Personality Theories and Psychology Exam Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering personality definitions, informal and formal theories (the Big Five), Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and psychosexual stages, Neofreudian theories (Erikson and Jung), humanistic theory (Rogers), and behavioral personality concepts.

Personality

The distinctive and stable patterns of behavior, motives, and emotions exhibited by an individual.

Implicit Personality Theory

An informal personality theory based on the assumption that certain traits go together to produce recognizable "types" of people.

Nomothetic Approach

A formal approach to personality theory that searches for universal traits across all individuals.

The "BIG FIVE" Traits (OCEAN)

Universal personality traits identified through factor analysis: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalytic theory, which is based on determinism, the influence of the unconscious, the importance of the sex drive, and how the past influences the present.

Libido

In psychoanalytic theory, the psychic energy that is transformed from biological energy.

Eros vs. Thanatos

The two primary instincts in psychoanalytic theory: the sexual or life instinct (Eros) versus the death instinct (Thanatos).

Id

The universal, sequential, and unconscious component of personality structure that operates on the pleasure principle.

Ego

The component of personality structure that operates on the reality principle to mediate demands.

Superego

The component of personality structure that operates on the morality principle.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious processes employed by the ego to reduce or ward off anxiety, typically triggered by conflicting demands between the id and superego.

Oral Stage

The first psychosexual stage of personality development, spanning from birth to 1 year of age.

Anal Stage

The second psychosexual stage of personality development (ages 1 to 2 years), characterized by anal retentive or anal expulsive traits.

Phallic Stage

The third psychosexual stage of personality development (ages 2 to 5 years), which involves the Oedipal Conflict and penis envy.

Latency Period

The fourth psychosexual stage of personality development, occurring between 5 and 12 years of age.

Genital Stage

The fifth psychosexual stage, beginning at 12 years and on; not all individuals reach or remain in this stage.

Fixation

A halt in psychosexual development where an individual remains attached to an earlier stage instead of progressing to subsequent stages.

Regression

A psychoanalytic concept where an individual reverts to behaviors or characteristics of an earlier psychosexual stage.

Neofreudians

Theorists who initially studied with Sigmund Freud but subsequently broke away from strict Freudian theory for various reasons.

Erik Erikson's 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

A Neofreudian developmental theory that contrasts with psychosexual stages by emphasizing social interactions across eight lifespan stages.

Collective Unconscious

In Carl Jung's theory, inherited memories universal to all humans that exist in addition to the personal unconscious.

Archetypes

Universal images residing within the collective unconscious, including figures such as God, birth, rebirth, the hero, the wise man, and the earth mother.

Carl Rogers's Self-Theory

A humanistic personality theory focusing on the real self versus the ideal self, incongruence, conditions of worth, and unconditional positive regard.

Incongruence

In Carl Rogers's self-theory, the discrepancy or conflict between the real self and the ideal self.

Behavioral Theories of Personality

Personality perspectives that explain behavior through preceding conditions, postceeding conditions, stimulus-response links, and reinforcement.