Personality Theory Flashcards (Video Transcript)

Glossary-style vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, theories, and tests from Chapters 1–7 on personality development and assessment.

Personality

Long-standing patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that make individuals unique and are relatively stable over time.

Id

Primitive drives (hunger, thirst, sex) that seek immediate gratification; operates on the pleasure principle.

Ego

Rational part of personality that balances the id and the superego within the constraints of reality.

Superego

Moral conscience; internalized rules that guide behavior and induce pride or guilt.

Psychodynamic perspective

Theory emphasizing unconscious processes and early experiences in shaping personality.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety and protect the ego.

Repression

Ego protects by blocking conscious awareness of threatening memories.

Reaction formation

Converting unacceptable impulses into their opposite.

Regression

Acting or returning to an earlier developmental stage under stress.

Projection

Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others.

Rationalization

Justifying unacceptable thoughts or behaviors with logical excuses.

Displacement

Shifting impulses from a real target to a safer substitute.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Oral stage

Freud's first psychosexual stage; pleasure focused on the mouth; fixation can lead to oral traits.

Anal stage

Freud's second stage; focus on toilet training; fixation can yield anal-retentive or anal-expulsive traits.

Phallic stage

Freud's third stage; focus on genitals and Oedipus/Electra complexes.

Latency period

Freud's stage where sexual feelings are dormant and focus shifts to school and hobbies.

Genital stage

Freud's final stage; puberty onward with mature sexual interests.

Oedipus complex

Boy's desire for mother and rivalry with father, often with castration anxiety.

Electra complex

Girl's desire for father and tension with mother; later controversial concept linked to penis envy.

Fixation

Continuing to show behaviors from an earlier psychosexual stage due to inadequate nurturing.

Hippocrates’ temperaments

Four temperaments (choleric, melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic) tied to bodily humors.

Galen’s humors

Four bodily fluids (yellow bile, black bile, red blood, white phlegm) linked to temperament.

Phrenology

Pseudoscience that linked skull measurements to personality traits; discredited.

Kant’s trait axes

Two major axes: emotional vs non-emotional and changeable vs unchangeable traits.

Wilhelm Wundt

Pioneer of experimental psychology who contributed to trait theory development.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychodynamic theory; emphasized unconscious drives and child development.

Anna O. (Bertha Pappenheim)

Patient whose case influenced Freud’s talking cure and the development of talk therapy.

Three interacting mind systems (id, ego, superego)

Freud’s model of the mind’s structure balancing primitive urges, realism, and morality.

Reality principle

Ego’s tendency to satisfy id desires in ways that are realistic and socially appropriate.

Conscience

Part of the superego that punishes rule-breaking with feelings of guilt.

Neurosis

Distress from imbalances among id, ego, and superego; linked to anxiety and maladaptive behavior.

Defense mechanism examples

Unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety (repression, reaction formation, regression, projection, rationalization, displacement, sublimation).

Phallic stage—Oedipus complex

Child’s sexual desire for the opposite-sex parent; rivalry with the same-sex parent.

Penelope envy (penis envy)

Freud’s controversial notion about girls’ envy of male anatomy; later contested.

Latency period (psychosexual)

Period with dormant sexual feelings; focus on development and mastery of skills.

Genital stage (psychosexual)

Sexual maturation and mature relationships beginning at puberty.

Carl Jung

Analytical psychology founder; introduced collective unconscious and archetypes; developed introversion/extraversion.

Collective unconscious

Jung’s idea of a shared, universal layer of unconscious ideas and archetypes.

Archetypes

Universal, inherited symbols (e.g., hero, sage, trickster) in myths and dreams.

Persona

The socially acceptable mask we present to others; balance between true self and social expectations.

Introversion vs. extraversion

Two attitudes toward life; energy derived from internal vs. external sources.

Adler’s inferiority complex

Motivation to gain superiority due to early feelings of inferiority; social connectedness matters.

Adler’s birth order theory

Birth position influences personality development and social dynamics.

Erik Erikson

Psychosocial development theory with eight lifespan stages.

Horney’s critique of penis envy

Argued cultural and social factors underlie gender differences; introduced womb envy concept.

Karen Horney’s coping styles

Three neurotic strategies: moving toward, moving against, moving away from people.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Pyramid of needs culminating in self-actualization and personal growth.

Self-actualization

Fulfillment of one’s potential and becoming the most that one can be.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist; emphasized self-concept, congruence, and unconditional positive regard.

Congruence

Consistency between real self and ideal self leading to healthy functioning.

Unconditional positive regard

Acceptance and love given without conditions, promoting self-worth.

Locus of control

Rotter’s theory: internal vs external beliefs about control over life outcomes.

Self-efficacy

Belief in one’s own ability to succeed; influences goal setting and perseverance.

Reciprocal determinism

Bandura’s idea that behavior, cognitive processes, and environment mutually influence each other.

Observational learning

Learning by watching others and the consequences of their actions.

Self-regulation (willpower)

Ability to delay gratification and control impulses to achieve long-term goals.

Marshmallow test

Classic study on delay of gratification predicting later success and self-control.

Bandura’s social cognitive theory

Learning involves cognition, observation, and social context, not just conditioning.

Minnesota Twin Study (heritability)

Research showing similarities in identical twins raised apart; evidence for genetic influence on personality.

Heritability

Proportion of variation in a trait across individuals due to genetics.

Temperament

Biologically based early-evident traits; three categories: easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up.

Reactivity

How strongly a person responds to new or challenging stimuli.

Self-regulation in temperament

Ability to modulate initial reactions to fit the situation.

Five Factor Model (Big Five)

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

OCEAN mnemonic

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

HEXACO model

Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness.

Cultural comparative approach

Tests Western personality models in other cultures to examine universality.

Indigenous approach

Develops culture-specific personality measures based on local constructs.

Combined approach

Integrates Western and indigenous methods to study personality cross-culturally.

Collectivist vs individualist cultures

Cultures valuing group harmony and interdependence vs personal achievement and independence.

Regional personality clusters (Rentfro study)

Three US regional profiles: Midwest/South (friendly/conventional), West (relaxed/stable/creative), Northeast (stressed/irritable/depressed).