12: Personality and Individual Differences

Cattells theory

________ defines the existence of 16 underlying source traits (or dimensions) that are central to personality.

Abraham Maslow

________ found that self- actualizers share characteristics that range from efficient perceptions of reality to frequent peak experiences.

Incongruence

________: A state that exists when there is a discrepancy between ones experiences and self- image or between ones self- image and ideal self.

Imitation

________: An attempt to match ones own behavior to another persons behavior.

Behavioral assessment

________: Recording the frequency of various behaviors.

Subjective experience

________: Reality as it is perceived and interpreted, not as it exists objectively.

Habits

________ express the combined effects of drive, cue, responses, and rewards.

Possible selves

________: A collection of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and images concerning the person that one could become.

cognitive process

Social learning theory: A theory that combines learning principles with ________, socialization, and modeling, to explain behavior, including personality.

Libido

________: In Freudian theory, the force, primarily pleasure oriented, that energizes the personality.

Temperament

________: General pattern of attention, arousal, and mood that is evident from birth.

Identification

________: Feeling emotionally connected to a person and seeing oneself as like him or her.

Validity

________: Degree to which a test measures the trait that it was designed to do.

Individual differences

________: Study of the variation that exists between people.

Reality principle

________: Delaying action (or pleasure) until it is appropriate.

Big Five

________ personality traits: Theory that only a handful of characteristics account for most individual differences in personality.

halo effect

The ________ may also reduce the accuracy of an interview.

preconscious

The personality operates on three levels: the conscious, ________, and unconscious.

Carl Jung

Collective unconscious: According to ________, a mental storehouse for unconscious ideas and images shared by all humans.

Situational determinants

________: External conditions that strongly influence behavior.

Norm

________: Standard used to compare an individuals performance on a test with that of others.

Source traits

________ are measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF)

Ego

________: According to Freud, the decision- making part of personality that operates on the reality principle.

Persona

________: The "mask "or public self presented to others.

Expectancy

________: Anticipation about the effect that a response will have, especially regarding reinforcement.

Behavioral genetics

________ and studies of identical twins suggest that both heredity and environment contribute significantly to adult personality traits.

Superego

________: According to Freud, the part of personality that represents moral conscience.

Archetype

________: According to Carl Jung, a universal idea, image, or pattern found in the collective unconscious.

Erogenous zone

________: Any body area that produces pleasurable sensations.

Personality

________: A persons unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, emotions, and behaviors.

Reliability

________: Stability of test scores over time.

Carl Rogers

________ viewed the self as an entity that emerges from personal experience.

Unconscious

________: Contents of the mind that are beyond awareness, especially impulses and desires.

Gender roles

________: Pattern of behaviors regarded as "male "or "female "within a culture.

Behavior

________ is influenced by self- concept, which is a perception of ones own personality traits.

Direct observation

________, sometimes involving situational tests, behavioral assessment, or the use of rating scales, allows evaluation of a persons actual behavior.

Self efficacy

________: Belief in your capacity to produce a desired results.

Psyche

________: The mind, mental life, and personality as a whole.

Subclinical

________ (traits): Qualities of individuals that are not extreme enough to merit a psychiatric diagnosis.

Personality trait

________: Stable quality that a person shows in most situations.

Psychosexual stages

________: How Freud classifies a period of development.

Julian Rotters

Social learning theory is exemplified by ________ concepts of the physiological situation, expectancies, and reinforcement value.

Interview

________ (personality): A face- to- fact meeting held for the purpose of gaining information about an individuals personal history, personality traits, current psychological state, and so forth.

Eros

________: Freuds name for the "life instincts ..

Situational test

________: Stimulating real- life conditions so that a persons reactions may be directly observed.

cognitive elements

Social learning theory adds ________, such as perception, thinking, and understanding to the behavioral view of personality.

