Personality Psychology

Flashcards covering key concepts in personality psychology including definitions and significant theories.

Personality

A person’s relatively consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Freud's Psychoanalytic Perspective

Proposed that personality is determined by unconscious drives impacting our interactions with the world.

Id

The component of personality that exists entirely within the unconscious, fulfilling basic needs based on the Pleasure Principle.

Ego

The nearly completely conscious part of personality that balances the desires of the id with the ideals of the superego.

Superego

Represents our conscience and societal ideals, dictating what we 'ought to' do based on learned values.

Defense Mechanisms

Mental processes used by the ego to reduce anxiety by manipulating reality, often unconsciously.

Oral Stage

A psychosexual stage (0-18 months) characterized by dependency and themes of eating.

Anal Stage

A psychosexual stage (18-36 months) focusing on control and potty training.

Phallic Stage

A psychosexual stage (3-6 years) where the focus is on genital organs and jealousy, including the Oedipus complex.

Latency Stage

A psychosexual stage (6-11 years) marked by subdued sexual impulses, redirecting energy into social and academic achievements.

Genital Stage

The final psychosexual stage (12 years-adulthood) focused on sexual maturity and interpersonal relationships.

Trait Theories

Theories that propose personality consists of continuous dimensions called traits, which describe patterns of thought or behavior.

The Big Five

A model outlining five main personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Self-Esteem

A person's appraisal of their value and feelings of self-worth, influenced by perceived social value.

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals in a population that can be attributed to differing genes.

Twin Studies

Research comparing similarities between identical twins (MZ) and fraternal twins (DZ) to assess genetic influence on personality.

Gene-Environment Correlations

The concept that genetic similarity can produce similar environments by selecting, changing, or evoking specific experiences.

Person-Situation Debate

The discussion surrounding whether behavior is more influenced by personality traits or situational factors.

Self-Report

A method of measuring personality where individuals rate their own characteristics, thoughts, and feelings.

Informant-Report

A method of measuring personality where others provide ratings of someone's characteristics and behaviors.