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CH. 12 - Personality Theory and Assessment

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43108150personalitysum total of the typical ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that makes each person different from other people
43108151traitsrelatively enduring patterns of behavior (thinking, acting, and feeling) that are relatively consistent across situation
43108152psychoanalytic theoryFreud's theory that the origin of personality lies in the balance among the id, the ego, and the superego
43108153libidoenergy of the life instincts of sex, hunger, and thirst
43108154pleasure principlethe attempt of the id to seek immediate pleasure and avoid pain, regardless of how harmful it might be to others
43108155primary process thinkingthe attempt by the id to satisfy its needs by forming a wish-fulfilling mental image of the desired object
43108156cardinal traitstraits that dominate a person's life
43108157central traitsimportant traits that influence and organize much of someone's behavior
43108158secondary traitsmuch more specific and much less important to a comprehensive description of a person's personality
43108159conscious mindthe portion of the mind of which one is presently aware
43108160preconscious mindportion of the mind containing information that is not presently conscious but can be easily brought into consciousness
43108161unconscious mindpart of the mind of which we can never be directly aware; the storehouse of primitive instinctual motives and of memories and emotions that have been repressed
43108162idthe inborn part of the unconscious mind that uses the primary process to satisfy its needs and that acts according to the pleasure principle
43108163primary process thinkingthe attempt by the id to satisfy its needs by forming a wish-fulfilling mental image of the desired object
43108164egoThat part of the mind that uses the reality principle to satisfy the id
43108165reality principlethe attempt by the ego to find safe, realistic ways of meeting the needs of the id
43108166superegothat part of the mind that opposes the desires of the id by enforcing moral restrictions and by striving to attain perfection
43108167consciencemoral inhibitions of the superego
43108168ego idealthe standard of perfect conduct by the superego
43108169social learning theory of personalitythe viewpoint that the most important parts of our behavior are learned from other persons in society - family, friends, and culture
43108170reciprocal determinationIndividual's behavior and the social learning environment continually influence one another
43108171self-efficacyperception of being capable of achieving one's goals
43108172self-regulationthe process of cognitively reinforcing and punishing our own behavior, depending on whether it meets our personal standards
43108173humanistic theory of personalitythe psychological view that human beings possess an innate tendency to improve and to determine their lives through the decisions they make
43108174inner-directednessforce that humanists believe all people possess that internally leads them to grow and improve
43108175subjective realityeach person's unique perception of reality that, according to humanists, plays a key role in organizing our personalities
43108176self-conceptour subjective perception of who we are and what we are like
43108177selfthe person one thinks one is.
43108178ideal selfthe person one wishes one were
43108179self-actualizationthe seldom-reached full result of the inner-directed drive of humans to grow, improve, and use their potential to the fullest

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