Understanding Personality

This set of flashcards covers essential vocabulary and concepts related to personality theories, including definitions and significant theorists.

Personality

An individual's characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the biological, psychological, and social mechanisms behind those patterns.

Unconscious Conflict

A key concept in personality theory, often associated with Freud, suggesting that internal conflicts influence thoughts and behaviors.

Big Five Personality Traits

A widely accepted model of personality that includes Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Openness

A trait in the Big Five model characterized by curiosity, creativity, and openness to new experiences.

Conscientiousness

A trait in the Big Five model that reflects organization, dependability, and achievement orientation.

Extraversion

A trait in the Big Five model that indicates sociability, talkativeness, and energetic behavior.

Agreeableness

A trait in the Big Five model associated with being compassionate, cooperative, and trusting.

Neuroticism

A trait in the Big Five model that involves emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness.

Freud's Structural Model

A model of personality that includes the Id, Ego, and Superego as components of the psyche.

Id

The part of the personality that contains our basic instincts and drives; operates on the pleasure principle.

Ego

The part of the personality that mediates between the Id and reality; it operates on the reality principle.

Superego

The component of personality that represents societal values and ideals; it strives for perfection.

Heritability

The proportion of variation in personality traits that can be attributed to genetic factors.

Delay of Gratification

The ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward.

The Talking Cure

A term often associated with psychotherapy which involves talking to uncover unconscious conflicts.

Trait Theory

A psychological approach that emphasizes the importance of individual personality traits in shaping behavior.

Lexical Hypothesis

The idea that important individual differences have been encoded in language and can be identified through adjectives.

Person-Situation Interaction

The perspective that personality is influenced by the inherent traits of individuals as well as the situations they encounter.

Thin Slicing

The ability to make quick inferences about someone's personality based on minimal information.

Self-Esteem

An individual's subjective evaluation of their own worth or value.

Empathy

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

Conscientiousness (Big Five)

Describes individuals who are diligent and disciplined in their pursuits.

Neuroticism (Big Five)

Refers to the tendency towards emotional instability and negative emotions.

Extraversion (Big Five)

Involves the degree to which individuals are outgoing and enjoy social gatherings.

Agreeableness (Big Five)

Refers to the tendency to be compassionate and cooperative toward others.

Openness (Big Five)

Includes traits of curiosity and willingness to engage in new experiences.

Freudian Trio

The Id, Ego, and Superego; concepts introduced by Freud to describe the systems of human psyche.

Sigmund Freud

Pioneer of psychoanalysis, known for theories about the unconscious mind and personality.

Gordon Allport

A psychologist recognized for his trait theory and emphasis on the uniqueness of individuals.

Personality Assessment

Methods used to evaluate and measure personality traits, often through questionnaires.

The Marshmallow Test

A famous study on delay of gratification that measures self-control in children.

Behavioral Predictions

Using personality traits to forecast an individual's future behavior in various situations.

Cultural Replicability

The extent to which a psychological model applies across different cultures and societies.

Societal Norms

The rules or expectations of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group.

Acceptance Threat

A psychological state where a person feels their social acceptance is at risk.

Attachment Theory

A psychological framework explaining how the bonds between caregivers and children affect personal development.