Test 4 Study Guide
1) Personality:
The concept of Personality is used to explain the stability of a person’s behavior over time and in different situations – how consistent it is, and the behavioral difference among people that are in similar situations – how distinctive it is.
2) Distinctiveness of personality traits
It is in a nutshell, a person’s unique set of consistent behavioral traits. A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations.
The behavioral difference among people that are in similar situations – how distinctive it is.
3) Extraversion and neuroticism
Extraversion:
High Extraversion scores signify that a person is outgoing, sociable, upbeat, friendly, assertive, and gregarious. Some trait models refer to this as positive emotionality.
Neuroticism:
High Neuroticism scores signify that a person is anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure, and vulnerable - some models call this negative emotionality.
4) Conscientiousness
Conscientious people are diligent, disciplined, well organized, punctual, and dependable. Some models refer to this trait as constraint, related to high productivity in a variety of occupational areas
5) Id and superego
Freud divided personality into 3 components - the id, the ego, and the superego.
The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification and engages in primary-process thinking (primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy oriented).
The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong…the superego emerges out of the ego at around 3-5 years of age.
Like the ego, the superego operates at all three levels of awareness.
6) Preconscious
The pre-conscious contains thoughts just beneath the surface, while the conscious is what you are aware of.

7) Freud and personal control of mind

8) Unconscious
According to Freud, the id exists in the unconscious level of awareness. The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness.

9) Defense mechanism
Most notably used by Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism is a tactic developed by the ego to protect against anxiety. Defense mechanisms are thought to safeguard the mind against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious mind to cope with. In some instances, defense mechanisms are thought to keep inappropriate or unwanted thoughts and impulses from entering the conscious mind.
The series of largely unconscious Freudian reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety or guilt

10) Reaction formation (show opposite of what you feel)
Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings
Example - A parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils the child with outlandish gifts.

11) Defense mechanism as self-deception (denying the obvious Rationalism)
Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior

12) Oedipal complex
The unresolved desire of a child for sexual gratification through the parent of the opposite sex, especially the desire of a son for hismother. This involves, first, identification with and, later, hatred for the parent of the same sex, who is considered by the child as a rival.

13) Latency stage (5 to puberty.. what you are interested in)
The latency stage is when sexual impulses are suppressed, allowing the child to focus on the development of social and technological skills.

14) Fixation (Attach to it for a long time)
-Fixation refers to a persistent focus of the id’s pleasure-seeking energies on an earlier stage of psychosexual development. A fixation occurs when an issue or conflict in a psychosexual stage remains unresolved, leaving the individual focused on this stage and unable to move onto the next. Individuals with an