Personality

Personality

A characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychodynamic Theories

View behavior as an interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind.

Free Association

Exploring the unconscious mind by relaxing and saying whatever comes to mind.

Iceberg

The surface represents conscious awareness, while the area below represents the unconscious mind.

Repress trauma

The act of suppressing painful memories and thoughts.

Psychosexual Stage

Developmental stages of pleasure focus during different periods of childhood.

Id, Ego, Superego

The three components of personality according to Freud.

Defense Mechanisms

Coping strategies used to reduce anxiety.

Mature, Adaptive Behavior

Behaviors that align with societal norms and values.

Neo-Freudian

Psychologists who adopted Freud's techniques but placed more emphasis on the conscious mind.

Alferd Adler

Believed that much of our behavior is driven by efforts to conquer childhood inferiority feelings.

Carl Jung

Freud's disciple-turned-dissenter who believed in the collective unconscious and archetypes.

Projective Test

Psychological tests that explore the unconscious mind by asking test takers to describe ambiguous images or tell stories.

Humanistic Theories

Emphasize self-determination and self-realization in understanding personality.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A theory that describes the process of fulfilling our potential and self-transcendence.

Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Perspective

Emphasizes acceptance, empathy, and self-concept in promoting personal growth.

Trait Theories

Focus on identifying and categorizing fundamental traits that influence behavior.

Raymond Cattell 16 Personality Factors

A theory that describes personality based on sixteen different factors.

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of test items that tap basic components of a trait.

Big Five Factors

The most influential trait approach today, consisting of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)

The most widely used personality test, especially in clinical settings.

Social Cognitive Theories

View behavior as influenced by the interaction between traits, thinking, and social context.

Albert Bandura

A psychologist known for his social cognitive theory and the concept of self-efficacy.

Julian Rotter - Locus of Control

The belief that results are primarily due to one's own actions (internal) or outside actions (external).

Self

The center of personality, organizing thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Possible Selves

The vision of self, including dreams or fears of becoming.

Self-Esteem

One's feelings of high or low self-worth.

Self-Efficacy

One's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Individualist vs

Cultural orientations that value personal independence and individual achievement (individualism) or group goals and social identity (collectivism).