MCAT Psychology Ch. 6 Identity & Personality

Our own internal list of answers to the question "Who am I?"; the sum of the way in which we describe ourselves, past, present, & future

Individual components of our self-concept related to the groups we belong to. Religious affiliation, sexual orientation, & ethnic & national affiliations

A person's appraisal of themselves on scales of masculinity & femininity

Both very masculine & feminine

Neither very masculine or feminine

One's ethnic group, where members typically share common ancestry, cultural heritage, & language; identity into which we are born

Based on political borders; result of shared history, media, cuisine, & national symbols

Our identities are organized according to this; we give importance to different identities based on the situation

We have 3 selves, & the closer our 3 selves are to one another, the higher our self-esteem

1. Actual Self - our self-concept, the way we see ourselves as we currently are
2. Ideal Self - person we would like to be
3. Ought Self - our representation of what others think we should be

When child overly indulged or frustrated during particular developmental stage, they develop a personality pattern based on that stage, which persists into adulthood as a functional mental disorder called neurosis

1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic or Oedipal stage
4. Latency
5. Genital

First stage of development (0-1 year), child is preoccupied w/ mouth: putting things in it, biting, & sucking. Fixation in this stage would lead to later excessive dependency

2nd stage of development (1-3 years), child is toilet training & pleasure gotten through release & retention of waste. Fixation in this stage leads to anal-retentiveness (excessive orderliness) or sloppiness

3rd stage of development (3-5 years), child wants parent of opposite sex, but satisfies for identifying w/ same sex parent; also have sublimation of libidinal energy, which can be expressed through collection of objects or focusing on schoolwork

4th stage of development (lasts until puberty), occurs once libido has sublimated