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(Personality) Theory
1. A set of propositions 2. Explains behavior 3. Suggests direction for future research (Comprehensive system of explanation that gives rise to more specific hypothesis)
Framework by which personality is understood
Structure, Process, Growth and Development, Psychopathology, Change
Structure
What components make up personality? Stable, enduring aspects of personality
Process
What are the key human motives?
Growth and Development
How does the personality develop? Elements and stages in growth of personality
Psychopathology
How and why does the person develop psychological problems?
Change
What therapy will help to correct the psychological problems?
Classical issues in Personality Theory
Philosophical view of persons, power of the unconscious, power of environmental conditioning (external factors), power of genetics (internal factors), consistency of personality across situations and over time, role of the self concept, power of conscious thought processes/cognitions, and…
Hierarchy
A system in which some units are higher in order and therefore in control of the functions of other units
Personality
Those characteristics of the person that account for consistent patterns of experience and action
System
A collection of highly interconnected parts that function together
Temperament
Biologically based emotional and behavioral tendencies that are evident in early childhood
Trait
An enduring psychological characteristic of an individual
Type
A cluster of personality traits that may constitute a qualitatively distinct category of persons
Units of analysis
A concept that refers to the basic variables of a theory; differing theories lead to different types of variables
Personality
Those characteristics of a person that account for consistent patterns of behavior
Anal stage
Freud's concept for that period of life during which the major center of bodily excitation or tension is the anus
Anxiety
In psychoanalytic theory, a painful emotional experience that signals or alerts the ego to danger
Castration anxiety
Freud's concept of the boy's fear, experienced during the phallic stage, that the father will cut off the son's penis because of their sexual rivalry for the mother
Catharsis
The release and freeing of emotion through talking about one's problems
Conscious
Those thoughts, experiences, and feelings of which we are aware
Death instinct
Freud's concept for drives or sources of energy directed toward death or a return to an inorganic state
Defense mechanisms
Freud's concept for those mental strategies used by the person to reduce anxiety. They function to exclude from awareness some thought, wish, or feeling
Denial
The defense mechanism in which a painful internal or external reality is denied. Ex: refusing to accept that you are an alcoholic, or "I do not feel angry"
Ego
Freud's structural concept for the part of personality that attempts to satisfy drives (instincts) in accordance with reality and the person's moral values
Energy system
Freud's view of personality as involving the interplay among various forces (drives, instincts) or sources of energy
Erogenous zones
Those parts of the body that are the sources of tension or excitation
Free association
In psychoanalysis, the patient's reporting to the analyst of every thought that comes to mind
Genital stage
The stage of development associated with the onset of puberty
Id
Freud's structural concept for the source of the instincts or all of the drive energy in people
Identification
The acquisition, as characteristic of the self, of personality characteristics perceived to be part of others (parents)
Isolation
The defense mechanism in which emotion is isolated from the content of a painful impulse or memory. Ex: Experience the thought of strangling one's child without any associated feelings of anger
Latency stage
The stage following the phallic stage in which there is a decrease in sexual urges and interest
Libido
The energy associated first with sexual instincts and later with life instincts
Life instinct
Drives or sources of energy (libido) directed toward the preservation of life and sexual gratification
Mechanism
An intellectual movement of the 19th century that argued that basic principles of natural science could explain not only behavior of physical objects but also human thought and action
Oedipus complex
Freud's concept expressing the boy's sexual attraction to the mother and fear of castration by father, who is seen as rival
Oral stage
That period of life during which the major center of bodily excitation or tension is the mouth
Penis envy
The female's envy of the male's possession of a penis
Perception without awareness
Unconscious perception or perception of a stimulus without conscious awareness of such perception
Perceptual defense
The process by which an individual defends (unconsciously) against awareness of a threatening stimulus
Phallic stage
That period of life during which excitation or tensions begins to be centered in the genitals and during which there is an attraction to the parent of the opposite sex
Pleasure principle
Psychological functioning based on the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain
Preconscious
Those thoughts, experiences, and feelings of which we are momentarily unaware but can readily bring into awareness
Primary process
A form of thinking that is not governed by logic or reality testing and that is seen in dreams and other expressions of the unconscious
Projection
The defense mechanism in which one attributes to (projects onto) others one's own unacceptable instincts or wishes. Ex: See others as being hostile instead of recognizing the hostility in the self
Rationalization
The defense mechanism in which an acceptable reason is given for an unacceptable motive or act. Ex: Atrocities of humankind committed in the name of love
Reaction formation
The defense mechanism in which the opposite of an unacceptable impulse is expressed. Ex: man "who wouldn't hurt a fly" goes on a killing rampage
Reality principle
Psychological functioning based on reality in which pleasure is delayed until an optimum time
Repression
The primary defense mechanism in which a thought, idea, or wish is dismissed from consciousness. Ex: recall instances of sexual abuse and experience catharsis
Secondary process
A form of thinking that is governed by reality and associated with the development of the ego
Sublimation
The defense mechanism in which the original expression of the instinct is replaced by a higher cultural goal. Ex: Becoming a boxer
Subliminal psychodynamic activations
The research procedure associated with psychoanalytic theory in which stimuli are presented below the perceptual threshold (subliminally) to stimulate unconscious wishes and fears
Superego
Freud's structural concept for the part of personality that expresses our ideals and moral values
Unconscious
Those thoughts, experiences, and feelings of which we are unaware. According to Freud, this unawareness is the result of repressions
Undoing
The defense mechanism in which one magically undoes an act or wish associated with anxiety. Ex: religious rituals
Confucianism (human nature)
Taught that human nature is naturally evil; driven by overwhelming desires that society must control or reign in
Kao-tzu (human nature)
Taught that human nature was neutral, like whirling water that will go whichever way the outlet flows
Menaces (human nature)
Taught that human nature is bent in a positive direction
Hinduism- Shankara (human nature)
Leaned toward a negative view of human nature; under bondage to desires, but can have hope if renounce the world and get in touch with God
Hinduism- Ramanuja (human nature)
Did not emphasize distortions of distraction of appearances but how we can get in touch with God by appreciating and surrendering to the multiplicity of life

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