Key Terms

anal stage: psychosexual stage in which children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements
analytical psychology: Jung’s theory focusing on the balance of opposing forces within one’s personality and the significance of the collective unconscious
archetype: pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across cultures and societies
collective unconscious: common psychological tendencies that have been passed down from one generation to the next
congruence: state of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are very similar
conscious: mental activity (thoughts, feelings, and memories) that we can access at any time
Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks Test (C-TCB): projective test designed to be culturally relevant to African Americans, using images that relate to African-American culture
culture: all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society
defense mechanism: unconscious protective behaviors designed to reduce ego anxiety
displacement: ego defense mechanism in which a person transfers inappropriate urges or behaviors toward a more acceptable or less threatening target
ego: aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others
Five Factor Model: theory that personality is composed of five factors, including openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
genital stage: psychosexual stage in which the focus is on mature sexual interests
heritability: proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics
id: aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex
ideal self: person we would like to be
incongruence: state of being in which there is a great discrepancy between our real and ideal selves
individual psychology: school of psychology proposed by Adler that focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority
inferiority complex: refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to others’ or to society’s standards
latency period: psychosexual stage in which sexual feelings are dormant
locus of control: beliefs about the power we have over our lives; an external locus of control is the belief that our outcomes are outside of our control; an internal locus of control is the belief that we control our own outcomes
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): personality test composed of a series of true/false questions in order to establish a clinical profile of an individual
neurosis: tendency to experience negative emotions
oral stage: psychosexual stage in which an infant’s pleasure is focused on the mouth
personality: long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways
phallic stage: psychosexual stage in which the focus is on the genitals
projection: ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety disguises their unacceptable urges or behaviors by attributing them to other people
Projective test: personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires
psychosexual stages of development: stages of child development in which a child’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on specific areas of the body called erogenous zones
rationalization: ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety makes excuses to justify behavior
reaction formation: ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety swaps unacceptable urges or behaviors for their opposites
real self: person who we actually are
reciprocal determinism: belief that one’s environment can determine behavior, but at the same time, people can influence the environment with both their thoughts and behaviors
regression: ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral state
repression: ego defense mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious
Rorschach Inkblot Test: projective test that employs a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist in an effort to reveal the person’s unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB): projective test that is similar to a word association test in which a person completes sentences in order to reveal their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
selective migration: concept that people choose to move to places that are compatible with their personalities and needs
self-concept: our thoughts and feelings about ourselves
self-efficacy: someone’s level of confidence in their own abilities
social-cognitive theory: Bandura’s theory of personality that emphasizes both cognition and learning as sources of individual differences in personality
sublimation: ego defense mechanism in which unacceptable urges are channeled into more appropriate activities
superego: aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience
TEMAS Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test: projective test designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths, using images and storytelling that relate to minority culture
temperament: how a person reacts to the world, including their activity level, starting when they are very young
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): projective test in which people are presented with ambiguous images, and they then make up stories to go with the images in an effort to uncover their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles
traits: characteristic ways of behaving
unconscious: mental activity of which we are unaware and unable to access