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Questions and Answers
Which defense mechanism involves pushing uncomfortable thoughts out of conscious awareness?
Which defense mechanism involves pushing uncomfortable thoughts out of conscious awareness?
Which defense mechanism allows individuals to justify irrational or unacceptable behaviors with logical explanations?
Which defense mechanism allows individuals to justify irrational or unacceptable behaviors with logical explanations?
What is the term for attributing one's own unacceptable feelings or impulses to someone else?
What is the term for attributing one's own unacceptable feelings or impulses to someone else?
Which defense mechanism refers to the refusal to accept reality or facts?
Which defense mechanism refers to the refusal to accept reality or facts?
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What is a primary critique of Freud's psychoanalytic perspective on personality?
What is a primary critique of Freud's psychoanalytic perspective on personality?
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What is the primary view of the humanistic perspective on human nature?
What is the primary view of the humanistic perspective on human nature?
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How does the humanistic perspective differ from Freud's view?
How does the humanistic perspective differ from Freud's view?
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Freud's view on human motivation can be described as primarily focused on which of the following?
Freud's view on human motivation can be described as primarily focused on which of the following?
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Which statement best describes the focus of the humanistic perspective?
Which statement best describes the focus of the humanistic perspective?
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What motivates individuals according to Freudian psychology?
What motivates individuals according to Freudian psychology?
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Study Notes
Personality
- Personality is an individual's unique and consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
- Personality theory aims to explain individual similarities and differences.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality
- Psychoanalysis emphasizes the influence of unconscious mental processes, importance of sexual and aggressive instincts, and the enduring impact of early childhood experiences.
- Freud's theory proposes that personality is the result of a constant interplay between conflicting psychological forces.
- These forces operate at three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.
Freud's Dynamic Theory of Personality
- Freud (1940) viewed personality and behavior as a result of conflicting psychological forces.
- These forces operate at three levels of awareness:
- Conscious: contact with the outside world
- Preconscious: material just beneath the surface of awareness
- Unconscious: difficult to retrieve material, well below the surface of awareness
The Structure of Personality
- Id: entirely unconscious and present at birth; operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate satisfaction of instinctual urges, especially sexual urges, strives to increase pleasure, reduce tension, avoid pain.
- Ego: partly conscious; operates on the reality principle, aware of environmental demands, copes with demands by postponing gratification. In early childhood deals with external parental demands and limitations. Gradually, social values become internalized rules and values.
- Superego: partly conscious; internal representation of parental and social values, evaluates behavior and thoughts, praises or admonishes. When moral standards are not upheld, guilt and shame are imposed.
Major Ego Defense Mechanisms
- Repression
- Rationalization
- Projection
- Denial
- Undoing
- Regression
Evaluating Freud and Psychoanalytic Perspective
- Inadequacy of evidence: data from small patient groups and self-analysis.
- Lack of testability: many concepts are too vague to measure or confirm (e.g., id or superego).
- Sexism: Freud's beliefs about women's emotional influence and ethical/moral sense compared to men.
The Humanistic Perspective on Personality
- Emphasizes the inherent goodness, potential, self-actualization, and healthy personality development of people.
- Contrasts with Freud's pessimistic view and the behavioral perspective.
- Focuses on healthy personality and innate goodness.
- Contrasted to the behaviorist view that human and animal behavior is due to reinforcement and punishment, focusing on the need for psychological growth.
Carl Rogers's Humanistic Theory
- Rogers believed the most basic human motive is the actualizing tendency (innate drive to maintain and enhance the human organism).
- All other human motives (biological and social) are secondary.
Conditions of Worth
- Conditional positive regard: the sense that a child is valued and loved only when they behave in ways that are acceptable to others.
- Unconditional positive regard: the sense that a child is valued and loved regardless of behavior.
Evaluating Humanistic Perspective
- Hard to validate scientifically.
- Some believe the view of human nature is too optimistic.
The Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality
- Bandura's theory emphasizes observational learning, social experiences, self-efficacy beliefs, conscious cognitive processes, and reciprocal determinism.
- Self-efficacy: beliefs about one's ability to meet the demands of a specific situation (feelings of self-confidence or self-doubt).
Reciprocal Determinism
- Human functioning is caused by the interaction of cognitive/personal factors, behavior, and environment.
Evaluating the Social Cognitive Perspective
- Best applied to laboratory research.
- Ignores unconscious influences, emotions, and conflicts.
- Focuses on limited areas of psychology.
The Trait Perspective on Personality
- Traits are relatively stable, enduring predispositions to behave in certain ways.
- Trait theory identifies and measures individual differences in personality.
Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factors (16PF)
- Cattell believed personality could be described in terms of 16 source traits.
The Big Five Model of Personality Traits (Five-Factor Model)
- A trait theory identifying five basic source traits:
- Extraversion
- Neuroticism
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
- Openness to Experience
Evaluating the Five-Factor Model
- Doesn't explain how or why individual differences develop.
- Simply labels general predispositions.
Assessing Personality
- Psychological tests
- Projective tests
- Self-report inventories
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Description
Explore the key concepts of personality through the lens of the psychoanalytic perspective introduced by Freud. This quiz examines the interplay of conscious, preconscious, and unconscious thoughts that shape individual behavior and personality. Test your understanding of these psychological forces and their origins in early childhood experiences.
