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A-B-C theory of personality
absolute must
acceptance
active imagination
affective arousal
agentic perspective
alayavijnana
alienation
amplification
anal stage
analytical psychology
anatta
androgyny
anicca
anima
animus
anxiety
archetype
assessment
atman
attachment theory
attitude
authoritarian ethics
authoritarianism
autoeroticism
automatic thoughts
automaton conformity
autonomous dimension
autonomous self
autonomy versus shame and
doubt
autotelic
avoiding type
basic anxiety
In Ellis’s rational emotive behavior therapy, the theory that a highly charged emotional
consequence (C) is caused not by a significant activation event (A), but by the
individual’s belief system (B).
In Ellis’s theory, a dogmatic, unrealistic demand placed on oneself.
A nonjudgmental recognition of oneself, others, and the world.
In Jung’s psychotherapy, a method for getting in touch with the archetypes.
The arousal of emotions in conjunction with cognitions.
Bandura’s view of persons as agents of experience.
Sanskrit for “storehouse consciousness,” the last of the Eight Consciousnesses.
In Horney’s theory, a state in which the real self and the idealized self are disjunct.
In Jungian therapy, an analytical method whereby one focuses repeatedly on an
element and gives multiple associations to it.
Freud’s psychosexual stage in which the major source of pleasure and conflict is the
anus.
The school of psychology founded by Carl Jung.
Pali for “nonselfness,” the lack of a permanent separate self, one of the three
characteristics of existence according to the Buddha.
The presence of both masculine and feminine qualities in an individual and the ability
to realize both potentials.
Pali for impermanence and transiency, one of the three characteristics of existence
according to the Buddha.
In Jung’s theory, an archetype representing the feminine side of the male personality.
In Jung’s theory, an archetype representing the masculine side of the female
personality.
An emotional state characterized by a vague fear or premonition that something
undesirable may happen. In May’s theory, the apprehension cued off by a threat to
some value that the individual holds as essential to his or her existence as a person. In
Sullivan’s theory, any painful feeling or emotion that may arise from organic needs or
social insecurity.
In Jung’s theory, a universal thought form or predisposition to perceive the world in
certain ways.
Evaluation or measurement.
Sanskrit for soul, self, or ego.
A theory developed by Bowlby concerning the tendency to bond with other people and
experience distress following separation and loss.
A positive or negative feeling toward an object. In Jung’s theory, a basic psychotype.
In Cattell’s theory, a surface dynamic trait.
In Fromm’s theory, a value system whose source lies outside the individual.
In Fromm’s theory, a way of escaping from freedom by adhering to a new form of
submission or domination.
Self-love. In Freud’s theory, the child’s sexual activity.
In Beck’s theory, involuntary, unintentional, preconscious thoughts that are difficult to
regulate.
In Fromm’s theory, a way of escaping from freedom by adopting the personality
proffered by one’s culture.
In Beck’s theory, a personality dimension characterized by independence.
In Kohut’s theory, an ideal self with qualities of self-esteem and self-confidence.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage, corresponding to Freud’s anal stage, in which the child
faces the task of developing control over his or her body and bodily activities.
Containing its own goal, an activity done for its own sake.
In Adler’s theory, people who try to escape life’s problems and who engage in little
socially constructive activity.
In Horney’s theory, feelings of insecurity in which the environment as a whole is
dreaded because it is seen as unrealistic, dangerous, unappreciative, and unfair.
basic evil
basic human condition
BASIC-ID
basic needs
basic needs therapy
basic orientations
Beck Depression Inventory
behavior
behavior modification
behavior potential
behavior therapy
behavioral genetics
behavioral signature
behavioral specificity
behaviorism
being mode
Big Five
biophilia hypothesis
biophilous character
biosocial
B-needs
bodhisattva
bodily self
Bompu Zen
borderline personality
disorder
bridging
Buddha
CAPS
cardinal disposition
castration anxiety
catharsis
central disposition
central relational paradox
In Horney’s theory, all of the negative factors in the environment that can provoke
insecurity in a child.
In Fromm’s theory, the basic human condition of freedom.
In Lazarus’s theory, an examination of the seven modalities—behavior, affect,
sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationships and drugs—that make up
human personality.
In Fromm’s theory, primary needs that must be met in order for an individual to
develop fully.
Therapeutic procedures that seek to meet the primary needs of people.
In Horney’s theory, fundamental modes of interaction with the world.
An instrument developed by Beck to measure depression.
The activity of an organism. In learning theory, a response to stimuli. In Rogers’s
theory, the goaldirected attempt of the organism to meet its needs as it perceives them.
A form of therapy that applies the principles of learning to achieve changes in
behavior.
In Rotter’s theory, a variable that refers to the likelihood that a particular behavior will
occur.
A form of therapy that aims to eliminate symptoms of illness through the learning of
new responses. In Ellis’s theory, helping clients change maladaptive patterns of
behavior and ways of thinking.
Study of heritable causes of individual differences.
In Mischel’s theory, personality consistencies found in distinctive and stable patterns of
variability across situations.
Michel’s view that behavior is determined by specific situations.
A movement in psychology founded by John Watson, who suggested that
psychologists should focus their attention on the study of overt behavior.
In Fromm’s theory, a way of life that depends solely on the fact of existence.
The five factors that typically surface from personality questionnaires and inventories:
Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
In Wilson’s theory, an intense need to belong to the rest of the living world.
In Fromm’s theory, a character orientation that is synonymous with the productive
orientation.
Eysenck’s approach to personality, which emphasizes biological and genetic factors as
well as social and environmental ones.
Maslow’s term for being needs that arise from the organism’s drive to self-actualize
and fulfill its potential.
Sanskrit for “enlightenment being,” a person who has vowed not to accept final
liberation from suffering until all sentient beings are liberated; the ideal of the
Mahayana tradition.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails coming to know one’s body limits.
Zen practiced for a profit, such as stress management or increased mental health.
