Psych 1100 - Chapter 12

Agreeableness

A Big Five personality trait characterized by trustworthiness, altruism, trust, compliance, modesty, and tender mindedness

Big Five Theory

A trait theory that identifies five main characteristics that account for most individual differences in personality

Conscientiousness

A Big Five personality trait characterized by competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberation

Defense Mechanism

In Sigmund Freud’s personality theory, a protective behavior that reduces anxiety

Ego

The component of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory that is the self that others see

Extroversion

One of the Big Five traits characterized by warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, and positive emotion; opposite of introversion

Id

The component of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory containing primitive drives present at birth

Introversion

One of the Big Five traits characterized by coolness, reserve, passivity, inactivity, caution, and negative emotion; opposite of extroversion

Locus of Control

A cognitive expectancy featured in social–cognitive learning theories of personality about the source of individual outcomes; an external locus of control sees outcomes as resulting from luck or chance, while an internal locus of control sees outcomes as the result of individual effort

Neuroticism

A Big Five personality trait characterized by anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, and vulnerability

Openness

A Big Five personality trait characterized by an appreciation for fantasy, feelings, actions, ideas, values, and aesthetics

Reciprocal Determinism

A social– cognitive learning theory of personality that features the mutual influence of the person and that of the situation on each other

Self-concept

People’s description of their own characteristics

Self-esteem

A judgment of the value of the self

Self-schema

A cognitive organization that helps us think about the self and process self-relevant information

Social-cognitive learning theory

A theory of personality that features cognition and learning, especially from the social environment, as important sources of individual differences in personality

Superego

The component of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory that internalizes society’s rules for right and wrong, or the conscience

Temperament

A child’s pattern of mood, activity, or emotional responsiveness linked to later personality

Trait

A stable personality characteristic