Personality

personality

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

psychodynamic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious mind and the importance of childhood experiences

psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. according to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. the id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

ego

the partly conscious “executive”part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. the ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

the partly conscious part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscience) and for future aspirations

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

projective test

a personality test, such as the TAT or Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics and explore the preconscious and unconscious mind

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

a projective test designed by Hermann Rorschach, that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics and explore the preconscious and unconscious mind

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; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl rogers believed would help people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

self concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “who am I”

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

personality inventory

questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

MMPI

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. originally developed to identify emotional disorders, this test is now used for many other screening purposes

empirically derived test

a test created by selecting from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups

big five factors

five traits—openness,conscientiousness, extroversion,agreeableness & neuroticism—that describe personality

social cognitive perspective

a view of behavior as influences by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

behavioral approach

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

spotlight effect

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

self esteem

our feelings of high or low self-worth

self efficacy

our sense of competence and effectiveness

self serving bias

a readiness to perceive ourselves favorably

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

individualism

a cultural pattern that emphasizes people’s own goals over group goals and defines identity mainly in terms of unique personal attributes

collectivism

a cultural pattern that prioritizes the goals of important groups (often one’s extended family or work group)