6. Identity & Personality (7%)

Self-Concept

Our own list of internal answers to the question "Who am I?"

Self-Schema

A self-given label that carries with it a set of qualities. Ex. "athlete" would entail youth, fitness, and dressing or acting in a certain way.

Identity

The individual components of our self-concept related to the groups to which we belong.

Gender Identity

Describes a person's appraisal of him or herself on the scale of being male or female.

Androgyny

Defined as the state of being simultaneously very masculine and very feminine.

Undifferentiated

Those who scale low on both the masculine and feminine scale.

Gender Schema

Gender identity is transmitted through cultural and societal means.

Ethnic Identity

Refers to a person's ethnic group.

Nationality

One's identity defined by political borders.

Hierarchy of Salience

Organization of our identities such that we let the situation dictate which identity holds the most importance for us at any given moment.

Self-Discrepancy Theory

Maintains that we are made up of three selves; our actual self, our ideal self, and our ought self. The closer the three selves are, the higher our self-esteem will be.

Actual Self, Ideal Self, and Ought Self

The three selves of the self-discrepancy theory.

Actual Self

The way we see ourselves as we currently are.

Ideal Self

The person that we would like to be.

Ought Self

Our representation of the way others think we should be.

Self-Esteem

The measure of how we feel about ourselves.

Self-Efficacy

Our belief in our ability to succeed.

Overconfidence

Leads us to take on tasks that we are not ready for.

Learned Helplessness

The development of a sense that we cannot help our situation.

Locus of Control

Refers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives.

Looking-Glass Self

An image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you.

Libido

Sexual development, Freud claimed it to be present from birth.

Fixation

Occurs when a child is overindulged or overly frustrated during a stage of development.

Neurosis

When a child undergoes fixation, and they form a personality pattern based on that stage which persists into adulthood as a functional mental disorder.

Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development

Oh, another psychotic lesbian girl.

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Freud's five stages of sexual development.

1. Oral Stage

0 to 1 year. Gratification is obtained by sucking on objects.

2. Anal Stage

1 to 3 years. During this stage, libido is centered on the anus. The child gains gratification through elimination and retention of waste.

3. Phallic Stage

3 to 5 years. This stage centers on the Oedipus and Electra complexes. The child will typically try to sublimate the libidinal energy that they feel.

4. Latency Stage

Once the libido from the phallic stage is sublimated, this stage lasts from then until puberty.

5. Genital Stage

Begins during puberty and lasts through adulthood. They will enter normal sexual relationships.

Psychosocial Theory

Emphasizes emotional development and interactions with the social environment.

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Based on a series of crises that derive from conflicts between needs and social demands.

1. Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first stage goes from 0 to 1 year. If resolved successfully, the child will come to trust his environment as well as himself. If failed, the child may remain suspicious throughout life.

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's second stage which goes from 1 to 3 years. The favorable outcome is that the child feels able to exert control over the world and can exercise choice as well as self-restraint.

3. Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third stage which lasts from 3 to 6 years. The favorable outcome includes a sense of purpose, the ability to initiate activities, and the ability to enjoy an accomplishment.

4. Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's fourth stage which lasts from 6 to 12 years. If resolved, the child will feel competent, and be able to exercise their abilities and intelligence in the world.

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's fifth stage which lasts through adolescence, from 12 to 20 years. This stage encompasses the physiological revolution. The favorable outcome is fidelity, the ability to see oneself as a unique person with sustained loyalties.

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's sixth stage which lasts through young adulthood from 20 to 40 years. This stage is when the person develops the ability to form meaning and intimate relationships.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's seventh stage which lasts from 40 to 65 years. Successful resolution results in an individual capable of being a productive, contributing member of society.

8. Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's eighth and final stage which ranges from around 65 years until death. In this stage, we see a person become at peace with the meaning of life, and the acceptance that one's life has been worthwhile.

Can I trust the world?

The existential question of trust vs. mistrust. First stage.

Is it okay to be me?

The existential question of autonomy vs. shame and doubt. Second stage.

Is it okay for me to do, move, and act?

The existential question of initiative vs. guilt. Third stage.

Can I make it in the world of people and things?

The existential question of industry vs. inferiority. Fourth stage.

Who am I and what can I be?

The existential question of identity vs. role confusion. Fifth stage.

Can I love?

The existential question of intimacy vs. isolation. Sixth stage.

Can I make my life count?

The existential question of generativity vs. stagnation. Seventh stage.

Is it okay to have been me?

The existential question of integrity vs. despair. Eighth stage.

Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Focuses on not only resolving conflicts or urges but rather on the development of moral thinking.

Preconventional Morality, Conventional Morality, Postconventional Morality

Lawrence Kohlberg's three phases of moral development, which are subdivided into six stages.

