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Chapter 15 Myers Personality Flashcards

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16465711personalityan individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 595)0
16465712free 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597)1
16465713psychoanalysisFreud'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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597)2
16465714unconsciousaccording to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597)3
16465715egothe largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598)4
16465716idcontains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598)5
16465717psychosexual 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598)6
16465718superegothe part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 598)7
16465719fixation (Freud's Theory)according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage in which conflicts were unresolved. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599)8
16465720identificationthe process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599)9
16465721Oedipus [ED-uh-puss] complexaccording to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 599)10
16465722defense mechanismsin psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)11
16465723displacementpsychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)12
16465724projectionpsychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)13
16465725rationalizationdefense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)14
16465726reaction formationpsychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)15
16465727regressionpsychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)16
16465728repressionin psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 600)17
16465729collective unconsciousCarl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 601)18
16465730projective testa personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602)19
16465731Rorschach 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602)20
16465732Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 602)21
16465733terror-management theoryproposes that faith in one's worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 606)22
16465734self-actualizationaccording to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 609)23
16465735self-concept(1) a sense of one's identity and personal worth. (2) all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" (Myers Psychology 8e p. 610)24
16465736unconditional positive regardaccording to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 610)25
16465737traita characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 613)26
16465738personality 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 615)27
16465739Minnesota 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 616)28
16465740empirically derived testa test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 617)29
16465741reciprocal determinismthe interacting influences between personality and environmental factors. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 623)30
16465742social-cognitive perspectiveviews behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 623)31
16465743external locus of controlthe perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625)32
16465744internal locus of controlthe perception that one controls one's own fate. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625)33
16465745learned helplessnessthe hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625)34
16465746personal controlour sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 625)35
16465747positive psychologythe scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 628)36
16465748self-esteemone's feelings of high or low self-worth. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 632)37
16465749spotlight effectoverestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). (Myers Psychology 8e p. 632)38
16465750self-serving biasa readiness to perceive oneself favorably (Myers Psychology 8e p. 634)39

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