Module 9: Personality

Question 1

personality

Answer 1

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

Question 2

psychodynamic theories

Answer 2

theories that focus on the unconscious mind, particularly as it relates to childhood experiences

Question 3

terror-management theory

Answer 3

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

Question 4

repression

Answer 4

the basic defense mechanism that protects against anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Question 5

defense mechanisms

Answer 5

the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Question 6

ego

Answer 6

the partly conscious, “executive” part of the personality that mediates between the demands of the id, the superego, and reality

Question 7

collective unconscious

Answer 7

Carl Jung’s concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory that traces from earliest human history

Question 8

id

Answer 8

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that seeks immediate gratification and strives to satisfy basic pleasurable, sexual, and aggressive drives

Question 9

projective test

Answer 9

a personality test involving ambiguous images that trigger a projection of one’s inner dynamics and reveal aspects of the preconscious and unconscious mind

Question 10

free association

Answer 10

a method of expressing free-flowing thoughts associated with the unconscious

Question 11

superego

Answer 11

the partly conscious part of the personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment

Question 12

thematic apperception test (TAT)

Answer 12

a projective test that reveals feelings and interests through the interpretation of ambiguous scenes

Question 13

unconscious

Answer 13

a reservoir of mostly unconscious, yet unacceptable, thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

Question 14

psychoanalysis

Answer 14

Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

Question 15

humanistic theories

Answer 15

theories of personality that focus on the human potential for healthy personal growth

Question 16

self-actualization

Answer 16

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

Question 17

self-transcendence

Answer 17

according to Maslow, the striving for identity, meaning, and purpose beyond the self

Question 18

hierarchy of needs

Answer 18

Abraham Maslow’s levels of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs

This hierarchy is often visualized as a pyramid with needs nearer the base taking priority until they are satisfied.

Question 19

personality inventory

Answer 19

a collection of questions that require people to respond in a way that measures a variety of behaviors, feelings, and attitudes

Question 20

person-situation controversy

Answer 20

a problem that deals with whether one’s personality or context has more influence on behavior

Question 21

Big Five factors

Answer 21

five characteristics that are collectively thought to explain personality

These traits include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN).

Question 22

factor analysis

Answer 22

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters (called factors) of test items that tap basic components of a trait

Question 23

empirically derived tests

Answer 23

a test (like the MMPI) that was created by choosing the items that discriminate between groups

Question 24

trait

Answer 24

a particular way of behaving or feeling in certain contexts

Question 25

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Answer 25

a personality test used in clinical settings that identifies emotional disorders and other characteristics of people who take the test

Question 26

social-cognitive perspective

Answer 26

a view of behavior as influenced by the interaction between social context and an individual’s personal traits (including thinking)

Question 27

reciprocal determinism

Answer 27

the interaction of behavior, environment, and internal cognition

Question 28

self-esteem

Answer 28

an evaluation of one’s own self-worth

Question 29

spotlight effect

Answer 29

the assumption that everyone else is watching and evaluating you as if you were illuminated by a constant spotlight

Question 30

individualism

Answer 30

a cultural perspective in which people focus on their own endeavors rather than on those of their group

Question 31

self-serving bias

Answer 31

a tendency to view oneself favorably

Question 32

self

Answer 32

the part of a person that is thought to be the center of their personality; it organizes how a person thinks, feels, and acts

Question 33

collectivism

Answer 33

a cultural perspective in which people focus on group goals rather than on those of the individual

Question 34

self-efficacy

Answer 34

an evaluation of one’s own competence or ability

Question 35

narcissism

Answer 35

an inflated sense of self-worth accompanied by grandiosity and excessive self-centeredness

Question 36

drive-reduction theory

Answer 36

the notion that a biological need creates a drive that motivates one to satiate that need

Question 37

Yerkes-Dodson law

Answer 37

the idea that one’s performance will increase only up to a certain point; once this point is reached, performance begins to decrease

Question 38

instinct

Answer 38

an unlearned behavior that is found throughout a particular species

Question 39

physiological need

Answer 39

a biological need

Question 40

motivation

Answer 40

a need or want that drives and guides behavior

Question 41

incentive

Answer 41

something in the environment that drives behavior

Question 42

ostracism

Answer 42

being intentionally excluded from social groups

Question 43

glucose

Answer 43

the form of sugar in the blood that provides the major source of energy for the body

Question 44

affiliation need

Answer 44

the need to build relationships with others and to feel like part of a group

Question 45

intrinsic motivation

Answer 45

the desire to engage in a behavior for its own sake

Question 46

achievement motivation

Answer 46

a desire for significant accomplishment, such as mastery of skills or ideas

Question 47

basal metabolic rate

Answer 47

the body’s resting rate of energy output

Question 48

extrinsic motivation

Answer 48

the desire to engage in a behavior to receive a reward or to avoid punishment

Question 49

self-determination theory

Answer 49

the theory that people feel motivated to fulfill their needs for competence, independence, and relatedness

Question 50

polygraph

Answer 50

a machine used to detect lies by measuring changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing

Question 51

emotion

Answer 51

a response that involves physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and conscious experience arising from one’s interpretations