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Description
Flashcards by Leanne McMahon, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Leanne McMahon
over 11 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Self actualisation. In humanistic psychology, this is a term in Maslows theory of motivation. It refers to the drive towards self fulfillment, to develop to ones potential and to become everything that one is capable of becoming. | It is the highest level in Maslows Heirarchy of needs. The lower hierarchy levels are- physiological, safety, love and belonging and esteem, these are deficiency needs which can be satisfied. Self actualisation was called a being need, whose expression is an end in itself. This is also a key concept in Carl Rogers person centred counselling. |
| How this need is expressed is dependent on the individual it could be artistic, athletic, being a good parent. Both Maslow and Rogers believe that if the sonditions are right self actualisation will occur spontaneously, though it is not clear that this is neccessarily the case. | This concept highlights the possibility of change and development, and as an attempt to explore the idea of a 'healthy' personality, an idea picked up later in positive psychology, in terms of contributing to psychological health. |
| Trait theories of personality Personality traits describe characteristics which are enduring across time, e.g 'caring' or 'excitable'. | Trait theories describe personality in terms of bipolar traits, e.g. 'reliable' - 'unreliable', or group traits,, which have been found through factor analysis to form clusters into personality dimensions, e.g. 'extraversion' inclludes traits such as 'risk taking' and sociability'/ traits express themselves in beliefs, preferences and behaviour. |
| Examples of trait theories are Catell's 16PF, Costa & McCraes OCEAN and Goldbergs Big Five, which is still under construction. The underlying indication from this research points towards a biological origin for some traits. | These theories are important because tests which are useful in research have been developed from them. They have also provided some evidence for the stability of personality traits and so could provide predicitive value. Cattel and Kline have found correlations between traits and occupation. On this basis tests arising from trait theories are widely used in areas such as personnel selection. |
| Criticism of oedipal conflict It is cristicised for it's lack of universal application as it seems to reflect Freuds personal experience with his father and his Jewish roots. It has also been suggested that development of boys and girl may be more related to cultural practices than anatomical concerns. | Psychodynamics In Freuds theories, psychodynamics refers to the internal psychic conflict between aspects of the self, and the defences used to deal with it. The self has three aspects: the id, which is concerned with biological needs and seeking pleasure; the ego, which works on the reality principle, and is concerned with integrating the different parts of the self; and the superego or conscience, based on the introjection of the moral attitudes of others, particularly the father. |
| This conflict is unconcious. Intrapsychic conflict creates anxiety (Angst), which can be alleviated through the use of unconcious defence mechanisms. For example, unacceptable impulses may be repressed, i.e. pushed out of concious awareness. | Displacement is another possibility, where the causes of anxiety may be expressed symbolically, e.g in dreams. Other defence mechanisms include reaction formation, regression, sublimation, projection and denial. The idea of the intrapsychic conflict described in psychodynamics if of major importance in Freud's theories.The ways in which conflicts between id, ego and superego are played out, and the defences used, are material for the therapy of psychoanalysis, e.g breaking down the defences is part of the therapeutic process of making the unconcious conscious, and so bring about change. |
| Personal Constructs. A theory devised by Kelly, these are ways in which people make sense of their world. Constructs are bipolar, e.g friendly-cold or interseting-boring and personal in that different people use different constructs.A reperatory grid is used to find individuals patterns of constructs (see reperatory grid). | Reperatory Grid. The tool used within Kelly's personal construct theory. A client is asked to think of specific people who play a role in their personal life, e.g. father, boss, best friend; these are known as elements. |
| Different combinations of three of these elements are then selected, and the client is then asked to say how any two are alike and the third is different. | This is repeated as long as the client is able to produce different constructs. |
| Finally, each element is given a numerical value for each construct. Where similar values are given to elements across different constructs, it suggests that these different constructs are being used in similar ways. | The reperatory grid is important as a structured method of accessing the ways in which people experience their world. It is also important within therapy; if the contructs used are too rigid (impermeable), the person may be unhappy and have difficulty with relationships. This can be addressed through helping them develop new ways of making sense of the world e.g through fixed role therapy. The idea of personal constructs is also important for it's emphasis on the possibility of change, i.e. constructive alternativism. |
| Oedipal Conflict. Describes the psychosexual stage associated with boys during the phallic phase. It is a period when the child is becoming aware of his postion in the family unit, more specifically that his father takes precedence with is mother. | He desires his mother and sees his father as a rival and as a result develops hostility towards him and fears him resulting in castration anxiety. |
| This is resolved by introjection with the father, which basically means taking on the characteristics of his father and is thought to contribute to the development of the super ego or conscience | In Freudian theory this is a crucial point in a boys development as it affects his moral development with implications for the development of adult personality. |
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