AP Psych Unit 10 - Personality (Myers Textbook)

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Free Association

In psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Unconscious

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware

Id

A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification

`Ego`

The largely conscious “executive” part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands on the id, superego, and reality; operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

Superego

The part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscience) and for future aspirations

Psychosexual Stages

The childhood stated of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital) during which, according to Freud, the id’s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Oral Stage

From birth to 18 months of age, pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, and chewing

Anal Stage

From 18 to 36 months of age, pleasure focuses on bowels and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic Stage

From 3 to 6 years of age, the pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestous sexual feelings

Latency Stage

From 6 years old to puberty, it is a phase of dormant sexual feelings

Genital Stage

From puberty and onward, the maturation of sexual interest occurs

Oedipus Complex

According to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Identification

The process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parent’s values into their developing superego in response to coping with the threatening feelings of the Oedipus Complex (trying to become like rival parent)

Fixation

According to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

Defense Mechanisms

In psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective method of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Repression

In psychoanalytic theory, te basic defense mechanism that banishes from the conscious anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Regression

Retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated (ex. A little boy reverts to the oral stage of thumb sucking in the car on the way to the first day of school)

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites (ex. Repressing angry feelings, a person displays exaggerated friendliness)

Projection

Disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others (ex. “The thief thinks everyone else is a thief”)

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions (ex. A habitual drinker says she drinks with her friends “just to be sociable”)

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person (ex. A little girl kicks the family dog after her mother sends her to her bedroom)

Sublimation

Transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives (ex. A man with aggressive urges becomes a surgeon)

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities (ex. A partner denies evidence of his loved one’s affair)

Psychodynamic Theories

Modern-day approaches that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ theory

Alfred Adler

Proposed the popular idea of the inferiority complex and believed our behavior is driven by effects to conquer childhood inferiority

Karen Horney

Said childhood anxiety triggers our desire for love and security; countered Freud’s misogynistic assumptions, especially about “penis envy”

Projective Test

A personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Rorschach Inkblot Test

The most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots; has low reliability and validity

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and our behaviors

Terror-Management Theory

A theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

Humanistic Theories

View personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Self-Actualization

According to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one’s potential

Self-Transcendence

Meaning, purpose, and communion beyond the self

Unconditional Positive Regard

According to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person; is one of three conditions of a person-centered perspective (being genuine and having empathy)

Self-Concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Traits

A characteristic pattern of behavior and conscious movie or a disposition to feel and act, as answered by self-report inventories and peer reports (Allport described personality in traits, instead of explaining them like Freud)

Myers-Briggs Indicator Test (MBTI)

A 126-question personality test created by Isabel and Katharine Briggs- based on Carl Jung’s personality types; remains a counseling and coaching tool, not a research instrument

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

Measures extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability as emerged basic personality dimensions

Personality Inventory

A questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree questions) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to access selected personality traits

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPJ)

The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use)- this test is now used for many other screening purposes

Empirically Derived Test

A test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

Stock Spiel

A number of generally true statements that build on the observation that each of us in some way like not one else and in other ways just like everyone else; enables the “seer” to offer statements that sem impressively accurate

Barnum Effect

The acceptance of stock, positive descriptions

Big Five Personality Factors

Conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion (CANOE)- currently offer the clearest picture of personality. These factors are stable and appear to be found in all culture; By Paul Costa and Robert McCrae

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

Behavioral Approach

In personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Reciprocal Determinism

The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Attribution Style

Ways in which people explain a case of events (optimistic or pessimistic)

Self

In contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

Spotlight Effect

Overestimating others’ noticings and evaluation of our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

Self-Esteem

One’s feelings of high or low self-worth

Self-Efficacy

One’s sense of competence and effectiveness

Self-Serving Bias

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Narcissism

Excessive self-love and self-absorption

Individualism

Giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identification

Collectivism

Giving priority to the goals of one’s group (often one’s extended family or work group) and defining one’s identity accordingly

Collectivist Culture

Group identifications provide a sense of belonging, a set of values, a network of carrying individuals, and an assurance of security