A serious mental illness characterized by instability and displaying five or more
specific clinical features.
A multimodal technique used by counselors to deliberately begin work in terms of their
client’s preferred modality.
“Awake” or “Enlightened One.” One who has fully awakened to the Truth.
Acronym for Mischel and Shoda’s cognitiveaffective system theory of personality.
In Allport’s theory, a personal disposition so pervasive that almost every behavior of an
individual appears to be influenced by it.
In Freud’s theory, the child’s fear of losing the penis.
An emotional release that occurs when an idea is brought to consciousness and allowed
expression.
In Allport’s theory, a highly characteristic tendency of an individual.
The phenomenon by which people who have experienced trouble in relationships
cerebrotonia
character orientations
choleric
classical conditioning
client-centered therapy
cloning
closed system
cognition
cognitions
cognitive complexity
cognitive distortions
cognitive neuroscience
cognitive processes
cognitive theories
cognitive therapy
cognitive triad
coherence
collective unconscious
common traits
compatibility
compellingness
compensation
compensatory function
compensatory mechanisms
complex
comprehensiveness
conditional positive regard
conditioned response
conditioned stimulus
conditions of worth
conflict
congruence
continue to try to make new connections but are hindered in doing so.
In Sheldon’s theory, a component of temperament characterized by a predominance of
restraint, inhibition, and the desire for concealment.
In Fromm’s theory, social character types shared by people in Western societies.
One of Hippocrates’ temperaments, referring to an individual who tends to be irascible
and violent.
A form of learning in which a response becomes associated with a previously neutral
stimulus.
A therapeutic technique developed by Rogers that focuses attention on the person
seeking help.
Creating a genetic twin of an individual.
A concept of personality that admits little or nothing new from outside the organism to
influence or change it in any significant way.
The process of knowing.
In Beck’s theory, a person’s awareness.
The ability to perceive differences in the way in which one construes other people.
In Beck’s theory, systematic errors in reasoning.
A field that concentrates on how mental activities occur in the brain.
Ways in which we experience the world and relate to others in the course of personality
development.
Theories of personality that emphasize cognitive processes such as thinking and
judging.
In Ellis’s theory, showing clients how to recognize their “should” and “must” thoughts,
how to separate rational from irrational beliefs, and how to accept reality. In Beck’s
theory, a set of well-defined therapeutic techniques that seeks to remove systematic
biases in thinking.
In Beck’s theory, a negative view of the self, the world, and the future.
One of the criteria for judging philosophical statements: the quality or state of logical
consistency.
In Jung’s theory, a shared, transpersonal unconscious consisting of potential ways of
being human.
In Allport’s theory, hypothetical traits that permit the comparison of individuals
according to certain shared dimensions.
A criterion for evaluating rival hypotheses: the agreement of the hypothesis with other
previously well-established information.
One of the criteria for evaluating philosophical statements: the quality of appealing to
someone with a driving force.
Making up for or overcoming a weakness.
In Jung’s theory, an effort to complement one’s conscious side and speak for the
unconscious.
In Adler’s theory, safeguarding tendencies that ward off feelings of inferiority.
In Jung’s theory, an organized group of thoughts, feelings, and memories about a
particular concept.
One of the criteria for evaluating philosophical statements: the quality of having a
broad scope or range and depth of coverage.
In Rogers’s theory, positive regard that is given only under certain circumstances.
A response that becomes associated with a stimulus through learning.
A previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with a response.
In Rogers’s theory, stipulations imposed by other people indicating when an individual
will be given positive regard.
In Freud’s theory, the basic incompatibility that exists among the id, ego, superego, and
the external world. In Dollard and Miller’s theory, frustration that arises from a
situation in which incompatible responses occur at the same time.
In Rogers’s theory, the state of harmony that exists when a person’s symbolized
connections
conscience
conscious
consensual validation
constellating power
constitutional traits
constructive alternativism
continuity theory
continuous reinforcement
control group
conversion disorder
corollaries
correlation
covert behavior
creative self
criterion analysis
critical periods
cue
Daijo Zen
daimonic
defense mechanism
definition
delayed reinforcement
denial
dependent origination
dependent variable
desensitization
destructiveness
determinism
developmental line
Dharma
experiences reflect the actual experiences of his or her organism.
In relational-cultural theory, the basic origins of growth and development.
In Freud’s theory, a subsystem of the superego that refers to the capacity for selfevaluation, criticism, and reproach.
In Freud’s theory, the thoughts, feelings, and wishes that a person is aware of at any
given moment.
Agreement among observers about phenomena.
In Jung’s theory, the power of a complex to admit new ideas into itself.
In Cattell’s theory, traits that have their origin in heredity or the physiological
condition of the organism.
In Kelly’s theory, the assumption that any one event is open to a variety of
interpretations.
A theory that suggests that the development of personality is essentially an
accumulation of skills, habits, and discriminations without anything really new
appearing in the makeup of the person.
A schedule of reinforcement in which the desired behavior is reinforced every time it
occurs.
In an experiment, a group equally matched to the experimental group and used for
comparison.
A reaction to anxiety or stress expressed through physical symptoms; the modern term
for hysteria.
In Kelly’s theory, eleven statements that elaborate on the fundamental postulate.
A statistical tool for making comparisons by expressing the extent to which two events
covary.
A behavior that can be observed directly only by the individual actually experiencing
it.
In Adler’s theory, that aspect of the person that interprets and makes meaningful the
experiences of the organism and establishes the life-style.
A method of analysis employed by Eysenck that begins with a hypothesis about
possible variables and conducts statistical analyses in order to test the hypothesis.
Periods during which an organism is highly responsive to certain influences that may
enhance or disrupt its development.
In Dollard and Miller’s theory, a specific stimulus that tells the organism when, where,
and how to respond.
Zen practiced for the sake of liberating others.
In May’s theory, any natural function that has the power to take over a person.
In Freud’s theory, a procedure that wards off anxiety and prevents its conscious
perception.
