psychology chapter 13 personality

the relatively consistent, patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving that distinguish people from one another

personality

a comprehensive scientific model or human nature and individual differences

personality theory

those elements of personality that remain consistent over significant periods of time

personality structures

individual’s distinctive patterns of change in psychological experience and behavior that occur from one moment to the next 

personality processes 

a structured procedure for learning about an individual’s distinctive psychological qualities

personality assessment

the personality structure that motivates people to satisfy basic bodily needs 

id 

the mental system that balances the demands of the id with the opportunities and constraints of the real world

ego

the personality structure that represents society’s moral and ethical rules

superego

variations in the degree to which people are aware and can become aware, of the contents of their minds  

levels of consciousness 

the regions of mind containing the mental contents of which you are aware at any given moment

conscious

regions of mind containing ideas you can easily bring to awareness

preconscious

regions of mind containing ideas you are not aware of and generally cannot become aware of even if you wanted to 

unconscious 

changes in mental energy that occur as energy flows from one personality structure to another, or is directed to desired objects

psychodynamic processes

when an individual experiences either too little or too much gratification at a psychosexual stage

fixation

devised by the ego to protect against anxiety

defense mechanism

traumatic memories are kept in the unconscious, thereby blocked from awareness  

repression 

instinct toward sex or aggression is redirected to the service of a socially acceptable goal

sublimation

redirecting mental energy from a threatening target to an unrelated and less threatening target

Displacement

expressing thoughts and behaviors that are the opposite of one’s trues motives

reaction formation

concluding that other people possess undesirable qualities that actually exist in oneself 

projection 

formulating a logical reason or excuse that hides one’s true motives or feelings

rationalization

failure to admit the existence or true nature of emotionally threatening information

denial

focuses on people’s thoughts and feelings about themselves and the ways that interpersonal relationships shape these feelings 

humanistic theory 

self-perceptions of our personal qualities; people’s conceptions of who they are

self

people’s perceptions of psychological qualities they possess currently, in the present

actual self

people’s perceptions of psychological qualities that they optimally would possess in the future. 

ideal self 

in personality psychology, a person’s typical style of behavior and emotion

trait

theoretical approaches that try to identify, describe, and measure people’s personality traits

trait theories

a statistical technique that identifies patterns in large sets of correlations  

factor analysis 

a tendency to approach the social and material world in an energetic manner

extraversion

an orientation toward positive, prosocial feelings and behaviors when interacting with others

agreeableness

a tendency to control inappropriate emotions and impulses and to follow social rules 

conscientiousness 

a tendency to experience negative emotions

neuroticism

an orientation toward a complex mental and behavioral life, and a diversity of experiences

openness to experience

thoughts people have about themselves as they interact with the world and reflect on their experiences 

self-referent cognitions 

people’s efforts to control their own behavior and emotions

self-regulation

the core of personality consists of personal knowledge, beliefs, and skills through social interaction

social cognitive theory