psychology exam: personality development

sigmund freud

unconscious mind, psychoanalysis, oedipus/electra complex

unconscious mind

reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness

psychoanalysis

unconscious motivations and conflict in a persons life

oedipus/electra complex

the young chuld’s unconscious desire for the parent off the opposite sex

iceberg metaphor

3 levels of consciousness; 3 systems of personality

3 levels of consciousness

conscious, subconscious, and unconscious

systems of personality

id-pleasure principle; ego-reality principle; superego-conscience

id-pleasure principle

childish and impulsive; the life(sexual instinct) and death(aggressive instinct)

ego-reality principle

balances the needs of our instincts and demands of society

superego-conscience

our conscience, morals, and parental authority; socially appropriate

defense mechanisms

tools of the ego, keeping the sanity, defending self

anna freud

clarified and defined defense mechanisms; used to decrease conflict within, specifically id and superego

specific defense mechanisms

RRRDDP; regression, repression, reaction formation, displacement, denial, projection

regression

when a person reverts back ti a previous stage of psychological development

repression

memories, emotions, and ideas that are repressed into our unconsciousness

reaction formation

when a person had a feeling that produces unconscious anxiety, it is transformed into its opposite consciousness

displacement

when a person displaces their emotions onto other individuals

denial

when a person refuses to admit that something unpleasant is happening

projection

a persons own unacceptable feelings are projected onto others

neo-freudians

psychologists and schools of thought that come after freud; jungian psychology, object relations school

psychodynamic perspective

violating the principle of falsifiability; drawing universal principles from the experience of a few atypical patients

carl jung

collective unconscious

archetypes

universal memories, symbols, images, and themes; shadow and anima/animus

shadow archetypes

prehistoric fear of wild animals and represents the bestial, evil side of human nature

anima and animus

anima: feminine archetype in men

animus: masculine archetype in women

object relations school

emphasizes the importance of the first two years of life, and the baby’s formative relationships, especially with mother

theory of falsifiability

theory impossible to disconfirm in principle, is not scientific; many psychodynamic concepts of unconscious motivations are impossible to verify

universal principles from atypical patients

generalized data from only a few individuals, often patients in therapy

illusion of causality

occurs when people mistakingly believe there’s a casual connection between two unrelated events

humanist paychology

fundamental belief of humanistic psychology was that people are innately good

a reaction to behaviorism and psychoanalysis

abraham maslow

american humanist psychologist; malsow’s hierarchy of needs

hierarchy of needs

biological/physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, self-actualization needs;

personality is formed by our ability to meet our needs

self-actualization

peak of personal psychological fulfillment

peak experiences

moments of self-actualization that make us want to experience it again

person-centered perspective

carl rogers; believed we are all born good; all have self-actualizing tendencies, unless environment prevents growth

fully-functional person

person in touch with their own feelings and trust their intermost urges and intuitions

positive regard

warmth, affection, love, and respect from significant others shape their personality

unconditional/conditional regard

unconditional- no strings attached

conditional- strings attached

proper growing environment

genuineness, acceptance, and empathy

genuineness

open with their feelings, drop their facades, and transparent

acceptance

seen with unconditional positive regard

empathy

being listened to and understood

personality

distinctive pattern of behavior, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterize and individual

personality tests

measuring personality; projective and objective tests

phrenology

measure lumps on a person’s head to determine their personality

projective tests

uses a participants response to ambiguous stimuli to expose their hidden emotions and inner conflicts

rorschach test and thematic apperception test

rorschach inkblot test

test where patient looks at inkblot and tells therapist what they see; giving the picture meaning, therapists interpretation

thematic apperception test

uses a series of provocative, yet ambiguous pictures about which the subject must tell a story; projecting personality

objective tests

standardized questionnaires that require written responses

five factor model test

five factor model test

traits perspective of personality; interaction of genetics and environment; FFM tests

big five personality traits

openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism