ap psych - unit 4.2: semester 2

personality >

an individual's characteristics of thinking, acting, feelings over a long lasting period

what are the views of personality

• sigmund freud and psychoanalytic theories

• humanistic theories

• trait theories

• social-cognitive theories

• psychodynamic theories

sigmund freud/psychoanalytic theories >

stated that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality

humanistic theories

focused on our inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment

trait theories >

examine characteristic patterns of behavior (trait)

social-cognitive theories >

explore the interaction between people’s traits and their social context

psychodynamic theories >

human behavior is a dynamic interaction between the conscious mind and unconscious mind - including associated motives and conflicts

what is psychodynamic theories descended from?

freud’s psychoanalytic theories and treatments

what is freud’s history?

• freud private practice and it specialized in nervous disorders

• he encountered patients whose disorders did not make neurological sense to him

• for example: a patient lost feeling in left hand; there’s no sensory nerve that can cause this; could it be psychological?

what does freud focus on?

• unconscious

• symbolic meaning

• past childhood experiences and the influence on later life

unconscious >

the most of the mind is “below the surface” or unconscious; unacceptable impulses, motives, and conflicts (sexual drive)

what did freud believe?

that there are unlearned biological instincts (especially sexual and/or aggressive in nature) that can occur early in life and these instincts influence how a person thinks, feels, and behaves

what do we have to keep in mind when it comes to freud?

he lived in a time of sexual suppression (late 1800s) and clearly defined roles for me and women and this contributes his theory

free association >

the person relaxes and says whatever come to mind, no matter how embarrassing

dreams (according to freud) >

“the royal needs to unconscious”

manifesting content -

remembered

latent content >

unconscious wishes

freudian slip >

a mistake that reveals unconscious feelings

freud did not believe that anything was _____________

accidental

what is the personality structure according to freud?

Id, Superego, Ego

Id >

instincts, pleasure principle

what does Id represent?

the devil on your shoulder

Superego >

moral branch of personality, conscious, ideal, principle

what does superego represent?

the angle on your shoulder

ego >

deals with demands of reality, reality principle, regulates between id and superego

what does ego represent?

it represents what you actually do

defense mechanisms >

responses are unconsciously created to protect ourselves from the pain of unacceptable thoughts

in defense mechanisms we begin ________ to ourselves

lying

what creates defense mechanisms?

ego

is the defense mechanism healthy or unhealthy?

unhealthy

repression >

the foundation for all defense mechanisms

what is an example of repression?

abuse by a parent repressed so the person has problems forming healthy relationships

do researches doubt repression?

yes

stress __________ memory

enhances

what is an example that proves that stress enhances memory?

most war veterans, rape victims experiences

what are freud’s defense mechanisms?

• repression

• rationalization

• displacement

• sublimation

• projection

• reaction formation

• denial

• regression

how does repression work?

the ego pushes the unacceptable

what is an example of repression?

a young girl was sexually abused by her uncle. as an adult, she can’t remember anything about the traumatic experience

rationalization >

the ego replaces a less acceptable motive with a more acceptable one

what is an example of rationalization?

A college student does not get into the fraternity of his choice. He says that if had tried harder, he could have gotten in

displacement >

the ego shifts feeling toward an unacceptable to another, more acceptable object

what is an example of displacement?

replacing fear or sadness with humor

sublimation >

the ego replaces an unacceptable impulse with a socially acceptable one

projection >

the ego attributes personal shortcomings, problems, and fault to other

what is an example of projection?

a man who has a strong desire to have an extramarital affair accuses his wife of flirting with other men

reaction formation >

the ego transforms an unacceptable motive into its opposite and you start acting in the opposite way you feel

what is an example of reaction formation?

a woman who fears her sexual urges becomes a religious zealot

denial >

the ego refuses to acknowledge anxiety-producing realities

what is an example of denial?

man won’t acknowledge that he has cancer even though a team of doctors has diagnosed him with cancer

regression >

the ego seeks the security of an earlier developmental period in the face of stress

what is an example of regression?

a women returns to her mother every time she and her husband have a big argument

what shows that freud is criticism for not having any scientific evidence?

• can’t be proved or disapproved

  • less sexual repression in society now than back in the day, but mental disorders have not declined

many modern researchers ___________ repression and stress actually __________ memory

question, enhances

what are some basic humanistic beliefs?

• emphasizes the good in people

• every individual has the potential for growth

• strives to help people reach their individual potential

• stresses the importance of the self and how individuals feel

• reaction against psychodynamic perspective

what are the two main humanistic theorists?

abraham maslow and carl rogers

how did abraham maslow develop his ideas?

by observing healthy people (not study cases of ill people)

what did abramham maslow create?

the hierarchy of needs

hierarchy of needs >

self-actualization (the motivation of one’s potential, characteristics of self-actualized people: self-accepting and loving and open to others and their opinions, self-transcendence: the motivation to develop a purpose beyond oneself)

what did carl rogers create?

self concept (all parts included)

self concept >

an individual’s knowledge of who they are

self-image >

the way we see ourselves

self-esteem >

how we feel about ourselves

ideal self >

the self we would like to be

the ______________ between self-concept and ideal impacts _____________

differece, personality

if our self-concept is positive =

happy

if we feel that we fall short of our ideal self =

dissatisfied

what have maslow’s and roger’s ideas influenced?

counseling, education, child raising, and management

what are some criticisms of humanistic theories?

• not scientific - concepts are vague

• concepts are subjective

• too individualistic

• naive

how are maslow’s and roger’s ideas impacted?

counseling and child raising

traits >

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

the myers briggs test >

has been the most popular test to identify traits, but it doesn’t have a scientific affirmation behind it

factor analysis >

statistical procedure used to identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence

hans eyenck and sybil eysenk

traits could be narrowed down in 2-3 dimensions

extraversion >

extraversion to introversion

neuroticism >

aggressiveness to non-aggressiveness

extroverts seek ___________ because their normal brain arousal is _____

stimulation, low

what tends to be higher in extraverts?

dopamine and dopamine-related

what did research jerome kagan attributed what?

he attributed in children’s shyness to their autonomic nervous system’s reactivity, demonstrating the connectedness of biology and personality

many ________ have been studied, and researchers believe that animals like monkeys, chimpanzees, birds and dogs have _____________

animals, personality

personality inventories >

questionnaires on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings used to assess selected personality traits

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory >

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests

what was minnesota multiphasic personality inventory test originally made for? what can it do now?

it was originally made to identify emotional disorders but now it is used for screening purposes and it is relatively objective and it can tell when someone is lying

empirically derived test >

a test developed by a testing a pool of items and ten selecting those discriminate between groups

what are the big 5 factors?

CANOE

what does C stand for?

conciousness

consciousness >

the quality of wishing to do one’s work or duty well and thoroughly

what does A stand for?

agreeable

agreeable >

describe someone who is kind, cooperative and considerate

what does N stand for?

neuroticism

neuroticism >

the tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, fear, anger and self-doubt

what does O stand for?

openness

openness >

a person’s tendency to be receptive to new experiences, ideas and values

what does E stand for?

extraversion

extraversion >

the extend to which someone is outgoing, sociable, and energized by social interactions

how are traits stable?

they are pretty stable, but some traits develop with age

what is an example of how traits are stable?

agreeableness tends to increase during the thirties and continue to increase

do the big 5 traits predict our actual behaviors?

yes usually

our behavior is influenced by what?

nature and nurture

what is the “person-situation”?

controversy examines which of these is more important - nature or nurture

most researchers agree that personality traits are _______, leading us to the conclusion that _______has more to do with our _____

stable, nature, traits