A statement that is true because of the way in which we have agreed to use words.
Reinforcement that is delayed after a response.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism that entails refusing to believe a reality or a
fact of life.
The Buddhist concept of interconnected causality.
In an experiment, the behavior under study.
A process whereby anxieties and fears are reduced by repeated, gradual, imagined, or
real exposures to the noxious stimuli paired with relaxation, skill training, and other
behavioral techniques.
In Fromm’s theory, a way of escaping from freedom by eliminating others and/or the
outside world.
The philosophical view that behavior is controlled by external or internal forces and
pressures.
In Anna Freud’s theory, a series of idego interactions in which children increase ego
mastery of themselves and their world.
Sanskrit for the truth or law of the universe discovered by the Buddha; the Buddha’s
diagnostic profile
directive
disconnection
discontinuity theory
discrimination
displacement
D-needs
dream analysis
dream work
drive
drive reduction
dukkha
dynamic traits
dynamism
eclectic
ego
ego-ideal
ego identity versus role
confusion
ego integrity versus despair
ego-psychoanalytic theory
Eightfold Path
Electra complex
emotionality versus stability
emotive-evocative therapy
empathy
empirical
empiricism
environmental-mold traits
epiphany
equilibrium
erg
teaching.
A formal assessment procedure developed by Anna Freud that reflects developmental
issues.
A term used to describe therapies whose course is primarily structured by the therapist.
The break that is experienced when a person cannot engage in mutually empathetic and
empowering relationships.
A theory of personality that suggests that in the course of development an organism
experiences genuine transformations or changes so that it reaches successively higher
levels of organization.
In behavior theory, the ability to tell the difference between stimuli that are and are not
reinforced.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism in which one object of an impulse is
substituted for another.
Maslow’s term for deficiency needs that arise out of a lack.
A technique used by Freud and other analysts to uncover unconscious processes.
In Freud’s theory, the process that disguises unconscious wishes and converts them into
a manifest dream.
The psychological correlate of a need or stimulus that impels an organism into action.
In Freud’s theory, a psychological representation of an inner bodily source of
excitement characterized by its source, impetus, aim, and object. In Dollard and
Miller’s theory, the primary motivation for behavior.
A concept formulated by Hull that suggests that learning occurs only if an organism’s
response is followed by the reduction of some need or drive.
Pali for suffering, dissatisfaction, imperfection, incompleteness; one of the three
characteristics of existence according to the Buddha.
In Cattell’s theory, traits that motivate an individual toward some goal.
In Sullivan’s theory, a pattern of energy transformation that characterizes an
individual’s interpersonal relations.
Selecting the best from a variety of different theories or concepts.
The self. In Freud’s theory, a function of the personality that follows the reality
principle and operates according to secondary processes and reality testing. In Jung’s
theory, one’s conscious perception of self.
In Freud’s theory, a subsystem of the superego consisting of an ideal self-image.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage of adolescence in which one faces the task of developing
a self-image.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage of maturity that entails the task of being able to reflect on
one’s life with satisfaction.
Psychoanalytic theory that emphasizes the role of the ego in personality development.
The Buddha’s prescription for living constituting the fourth Noble Truth; the “Middle
Way” leading to nirvana.
A term that some critics have used to express the feminine counterpart to the male
Oedipus complex.
One of Eysenck’s personality dimensions, involving an individual’s adjustment to the
environment and the stability of his or her behavior over time.
In Ellis’s theory, helping clients to get in touch with their feelings.
The ability to recognize and understand another’s feelings.
Based on experience and observation.
The philosophical view that human knowledge arises slowly in the course of
experience through observation and experiment.
In Cattell’s theory, traits that originate from the influences of physical and social
surroundings.
A manifestation of the essential nature of something.
Balance or harmony.
In Cattell’s theory, a constitutional dynamic trait.
erogenous zones
Eros
essence
eugenics
evaluative response
evoked potential
evolutionary psychology
excitation and stimulation
existential dichotomy
existentialism
expectancy
experimental method
exploitative orientation
expressive behavior
extinction
extraversion
extraversion versus
introversion
extrinsic
factor analysis
falsification
family atmosphere
family constellation
family therapy
feeling
fictional finalism
finalism
Five-Factor Model (FFM)
fixation
fixed reinforcement
flow
Four Noble Truths
frame of orientation and
object of devotion
free association
freedom of movement
frustration
fully functioning person
functional autonomy
Areas of the body that provide pleasure.
In Freud’s theory, life impulses or drives forces that maintain life processes and ensure
reproduction of the species.
In philosophy, the unchangeable principles and laws that govern being.
Improving the human race through genetic control.
In Rogers’s theory, a response that places a value judgment on thoughts, feelings,
wishes, or behavior.
Electrical activity in the brain.
The branch of psychology that considers the impact of evolution on psychological
mechanisms.
In Fromm’s theory, the need to actively strive for a goal rather than simply respond.
In Fromm’s theory, a dilemma or problem that arises simply from the fact of existence.
A philosophical movement that studies the meaning of existence.
In Rotter’s theory, the individual’s subjective expectation about the outcome of his or
her behavior.
A scientific method involving a careful study of cause and effect by manipulating
variables and observing their effects.
In Fromm’s theory, a character type in which a person exploits others and the world.
In Allport’s theory, an individual’s manner of performing.
The tendency of a response to disappear when it is not reinforced.
An attitude of expansion in which the psyche is oriented toward the external world.
One of Eysenck’s personality dimensions, involving the degree to which a person is
outgoing and participative in relating to other people.
A quest that serves other purposes outside the original goal.
Employed by Cattell, a procedure that interrelates many correlations at one time.
The act of disproving.
In Adler’s theory, the quality of emotional relationships among members of a family.
In Adler’s theory, one’s position within the family in terms of birth order among
siblings and the presence or absence of parents and other caregivers.
Treating psychological problems in the context of the family.
