Chapter 11

Personality

Personality

An individual’s unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

Personality theory

A theory that attempts to describe and explain individual similarities and differences

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality, which emphasizes unconscious determinants of behavior, sexual and aggressive instinctual drives, and the enduring effects of early childhood experiences on later personality development

Free association

A psychoanalytic technique in which the patient spontaneously repots all thoughts,feelings, and mental images as they come to mind

Unconscious

In Freud’s theory, a term used to describe thoughts, feelings, wishes, and drives that are operating below the level of conscious awareness

Id

In Freud’s theory, the completely unconscious, irrational component of personality that seeks immediate satisfaction or instinctual urges and drives; ruled by the pleasure principle

Eros

In Freud’s theory, the self-preservation or life instinct, reflected in the expression of basic biological urges that perpetuate the existence of the individual and the spices

Libido

In Freud’s theory, the psychological and emotional energy associated with expressions of sexuality.

Thanatos

In Freud’s theory, the death instinct, reflected in aggressive, destructive, and self-destructive actions

Pleasure Principle

In Freud’s theory, the motive to obtain pleasure and avoid tension or discomfort; the most fundamental human motive and the guiding principle of the id

Ego

In Freud’s theory, the partly conscious rational component of personality that regulates thoughts and behavior and is most in touch with the demands of the external world

Reality Principle

In Freud’s theory, the awareness of environmental demands and the capacity to accommodate them by postponing gratification until the appropriate time or circumstances exist

Superego

In Freud’s theory, the partly conscious, self-evaluative, moralistic component of personality that is formed through the internalization of parental and societal rules

Ego defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytical theory, largely unconscious distortions of thoughts or perceptions that act to reduce anxiety

Repression

In psychoanalytical theory, the unconscious exclusion of anxiety-provoking thoughts, feelings, and memories from conscious awareness; the most fundamental ego defense mechanism

Displacement

In psychoanalytical theory, the ego defense mechanism that involves unconsciously shifting the target of an emotional urge to a substitute target that is less threatening or dangerous

Sublimation

In psychoanalytical theory, an ego defense mechanism that involves redirecting sexual urges toward productive, socially acceptable, nonsexual activities; a form of displacement

Psychosexual stages

In Freud’s theory, age related developmental periods in which the child’s sexual urges are expressed through different areas of the body and those activities associated with those areas

Oedipus complex

In Freud’s theory, a child’s unconscious desire for the opposite-sex parent, usually by hostile feelings toward the same-sex parent

Identification

In psychoanalytical theory, an ego defense mechanism hat involves reducing anxiety by modeling the behavior and characteristics of another person

collective unconscious

In Jung’s theory, the hypothesized part of the unconscious mind that is inherited from previous generations and that contains universally shared ancestral experiences and ideas.

Archetype

In Jung’s theory, the inherited mental images of universal human instincts, themes, and preoccupations that are the main components of the collective unconscious

Humanistic Psychology

The theoretical viewpoint on personality that generally emphasizes the inherent goodness of people, human potential, self-actualization, the self-concept, and healthy personality development

Actualizing tendency

In Roger’s theory, the innate drive to maintain and enhance the human organism

Self-concept

The set of perceptions and beliefs that you hold about yourself

Conditional positive regard

in Roger’s theory, the sense that you will be valued and loved only if you will behave in a way that is acceptable to others

Unconditional Positive Regard

In Roger’s theory, the sense that you will be valued and loved even if you don’t conform to the standards and expectations of others

Social Cognitive theory

Bandura’s theory of personality, which emphasizes the importance of observational learning, conscious cognitive processes, social experiences, self- efficacy beliefs, and reciprocal determinations

Self-efficacy

The beliefs that people have about their ability to meet the demands of a specific situation; feelings of self- confidence or self-doubt

trait

A relatively stable, enduring predisposition to consistently behave in a certain way

Trait Theory

A theory of personality that focuses on identifying, describing, and measuring individual differences

surface traits

Personality characteristics or attributes that can easily be inferred from observation behavior

Source traits

The most fundamental dimension of personality; the broad, basic traits that are hypothesized to be universal and relatively few in number

Five-Factor Model of Personality

A trait theory of personality that identifies five basic source traits as fundamental building blocks of personality

• Extra-version, • Neuroticism • Agreeableness• Conscientiousness• Openness to experience

Behavioral Genetics

An interdisciplinary field that studies the effects of genes and heredity on behavior

psychological Test

A test that assesses a person’s abilities aptitudes, interest, or personality, based on a systematically obtained sample of behavior

Projective test

A type of personality test that involves a person’s interpreting an ambiguous image; used to assess unconscious motives, conflicts, psychological defenses, and personality trait

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test using inkblots, developed by Swiss psychiatrist Herman Rorschach in 1921

Graphology

A pseudoscience that claims to asses personality, social, and occupational attributes based on a person’s distinctive handwriting, doodles, and drawing styles

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A projective personality test that involves creating stories about each of a series of ambiguous scenes

Self-report inventory

A type of psychological test in which a person’s responses to standardized questions to established norms

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

A self-report inventory that assesses personality characteristics and psychological disorders

California Personality Inventory

A self-report inventory that assesses personality characteristics in normal populations

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

A self-report inventory developed by Raymond Cattell that generates a personality profile with ratings in 16 trait dimension

Possible Selves

The aspects of the self-concept that includes images of the selves that you hope, fear, or expect to become in the future

PEOPLE

Alfred Adler

Austrian physician who broke up with Sigmund Freud and developed his own psychoanalytical theory of personality, which emphasized social factors and the motivation toward self-improvement and self-realization; key ideas include inferiority complex and superiority complex

Albert Bandura

Contemporary American psychologist who is best known for his research on observational learning and his social cognitive theory of personality; key ideas include self-efficacy beliefs and reciprocal determinism

Raymond Cattell

British-born American psychologist who developed a trait theory that identifies 16 essential source traits or personality factors; also developed the widely used self-report personality test, the sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire

Hans Eysenek

German-born British psychologist who developed a trait theory of personality as neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist who founded psychoanalysis, which is both a comprehensive theory of personality and a form of psychotherapy; emphasized the role of unconscious determinants of behavior and early childhood experiences in the developmental of personality and psychological problems; key ideas include id, ego, and superego; the psychosexual stages of development; and the ego defense mechanism

Karen Horney

German-born American psychoanalysist who emphasized the rule of social relationships and culture in personality; sharply disagreed with Freud’s theory characterization of female psychological development, especially his notion that women suffer penis envy; key ideas include basic anxiety

Carl G. Jung

Swiss psychiatrist who broke with Sigmund Freud to develop his own psychoanalytical theory of personality, which stressed striving toward psychological harmony; key ideas include the collective unconscious and archetype

Abraham Maslow

American psychologist who was on of the founders of humanistic psychology and emphasized the study of healthy personality development; developed a theory of motivation based on the idea that people will strive for self-actualization, the highest motive, only after more basic needs have been met

Carl Rogers

Developed theory of personality and form of psychotherapy that emphasized the inherent

worth of people, the innate tendency to strive for one’s potential, and the importance of the self-concept on personality development