AP Psych Personality Unit 4 Part 2

personality

an individuals characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, acting, emotions, and behaviors

Freud's Theory

goal: expose unconscious tension

basic principles include the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and influence of sexual drives, includes id/ego/superego and psychosexual stages

pieces of freuds theory

psychoanalytic perspective

psychoanalytic theory

psychoanalysis

levels of consciousness

conscious: thoughts, perceptions

preconscious: memory, stored knowledge

unconscious: instincts, fears, selfish motives

parts of freud personality

Id, ego, superego

Id

pleasure: begins at birth, sexual/survival/aggressive dreams, focused on immediate gratification

ego

reality: begins 2-3 yo

executive - mediates bw Id and superego

focuses on both happiness in the moment while also avoiding future consequences

superego

morality

develops 4-5 yo

judgement, future aspirations

ways to expose unconsious tension (Freud)

dreams/talk

dreams - exposing unconscious tension

manifest: story

latent: hidden content, dream interpretation

talk - exposing unconscious tension

free association that brings unconscious to surface and can help resolve issues

defense mechanisms

the ego's protective method of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

conflict b/w id/ego/superego -> anxiety -> defense mechanism

repression

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

(foundation of all defense mechanisms

denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses to a less threatening object/person

projection

believing your feelings are actually held by the other person, attributing your threatening impulses to someone else

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulses to their opposites

rationalization

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

regression

returning to an earlier, comforting form of behavior - retreating to a more infantile psychosocial stage where some psychic energy remains fixated

sublimation

transferring of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motives - seen as healthier defense mechanism

psychodynamic theory(neofreudians)

personalities develop from the unconscious and the importance of childhood experience with a focus in social tensions

how do we assess the unconscious through psychodynamic theory

projective tests

projective tests

ambiguous stimuli reveal hidden conflicts and impulses in the unconscious

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

humanistic perspective

believes people are innately good and free will gives us the ability to choose our destiny

focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

primary motivating factors in the humanistic perspective

self actualization

unconditional positive regard - growth promoting environment

self concept

closeness of ideal self to real self

assessments of unconscious through humanistic perspective

self concept questionnaires

life story approach

critics to humanistic perspective say

not scientific

leads to selfishness

lack of realism

trait theory of personality

Personality consists of a set of traits which are characteristics that vary between people and are STABLE over the course of the lifetime. Key: NO ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES. Very little personal control over personality, and personality is hereditable.

trait

characteristic patter of behavior or a disposition to feel and act in a certain way

temperament

emotional reactivity

that is shown in infancy

factor analysis

statistical procedure used to identify clusters of basic components of personality

trait theory assessments

personality tests: myers briggs (popular)

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (empirical)

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.

Big 5 factors of personality

conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, extraversion

neuroticism

emotional stability

maturity principle

the idea that traits associated with effective functioning increase with age

research on trait theory of personality has shown:

there is correlation b/w family members (not birth order)

personality correlates with brain structure

personality is common in all human cultures

personality can reliably predict life outcomes

social cognitive theory

The view of psychologists who emphasize behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development.

theorized by Bandura

in social cognitive theory, what 3 things work together to create traits

self esteem, self concept, self effacy

self esteem

feelings of high or low self worth

growth -> adventure and achievement

boosts without merit -> lower performance

self concept

self image

threatened -> disparage others, prejudice, implicit racial bias

self effacy

sense of competence

can predict school experience

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

-> increased self control

external locus of control

the perception that outside forces control our fate

-> increased risk of PTSD

social cognitive perspective

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

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, personality, and environment

social cognitive theory assessments

realistic/simulations

motivation

need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it toward a goal

motivation nature vs nurture

nature - bodily push

nurture - cognitive/cultural pull

3 perspectives of motivation

evolution

physiological needs

sensation seeking

self determination

conflict

instinct/evolution theory of motivation

Complex behaviors that have fixed patterns throughout different species and are not learned

evolutionary psych: personality traits evolved for survival

physiological needs theory of motivation: drive reduction theory

aroused motivated state pushes us to reduce need for the goal of internal homeostasis

ex. hunger

physiological needs theory of motivation: optimal arousal theory

people perform best when moderately aroused

ex. boredom