One of Jung’s functions, involving valuing and judging the world.
In Adler’s theory, a basic concept or philosophical assumption that cannot be tested
against reality.
In Adler’s theory, a principle that reflects the concept of goal orientation.
A hypothesis for understanding personality structure based on five factors.
In Freud’s theory, a concept in which there is an arrest of growth, and excessive needs
characteristic of an earlier stage are created by overindulgence or undue frustration.
A schedule of reinforcement in which the time period or number of responses before
reinforcement is identical.
A state of oneness with the activity and situation at hand, entailing heightened focus,
productivity, and happiness.
The essence of the practical teaching of the Buddha, specifying the nature of suffering,
its cause, its cessation, and the path to accomplish liberation from suffering.
In Fromm’s thought, the need for a stable thought system by which to organize
perceptions and make sense of the environment.
In Freud’s psychoanalysis, a technique in which a person verbalizes whatever comes to
mind.
In Rotter’s theory, the degree of expectation a person has that a particular set of
responses will lead to a desired reinforcement.
In Dollard and Miller’s theory, an emotion that occurs when one is unable to satisfy a
drive because the response that would satisfy it has been blocked.
A term used by Rogers to indicate an individual who is functioning at an optimum
level.
In Allport’s theory, a concept that present motives are not necessarily tied to the past
functions
fundamental postulate
gassho
Gedo Zen
generalization
generalized conditioned
reinforcers
generativity
generativity versus
stagnation
genital stage
genotype
genuineness
gestalt
gestalt principle
gestalt psychology
getting type
goal of superiority
gradient
habit
habitual responses
having mode
heritability
heterostasis
heuristic value
hierarchy of needs
hierarchy of response
Hinayana
historical dichotomy
hoarding orientation
homeostasis
homosexuality
hormones
hot cognitions
humanist theories
Humanistic Communitarian
but may be free of earlier motivations.
In Jung’s theory, ways of perceiving the environment and orienting experiences.
In Kelly’s theory, the basic assumption that a person’s processes are psychologically
channelized by the ways in which he or she anticipates events.
Japanese for “palms of the hands pressed together,” expressing the unity of the person
and the universe, a gesture commonly used for greeting in many cultures in the East.
Zen practiced without connection to the Buddha’s teachings, generally in order to attain
mystical experiences.
A statement that may be made, when a number of different instances coincide, that
something is true about many or all of the members of a certain class. In behavior
theory, the application of a response learned in one situation to a different but similar
situation.
In Skinner’s theory, learned reinforcers that have the power to reinforce a great number
of different behaviors.
In McAdams’s theory, concern for and commitment to future generations.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage of the middle years, in which one faces the dilemma of
being productive and creative in life.
Freud’s psychosexual stage in which an individual reaches sexual maturity.
The genetic makeup of an individual.
A therapist’s attitude characterized by congruence and awareness in the therapeutic
relationship.
Configuration or pattern that forms a whole.
The notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
A branch of psychology that studies how organisms perceive objects and events.
In Adler’s theory, dependent people who take rather than give.
In Adler’s theory, the ultimate fictional finalism, entailing the desire to be competent
and effective in whatever one strives to do and to actualize one’s potential.
The changing strength of a force, which may be plotted on a graph.
In Dollard and Miller’s theory, the basic structure of personality: a learned association
between a stimulus and response.
In Eysenck’s theory, clusters of specific behaviors that characteristically recur in
similar circumstances, such as buying groceries or giving parties.
In Fromm’s theory, a way of existence that relies on possessions.
An estimate of the degree to which a trait or characteristic is caused by the genotype
rather than the environment.
The desire not to reduce tension but to seek new stimuli and challenges that will further
growth.
The ability of a construct to predict future events.
Maslow’s theory of five basic needs ranked in order of strength: physiological, safety,
belonging and love, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
In Dollard and Miller’s theory, a tendency for certain responses to occur before other
responses.
Sanskrit for “small vehicle,” a designation for the southern schools of Buddhism
concerned with personal liberation. One of the two major divisions of Buddhism.
In Fromm’s theory, a dilemma or problem that arises out of human history because of
various societies and cultures.
In Fromm’s theory, a character type in which the person seeks to save or hoard and
protects him- or herself from the world by a wall.
Balance or harmony.
Primary attraction to the same sex.
Chemicals released into the blood stream by the endocrine glands.
In Beck’s therapy, experiencing arousing emotions and reality testing at the same time.
Theories of personality that emphasize human potential.
The name of Fromm’s ideal society.
Socialism
humanistic ethics
humors
hypercompetitiveness
hypothesis
hysteria
id
idealization
idealized self
identification
identity crisis
idiographic
I-E Scale
imagoes
immediate reinforcement
implosive
imprinting
incongruence
independent variable
individual psychology
individuation
industry versus inferiority
inferiority complex
inferiority feelings
infrahuman species
inhibition
initiative versus guilt
inner space
insight
insight therapy
intentionality
interpersonal psychiatry
interpretative response
In Fromm’s theory, a value system that has its source in the individual acting in accord
with the law of his or her human nature and assuming full responsibility for his or her
existence.
In earlier psychology, bodily fluids thought to enter into the constitution of a body and
determine, by their proportion, a person’s constitution and temperament.
In Horney’s theory, American society’s sweeping desire to compete and win.
A preliminary assumption that guides further inquiry.
An earlier term for an illness in which there are physical symptoms, such as paralysis,
but no organic or physiological basis for the problem.
In Freud’s theory, the oldest and original function of the personality, which includes
genetic inheritance, reflex capacities, instincts, and drives.
In Kohut’s theory, the tendency children have to idealize their parents.
In Horney’s theory, that which a person thinks he or she should be.
In Freud’s theory, (a defense mechanism in which a person reduces anxiety by
modeling his or her behavior after that of someone else, and (the process whereby the
child resolves the Oedipus complex by incorporating the parents into the self.
In Erikson’s theory, transitory failure to develop a self-image or identity.
