Discuss research regarding the consistency of behavior over time and across situation.

How did Sigmund Freud’s treatment of psychological disorders lead to his view of the unconscious mind?

In treating patients whose disorders had no clear physical explanation, Freud concluded that these problems reflected unacceptable thoughts and feelings, hidden away in the unconscious mind. To explore this hidden part of a patient’s mind, Freud used free association and dream analysis.

What was Freud’s view of personality?

Freud believed that personality results from conflict arising from the interaction among the mind’s three systems: the id (pleasure-seeking impulses), ego (reality-oriented executive), and superego (internalized set of ideals, or conscience).

What developmental stages did Freud propose?

He believed children pass through five psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital). Unresolved conflicts at any stage can leave a person’s pleasure-seeking impulses fixated (stalled) at that stage.

How did Freud think people defended themselves against anxiety?

For Freud, anxiety was the product of tensions between the demands of the id and superego. The ego copes by using unconscious defense mechanisms, such as repression, which he viewed as the basic mechanism underlying and enabling all the others.

Which of Freud’s ideas did his followers accept or reject?

Freud’s early followers, the neo-Freudians, accepted many of his ideas. They differed in placing more emphasis on the conscious mind and in stressing social motives more than sex or aggression. Contemporary psychodynamic theorists and therapists reject Freud’s emphasis on sexual motivation. They stress, with support from modern research findings, the view that much of our mental life is unconscious, and they believe that our childhood experiences influence our adult personality and attachment patterns

What are projective tests, how are they used, and what are some criticisms of them?

Projective tests attempt to assess personality by showing people vague stimuli with many possible interpretations; answers reveal unconscious motives. One such test, the Rorschach inkblot test, has low reliability and validity.

How do contemporary psychologists view Freud’s psychoanalysis?

They give Freud credit for drawing attention to the vast unconscious, to the struggle to cope with our sexuality, to the conflict between biological impulses and social restraints, and for some forms of defense mechanisms (false consensus effect/projection; reaction formation), and unconscious terror-management defenses. But his concept of repression, and his view of the unconscious as a collection of repressed and unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories, have not survived scientific scrutiny. Freud offered after-the-fact explanations, which are hard to test scientifically. Research does not support many of Freud’s specific ideas, such as the view that development is fixed in childhood. (We now know it is lifelong.)

How has modern research developed our understanding of the unconscious?

Current research confirms that we do not have full access to all that goes on in our mind, but the current view of the unconscious is not that of a hidden storehouse filled with repressed feelings and thoughts. Rather, researchers see the unconscious as a separate and parallel track of information processing that occurs outside our awareness, such as schemas that control our perceptions; priming; implicit memories of learned skills; instantly activated emotions; and self-concepts and stereotypes that filter information about ourselves and others.

How did humanistic psychologists view personality, and what was their goal in studying personality?

The humanistic psychologists’ view of personality focused on the potential for healthy personal growth and people’s striving for self-determination and self-realization. Abraham Maslow proposed that human motivations form a hierarchy of needs; if basic needs are fulfilled, people will strive toward self-actualization and self-transcendence. Carl Rogers believed that the ingredients of a growth-promoting environment are genuineness, acceptance (including unconditional positive regard), and empathy. Self-concept was a central feature of personality for both Maslow and Rogers.

How did humanistic psychologists assess a person’s sense of self?

Some rejected any standardized assessments and relied on interviews and conversations. Rogers sometimes used questionnaires in which people described their ideal and actual selves, which he later used to judge progress during therapy.

How have humanistic theories influenced psychology? What criticisms have they faced?

Humanistic psychology helped renew interest in the concept of self. Critics have said that humanistic psychology’s concepts were vague and subjective, its values self-centered, and its assumptions naively optimistic.

How do psychologists use traits to describe personality?

Trait theorists see personality as a stable and enduring pattern of behavior. They describe our differences rather than trying to explain them. Using factor analysis, they identify clusters of behavior tendencies that occur together. Genetic predispositions influence many traits.

What are personality inventories, and what are their strengths and weaknesses as trait-assessment tools?

Personality inventories (such as the MMPI) are questionnaires on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors. Test items are empirically derived, and the tests are objectively scored. But people can fake their answers to create a good impression, and the ease of computerized testing may lead to misuse of the tests.

Which traits seem to provide the most useful information about personality variation?

The Big Five personality factors—conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion (CANOE)—currently offer the clearest picture of personality. These factors are stable and appear to be found in all cultures.

Does research support the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations?

A person’s average traits persist over time and are predictable over many different situations. But traits cannot predict behavior in any one particular situation.

Who first proposed the social-cognitive perspective, and how do these theorists view personality development?

Albert Bandura first proposed the social-cognitive perspective, which views personality as the product of the interaction between a person’s traits (including thinking) and the situation—the social context. Social-cognitive researchers apply principles of learning, cognition, and social behavior to personality. Reciprocal determinism is a term describing the interaction and mutual influence of behavior, internal personal factors, and environmental factors. By studying how people vary in their perceived locus of control (external or internal), researchers have found that a sense of personal control helps people to cope with life. Research on learned helplessness evolved into research on the effects of optimism and pessimism, which led to a broader positive psychology.

How do social-cognitive researchers explore behavior, and what criticism have they faced?

Social-cognitive researchers tend to believe that the best way to predict someone’s behavior in a given situation is to observe that person’s behavior in similar situations. They have been faulted for underemphasizing the importance of unconscious dynamics, emotions, and inner traits. Their response is that the social cognitive perspective builds on psychology’s well-established concepts of learning and cognition and reminds us of the power of situations.

Why has psychology generated so much research on the self? How important is self-esteem to psychology and to human well-being?

The self is the center of personality, organizing our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Considering possible selves helps motivate us toward positive development, but focusing too intensely on ourselves can lead to the spotlight effect. High self-esteem (our feeling of self-worth) is beneficial, but unrealistically high self-esteem is dangerous (linked to aggressive behavior) and fragile.

What evidence reveals self-serving bias, and how do defensive and secure self-esteem differ?

Self-serving bias is our tendency to perceive ourselves favorably, as when viewing ourselves as better than average or when accepting credit for our successes but not blame for our failures. Defensive self-esteem is fragile, focuses on sustaining itself, and views failure or criticism as a threat. Secure self-esteem enables us to feel accepted for who we are.

an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences.

(1) Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; (2) Freud’s therapeutic technique used in treating psychological disorders. Freud believed that 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.

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware

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

the 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.

the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

the 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.

according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father.

the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents’ values into their developing superegos.

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history.

a personality test, such as the Rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics.

the 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.

a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people’s emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death.

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth.

according 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.

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance.

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

a 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.

Minnesota 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.

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

social-cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless.

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate

the perception that you control your own fate.

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

one’s feelings of high or low self-worth.

a readiness to perceive oneself favorably

excessive self-love and self-absorption.

Does research support the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations?

What has research shown concerning the behaviors and attitudes of those who have their self

Which personality theories focus on stable and enduring behavior patterns?

What theories inform our understanding of personality and how important is self