personality test

Personality

A set of unique behaviors, attitudes, and emotions that characterize a particular individual.

Idiographic methods

Personality techniques that look at the individual, such as case studies, interviews, and naturalistic observations.

Nomothetic methods

Personality techniques such as tests, surveys, and observations that focus on variables at the group level to identify universal trait dimensions.

Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approach

Originated with Sigmund Freud, emphasizes unconscious motivations and conflicts, and the importance of early childhood experiences.

Conscious mind

Includes everything we are aware of.

Preconscious mind

Contains information and feelings we can easily recall, but are not currently in conscious awareness.

Unconscious mind

Contains wishes, impulses, memories, and feelings generally inaccessible to the conscious mind.

Id

The unconscious part of personality that contains inherited psychic energy; embodies irrational desires and is guided by the pleasure principle.

Ego

Partly conscious and unconscious; mediates between instinctual needs and environmental conditions, guided by the reality principle.

Superego

Partly conscious and unconscious; composed of the conscience and ego-ideal, punishes with guilt and rewards with pride.

Defense Mechanisms

Extreme measures that protect the ego from threats and anxiety; operate unconsciously to deny, falsify, or distort reality.

Carl Jung’s Personality Theory

Emphasizes the influence of our past on personality through the collective unconscious, which contains universal memories and ideas.

Archetypes

Inherited memories or common themes found in all cultures, religions, and literature.

Individuation

The psychological process by which one becomes an individual; a unified whole that integrates conscious and unconscious processes.

Alfred Adler’s theories

Emphasized social interest as the primary determinant of personality; belief in striving for superiority to compensate for inferiority complexes.

Karen Horney

Critiqued Freud’s male bias, proposing that females experience envy of male social status.

Erikson's Development

Believed that development continues throughout the lifespan, outlining various stages.

Carl Rogers

Associated with concepts like self-concept, congruence/incongruence, genuineness, empathy, and unconditional positive regard.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Associated with self-actualization and prioritization of psychological needs.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.

Conditioning

A behaviorist method for learning through reinforcement or punishment.

Observational learning

Learning that occurs through observing others.

Determinism

The philosophy that every event or action is determined by preceding events in accordance with the natural laws.

Social Cognitive Theories

Theories that explore how individuals influence and are influenced by their environment.

Bandura's Reciprocal Determinism

The concept that personal factors, behavior, and environmental influences all interact to shape personality.

Self-efficacy

Belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.

George Kelly’s personal constructs theory

A cognitive theory that suggests personal interpretations of the world influence behavior.

Julian Rotter’s locus of control

A concept that refers to the degree to which individuals believe they have control over the outcomes of events in their lives.

Walter Mischel's theory

Addresses the person-situation debate, highlighting how personality can change across different situations.

Personality Signature

An individual's pattern of situation-behavior reactions, proposed by Mischel, to predict future behavior.