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AP Psychology - Personality Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology
Enterprise High School, Redding, CA
All terms from Myers Psychology for AP (BFW Worth, 2011)

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9049475203personalityan individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.0
9049475204free associationin psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.1
9049475205psychoanalysisFreud'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.2
9049475206unconsciousaccording to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.3
9049475207ida reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.4
9049475208egothe largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. It operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.5
9049475209superegothe part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.6
9049475210psychosexual stagesthe 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.7
9049475211Oedipus complexaccording to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.8
9049475212identificationthe process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos.9
9049475213fixation(1) the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. (2) according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.10
9049475214defense mechanismsin psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.11
9049475215repressionbasic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness12
9049475216regressionallows us to retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of development13
9049475217reaction formationthe ego unconsciously makes unacceptable impulses look like their opposites14
9049475218projectiondisguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others15
9049475219rationalizationoccurs when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves the real reasons for our actions16
9049475220displacementdiverts sexual or aggressive impulses toward an object or person that is psychologically more acceptable than the one that aroused the feelings17
9049475221sublimationthe transformation of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motivations18
9049475222denialprotects the person from real events that are painful to accept, either by rejecting a fact or its seriousness19
9049475223collective unconsciousa common reservoir of images derived from our species' universal experiences20
9049475224projective testa personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics21
9049475225Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes22
9049475226Rorschach inkblot testthe 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.23
9049475227self-actualizationaccording to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.24
9049475228unconditional positive regarda caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.25
9049475229self-conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"26
9049475230traita characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.27
9049475231personality inventorya 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.28
9049475232Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)the 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.29
9049475233empirically derived testa test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.30
9049475234social-cognitive perspectiveviews behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.31
9049475235reciprocal determinismthe interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.32
9049475236personal controlthe extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.33
9049475237external locus of controlthe perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.34
9049475238internal locus of controlthe perception that you control your own fate.35
9049475239positive psychologythe scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.36
9049475240selfin contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.37
9049475241spotlight effectoverestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).38
9049475242self-esteemone's feelings of high or low self-worth.39
9049475243self-serving biasa readiness to perceive oneself favorably.40
9049475244individualismgiving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.41
9049475245collectivismgiving priority to goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.42
9049475246learned helplessnessA condition that occurs after a period of negative consequences where the person begins to believe they have no control.43
9049475247Terror-management theorya theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death44

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