Personality
High-Yield Summary
- Freud's structural model: id (pleasure principle, primary process, wish fulfillment) → ego (reality principle, secondary process, postpones gratification) → superego (conscience + ego-ideal, perfectionist). Operate across conscious, preconscious, unconscious.
- Defense mechanisms (all unconscious, all deny/distort/falsify reality): repression, regression, reaction formation, projection (Rorschach, TAT), rationalization, displacement, sublimation.
- Jung: ego = conscious mind; unconscious splits into personal unconscious and collective unconscious (built from archetypes: persona, anima/animus, shadow, self). 3 dichotomies (E/I, S/N, T/F) underlie the MBTI.
- Adler: inferiority complex → striving for superiority → creative self/style of life; fictional finalism (motivated by future expectations, not past). Horney: personality from interpersonal relationships; 10 neurotic needs; basic anxiety/hostility resolved via moving toward/against/away from people.
- Humanistic perspective (contrast to psychoanalytic): Force Field Theory, Maslow's self-actualization/peak experiences, Kelly's personal construct psychology, Rogers' client-centered therapy (real self/ideal self, unconditional positive regard).
- Type theories (sort into categories: humors, somatotypes [outdated], Type A/B, MBTI) vs. trait theories (continuous dimensions: PEN model [Psychoticism/Extraversion/Neuroticism] → Big Five [openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism]; Allport's cardinal/central/secondary traits + functional autonomy; N-Ach).
- Behaviorist perspective: personality = reinforced behaviors (token economies). Social cognitive perspective: reciprocal determinism + locus of control; past behavior best predicts future behavior. Biological perspective: personality from genetics/brain anatomy.
Key Terms
- Id
- Pleasure principle, primary process, immediate gratification (wish fulfillment).
- Ego
- Reality principle, secondary process; postpones gratification until achievable.
- Superego
- Idealized-standard structure; splits into conscience (punished actions) and ego-ideal (rewarded actions).
- Collective unconscious
- Jung's shared unconscious system built from archetypes common to all humans.
- Reciprocal determinism
- Social cognitive concept: thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and environment all interact to determine actions.
- Functional autonomy
- Allport's concept: a behavior persists even after the drive that originally created it is satisfied.
Defense Mechanisms
| Mechanism | What it does |
|---|---|
| Repression | Forces undesired thoughts/urges into the unconscious |
| Regression | Reverts to an earlier developmental state under stress |
| Reaction formation | Unconsciously converts an urge into its exact opposite |
| Projection | Attributes your own undesired feelings to someone else |
| Rationalization | Justifies behavior in a self/socially acceptable way |
| Displacement | Transfers an urge from one person/object to another |
| Sublimation | Transforms unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behavior |
Type Theories vs. Trait Theories
| Type theories | Trait theories |
|---|---|
| Sort people into discrete categories | Place people along continuous dimensions |
| Humors, somatotypes, Type A/B, MBTI | PEN model, Big Five, Allport's traits, N-Ach |
Adler vs. Horney vs. Freud
| Theorist | Driving force of personality |
|---|---|
| Freud | Unconscious drives (id/ego/superego, Eros/Thanatos) |
| Adler | Striving for superiority (following an inferiority complex) |
| Horney | Interpersonal relationships (basic anxiety/hostility, neurotic needs) |
Common MCAT Trap
- Pleasure principle = id; reality principle = ego. Superego runs on neither — it's driven by an idealized standard, not tension-reduction.
- Projection, displacement, and reaction formation are easily confused — projection blames others for your own feelings; displacement redirects the urge to a different target; reaction formation flips the urge into its opposite.
- Persona (public mask) ≠ shadow (repressed, unacceptable impulses) ≠ anima/animus (opposite-sex qualities within oneself) — three distinct Jungian archetypes.
- A passage describing reinforcement history = behaviorist perspective; environment-personality interaction = social cognitive; genetics/brain anatomy = biological perspective.
Quick Recall
A person who is angry at their boss comes home and yells at their family instead. Which defense mechanism?
Someone secretly desires something but instead expresses intense hatred toward it. Which defense mechanism?
A theory sorts people into 'Type A' or 'Type B.' Type theory or trait theory?
Which theorist's model explains personality through a person's belief that they choose environments suited to them, which in turn shape their reactions?
Sign in to unlock this chapter
Biology chapters 1–3 are free. Sign up to unlock every chapter.