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AP Psychology - Personality Unit Flashcards

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

Terms : Hide Images
5969311203personalityan individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.0
5969311204free 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
5969311205psychoanalysisFreud'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
5969311206unconsciousaccording to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.3
5969311207ida 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
5969311208egothe 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
5969311209superegothe part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations.6
5969311210psychosexual 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
5969311211Oedipus complexaccording to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.8
5969311213fixation(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.9
5969311214defense mechanismsin psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.10
5969311215repressionbasic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness11
5969311216regressionallows us to retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of development12
5969311217reaction formationthe ego unconsciously makes unacceptable impulses look like their opposites13
5969311218projectiondisguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others14
5969311219rationalizationoccurs when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves the real reasons for our actions15
5969311220displacementdiverts sexual or aggressive impulses toward an object or person that is psychologically more acceptable than the one that aroused the feelings16
5969311221sublimationthe transformation of unacceptable impulses into socially valued motivations17
5969311222denialprotects the person from real events that are painful to accept, either by rejecting a fact or its seriousness18
5969311223collective unconsciousa common reservoir of images derived from our species' universal experiences19
5969311224projective testa personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics20
5969311225Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes21
5969311226Rorschach 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.22
5969311227self-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.23
5969311228unconditional positive regarda caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.24
5969311229self-conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"25
5969311230traita characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.26
5969311231personality 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.27
5969311232Minnesota 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.28
5969311234social-cognitive perspectiveviews behavior as influenced by the interaction between people's traits (including their thinking) and their social context.29
5969311235reciprocal determinismthe interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.30
5969311236personal controlthe extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.31
5969311237external locus of controlthe perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.32
5969311238internal locus of controlthe perception that you control your own fate.33
5969311239positive psychologythe scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.34
5969311240selfin contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.35
5969311241spotlight effectoverestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).36
5969311242self-esteemone's feelings of high or low self-worth.37
5969311243self-serving biasa readiness to perceive oneself favorably.38
5969311244individualismgiving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.39
5969311245collectivismgiving priority to goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.40

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