Personality Psychology

Vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes covering concepts of personality in psychology.

What is Personality?

Personality refers to the long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to think, feel, and behave in specific ways.

Humors

The four bodily fluids in ancient Greek medicine thought to influence personality: choleric (yellow bile), melancholic (black bile), sanguine (red blood), and phlegmatic (white phlegm).

Choleric

A temperament characterized by being passionate, ambitious, and bold.

Melancholic

A temperament characterized by being reserved, anxious, and unhappy.

Sanguine

A temperament characterized by being joyful, eager, and optimistic.

Phlegmatic

A temperament characterized by being calm, reliable, and thoughtful.

Phrenology

A discredited theory that claimed personality traits could be identified by the shape and bumps of the skull.

Levels of Consciousness

According to Freud, the levels include the unconscious, which influences our behavior, and the conscious, which encompasses our immediate awareness.

Id

The primitive, impulsive part of the personality driven by the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification.

Ego

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

Superego

The moral part of the personality that incorporates societal rules and ethics, striving for perfection.

Psychosexual Stages

Freud's theory that children pass through five stages of development, each characterized by focus on different erogenous zones.

Ideal Self

The person one aspires to be; linked to one's self-concept.

Real Self

The person one actually is; also connected to self-concept.

Reciprocal Determinism

Bandura's concept that behavior, cognitive processes, and situational context all interact and influence each other.

Locus of Control

A concept that describes the degree to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them, ranging from internal (control by self) to external (control by others).

OCEAN

An acronym for the Five Factor Model of personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Self-report Inventories

Objective tests often utilized in psychology to assess personality through standardized questionnaires.

Projective Tests

Personality assessments that reveal unconscious desires and feelings by asking individuals to interpret ambiguous stimuli.