Thanatos

________: The death instinct postulated by Freud.

Humanism

________: An approach that focuses on human experience, problems, potentials, and ideals.

Id

________: Component of Freuds Personality theory containing primitive drives present at birth.

Sigmund Freuds

Like other psychodynamic approaches, ________ psychoanalytic theory emphasizes unconscious forces and conflicts within the personality.

Personality

A persons unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, emotions, and behaviors

Temperament

General pattern of attention, arousal, and mood that is evident from birth

Self-concept

The perception of concepts of ones own personality traits

Self-esteem

Regarding oneself as a worthwhile person; a positive evaluation of oneself

Personality theory

A system of concepts, assumptions, ideas, and principles used to understand and explain personality

Psychoanalytic theory

Freudian theory of personality that emphasizes unconscious forces and conflicts

Dynamic system directed by three mental structures

the id, the ego, and the superego

Id

Component of Freuds Personality theory containing primitive drives present at birth

Pleasure principle

According to Freud, the ids drive to avoid pain and seek what feels good

Psyche

The mind, mental life, and personality as a whole

Libido

In Freudian theory, the force, primarily pleasure oriented, that energizes the personality

Eros

Freuds name for the "life instincts."

Thanatos

The death instinct postulated by Freud

Ego

According to Freud, the decision-making part of personality that operates on the reality principle

Reality principle

Delaying action (or pleasure) until it is appropriate

Superego

According to Freud, the part of personality that represents moral conscience

Unconscious

Contents of the mind that are beyond awareness, especially impulses and desires

Conscious

The region of the mind that includes all mental contents that a person is aware of at any given moment

Preconscious

An area of the mind containing information that can be voluntarily brought to awareness

Psychosexual stages

How Freud classifies a period of development

Erogenous zone

Any body area that produces pleasurable sensations

Fixation

A lasting conflict developed as a result of frustration or overindulgence

Striving for superiority

According to Alfred Adler, this basic drive propels us toward perfection

Inferiority Complex

Arises when feelings of inferiority become overwhelming; negative pattern characterized by a chronic lack if self-wroth along with self-doubt

Basic anxiety

A primary form of anxiety that arises from living in a hostile world

Persona

The "mask" or public self presented to others

Personal unconscious

A mental storehouse for an individuals unconscious thoughts

Collective unconscious

According to Carl Jung, a mental storehouse for unconscious ideas and images shared by all humans

Archetype

According to Carl Jung, a universal idea, image, or pattern found in the collective unconscious

Behavioral personality theory

Any model of personality that emphasizes learning and observable behavior

Habit

A deeply ingrained, learned pattern of behavior

Situational determinants

External conditions that strongly influence behavior

Social learning theory

A theory that combines learning principles with cognitive process, socialization, and modeling, to explain behavior, including personality

Psychological situation

A situation as it is perceived and interpreted by an individual, not as it is exists objectively

Expectancy

Anticipation about the effect that a response will have, especially regarding reinforcement

Self-efficacy

Belief in your capacity to produce a desired results

Reinforcement value

The subjective value that a person attaches to a particular activity or reinforcer

Self-reinforcement

Praising or rewarding oneself for having made a particular response (such as completing a school assignment)

Social reinforcement

Praise, attention, approval, and/or affection from others

Gender roles

Pattern of behaviors regarded as "male" or "female" within a culture

Identification

Feeling emotionally connected to a person and seeing oneself as like him or her

Imitation

An attempt to match ones own behavior to another persons behavior

Humanism

An approach that focuses on human experience, problems, potentials, and ideals

Free will

The ability to freely make choices that are not controlled by genetics, learning, or unconscious forces

Human nature

Those traits, qualities, potentials, and behavior patterns most characteristic of the human species

Subjective experience

Reality as it is perceived and interpreted, not as it exists objectively

Self-actualization

The process of fully developing personal potentials

Fully functioning person

A person living in harmony with her or his deepest feeling, impulses, and intuitions

Self

A continuously evolving conception of ones personal identity

Self-image

Total subjective perception of ones body and personality (another term for self-concept)