Preconventional Morality

The first of Kohlberg's phases; it is typical of preadolescent thinking, and places an emphasis on the consequences of the moral choice. Divided into obedience and self-interest.

1: Obedience

The first stage of preconventional morality in which a child is focused on avoiding punishment.

2: Self-Interest

The second stage of preconventional morality in which the child is focused on gaining rewards. It is also sometimes called the instrumental relativist stage.

Conventional Morality

The second of Kohlberg's phases; it develops in early adolescence and begins when individuals begin to see themselves in terms of their relationships with others. Divided into conformity and law and order.

3: Conformity

The first stage of conventional morality, it places an emphasis on receiving approval from others.

4: Law and Order

The second stage of conventional morality, it focuses on maintaining social order in the highest regard.

Postconventional Morality

The third of Kohlberg's phases, it describes a level of reasoning that not everyone is capable of. Divided into social contract and universal human ethics.

5: Social Contract

The first stage of postconventional morality, it views moral rules as conventions that are designed to ensure the greater good.

6: Universal Human Ethics

The second stage of postconventional morality,

it reasons that decisions should be made in consideration of abstract principles.

Zone of Proximal Development

Lev Vygotsky's concept which refers to those skills and abilities that have not yet fully developed but are in the process of developing. Gaining these skills requires a "knowledgeable" person, such as an adult.

Role-Taking

As children grow, they become more able to see the identities of others as different from their own. It is one of the influences of others on one's identity.

Ex. When a child begins to understand the perspectives and roles of others.

Theory of Mind

The ability to understand how another's mind works. It is one of the influences of others on one's identity.

Ex. Understanding how a friend is interpreting a story while you tell it.

Looking-Glass Self

Our sense of self is determined by how others perceive us. It relies on others reflecting our "selves" back to ourselves. It is the major influence that others have on one's identity.

Reference Group

Our self-concept often depends on whom we are comparing ourselves to. It is one of the influences of others on one's identity.

Personality

Describes the set of thoughts, feelings, traits, and behaviors that are characteristic of an individual across the lifetime.

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

Freud's theory which holds the assumption of unconscious internal states that motivate the overt actions of individuals and determine personality.

Sigmond Freud

Contribution to the study of personality was his structural model, which involved id, ego, and superego.

Id

Consists of all the basic, primal, inborn urges to survive and reproduce. It functions according to the pleasure principle.

Pleasure Principle

The aim is to achieve immediate gratification to relieve any pent-up tension.

Primary Process

The id's response to frustration.

Wish Fulfillment

Daydreaming or fantasy which fulfills the need for satisfaction.

Ego

Operates according to the reality principle, taking into account the objective reality as it guides or inhibits the activity of the id and the id's pleasure principle.

Secondary Process

Objective reality guides or inhibits the activity of the id and id's pleasure principle.

Superego

The personality's perfectionist, judging our actions and responding with pride at our accomplishments and guilt at our failures.

Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious

Freud stated that our access to the id, ego, and superego fall into three categories.

Conscious

Thoughts to which we have conscious access.

Preconscious

Thoughts that we aren't currently aware of.

Unconscious

Thoughts that have been repressed.

Instinct

Innate psychological representation of a biological need.

Defense Mechanisms

The ego's recourse of relieving anxiety caused by the clash of the id and superego.

Repression

The ego's way of forcing undesired thoughts and urges to the unconscious.

Suppression

The conscious form of forgetting unwanted thoughts.

Regression

Reversion to an earlier developmental state.

Reaction Formation

An unacceptable impulse is transformed into its opposite.

Projection

Attribution of wishes, desires, thoughts, or emotions to someone else.

Rationalization

Justification of attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.

Displacement

Changing the target of an emotion, while the feelings remain the same.

Sublimation

Channeling of an unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable direction.

Carl Jung

A psychoanalyst who preferred to think of libido as psychic energy in general, not just psychic energy rooted in sexuality.

Personal Unconscious, Collective Unconscious

Jung identified the ego as the unconscious mind which he divided into two parts.

Personal Unconscious

Similar to Freud's notion of the unconscious.

Collective Unconscious

A powerful system that is shared among all humans and is considered to be a residue of the experiences of our early ancestors.

Archetypes

Carl Jung's building blocks that are images of common experiences.

Persona

Jungian archetype that is likened to a mask that we wear in public.

Anima and Animus

Jungian archetypes which refer to sex-inappropriate qualities.

Shadow

Jungian archetype which is responsible for the appearance of unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings, and actions in our consciousness.

Self

Jungian archetype that he defines as the intersection between the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious, and the conscious mind.

Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. Intuiting, Thinking vs. Feeling

Jung's three dichotomies of personality.

Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

Extraversion vs. Introversion

Sensing vs. Intuiting

Thinking vs. Feeling

Judging vs. Perceiving