Chapter 15 Personality

• Psychoanalytic theory of personality

  mind can be divided into conscious and unconscious.
• Psychodynamic


  Freudian concepts such as unconscious + more modern ideas
• according to Freud, the three distinct components of the mind

  id, superego, ego
• id


  source of mental energy and drive. operates on the pleasure principle
• pleasure principle


  maximize pleasure while minimizing pain
• superego


  internal representation of all of society's rules, morals, and obligations. represents the polar opposite of the id
• ego


  part of the mind that allows a person to function in the environment and to be logical. works as an intermediary between the id and superego. operates on the reality principle.
• reality principle


  the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly, as opposed to acting according to the pleasure principle.
• Freud hypothesized that the ego deals with..


  anxiety produced by the id-superego conflict using various defense mechanisms
• Repression


  a defense mechanism. process where memories or desires that provoke too much anxiety to deal with are pushed into the unconscious
• Displacement


  a defense mechanism. directs anger away from source of anger to a less threatening person or object.
• Reaction formation


  defense mechanism. ego reverses the direction of disturbing desire to make that desire safer or more socially acceptable. Eg. uncon: hate poor, con: strong desire to help poor.
• Compensation


  defense mechanism. making up for failures in one area through success in other area
• rationalization


  creating logical excuses for emotional or irrational behavior.
• regression


  reverting to childish behaviors
• denial


  the refusal to acknowledge or accept unwanted beliefs or actions
• sublimation


  channeling or redirecting of unwanted or disturbing feelings into a more socially acceptable outlet
• Karen Horney


  pointed out inherent male bias in Freud's work. developed theory of personality based on need for security. Basic anxiety is a central theme in childhood, and relationship with parents affect future personality
• basic anxiety


  feeling of being alone in an unfamiliar or hostile world
• Carl Jung


  believed that people have a persona (mask presented to world), and a shadow (inner person). and anima (female) and animus (male) side to our personality. all opposing forces and desires of the mind were balanced by the Self. Also we have a personal unconscious and collective unconscious
• Personal unconscious


  repressed memories and clusters of thought
• collective unconscious


  behavior and memory common to all humans and passed down from our ancient and common ancestors.
• Archetypes


  behaviors and memories in the collective unconscious, such as reverence for motherhood
• Alfred Adler


  inferiority complexes can develop as a result of failure to develop a lifestyle of social interest to overcome inferiority developed in childhood.
• inferiority complex


  feeling that you are not as good
• humanistic theories of personality

  emphasize the uniqueness and richness of being human, and self actualization. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
• Carl Rogers in personality


  believed that self/ self-concept is most important aspect of personality. Internal conflicts arise when we experience incongruence. Conditions of worth distort our self-concept. people should be treated with unconditional positive regard.
• incongruence


  discrepancies between our self-concept and our actual thoughts and behavior, as well as feedback from our surroundings.
• conditions of worth


  other people's evaluations of our worth
• collectivistic culture


  stresses importance of community. many cultures in asia, africa, and central and south america.
• Individualistic cultures


  prioritizes personal independence and autonomy
• Albert Bandura's representative example of Social-cognitive theories of personality

  focuses on self-efficacy. Also, people have different explanatory styles.
• explanatory style


  how one explains themselves in different situations. either positive or negative.
• locus of control theory


  social-cognitive theory. Julian Rotter proposed that the extent to which people believe that their successes or failures are due to their own efforts play a big role in personality.
• people with internal locus of control


  believe that successes or failures are a direct result of their efforts
• people with external locus of control


  more likely to attribute success or failure to luck or chance.
• trait theorists generally believe that

  traits are largely inherited, rather than from experience
• Big Five personality traits


  introversion-extroversion, neuroticism-stability, agreeableness-antagonism, conscientiousness-undirectedness, openness-nonopennsess
• nomothetic traits


  universal traits such as Big Five
• idiographic traits


  those thought to be unique to the individual, such as openness or curiosity