Identity and Personality

MCAT BEH Ch. 6

self concept

sum of ways in which we describe ourselves in present, future, and past

identities

individual components of of our self concept related to the groups we belong to (religious affiliation, sexual orientation, ethnic group, etc)

self esteem

our evaluation of ourselves

ideal self

who we want to be

ought self

who other want us to be

self efficacy

the degree to which we see ourselves being capable of at a given skill or in a given situation

learned helplessness

perceived lack of control over the outcome of situations

locus of control

self-evaluation that refers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives; example: those with an internal locus of control see their successes and failures as a result of their own characteristics and actions

Freud’s psychosexual stages of personality

based on tensions called libido that when unresolved at any given stage leads to personality disorders known as fixation

oral (0-1, putting objects in mouth, biting, sucking)

anal (1-3, elimination and retention of waste materials → toilet training)

phallic/oedipal (3-5, envious of close relationship with parent with each other; establishing sexual identity and sublimates libidinal energy)

latent (sublimation until puberty)

genital (puberty to adulthood, healthy heterosexual relationships)

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

stems from conflicts that occurs throughout life

trust vs. mistrust (0-1, whether to trust caregivers)

autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1-3, exert control over the world, exercise choice and self restraint)

initiative vs. guilt (3-6, learn basic cause and effect principles, and finishing tasks for a purpose → enjoy accomplishment)

industry vs. inferiority (6-12, competent in abilities and intelligence to affect the world in a way they desire)

identity vs. role confusion (12-20, explore who they are and purpose in society)

intimacy vs. isolation (20-40, focus on creating long lasting bonds)

generativity vs. stagnation (40-65, focus on advancing present and future society

integrity vs. despair (above 65, reflective and contemplative, life worthwhile and not afraid of death or bitterness)

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

stages of resolving moral dilemmas

preconventional in preadolescence (stage 1: obedience to avoid punishment, stage 2: self interest to gain rewards or instrumental relativist for reciprocity and sharing)

conventional in adolescence to adulthood (stage 3: conformity to seek approval of others, stage 4: law and order to maintain social order)

postconventional in adulthood (stage 5: social contract to see morals as designed for the greater good and individual rights, stage 6: universal human ethics that decisions should be made in consideration of abstract principles)

zone of proximal development

vygotsky’s theory that we need the more knowledgeable other to guide learning and mastering skills as a child

imitation/role taking

children reproduce behaviors of role models and later learn to see perspectives of others and practice taking on new roles

reference group

group to which we compare ourselves

hierarchy of salience

we let the situation dictate which identity holds the most importance to us at a given moment

self-discrepancy theory

each of us has three selves and that perceived differences between these selves leads to negative feelings (actual, ideal, and ought)

looking glass self

our understanding of how others see us

psychoanalytic perspective

Freudian theory that personality results from unconscious urges and desires from the ego, id, and superego where thoughts are organized into the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

defense mechanisms

what the ego uses to reduce stress caused by urges of the id and superego

collective unconscious

archetypes

humanistic perspective

emphasizes internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive for happiness and self actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

humanistic view with five levels of need: physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self actualization

unconditional positive regard

therapeutic technique in which the therapist accepts the client completely and expresses empathy in order to promote a positive therapeutic environment

id

part of the psychoanalytic perspective that is driven by the pleasure principle (now, not later) known as primary process

ego

part of the psychoanalytic perspective that is driven by the reality principle (guides the id on what is possible) known as secondary process

superego

part of the psychoanalytic perspective and is the personality’s perfectionist/idealist

repression

defense mechanism of unconsciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness

suppression

defense mechanism of consciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness

regression

defense mechanism that is the reversion to an earlier developmental state

reaction formation

defense mechanism where an unacceptable impulse is transformed into its opposite

projection

defense mechanism where attribution of wishes, desires, thoughts, or emotions to someone else

rationalization

defense mechanism of justification of attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors

displacement

defense mechanism where changing the target of an emotion, while the feelings remain the same

sublimation

channeling of an unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable direction

anima/animus

Carl Jung descriptions of gender appropriate qualities (feminine/masculine respectively), one of which is repressed

shadow archetype

the suppressed anima/animus responsible for unpleasant or reprehensible thoughts and feelings in the unconscious mind

word association test

assess unconscious mind when patients respond to one word with the first word that comes to mind (Jung)

inferiority complex

an individual’s sense of incompleteness, imperfection, and inferiority both physically and socially

fictional finalism

people are more motivated by their expectations than their past experiences

object relations theory

representation of caregivers based on subjective experiences during infancy that persist into adulthood and impact social interactions with others

gestalt therapy

practitioners tend to take a holistic view of the self, seeing each individual as a complete person rather than reducing the person to individual drives and behaviors

force field theory

focused on the sum of influences (forces) on an individual at that time and puts little stock in constraints of personality like fixed traits and habits

personal construct theory

the individual is a scientist that constructs a scheme of anticipation of what other people will do based on knowledge, perception, and relationships

client-centered/person-centered/nondirective therapy

helps the client reflect on problems, make choices, generate solutions, take positive action, and determine their own destiny

type theorists

attempt to create a taxonomy of personality types

trait theorists

describe individual personality as a sum of a person’s characteristic behaviors

somatotypes

personalities based on body type

PEN model

psychoticism: non-conformity and social deviance, neuroticism: measure of emotional arousal in stressful situations, and extraversion: measure of tolerance for social interaction and stimulation

negative affect

how a person experiences negative emotions and thinks of themselves

Big Five model

OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, extraversion

cardinal traits

traits around which people organize their lives

central traits

major characteristics of the personality that are easy to infer

secondary traits

other personal characteristics that are more limited in occurrence (only appear in close groups or specific social settings)

functional autonomy

behavior continues despite satisfaction of the drive that originally created the behavior

behaviorist perspective

personality is a reflection of behaviors reinforced over time (Skinner’s operant conditioning)

social cognitive perspective

how our environment effects us and how we interact with the environment (one step further than behaviorist)

reciprocal determinism

the idea that our thoughts, feelings, environment, and behaviors all interact with each other to determine our actions in a given situation

biological perspective

personality can be explained as a result of genetic expression in the brain