In Allport’s theory, an approach to studying personality that centers on understanding
the uniqueness of the individual.
A questionnaire developed by Rotter to measure internal versus external locus of
control.
In McAdams’s theory, main characters that represent our primary social roles and
cravings for power and love.
Reinforcement that immediately follows a response.
A sudden, instead of gradual, confrontation of a phobic situation.
A bond of attraction that develops among members of a species shortly after birth.
In Rogers’s theory, the lack of harmony that results when a person’s symbolized
experiences do not represent the actual experiences.
In an experiment, the factor that is manipulated by the experimenter.
The school of psychology developed by Adler.
In Jung’s theory of self-realization, a process whereby the systems of the individual
psyche achieve their fullest degree of differentiation, expression, and development.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage, corresponding to Freud’s latency period, in which
children face the task of learning and mastering the technology of their culture.
In Adler’s theory, a neurotic pattern in which an individual feels highly inadequate.
In Adler’s theory, feelings of being inadequate that arise out of childhood experiences.
Species lower than human organisms.
The prevention of a response from occurring because it is in conflict with other strong
unconscious responses.
Erikson’s psychosexual stage, corresponding to Freud’s phallic stage, in which children
face the task of directing their curiosity and activity toward specific goals and
achievements.
In Erikson’s theory, tendency on the part of girls to emphasize qualities of openness
versus closedness in space.
A form of therapeutic knowing that combines intellectual and emotional elements and
culminates in profound personality change.
Therapeutic procedures that seek to increase self-understanding and lead to deep
motivational changes.
In May’s theory, a dimension that undercuts conscious and unconscious, and underlies
will and decision.
The school and theory of psychiatry founded by Harry Stack Sullivan.
In Rogers’s theory, a response that seeks to interpret a speaker’s problem or tell how
the speaker feels about it.
interpsychic
interval reinforcement
interview
intimacy versus isolation
intrapsychic
introversion
intuition
IQ
karma
kinhin
koan
latency period
latent dream
law of effect
L-data
learning dilemma
libido
life crisis
locus of control
logotherapy
love
macro theory
Mahayana
manas
mandala
manifest dream
manovijnana
marketing orientation
masculine protest
masochism
mechanisms of escape
Between psyches or persons.
A schedule of reinforcement in which the organism is reinforced after a certain time
period has elapsed.
Sullivan’s term for the interpersonal process that occurs between the patient and
therapist.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage of young adulthood in which one faces the task of
establishing a close, deep, and meaningful genital relationship with another person.
Within the psyche or individual self.
An attitude of withdrawal in which personality is oriented inward toward the subjective
world.
One of Jung’s functions, entailing perception via the unconscious.
Intelligence quotient: a number used to express the relative intelligence of a person.
Sanskrit for volitional action.
Japanese for the meditational walking performed between periods of zazen.
Japanese for “public document,” an apparently paradoxical story, anecdote, or
statement expressing the realization of a Zen master.
Freud’s psychosexual stage of development in which the sexual drive is thought to go
underground.
In Freud’s theory, the real meaning or motive that underlies the dream that we
remember.
A law formulated by Thorndike that states that a behavior or a performance
accompanied by satisfaction tends to increase and a behavior or performance
accompanied by frustration tends to decrease.
In Cattell’s theory, observations made of a person’s behavior in society or everyday
life.
In Dollard and Miller’s theory, the situation an individual is placed in if present
responses are not reinforced.
In Freud’s theory, an emotional and psychic energy derived from the biological drive
of sexuality. In Jung’s theory, an undifferentiated life and psychic energy.
In Erikson’s theory, a crucial period in which the individual cannot avoid a decisive
turn one way or the other.
In Rotter’s theory, the extent to which a person believes that reinforcements are
controlled by his or her own behavior (internal locus) or by other people or outside
forces (external locus).
Frankl’s theory that suggests people have realized freedom but have not necessarily
taken responsibility for their freedom.
In Fromm’s theory, productive relationship with others and the self, entailing care,
responsibility, respect, and knowledge.
Theory that seeks to be global and that emphasizes comprehension of the whole person.
Sanskrit for “great vehicle,” one of the two major divisions of Buddhism, concerned
with the liberation of all sentient beings.
Sanskrit for “mind,” the seventh of the Eight Consciousnesses, where the illusion of the
ego arises.
A concentrically arranged figure often found as a symbol in the East that denotes
wholeness and unity. In Jung’s theory, a symbol for the emerging self.
In Freud’s theory, the dream as it is remembered the next morning.
Sanskrit for “mental consciousness,” the sixth of the Eight Consciousnesses and the
basis for the five sensory consciousnesses.
In Fromm’s theory, a character type in which the person experiences him- or herself as
a commodity in the marketplace.
In Adler’s early theory, the compensation for one’s inferiorities.
A disorder in which a person obtains pleasure by receiving pain.
In Fromm’s theory, common ways of trying to cope with freedom that do not resolve
the underlying problem but merely mask it.
melancholic
mergers
metacommunication
metamotivation
metapsychological
micro theory
mindfulness
minimum goal level
mirror neurons
mirrored
mistaken style of life
modality profile
moral anxiety
moral disengagement
Morita therapy
motivation
moving against
moving away
moving toward
multimodal therapy
musturbatory belief system
mutuality
myths
Naikan therapy
narcissism
necrophilous character
need
need potential
need value
negative identity
negative reinforcement
NEO-PI
NEO-PI-R
neopsychoanalytic theories
One of Hippocrates’ temperaments, referring to an individual characterized by
depression.
In Orlofsky’s theory, individuals who commit themselves to a relationship at the price
of their own independence.
In Lazarus’s theory, the fact that people not only communicate but also think and
communicate about their communications.
Maslow’s term for growth tendencies within the organism.
A term used by Freud to indicate the fullest possible description of psychic processes.
Theory that has resulted from specific research focused on limited aspects of human
behavior.
