AP Psych - Personality

personality

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

free association

* **psychoanalysis**
* method of exploring the unconscious where an individual relaxes and said whatever comes to mind

psychoanalysis

* **Freud’s** theory of personality
* attributes emotions to __unconscious__ thoughts

unconscious

* according to Freud, the ______ is a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories
* according to contemporary psychologists, information processing we are unaware of

id

* reservoir of unconscious energy that strives to satisfy sexual and aggressive drives
* operates of the **pleasure principle**, demanding immediate gratification

ego

* largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates the demands of the **id, superego**, and reality
* operates on the **reality principle**, satisfying the **id’s** desires that will bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

* part of personality that represents internalized ideas
* provides standards for judgement and future aspirations

pleasure principle

driving force of **id** that seeks immediate gratification

reality principle

the opposing force to the instinctual urges of the **pleasure principle**

psychosexual stages

* childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital) proposed by **Freud**
* during these, the **id’s** pleasure-seeking focuses on distinct erogenous zones

oral stage

* one of **Freud’s** psychosexual stages; 0-18 months
* pleasure centered on the mouth (sucking, biting, chewing)

anal stage

* one of **Freud’s** psychosexual stages; 18-36 months
* pleasure focused on bowel and bladder, coping w/ demands for control

phallic stage

* one of **Freud’s** psychosexual stages; 3-6 years
* pleasure zone is the genitals, coping w/ incestuous sexual feelings

latent stage

* one of **Freud’s** psychosexual stages; 6 to puberty
* dormant sexual feelings

genital stage

* one of **Freud’s** psychosexual stages; puberty on
* maturation of sexual interests

Oedipus complex

**Freud’s** idea that a boy has sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Electra Complex

* opposite of **Oedipus complex**
* **Carl Jung’s** idea that a girl has sexual desires toward her father and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival mother

identification

according to **Freud**, the process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing **superegos**

fixation

according to **Freud**, the lingering focus on unresolved pleasure seeking from an earlier **psychosexual stage**

defense mechanisms

in **psychoanalytic theory**, the **ego’s** protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

repression

* defense mechanism where an individual banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
* ex. *a victim of a car accident doesn’t remember anything about the accident*

regression

* defense mechanism where an individual dealing with anxiety retreats to a more infantile stage
* ex. *following the anxious first day of school, a child may revert to comfort of thumb-sucking*

reaction formation

* defense mechanism where the **ego** unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites
* ex. *“I love them” becomes “I hate them”*

projection

* defense mechanism where people disguise their own impulses by attributing them to others
* ex. *“they’re such a gossip” when in reality, the person speaking is insecure about their gossiping habits*

rationalization

* defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening reasons for one’s actions
* ex. *an alcoholic says they drink with their friends ”just to be sociable”*

displacement

* defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable outlet
* ex. *someone is angry and wants to hit someone, but they redirect that energy towards punching a wall*

denial

* defense mechanism where people refuse to believe or percieve painful realities
* ex. *someone ignores evidence of their partner’s affair*

collective uncounsciousness

**Carl Jung’s** concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory that is derived from our universal experiences

projective test

a personality test, like the **Rorschach** or **TAT** that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s internal dynamics

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a personality test where people view ambiguous pictures and make up a story

Rorschach inkblot test

well known projective test that attempts to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretation of inkblots

terror-management theory

* theory of death-related anxiety
* explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of death

self-actualization

**Maslow’s** theory of the motivation to fufill one’s potential after basic physical and psychological needs are met

unconditional positive regard

**Carl Rogers’** idea of an attitude of total acceptance toward another

self-concept

all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior

personality inventory

a questionnaire used to assess selected personality traits

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used personality test

empirically derived test

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

social-cognitive perspective

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

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and enviroment

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond personal control determine one’s fate

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and resignation an individul learns when unable to avoid repeated averse effects

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

self

the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

spotlight effect

overestimating others’ observation and evaluation of our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we pretend a spotlight shines on us)

self-esteem

one’s feelings of high or low self worth

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

Alfred Adler

* Neo-Freudian
* Importance of child social (not sexual) tension
* Inferiority complex
* Birth order psychology

Karen Horney

* Neo-Freudian
* Sought to balance **Freud's** masculine biases
* “Womb envy”

Carl Jung

* Neo-Freudian
* **Collective unconscious**
* Archetypes (self, persona, shadow, anima, ect.)

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalyst

* Unconscious
* **Id, ego, superego**
* **Free association**

Abraham Maslow

* Humanistic psychologist
* **Self-actualization**
* **Hierarchy of needs**

Carl Rogers

* Humanistic psychologist
* Focused on growth and fulfillment
* Unconditional positive regard

Julian Rotter

* Psychologist
* Social learning theory
* **Locus of control**

Albert Bandura

Viewed behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons and their social context

Hans and Sybil Eysenck

Used two primary personality factors (neuroticism and extraversion) as axes for describing personality variation

Gordon Allport

* Psychologist
* **Trait theory**

Paul Costa and Robert McCrae

* The big five traits
* OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism)

Raymond Cattell

* Psychologist
* 16 personality factors
* Fluid and crystalized intelligence

Martin Seligman

* Psychologist
* Positive psychology
* **Learned helplessness**