Lecture on Personality Psychology

These flashcards cover key concepts and vocabulary from the lecture on personality psychology, including definitions, theories, and mechanisms.

Personality

A relatively enduring predisposition or traits influencing behavior across many situations.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory that posits all psychological events have a cause and emphasizes the importance of unconscious drives in influencing behavior.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious maneuvers used to reduce anxiety stemming from the conflict between the id and the superego.

Repression

The unconscious forgetting of painful or traumatic memories to protect an individual from emotional pain.

Denial

A defense mechanism involving refusal to acknowledge or accept reality and certain events.

Rationalization

Providing plausible reasons or excuses for behaviors that are actually unreasonable or driven by anxiety.

Displacement

Transferring impulses or emotions from a threatening target to a safer, more acceptable one.

Projection

The unconscious attribution of one's own undesirable traits or emotions onto others.

Regression

Reverting to behavior characteristic of an earlier developmental stage when faced with stress or anxiety.

Reaction Formation

Converting an anxiety-provoking emotion into its opposite.

Sublimation

Channeling socially unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable and productive outlets.

Oral Stage

The first psychosexual stage lasting from birth to 18 months, where the mouth is the primary pleasure zone.

Anal Stage

The second psychosexual stage, from 18 months to 3 years, focused on control over bowel movements.

Phallic Stage

The third psychosexual stage, from ages 3 to 6, where genitalia becomes the primary zone of pleasure.

Latency Stage

The fourth psychosexual stage, from ages 6 to 12, during which sexual impulses are repressed.

Genital Stage

The final psychosexual stage, starting from age 12, marked by the return of sexual impulses and the development of mature relationships.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s theory that prioritizes human needs, from basic physiological needs to self-actualization.

Self-Actualization

The drive to realize one's full potential, considered a fundamental human motive in humanistic psychology.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Acceptance and support without conditions or judgments, essential for positive self-regard and self-realization.

Inferiority Complex

Feelings of inadequacy that can lead to overcompensation and attempts to prove superiority.

Oedipal Complex

During the phallic stage, an unconscious desire of a boy for his mother and a desire to replace or eliminate his father.

Electra Complex

During the phallic stage, an unconscious desire of a girl for her father and a desire to replace or eliminate her mother.

Id

The primitive, pleasure-seeking part of the personality, operating on the pleasure principle and present from birth, striving for immediate gratification of desires.

Ego

The rational, reality-oriented part of the personality that mediates between the demands of the id, the superego, and reality, operating on the reality principle.

Superego

The moral component of personality, representing internalized societal and parental standards of right and wrong, striving for perfection and acting as a conscience.

Psychic Determinism

A core assumption of psychoanalytic theory stating that all psychological events, including thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, are caused by prior events, often unconscious ones.

Symbolic Meaning

A core assumption of psychoanalytic theory suggesting that all actions, objects, or thoughts have symbolic meaning, often related to unconscious desires or conflicts.

Actual Self (Carl Rogers)

In Carl Rogers's theory, the current perception an individual has of themselves, including their characteristics and abilities.

Ideal Self (Carl Rogers)

In Carl Rogers's theory, the self an individual wishes to be, often influenced by societal expectations and personal aspirations.

Collective Unconscious

A concept proposed by Carl Jung, referring to a reservoir of shared experiences, images, and archetypes inherited from our ancestral past, common to all humans.

Big Five Factors (OCEAN)

A widely accepted model describing personality in terms of five broad, independent dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Openness (Big Five)

A personality trait characterized by imagination, insight, a broad range of interests, and a willingness to try new things.

Conscientiousness (Big Five)

A personality trait characterized by organization, self-discipline, thoughtfulness, competence, and goal-directed behavior.

Extraversion (Big Five)

A personality trait characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.

Agreeableness (Big Five)

A personality trait characterized by trust, altruism, kindness, affection, cooperation, and other prosocial behaviors.

Neuroticism (Big Five)

A personality trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, emotional instability, anxiety, and a tendency to experience negative emotions.

Humanistic Perspective on Personality

An approach to personality that emphasizes inherent human goodness, self-actualization, and free will, focusing on conscious experiences and growth potential, in contrast to the deterministic view of psychoanalysis.