AP Psychology unit 4B: Personality

Psychoanalysis

personality is based on impulses and needs hidden from individual knowledge

Denial

refusing to accept painful or unwelcomed thoughts regardless of evidence to the contrary

Displacement

unconscious shift of emotions, affect, or desires from the original objects to a more acceptable, immediate or less threatening substitute

projection

one’s own traits and emotions are attributed to someone else

Rationalization

creating elaborate explanations for one’s own behavior which only appear logical to oneself;allows a person to escape anxiety over their actions, yet continue with the behavior

Reaction formation

unacceptable emotions and impulses are handled by exaggerating the opposite

Carl Jung

believed that individual unconscious if formed not by sex and agression but by the collective of humanity

Regression

return to childish behavior in order to escape one’s feelings

repression

preventing undesirable thoughts or experiences from being remembered

Alfred Adler

personality is formed by a need to conquer inferior feelings

sublimination

manifesting unacceptable feelings or behavior in a constructive, acceptable way

Karen Horney

social relationships form personality

Erik Erikson

eight stages of life form personality

Humanism

choices exist and people have the ability to maximize their potential

Carl Rodger

believed that the individual developed their own self-concept

Reciprocal determinism

based in Albert Bandura’s research on the interaction between though processes and environmental influences

self-efficacy

the ability to accomplish things in a social setting

Psychodynamic theories

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

Unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes and memories, according to contemporary psychoanalysts, information of which we are unaware

instinct theory

instincts are unlearned, complex behaviors that have fixed patterns throughout species

Drive-reduction theory

physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to maintain a steady internal state

Arousal theory

motivated by seeking optimal levels of arousal

Free association

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. It operates on the pleasure principle,demanding immediate gratification

ego

The partly conscious “executive” part of personality that according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, the superego and reality

Superego

the partially conscious part of personality that according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement and for future aspirations

Approach-Approach

two desirable alternatives

Approach-avoidance

negative consequences

Avoidance-avoidance

two undesirable consequences

Terror management theory

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

Thematic Apperception test

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

Projective tests

A personality test, such as the TAT that provides ambiguous images designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics and explore the preconscious and unconscious

Rorschach inkblot test

a projective test that seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing how they interpret 10 inkblots

Humanistic theories

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

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s levels of human needs, beginning at the base with phyisiological needs, needs near the base of the pyramid take priority until they are satisfied

Self-actualization

The motivation to fulfill one’s potential

self-transcendence

the striving for identity, meaning and purpose beyond the self

Unconditional positive regard

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

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answers to the question “who am I”

Trait

A 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 questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors, used to assess selected personality traits

MMPI

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests

Emperically derived tests

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

Big five factors

five traits-openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neroticism that describe personality

set point

the point at which the “weight thermostat” maybe set, when body is below this weight increased hunger and lower metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

Factor analysis

used to identify clusters of related items on a test

Broaden and build theory of emotion

positive emotions broaden an individuals momentary “though-action repertoire”-expanding awarness

Cognitive appraisal

the personal interpretation of a situation that determines how a person feels and acts

Cognitive labeling theory

emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal

Emotion display rules

culturally learned social norms that dictate how, when and where emotions should be expressed

Facial feedback hypothesis

facial expressions can intensify or create emotional experiences

Universitality of emotions

a set of basic emotional expressions that are similar among all cultures