Personality

week 13

Personality

the long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways

conscious

mental activity (thoughts, feelings, and memories) that we can access at any time

unconscious

mental activity of which we are unaware and unable to access

id

 aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex

superego

aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience

ego

aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others

neurosis

tendency to experience negative emotions

defense mechanism

unconscious protective behaviors designed to reduce ego anxiety

reaction formation

ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety swaps unacceptable urges or behaviors for their opposites

repression

ego defense mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious

projection

ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety disguises their unacceptable urges or behaviors by attributing them to other people

regression

 ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral state

displacement

ego defense mechanism in which a person transfers inappropriate urges or behaviors toward a more acceptable or less threatening target

sublimation

ego defense mechanism in which unacceptable urges are channeled into more appropriate activities

psychosexual stages of development

stages of child development in which a child’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on specific areas of the body called erogenous zones

oral stage

birth to 1 year; pleasure is focused on the mouth

Anal stage

1-3 years; children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements

phallic stage

3-6 years; genitals

latency period

6 years - puberty; sexual feelings are dormant as children focus on other pursuits

genital stage

puberty - end of life; the focus is on mature sexual interests

rationalization

ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety makes excuses to justify behavior

individual psychology

focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority

inferiority complex

a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to the standards of others or of society

collective unconscious

universal version of the personal unconscious, holding mental patterns, or memory traces, which are common to all of us

archetype

pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across cultures and societies

analytical psychology

Jung’s theory focusing on the balance of opposing forces within one’s personality and the significance of the collective unconscious

Self-efficacy

is our level of confidence in our own abilities, developed through our social experiences

locus of control

our beliefs about the power we have over our lives

Internal locus of control

Belief that most of our outcomes are the direct result of our efforts

External locus of control

Belief that our outcomes are outside of our control

self-concept

our thoughts and feelings about ourselves

congruence

when our thoughts about our real self and ideal self are very similar (when our self-concept is accurate)

Heritability

the proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics

Reactivity

how we respond to new or challenging environmental stimuli

self-regulation

our ability to control how we respond to new or challenging environmental stimuli

Traits

characteristic ways of behaving

Cardinal trait

trait that dominates your entire personality; not very common

Central traits

traits that make up our personalities

Secondary traits

traits that are present under specific circumstances and include preferences and attitude

Five Factor Model

the most popular theory in personality psychology today and the most accurate approximation of the basic trait dimensions. The five traits are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

selective migration

the concept that people choose to move to places that are compatible with their personalities and needs

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

personality test composed of a series of true/false questions in order to establish a clinical profile of an individual

projective test

personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires

Rorschach Inkblot Test

projective test that employs a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist in an effort to reveal the person’s unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

projective test in which people are presented with ambiguous images, and they then make up stories to go with the images in an effort to uncover their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)

projective test that is similar to a word association test in which a person completes sentences in order to reveal their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles

TEMAS Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test

projective test designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths, using images and storytelling that relate to minority culture

Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks Test (C-TCB)

projective test designed to be culturally relevant to African Americans, using images that relate to African-American culture

blirtatiousness

the extent to which people respond to friends and partners quickly and effusively

convergent validity

when the researcher looks for other traits that are similar to (but not identical to) the trait they are measuring

discriminant validity

when researchers compare our BLIRT score to traits that should have weak or no relationship to blirtatiousness

criterion validity

the relationship between some measure and some real-world outcome