Unit 10

personality

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

traits

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer report

personality inventories

a questionnaire (often with true/false and agree/disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to access selected personality traits

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests

psychodynamic theories

view human behavior as a dynamic interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind, including associated motives and conflicts

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

psychoanalysis

(1) Sigmund Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; (2) Freud's therapeutic technique used in treating psychological disorders. Freud believed that the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences - and the therapist's interpretation of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight.

unconscious

a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

id

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

ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that mediates among the needs of the id, superego, and reality; operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

superego

represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development during with the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones (pleasure sensitive areas of the body)

Oedipus complex

a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

identification

the process by which children incorporate their parents' values into the developing superegos
provides gender identity

fixate

a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were resolved

defense mechanisms

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

repression

banishes certain thoughts/feelings from consciousness (underlies all other defense mechanisms)

regression

retreating to earlier stage of fixated development

reaction formation

ego makes unacceptable impulses appear as their opposites

projection

attributes threatening impulses to others

rationalization

generate self-justifying explanations to hide the real reasons for our actions

displacement

divert impulses toward a more acceptable object

sublimation

transform unacceptable impulse into something socially valued

denial

deny an unpleasant piece of external reality or an unwanted internal emotion

collective unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history

projective tests

a personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one;s inner dynamics

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

terror-management theory

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

resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behavior and events in order to provide insight

transferring

the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

psychodynamic therapists

therapy derived from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to the unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight

insight therapies

a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing the client's awareness of underlying motives and defenses

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapists used techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate client's growth

active listening

empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies

humanistic theorists

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, an answer to the question "Who am I?"

self

assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

narcissism

excessive self-love and self-absorption

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, internal cognition, and environment

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive recognition an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

positive psychology

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive

the trait perspective

focus on identifying and describing people's traits (dispositions and behavior patterns); not why people have the traits they do

factor analysis

statistical method that finds relationships among many different or diverse items and allows them to be grouped together

Barnum Effect

method of listing many general traits so that almost everyone who reads the results thinks that these traits apply specifically to him or her. Our tendency to accept as valid descriptions of our personality that are generally true of everyone

Person-Situation Controversy

traits are not good predictors of behavior. While traits may be enduring, the resulting behavior in various situations is different (traits interact with the situation's cues.)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Designed by Henry Murray, examiners present individuals with a subset (typically 5 to 12 of 31 cards displaying pictures of ambiguous situations, mostly featuring people and then respondents construct a story about each picture, describing the events that are occurring, what led up to them, what the characters are thinking and feeling, and what will happen later.

Humanism

emphasized our capacity for personal growth, development of our potential, and freedom to choose our destiny. Our sense of self and self-esteem are at the center of our personality and outlook.