psych class 2025-02-19T21:49:27.752Z

Definitions

• Personality: Characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

• Mood: Temporary emotional state that can change frequently; differs from personality which is more stable.

Theories of Personality

• Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory:

  • Focus on childhood sexuality, unconscious motivations influencing personality.

  • Key concepts: sex, unconscious, childhood.

  • Unconscious: A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts and feelings.

  • Id: Operates on the pleasure principle (immediate gratification).

  • Ego: Operates on the reality principle; mediates between id and superego.

  • Superego: Represents moral consciousness and strives for perfection.

• Humanistic Theorists:

  • Focus on inner capacities for growth and self-fulfillment.

  • Emphasize an optimistic view of human potential.

• Trait Theorists: Examine characteristic patterns of behavior or traits.

• Social-Cognitive Theories: Explore the interaction between traits, thinking, and social context.

Freud's Psychosexual Stages

1. Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months): Focus on the mouth; weaning can cause fixation.

   • Example of fixation: Adult behaviors such as smoking or nail-biting.

2. Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years): Focus on bowel and bladder control; success in potty training impacts personality.

   • Anal Retentive: Organized and meticulous.

   • Anal Repulsive: Messy and disorganized.

3. Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years): Focus on the genitals; Oedipus/Electra complex emerges.

   • Children develop attraction towards the opposite-sex parent and rivalry with the same-sex parent.

Key Concepts in Freud's Theory

• Dynamic Interaction: Personality formed by tensions between impulse and restraint.

• Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind: Behavior is a result of conflict between awareness (ego) and unconscious motives (id).

• Defense Mechanisms: Unconscious strategies to deal with anxiety and protect the ego.

Important Historical Context

• Freud's perspective was shaped by his upbringing; beliefs about development were influenced by his family dynamics.

• While Freud's ideas have been critiqued, his influence on psychology is significant and enduring.