Chapter 14

Personality

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Psychodynamic theories

Theories that focus on the unconscious and childhood experiences in understanding personality.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory attributing thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

Unconscious

A reservoir of unacceptable thoughts, wishes, and memories, influencing behavior without awareness.

Free association

A method in psychoanalysis where one speaks freely to explore the unconscious.

Id

The unconscious part of personality driven by basic drives like sex and aggression.

Ego

The conscious part of personality that mediates between the id, superego, and reality.

Superego

The part of personality representing internalized ideals and moral standards.

Psychosexual stages

Developmental stages focusing on pleasure-seeking energies in different body areas.

Oedipus complex

A boy's desire for his mother and jealousy towards his father.

Identification

Children adopting their parents' values into their own superegos.

Fixation

Pleasure-seeking energies stuck at an earlier psychosexual stage.

Defense mechanisms

Ego's strategies to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

Banishing anxiety-inducing thoughts from consciousness.

Collective unconscious

Jung's idea of shared inherited memories in human history.

Terror-management theory

Theory on managing anxiety related to death.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Projective test revealing inner feelings through stories about ambiguous scenes.

Projective test

Personality test using ambiguous stimuli to reveal inner dynamics.

Self-actualization

Fulfilling one's potential after meeting basic needs and achieving self-esteem.

Self-transcendence

Striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond oneself.

Unconditional positive regard

Accepting, nonjudgmental attitude fostering self-awareness and acceptance.

Self-concept

Thoughts and feelings about oneself.

Trait

Characteristic behavior patterns assessed by inventories and reports.

Personality inventory

Questionnaire measuring a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Widely used personality test.

Empirically derived test

Test created by selecting items that differentiate between groups.

Big Five Factors

Personality traits - openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Social cognitive perspective

Behavior influenced by traits and social context interaction.

Reciprocal determinism

Interaction of behavior, cognition, and environment influences.

Self

Central to personality, organizing thoughts, feelings, and actions.