A discipline of noting thoughts and feelings without becoming enmeshed in them.
In Rotter’s theory, the lowest level of potential reinforcement that is perceived as
satisfactory in a particular situation.
Neurons that are activated when an animal observes or performs an action.
In Kohut’s theory, the need for children to have their talk and their accomplishments
acknowledged, accepted, and praised.
In Adler’s theory, a style of life that belies one’s actual capabilities and strengths.
In Lazarus’s therapy, a specific list of problems and proposed treatments across the
client’s BASIC-ID.
In Freud’s theory, fear of the retribution of one’s own conscience.
In Bandura’s theory, practices that permit one to separate one’s self from ethical
behavior.
A system of psychotherapy developed in Japan early in the twentieth century by Shoma
Morita, combining elements of Zen Buddhism and psychoanalysis.
Maslow’s term for the reduction of tension by satisfying deficit states or lacks.
One of Horney’s three primary modes of relating to other people, in which one seeks to
protect him- or herself by revenge or controlling others.
One of Horney’s three primary ways of relating to other people, in which one isolates
him- or herself and keeps apart.
One of Horney’s three primary modes of relating to other people, in which one accepts
his or her own helplessness and becomes compliant in order to depend on others.
Lazarus’s method of therapy.
In Ellis’s theory, escalating probalistic statements into absolutes.
A way of relating and sharing in which all participants are fully participating.
In May’s theory, narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.
In Japanese culture, a form of introspective therapy emphasizing the development of
responsibility and obligation.
A form of self-encapsulation in which an individual experiences as real only that which
exists within him- or herself.
In Fromm’s theory, a character orientation in which an individual is attracted to that
which is dead and decaying and seeks to destroy living things.
In Murray’s theory, a force in the brain that organizes perception, understanding, and
behavior in such a way as to change an unsatisfying situation and increase satisfaction.
In Rotter’s theory, a behavior that leads to a reinforcement.
In Rotter’s theory, the likelihood that a set of behaviors directed toward the same goal
will be used in a given situation.
In Rotter’s theory, the importance placed on a goal.
In Erikson’s theory, an identity at odds with the dominant values of one’s culture.
Unpleasant or aversive stimuli that can be changed or avoided by certain behavior.
The Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory developed by Costa and
McCrae.
The Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory, Revised, developed by
McCrae and Costa.
Psychoanalytic theories that revise or modify Freud’s original theories.
neurotic anxiety
neurotic needs or trends
Nigrescence
nirvana
nomothetic
nondirective
normal curve of distribution
nuclear self
object
object relations
objective data
objectivism
objectivity
observational learning
Oedipus complex
open system
operant behavior
operant conditioning
operational definition
oral stage
organismic valuing process
outer space
overcompensation
overt behavior
paradigm
paradox
parataxic experience
paraworld
parenting style
participant observation
In Freud’s theory, the fear that one’s inner impulses cannot be controlled.
In Horney’s theory, exaggerated defense strategies that permit an individual to cope
with the world.
In the theory of Cross and others, the development of ethnic identity in African
Americans.
Sanskrit for a mental state where craving and suffering have been completely
extinguished.
In Allport’s theory, an approach to studying personality that considers large groups of
individuals in order to infer general variables or universal principles.
Rogers’s term for therapies whose course is primarily determined by the patient.
A bell-shaped curve representing many events in nature in which most events cluster
around the mean.
In Kohut’s theory, a well-developed self that ideally emerges in the second year.
In Freud’s theory, any target through which an infant seeks to satisfy the aim of a drive.
In object relations theory, the aim of relational needs in human development.
The intrapsychic experience of early relationships with others.
Data acquired through extrospection, the act of looking outward on the world as object.
The philosophical view that valid knowledge arises gradually in the course of
experience through observation and experimentation.
The quality of recognizing or expressing reality without distortion by personal feeling.
In test construction, construction of a test in such a way that it can be given and scored
in a way that avoids the scorer’s subjective bias.
In Bandura’s theory, learning that occurs through observation without any direct
reinforcement.
In Freud’s theory, an unconscious psychological conflict in which the child loves the
parent of the opposite sex.
A concept of personality that conceives of it as having a dynamic potential for growth,
reconstitution, and change through extensive transactions within itself and the
environment.
In Skinner’s theory, a response that acts on the environment and is emitted without a
stimulus necessarily being present.
In Skinner’s theory, the process by which an operant response becomes associated with
a reinforcement through learning.
A definition that specifies those behaviors that are included in the concept.
Freud’s psychosexual stage in which the major source of pleasure and potential conflict
is the mouth.
In Rogers’s theory, a subconscious natural phenomenon that guides an individual
toward productive growth experiences.
In Erikson’s theory, tendency on the part of boys to emphasize qualities of highness or
lowness in space.
In Adler’s theory, an exaggerated effort to cover up a weakness that entails a denial
rather than an acceptance of the real situation.
Behavior that can be observed by an external observer.
A pattern or model.
Two opposites that seem to negate each other but cannot exist without each other. In
May’s theory, two opposing things that are posited against and seem to negate each
other yet cannot exist without each other. In Lazarus’s therapy, the use of
contradictions.
In Sullivan’s theory, a cognitive process in which one perceives causal relations but not
on the basis of reality or logic.
A world of quantified, logical, and mathematical imaginary constructs used by the
scientist to draw conclusions about the everyday world.
Variations in parenting due to differences in behaviors expressing warmth and control.
In Sullivan’s theory, a concept that refers to the fact that an observer of an
interpersonal relationship is also a participant in it.
peak experience
penis envy
performance phase
perseverative functional
autonomy
persona
personal construct
personal construct theory
personal dispositions
personal unconscious
personality
person-centered
psychotherapy
personification
personology
phallic stage
phenomenal field
phenomenology
phenotype
philosophical assumption
philosophy
phlegmatic
pleasure principle
polymorphous perverse
positive psychology
positive regard
positive reinforcement
positive self-regard
predictive power
preemptive construct
press
primary drive
primary modes of relating
primary process
primary reinforcer
proactive
In Maslow’s theory, an intensified experience in which there is a loss of self or
transcendence of self.
