Personality Psychology

Personality is an individual’s characteristic pattern of ________, ________, and ________.

thinking; feeling; acting

Unlike other fields, personality psychology focuses on how individuals ________ from one another.

differ

Personality traits are generally ________ and ________ across situations.

enduring; stable

Traits are consistent characteristics, while ________ are temporary and changeable.

states

The outdated method of studying personality by examining skull shapes was called ________.

phrenology

The belief that vague personality descriptions apply to everyone is why ________ feel accurate.

horoscopes

The four major theories of personality are Trait, Psychoanalytic, ________, and ________.

Socio-Cognitive; Humanistic

Traits are stable over ________, stable across ________, and differ in amount among individuals.

time; situations

Gordon Allport identified over ________ terms to describe personality.

18,000

The five core traits in the Big Five model are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, ________, and ________.

Agreeableness; Neuroticism

High conscientiousness individuals are ________, ________, and ________.

organized; neat; practical

Low agreeableness can make a person seem unkind, but also more -.

self-protective

High neuroticism means a person is more ________, ________, and emotionally unstable.

anxious; moody

Low neuroticism, or emotional stability, reflects being ________ and ________.

calm; relaxed

High openness includes being ________, ________, and imaginative.

creative; intellectual

People high in extraversion tend to be ________, ________, and sociable.

talkative; assertive

Studies show the Big Five traits are generally ________ throughout adulthood.

stable

The Big Five trait most associated with job and academic success is ________.

conscientiousness

Being high in ________ is associated with higher relationship satisfaction and volunteerism.

agreeableness

Cultures that emphasize individualism tend to score higher in ________.

extraversion

People who are more conscientious are likely to be ________ people.

morning

One major criticism of trait theory is that it doesn’t explain ________ traits develop.

why

The psychoanalytic approach was developed by ________ ________.

Sigmund Freud

Freud believed much of our personality is influenced by the ________.

unconscious

Freud’s three components of personality are the id, the ________, and the ________.

ego; superego

The ________ follows the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification

id

The superego is our internalized ________ and focuses on how we ________ behave.

conscience; should

The ego mediates between the id and superego using the ________ principle.

reality

Freud believed personality forms through a series of ________ stages.

psychosexual

A person stuck in a stage due to over- or under-gratification is said to have a ________.

fixation

The Oedipus complex occurs during the ________ stage of development.

phallic

Freud’s concept for girls’ unconscious competition for their father is the ________ complex.

Electra

Freud believed that all personality development centers around managing internal ________.

anxiety

Defense mechanisms distort ________ to reduce anxiety.

reality

Forgetting unacceptable thoughts is called ________.

repression

Blaming others for your own desires is an example of ________.

projection

Redirecting unacceptable urges into their opposite is ________ ________.

reaction formation

Channeling negative impulses into positive activities is ________.

sublimation

Refusing to accept reality is known as ________.

denial

Redirecting anger from its source to a safer target is called ________.

displacement

Giving acceptable explanations for unacceptable behavior is ________.

rationalization

Freud’s method of tapping into the unconscious by saying whatever comes to mind is called ________ ________.

free association

The ________ test presents inkblots to explore a person’s unconscious thoughts.

Rorschach

The ________ ________ ________ asks people to tell stories based on ambiguous images.

Thematic Apperception Test

Object-relations theory emphasizes the importance of ________ with others across the lifespan.

attachment

John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth believed we form a “working model” of ________ through early caregiving.

relationships

The Social Cognitive approach argues that personality is shaped by ________ and our interpretations.

experience

The theory of ________ ________ describes how people view control over life outcomes.

locus of control

Believing you control your own fate reflects an ________ locus of control.

internal

Attributing outcomes to luck or external forces reflects an ________ locus of control.

external

Repeated exposure to uncontrollable events can lead to ________ ________.

learned helplessness

The humanistic approach focuses on striving for ________ and personal growth.

self-fulfillment

Carl Rogers emphasized that we act in ways consistent with our -.

self-schema

According to Rogers, inconsistency between our self-concept and life experience leads to low ________.

self-esteem

Maslow described the highest human motivation as -.

self-actualization