DE Psychology Chapter 12

Personality-

One's typical way of thinking, feeling in behavior

consistently in many situations;

Trait-

relatively enduring predisposition that influences our

behavior across many situations.

How do researchers study personality?

gather different types of data

What types of data do researchers gather to study personality?

1. information you provide about your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or qualities;

2. information about you provided by friends or family;

3. information about specific things you have done;

4. information about things that have happened to you; and

5. information based on the activity in your body, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and brain

Nomothetic approach-

approach to personality that focuses

on identifying general laws that govern the behavior of all

individuals; general principles

Pros and cons of nomothetic approach

more external validity, allows for generality, but limited in

explaining any one person

Idiographic approach-

approach to personality that focuses

on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics

and life history experiences

Pros and cons of idiographic approach

Less external validity, no generality, more like a case study;

unfalsifiable

Rests of three core

assumptions-

psychic determinism, symbolic

meaning, and unconscious motivation

Psychic determinism-

the assumption that all

psychological events have a cause

Early childhood experiences exert great influence on

adult personality

Symbolic Meaning-

all behavior has a symbolic

meaning;

Unconscious Motivation-

desires trapped in the unconscious is the

cause of all behavior

What does Freud believe about motivation?

according to Freud, we rarely understand why we do what we do, although we quite readily cook up explanations for our actions after the

fact

According to Freud, what is more important the unconscious or the conscious?

For Freud, the unconscious is of immensely greater importance in the causes of our personality than the conscious.

Three levels of consciousness - (iceberg)

Tip - Conscious mind

Middle - Preconscious mind

Bottom - Unconscious mind

conscious mind

level of the mind that is.

preconscious mind

level of the mind in which information is available but

not currently conscious. Can easily be brought to mind

unconscious mind

a part of the personality that contains the thoughts,

memories, and motives blocked from normal awareness

Three agencies of the human psyche

ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

Where does our personality come from (agencies of the mind)

The interplay between the three

agencies gives rise to our

personalities, and differences in

the strength of these agencies

help to account for individual

differences in personality

Id

instincts and an individual's reservoir of psychic energy;

part of the personality present at birth and completely

unconscious.

Purpose of the ID

reduce tension created by primitive drives

related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses.

Pleasure principle

the tendency for the id to strive for instant

gratification. Individuals seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Superego

the moral part of personality; harsh internal judgement

of our behavior.

The superego contains the ___ we've

internalized from ____

the sense of right and wrong we've

internalized from our interactions with society, especially our parents

According to Freud, what is occuring between the three agencies constantly?

a constant struggle to maintain balance

Most of the time the three agencies interact

harmoniously.

psychological distress results from ____ among these three agencies

conflict among these three agencies.

Ego

Psyche's executive and principal decision maker, when

energy is balanced. deals with the demands of reality. It is

partially conscious. Provides a buffer between Id and the

outside world.

Reality principle

the ego tries to bring an individual pleasure

within the norms of reality and society.

The ego's primary tasks are

interacting with the real world

and finding ways to resolve the competing demands of the other two psychic agencies.

The ego strives to delay gratification until it can find an

appropriate or socially acceptable outlet for our drives.

Internal conflict is a part of life. If conflict becomes too

much, people become

mentally ill

Freud believed that all dreams are

wish fulfillments, that is, expressions of the id's impulses.

Freudians believe that symbols in dreams often mean

different things to different dreamers.

Defense mechanisms

unconscious maneuvers intended to minimize anxiety. strategies used by the ego to resolve conflicts among the demands for reality, the wishes of the id, and the constraints of the superego.

How do defense mechanisms reduce anxiety?

unconsciously distorting reality.

Defense mechanism originate from the ___

ego

What does our mind do in situations where we can't do much to correct a dangerous situation?

We change our perception of it

Heavy reliance on one or two defense mechanisms is

pathological

Repression

motivated forgetting of emotionally threatening memories or impulses.

What makes repression powerful?

One of the most powerful defense mechanisms because it pushes unacceptable id impulses out of awareness and back into the unconscious mind.

Denial

refusal to acknowledge current events in our lives.

Regression

responding to a threatening situation in a way appropriate to an early age or level of development

Rationalization

substituting reasonable sounding explanations for unacceptable behaviors or failures

Displacement

redirection of an unacceptable thought from a dangerous object to a safe one

Reaction Formation

Transforming an anxiety producing experience into its opposite

Sublimation

Transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into an admired and socially valued goal.

Projection

attributing our own negative characteristics onto others

Psychosexual Stages

Developmental periods that children pass through during which they encounter conflicts the demands of society and their own sexual urges.

Each psychosexual stage gratification is centered around

a particular area of the body (erogenous zone)

Freud believed that individuals can become fixated or "stuck" in an early stage of development because they were

either deprived or excessively gratified during the stage.

Fixation

unhealthy focus on one particular psychosexual stage that continues into adulthood.

What is fixation the result of?

May be the result of an inability to resolve psychosexual conflicts associated with a particular stage

Oral stage

focuses on the mouth where infants obtain sexual pleasure primarily by sucking and drinking; weaning is the primary conflict

How long does the oral stage last?

from birth to 12 to 18 months.

Orally fixated persons

persons react to stress by becoming intensely dependent on others for reassurance; also prone to overeating, drinking too much, or smoking

The Anal Stage

psychosexual stage that focuses on toilet training.

How long does the anal stage last?

from about 18 months to 3 years.