In Freud’s theory, the concept that women view themselves as castrated males and
envy the penis.
In Dollard and Miller’s therapy, a phase in which the patient acquires new, more
adaptive responses and habits.
In Allport’s theory, acts or behaviors that are repeated even though they may have lost
their original function.
In Jung’s theory, an archetype referring to one’s social role and understanding of it.
In Kelly’s theory, a hypothesis an individual forms in order to predict and control
events, which makes the world meaningful and which is tested by later experience.
George Kelly’s theory of personality.
In Allport’s theory, traits that are unique to an individual.
In Jung’s theory, experiences of an individual’s life that have been repressed or
temporarily forgotten.
In social speech, one’s public image. In Fromm’s theory, the totality of an individual’s
psychic qualities. In Cattell’s theory, that which permits prediction of what a person
will do in a given situation. In Sullivan’s theory, the characteristic ways in which an
individual deals with other people.
The most recent name for Rogers’s method of psychotherapy.
In Sullivan’s theory, a group of feelings, attitude, and thoughts that have arisen out of
one’s interpersonal experiences.
Murray’s term for his study of individual persons.
One of Freud’s psychosexual stages, in which pleasurable and conflicting feelings are
associated with the genital organs.
In Rogers’s theory, the total sum of experiences an organism has.
The study of phenomena or appearances.
An individual’s observable appearance and behavior.
An underlying view of the world that influences a person’s thinking.
The systematic love and pursuit of wisdom.
One of Hippocrates’ temperaments, referring to an individual who is slow, solid, and
apathetic.
In Freud’s theory, the seeking of tension reduction followed by the id.
A phrase used by Freud to emphasize the point that children deviate in many ways
from what is thought to be normal reproductive sexual activity.
A branch of psychology that seeks to study and understand the complex positive
behavior of people in order to emphasize the systematic building and amplifying of
human strengths and virtues.
In Rogers’s theory, being loved and accepted for who one is.
Anything that serves to increase the frequency of a response.
In Rogers’s theory, viewing the self favorably and with acceptance.
A criterion for evaluating rival hypotheses: the range or scope of the hypothesis.
In Kelly’s theory, a construct that limits its elements to one range only.
In Murray’s theory, a force coming from the environment that helps or hinders an
individual in reaching goals.
A drive associated with a physiological process that is necessary for the organism’s
survival.
In Horney’s theory, three major types of interpersonal coping strategies.
In Freud’s theory, a psychological activity of the id characterized by immediate wish
fulfillment and the disregard of realistic concerns.
A reinforcer that is inherently rewarding as it satisfies a primary drive.
Referring to theories of personality that view the human being as acting on his or her
own initiative rather than simply reacting.
probing response
proceeding
productive orientation
projection
projective techniques
propositional construct
propriate functional
autonomy
propriate functions
propriate striving
proprium
prototaxic experience
psyche
psychoanalysis
psychohistory
psychological behaviorism
psychological situation
psychology
psychometrics
psychophysical
psychosexual stages
psychosis
psychosocial stages
psychotherapy
psychoticism
punishment
Q-sort technique
radical behaviorism
random assignment
ratio reinforcement
rational emotive behavior
therapy
rationalism
In Rogers’s theory, a response that seeks further information.
In Murray’s theory, a short, significant behavior pattern that has a clear beginning and
ending.
In Fromm’s theory, the character type that represents the ideal of humanistic
development.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism that refers to the unconscious attribution of an
impulse, attitude, or behavior to someone else or some element in the environment.
Personality tests in which an ambiguous stimulus is presented to the subject who is
expected to project aspects of his or her personality into the response.
In Kelly’s theory, a construct that leaves its elements open to other constructions.
In Allport’s theory, acquired interests, values, attitudes, intentions, and life-style that
are directed from the proprium and are genuinely free of earlier motivations.
In Allport’s theory, the functions of the proprium.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails projection of long-term purposes
and goals and development of a plan to attain them.
In Allport’s theory, the central experiences of self-awareness that a person has as he or
she grows and moves forward.
In Sullivan’s theory, a cognitive process in which the infant does not distinguish
between the self and the external world.
From the Greek term meaning “breath” or “principle of life,” often translated as “soul”
or “self.” In Freud’s theory, the id, ego, and superego. In Jung’s theory, the total
personality encompassing all psychological processes: thoughts, feelings, sensations,
wishes, and so on.
A method of therapy developed by Freud that concentrates on cultivating a transference
relationship and analyzing resistances to the therapeutic process.
The combined use of psychoanalysis and history to study individuals and groups.
Staats’s theory of personality, which translates personality concepts into behavioral
language.
The psychological context within which an organism responds.
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
The quantitative measurement of psychological characteristics through statistical
techniques.
Entailing components of both the mind and the body.
In Freud’s theory, developmental stages through which all people pass as they move
from infancy to adulthood.
An abnormal personality disturbance characterized by loss or distortion of reality
testing and the inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.
A series of developmental stages proposed by Erikson to emphasize the social
dimension of personality.
Treatment of emotional disorders by psychological means.
One of Eysenck’s personality dimensions, involving the loss or distortion of reality and
the inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.
An undesirable consequence that follows a behavior and is designed to stop or change
it.
A card-sorting technique employed by Rogers for studying the self-concept.
A label that has been given to B. F. Skinner’s point of view.
In an experiment, ensuring that every subject has an equal chance of being assigned to
any of the treatment groups.
A schedule of reinforcement in which the organism is reinforced after a number of
appropriate responses.
Ellis’s method of psychotherapy.
