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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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4806594162personalityan individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.0
4806594165dynamic unconsciousaccording to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.1
4806594166ida 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.2
4806594167egothe 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.3
4806594168superegothe part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.4
4806594169psychosexual 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.5
4806594170Oedipus complexaccording to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.6
4806594172fixation(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.7
4806594173defense mechanismsin psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.8
4806594174repressionbasic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness9
4806594175regressionallows us to retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of development10
4806594176reaction formationthe ego unconsciously makes unacceptable impulses look like their opposites11
4806594177projectiondisguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others12
4806594178rationalizationoccurs when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves the real reasons for our actions13
4806594179displacementdiverts sexual or aggressive impulses toward an object or person that is psychologically more acceptable than the one that aroused the feelings14
4806594180sublimationthe transformation of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motivations15
4806594181denialprotects the person from real events that are painful to accept, either by rejecting a fact or its seriousness16
4806594183projective techniquea personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics17
4806594184Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes18
4806594185Rorschach 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.19
4806594186self-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.20
4806594188self-conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"21
4806594189traita characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.22
4806594190personality 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.23
4806594191Minnesota 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.24
4806594194reciprocal determinismthe interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.25
4806594196external locus of controlthe perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.26
4806594197internal locus of controlthe perception that you control your own fate.27
4806594198humanistic approachAims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive - belief in the positive potential of humans to develop personality28
4806594199selfin contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.29
4806594201self-esteemone's feelings of high or low self-worth.30
4806594202self-serving biasa readiness to perceive oneself favorably.31
6345977510Self ReportA way of measuring personality that asks individuals to respond to a series of questions about themselves and say how much they agree/disagree to statements.32
6345983879Big 5 Personality TraitsConscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, Extraversion33

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