| Term | Definition |
|---|
| personality | an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 595) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597) |
| ego | largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598) |
| id | contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. Operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598) |
| psychosexual stages | 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598) |
| superego | the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations. your conscience (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598) |
| fixation (Freud's Theory) | according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage in which conflicts were unresolved. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599) |
| identification | the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599) |
| Oedipus [ED-uh-puss] complex | according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599) |
| defense mechanisms | in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| projection | psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| rationalization | defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| regression | psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| repression | in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600) |
| collective unconscious | Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 601) |
| projective test | a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics. little or no validity but some reliability (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602) |
| terror-management theory | proposes that faith in one's worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 606) |
| self-actualization | according to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 609) |
| self-concept | (1) a sense of one's identity and personal worth. (2) all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" (Myers Psychology 8e p. 610) |
| unconditional positive regard | according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 610) |
| trait | a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 613) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 615) |
| Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) | an objective test; 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 616) |
| empirically derived test | a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 617) |
| reciprocal determinism | the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 623) |
| social-cognitive perspective | views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 623) |
| external locus of control | the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625) |
| internal locus of control | the perception that one controls one's own fate. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625) |
| learned helplessness | the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625) |
| personal control | our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625) |
| positive psychology | the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 628) |
| self-esteem | one's feelings of high or low self-worth. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 632) |
| spotlight effect | overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). (Myers Psychology 8e p. 632) |
| self-serving bias | a readiness to perceive oneself favorably (Myers Psychology 8e p. 634) |
| Jung | neofreudian who emphasized that libido is not just sexual instinct, but rather a general life force that includes an innate drive for creativity, growth oriented resolution of conflicts, and for blending basic impulses and real world demands. suggested there was both a personal and collective unconscious |
| collective unconscious | Jung's term for the unconscious shared by all people which contains the memories inherited from human and nonhuman ancestors |
| archetypes | Jung's term for ancient or archaic images from common ancestral experiences that make up the collective unconscious |
| shadow | Jung's name for teh architype of the dark, morally repugnant side of human nature |
| anima | Jung's term for the female part of the male personality |
| animus | Jung's term for the male part of the female personality |
| Horney | female neofreudian who believed neurosis resulted from basic hostility and basic anxiety. most important factor needed for a stable personality is loving relationships |
| basic anxiety | Horney's term for feelings of helplessness and insecurity as a result of being a small child in a world full of adults. |
| womb envy | Horney's comment than men are likely to feel womb envy because they are unable to bear children |
| basic hostility | Horney's term for feelings of resentment or anger toward parents (and later others) as a direct result of being neglected or dealt with harshly as a child |
| moving away | Horney's term for avoiding people as a way of coping with ones anxiety toward them (detached personality) |
| moving toward | Horney's term for connecting positively to others and seeking acceptance. (Compliant personality) |
| moving against | Horney's term for seeking control and power over people as a way of coping (aggressive personality) |
| Adler | neofreudian who agreed with Freud about importance of childhood experiences but felt it was social tensions not sexual ones that were critical in developing personalities. stressed birth order, sibling rivalry, and striving for superiority |
| striving for superiority | Adler's term for developing one's own individual talents, seeking self perfection; and coping with adversities |
| inferiority complex | Adlers term for the pattern of avoiding feelings of inadequacy rather than trying to overcome it |
| Erik Erikson | neofreudian whose theory of personality is a series of crisis pairs across the lifespan. psychosocial development theory |
| trust v mistrust | Erikson's first crisis from ages 0-1 where the child wonders if their needs going to be met. relationship with caregiver and baby. |
| big five personality traits | openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism |
| objective test | personality test with a restricted format; measurable more easily; normed on groups. examples include MMPI, 16PF, and Myers Briggs |
| barnum effect | tendency for people to accept very general or vague characterizations of themselves and take them to be accurate. |
| thanatos | Freud's term from the Greek word for death – the death or aggressive instinct which operates invisibly |
| eros | Freud's term from the Greek word for love – the life instinct or the will to live |
| conscious | Freud's term for our current perceptions and thoughts |
| preconscious | Freud's term for all the ideas not in your current awareness but that you can retrieve. memories and stored knowledge you can retrieve |
| freudian slip | Freud's term for a seemingly meaningless slip of the tongue that reveals an unconscious thought |
| sublimation | Freudian defense mechanism which is a socially acceptable displacement and is therefore a healthier defense mechanism. rechanelling aggression into competitive sports, achievement on the job, etc. |
| ideal self | Rogers's term for the goal of each person's development – perfection; can struggle with living up to this |
| fully functioning individual | Rogers's term for when a person becomes what they should be. When you unite what you should be with what you are |
| trait theory | theories that agree personality is a relatively stable collection of characteristics but differ as to number and types of traits that are used to describe individuals. |
| Allport | early trait theorist who theorist who described personality in terms of measurable traits and with a few he considered to be "building blocks" (came up with 4500 traits). |
| Eysenck | trait theorist that tried to reduce description of personality to 3 genetically influenced (NATURE or Biological Approach) dimensions which all have to various degrees. |
| factor analysis | statistical procedure used by Cattell and Eyesnck to identify common factors among a group of items. Simplify long lists of traits. |
| self efficacy | Bandura's term for the belief that we can perform behaviors that are necessary to accomplish tasks, and that we are competent. (high v. low) |
| learned helplessness | Seligman's term for the feeling of futility and passive resignation that results from inability to avoid repeated aversive events. |
Combine with other sets
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