AP Psychology › Theories of Personality
Hank has recently been attending sessions with a psychoanalyst. He has developed an attachment to his analyst and feels very emotionally involved with her. This is an example of which of the following?
Transference
Countertransference
Reaction
None of these
Transference is when a patient reacts to the analyst as if they were an important person in the patient's life. The patient develops an emotional attachment to the analyst. The opposite, when an analyst develops feeling of personal attachment or significance towards a patient, is called countertransference.
Which of the following best describes the rationale behind Freud’s naming of psychosexual stages (e.g. oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital)?
They are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development
They are named for the area of the body that children admire most in their parents at that point in their development
All of these
They are named for the sexual pleasure that the child avoids at that point in their development
None of these
Freud's psychosexual stages use sexuality to explain personality and are named for the area of the body that children derive sexual pleasure from at that point in their development. The stages are: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. During the oral stage, for example, the child derives pleasure from sucking and biting.
What is Carl Jung's term for the archetype that represents the feminine side of the male psyche?
Anima
Animus
Shadow
The Self
The Ego
The Anima is Jung's term for the feminine side of the male psyche. Jung saw this as an essential part of the male psyche and necessary for creative expression. It is associated with intuition and emotion.
In Freudian psychoanalytic theory the __________ is an innate biological instinct that operates on the pleasure principle.
id
ego
superego
conscience
None of these answers are correct
Freud postulated that there were three distinct parts of the psyche: the id, the ego, and the superego. These three parts develop at different times in a person's life. The id is the most basic, innate part of the psyche. It is the primitive and instinctive component of the personality. It consists of all biological instincts, such as sexual attraction and aggression. The id responds immediately and directly to its instincts, seeking pleasure and self-preservation.
Which of the following traits is included in the Big Five personality trait model?
Agreeableness
Decisiveness
Reversibility
Intensity
Rationalism
The Big Five personality traits, or the five-factor model of personality, are used by some social psychologists to describe an individual's personality. The five traits—which include openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—are considered to be the five dimensions along which an individual's personality differs, relatively independently of the other dimensions (i.e. a person could score high on openness to experience, indicating that she is highly imaginative and curious, and low on neuroticism, indicating that she is relatively emotionally stable). The trait that was an answer choice in this question—“Agreeableness”—refers to one's tendency to be friendly and easy to get along with, as opposed to being argumentative or suspicious. A good acronym mnemonic for remembering the Big Five traits is OCEAN or CANOE.
Judy is a compulsive thief. She regularly steals large amounts of office supplies from her job. She does not think this is wrong because she believes that she needs them and everybody in the office takes things. This is an example of what Freudian defense mechanism?
Rationalization
Projection
Avoidance
Regression
Rationalization is described as attempting to intellectually justify inappropriate desires or behaviors. “Everybody else does it” or “This really is not hurting anyone” are examples of rationalization thought processes.
Thomas has a hard time believing in himself. He is extremely intelligent but never accomplishes anything due to his self-perception. Thomas has a(n) __________.
inferiority complex
superiority complex
mother complex
neurotic complex
None of these
An inferiority complex is described as feelings of inferiority acting as a barrier to accomplishing positive things or goals. This answer choice would best describe Thomas in the given scenario.
Ashley distances herself from people. She does not maintain close relationships. According to Horney, which neurotic adjustment is Ashley displaying?
Moving away from people
Moving toward people
Moving against people
Moving around people
None of these
Moving away from people can be represented by the mindset of “if I don’t get close to you, you cannot hurt me.” Neurotics want to maintain their idealized self, and do not want to be perceived as doing anything wrong. As a result, they believe that if they do not get close to people, then their decisions cannot be questioned.
Which of the following stages of life did Freud theorize was the most influential in developing personality?
Early childhood
Adolescence
Young adulthood
Adulthood
None of these
Freud, the father of psychodynamic theory, believed that personality was formed during early childhood through experiences with parents as well as the sexual desires that were felt and unfulfilled during this period. He believed that personality and sexuality were closely related and theorized that every person's sexuality was awakened in early childhood.
Sigmund Freud would not support which of the following statements?
People strive for power and recognition and may develop an inferiority complex if they perceive being unsuccessful at meeting life's challenges.
Repression is the basis for all other defense mechanisms.
The function of defense mechanisms is to reduce anxiety.
Dream interpretation and free association provide insight into the unconscious.
The function of the ego is to satisfy both the id and superego, and operates according to the reality principle.
Sigmund Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis and developed several theories on human development. Freud believed that the human psyche contains the id, ego, and superego. According to this theory, the ego's job is to consider and mediate between the id and superego. Freud also believed that a significant portion of memories are unconscious, and psychoanalysis uses free association and dream interpretation to bring them into conscious awareness. Defense mechanisms help unconsciously keep away anxiety. He believed that repression was the most basic defense mechanism. Freud's theories are not associated with the idea of an inferiority complex. Alfred Adler was a Neo-Freudian who diverged from Freud's theories and suggested that humans are motivated by a striving for superiority but can be limited by inferiority feelings.