexual instincts (reproduction).

Libido

In Freud's later formulation, this term collapsed self preservation and sexual instinct into one life instinct connected to survival and reproduction efforts.

Thanatos

The death instinct added in Freud's later formulations, serving as the opposite of the libido.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

A developmental model arguing that all people pass through a series of stages in personality development involving energy battles at each stage.

Fixation

The result of leftover or unresolved energy during the conflicts inherent in specific psychosexual stages of development.

Oral Stage Fixation

A point in development that characterizes a person as clingy, dependent, or having a high need for approval due to unresolved conflict.

Anal Stage Fixation

A point in development that results in a person being either orderly (anally retentive), neat, and punctual, or extremely messy, stubborn, and constantly late.

Phallic Stage Fixation

A point in development that may result in a preoccupation with attracting mates or taking on stereotypical traits of one's own or the opposite gender.

Conscious

The level of the mind containing thoughts, feelings, and images of present awareness.

Preconscious

The level of the mind containing information that is not presently being thought about but can be easily retrieved.

Unconscious

The largest part of the mind, according to Freud, containing things about oneself that the individual is unaware of.

Iceberg Metaphor

A topographical model depicting the conscious at the tip, the preconscious just below the surface, and the submerged unconscious as the largest portion.

Motivated Unconscious

The phenomenon where unconscious material leaks into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of conscious awareness.

Parapraxis

Also known as Freudian slips; these are unintended actions or verbal spills caused by leakages of suppressed impulses.

Psychic Determinism

The Freudian idea that nothing happens by chance and there is a reason behind every act, thought, and feeling expression of the mind.

Id

The part of the mind characterized by primary process thinking (wishful and illogical) and driven by the pleasure principle.

Superego

The part of the mind that acts as a source of conscience and ideals, upholding societal values and morals often enforced through the emotion of guilt.

Ego

A part of the mind that develops within the first $2$ to $3$ years of life, capable of rational secondary process thinking and obeying the reality principle.

Objective Anxiety

An unpleasant state that occurs in response to a real external threat to a person.

Neurotic Anxiety

An unpleasant state that occurs when there is a direct conflict between the id and the ego.

Moral Anxiety

An unpleasant state caused by a conflict between the ego and the superego, often involving an inability to live up to set standards.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious mental processes that protect a conscious person from unpleasant emotions or anxiety.

Denial

A defense mechanism where a person refuses to recognize reality.

Repression

A complex defense mechanism where anxiety-evoking thoughts are kept unconscious.

Reaction Formation

A defense mechanism where a person converts an unacceptable impulse into its opposite.

Projection

A defense mechanism involving the attribution of one's own unacceptable impulses to others.

Rationalization

A widely used defense mechanism where people explain away actions to reduce anxiety.

Displacement

A defense mechanism where a person directs their emotions away from the real target to a substitute.

Regression

A defense mechanism where a person reverts back to childlike ways of coping or an earlier stage of development.

Passive-Aggressive

An indirect expression of anger toward others.

Sublimation

A defense mechanism where a person converts an unacceptable impulse into a socially acceptable activity.

Free Association

A technique for revealing the unconscious by letting a person talk freely until they reach meaningful exploration points.

Rorschach

A famous projective test where individuals describe what they see in various images to reveal and interpret unconscious thoughts.

Ego Psychology

A theory associated with Eric Erickson which argues the ego is the most important part of personality for mastering environment and establishing identity.

Karen Horney

A theorist who reconceptualized psychoanalysis from a feminist perspective, highlighting the influence of culture and social power on gender differences.

Narcissism

A personality trait where an individual appears high in self-esteem but has doubts about self-worth and a constant need for reassurance.

Agentic Traits

Traits reflecting intellectual skills and extroversion.

Communal Traits

Traits reflecting agreeableness and morality.

Grandiose Narcissism

A type of narcissism where individuals truly believe they are great and ignore negative feedback.

Fragile Narcissism

Also known as vulnerable narcissism; when individuals hide low self-esteem behind a confident facade and respond aggressively to negative feedback.

Dark Triad

A combination of three less socially acceptable personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

Machiavellianism

A personality trait where a person is so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others, detaching from conventional morality.

Schadenfreude

The tendency to laugh at or take pleasure in someone else's misery.

Dark Tetrad

An expanded version of the Dark Triad that includes the trait of sadism.