Unit 10

Personality – the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Sigmund Freud – Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, a theory of the mind and a method for treating mental distress. Often called the "father of modern psychology".

Free Association – Freud asked patients to say whatever came to their minds (a process he called free association) to tap the unconscious.

Psychoanalysis – Focused on the role of the unconscious, did not conduct experimental research, made observations through case studies of patients, internal conflict between values and desires, sex and aggression, early childhood events shape later behavior.

Unconscious – In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection.

Id – The id is the primitive, basic, and fully unconscious part of personality.

Ego – Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis rooted in Sigmund Freud's structural id-ego-superego model of the mind.

Superego – In psychology, the superego is the personality component that controls a person's morals and ethics.

Psychosexual Stages – Freud's theory of personality development, outlines five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital; each stage focuses on a different erogenous zone, and fixation at any stage can lead to personality issues later.

Oedipus Complex – The attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex.

Identification – A psychological process whereby the individual assimilates an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and is transformed wholly or partially by the model that other provides.

Fixation – Fixations cause individuals to focus on energies that create pleasure at an earlier stage of psychosocial development.

Defense Mechanism – The ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

Repression – A defense mechanism banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Psychodynamic Theories – A perspective that emphasizes the role of unconscious thoughts, early childhood experiences, and internal conflicts in shaping personality and behavior, largely stemming from Freud's psychoanalytic theory.

Alfred Adler – Believed childhood tensions were social, not sexual; children struggle with an inferiority complex and strive for superiority and power.

Karen Horney – Believed in social aspects of childhood growth and development; countered Freud’s assumption that women have weak superegos and suffer from “penis envy”.

Carl Jung – Believed in the collective unconscious, containing a common reservoir of images or archetypes derived from universal experiences.

Collective Unconscious – A common reservoir of images or archetypes derived from our species’ universal experiences.

Projective Test – Uses a set of 10 inkblots and was designed by Hermann Rorschach to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – Developed by Henry Murray, a projective test in which people express their inner thoughts and feelings.

Rorschach Inkblot Test – A widely used projective test with 10 inkblots designed to reveal inner feelings.

False Consensus Effect – The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors (Freud: projection).

Terror-Management Theory – Anxiety stems from awareness of vulnerability and death; we fight it through relationships and faith.

Humanistic Theories – A psychological perspective emphasizing an individual's inherent potential for growth, focusing on conscious experience and self-actualization.

Abraham Maslow – Suggested needs have priority; physiological needs precede psychological ones like achievement and self-esteem.

Self-Actualization – The drive to fulfill one’s potential and reach self-determination.

Carl Rogers – Believed in self-actualization tendencies; emphasized Unconditional Positive Regard – acceptance despite failings.

Unconditional Positive Regard – An attitude of acceptance of others despite their failings.

Self-Concept – Our sense of identity and self-worth; forms gradually starting around 15-18 months.

Trait – A relatively stable personality characteristic that describes consistent behavior, thoughts, and feelings across situations.

Personality Inventory – Questionnaires (true-false, agree-disagree) designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) – The most widely researched and used personality test; developed to identify emotional disorders.

Empirically Derived Test – Personality tests that utilize the empirical method for objectivity (Meehl, 1945).

Robert McCrae – Associated with the Five Factor Theory; studied personality stability across age and culture.

Paul Costa – Co-author of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory; contributed to the Five Factor Model.

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism – The Five Factor Model traits.

Social-Cognitive Theory – Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between traits (including thinking) and social context.

Albert Bandura – Social cognitive psychologist known for social learning theory, self-efficacy, and Bobo doll experiment.

Reciprocal Determinism – Bandura’s theory that behavior, personal factors, and environment interact continuously.

Positive Psychology – Focuses on positive well-being, character, and social groups, fostering personal fulfillment.

Martin Seligman – Known for research on learned helplessness; studies resilience and human flourishing.

Self – Organizes thinking, feelings, and actions; a critical part of personality.

Spotlight Effect – The tendency to overestimate how much attention others are paying to us.

Self-Esteem – An individual’s overall evaluation of their own worth and value.

Self-Efficacy – Belief in one’s ability to successfully complete a task or achieve a goal.

Self-Serving Bias – Attributing successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

Narcissism – Excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Individualism – A worldview focusing on personal independence and self-reliance.

Collectivism – A worldview where social behavior is guided by shared goals of a collective group.