Personality Psychology and Theories Flashcards

B.F. Skinner's approach to personality holds that behavior patterns are primarily shaped by which process?

Answer: Operant conditioning

Skinner argued that personality is largely the product of operant conditioning—behaviors reinforced by rewards are repeated, while punished behaviors are suppressed.

In Carl Jung's analytical psychology, what is the term for the layer of the unconscious shared by all humans and containing universal archetypes?

Answer: Collective unconscious

Jung proposed the collective unconscious as a psychic layer inherited by all people, containing universal archetypes such as the Hero, Shadow, and Anima.

Which personality disorder is defined by instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, emotions, and marked impulsivity?

Answer: Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by emotional dysregulation, unstable relationships, identity disturbance, and chronic feelings of emptiness.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, what must be true before a person can pursue self-actualization?

Answer: All lower-level needs must be sufficiently satisfied

Maslow proposed that physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem needs must all be adequately met before a person can strive for self-actualization.

Raymond Cattell's 16PF personality assessment measures personality using which methodological approach?

Answer: Factor analysis of personality traits

Cattell used factor analysis to reduce hundreds of personality descriptors to 16 primary personality factors measured by the 16PF questionnaire.

Which Freudian defense mechanism involves transforming an unacceptable impulse into its exact behavioral opposite?

Answer: Reaction formation

Reaction formation occurs when an unacceptable urge is repressed and replaced by an exaggerated expression of the opposite behavior or attitude.