AP Psychology Unit 10: Personality

Psychology for the AP Course- Third edition

Personality

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

Psychodynamic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

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

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

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 of the id, superego, and reality. The ego 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 judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

Psychosexual stages

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

Oral (0–18 months)

Pleasure centers on the mouth—sucking, biting, chewing

Anal (18–36 months)

Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic (3–6 years)

Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

Latency (6 to puberty)

A phase of dormant sexual feelings

Genital (puberty on)

Maturation of sexual interests

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 parents’ values into their developing superegos

Fixation

in psychoanalytic theory, 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 methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Regression

Retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Reaction formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

Projection

Disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Displacement

Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

Sublimation

Transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives

Denial

Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

Collective unconscious

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

Projective test

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

Thematic Apperception Test

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

Terror-management theory

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

Humanistic theories

theories that view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

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-trancendence

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

Unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help people develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Self-concept

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

Trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Personality inventory

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in certain ways, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

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) created by selecting from a pool of items those that discriminate between groups

Social- cognitive perspective

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

Behavioral approach

focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Recriprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

Psychoanalytic

Personality consists of pleasure-seeking impulses (the id), a reality-oriented executive (the ego), and an internalized set of ideals (the superego).

Psychodynamic

The dynamic interplay of conscious and unconscious motives and conflicts shapes our personality

Humanistic

If our basic human needs are met, we will strive toward self-actualization. In a climate of unconditional positive regard, we can develop selfawareness and a more realistic and positive self-concept.

Trait

Scientific study of traits has isolated important dimensions of personality, such as the Big Five traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion).

Social-cognitive

Conditioning and observational learning interact with cognition to create behavior patterns. Our behavior in one situation is best predicted by considering our past behavior in similar situations

Case study

In-depth study of one individual

Survey

Systematic questioning of a random sample of the population.

Projective tests

Ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of inner dynamics

Personality inventories

Objectively scored groups of questions designed to identify personality dispositions

Observation

Studying how individuals react in different situations

Experimentation

Manipulate variables, with random assignment to conditions

Self

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

Spotlight effect

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

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 identifications

Collectivism

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