Unit 11 (10&11) Personality and Intelligence - Myers

unconscious

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

superego

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

displacement

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet

projection

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

sublimation

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.

regression

psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

rationalization

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions.

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

reaction formation

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

denial

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Rorschach Inkblot Test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

self-actualization

according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential

trait

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

Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory (MMPI)

the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

collectivism

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

fixation

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

Oedipus complex

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

personality

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

projective test

a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist's interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight

psychosexual stages

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

self-serving bias

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

self-esteem

one's feelings of high or low self-worth

spotlight effect

overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

identification

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

psychodynamic psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

general intelligence (G Factor)

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

factor analysis

statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie person's total score

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

emotional intelligence

ability to perceive, understand, and use emotions

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Stanford - Binet IQ Test

the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) sub-tests

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

(normal distribution) a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

predictive validity

the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

down syndrome

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

stereotype threat

self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype (Claude Steele)

terror-management theory

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

personality inventory

a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.