The philosophical view that the mind can, in and of its own accord, formulate ideas and
determine their truth.
rationalization
reaction formation
reactive
real self
reality anxiety
reality principle
reassuring response
receptive orientation
reciprocal inhibition
reconstructive (or intensive)
psychotherapy
reflective response
reflexes
regression
reinforcement
reinforcement value
reinforcer
relatedness
relational-cultural theory
relationship-differentiation
relevance
reliability
Rep Test
repression
reproduction of mothering
resignation solution
respondent behavior
response
reticular activating system
Rinzai
role
role confusion
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism that entails dealing with an emotion or impulse
analytically and intellectually, thereby not involving the emotions.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism in which an impulse is expressed by its
opposite.
Referring to theories of personality that view the human beings as primarily responding
to external stimuli.
In Horney’s theory, that which a person actually is.
In Freud’s theory, the fear of a real danger in the external world.
In Freud’s theory, the way in which the ego satisfies the impulses of the id in an
appropriate manner in the external world.
In Rogers’s theory, a response that attempts to soothe feelings.
In Fromm’s theory, a character type in which the individual reacts to the world
passively.
In behavior therapy, introducing a competitive response that will interfere with the
original maladaptive response.
Therapeutic methods that seek to remove defenses and reorganize the basic personality
structure.
In Rogers’s theory, a response that seeks to capture the underlying feeling expressed.
Inborn automatic responses.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism that entails reverting to earlier forms of
behavior.
The process of increasing or decreasing the likelihood of a particular response.
In Rotter’s theory, a variable that indicates the importance or preference of a particular
reinforcement for an individual.
Any event that increases or decreases the likelihood of a particular response.
In Fromm’s theory, the basic need to relate to and love other people.
A perspective for understanding personality developed by scholars working out of the
Stone Center at Wellesley College.
The process of cultivating increasing levels of complexity and maturity within the
framework of human relationships.
One of the criteria for evaluating philosophical statements, the quality of having some
bearing or being pertinent to one’s view of reality.
The quality of consistently yielding the same results over time.
Role Construct Repertory Test: a device developed by Kelly to reveal personal
constructs.
In Freud’s theory, the key defense mechanism, which entails blocking a wish or desire
from expression so that it cannot be experienced consciously or directly expressed in
behavior. In Dollard and Miller’s theory, a learned process of avoiding certain thoughts
and thereby losing verbal control.
In Chodorow’s theory, a cyclical process in which women as mothers produce
daughters with mothering capacities and the desire to mother.
One of Horney’s three basic orientations, representing the desire to be free of others.
In Skinner’s theory, reflexes or automatic responses elicited by a stimulus.
A behavior that results from a stimulus. In Dollard and Miller’s theory, one’s reaction
to a cue or stimulus.
The part of the brain that controls levels of arousal.
One of the two major schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan, stressing the use of koans and
zazen to reach enlightenment.
In social psychology, a set of behavioral expectations set forth by a particular society
and fulfilled by its members. In Kelly’s theory, a process or behavior that a person
engages in based on his or her understanding of the behavior and constructs of other
people.
In Erikson’s theory, an inability to conceive of oneself as a productive member in one’s
society.
role-playing
rootedness
ruling type
sadism
safeguarding tendencies
Saijojo Zen
sanguine
sanzen
satiation
satori
schedule of reinforcement
schemas
science
scientific construct
scientific (or empirical)
generalization
scientific method
scientific statement
scientism
secondary dispositions
secondary drive
secondary processes
secondary reinforcer
security operation
self
self-actualization
self-analysis
self-as-rational coper
self-concept
self-construct
self-effacing solution
self-efficacy
self-esteem
self-expansive solution
A therapeutic technique in Kelly and Beck’s therapy, in which clients are asked to
rehearse situations that will later happen in real life.
In Fromm’s theory, the basic need to feel that one belongs in the world.
In Adler’s theory, aggressive, dominating people who have little social interest or
cultural perception.
A disorder in which a person obtains pleasure by inflicting pain.
In Adler’s theory, compensatory mechanisms that ward off feelings of insecurity.
Zen practiced for its own sake, with no expectations and no thought of gain.
One of Hippocrates’ temperaments, referring to a personality marked by sturdiness,
high color, and cheerfulness.
Individual consultations between a Zen Buddhist monk and his master.
Engaging in a behavior until one tires of it.
Japanese for “enlightenment,” the goal of Zen practice.
A program for increasing or decreasing the likelihood of a particular response.
In Beck’s theory, cognitive structures that consist of an individual’s fundamental core
beliefs and assumptions about how the world operates.
A system or method of acquiring knowledge based on specific principles of
observation and reasoning.
An imaginary or hypothetical construct used to explain what is observed in science.
An inductive conclusion based on a number of different instances of observation.
A method of inquiry that consists of five steps: recognizing a problem, developing a
hypothesis, making a prediction, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion.
A statement about the world based on observations arising from a currently held
paradigm.
Exclusive reliance on a narrow conception of science.
In Allport’s theory, specific, focused tendencies of an individual that tend to be
situational in character.
A drive that is learned or acquired on the basis of a primary drive.
In Freud’s theory, higher intellectual functions that enable the ego to establish suitable
courses of action and test them for their effectiveness.
A reinforcer that is originally neutral but that acquires reward value on the basis of
association with a primary reinforcer.
In Sullivan’s theory, an interpersonal device that a person uses to minimize anxiety and
enhance security.
In Jung’s theory, a central archetype representing the striving for unity of all parts of
the personality. In Rogers’s theory, the psychological processes that govern a person’s
behavior.
In the theories of Rogers and Maslow, a dynamic within the organism leading it to
actualize, fulfill, and enhance its inherent potentialities.
In Horney’s theory, a systematic effort at self-understanding conducted without the aid
of a professional.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails the perception of oneself as an
active problem-solving agent.
In Rogers’s theory, a portion of the phenomenal field that has become differentiated
and is composed of perceptions and values of “I” or “me.”
In Kelly’s theory, perception of similarities in one’s behavior based on role
relationships with other people.
One of Horney’s three basic orientations toward life, which represents an appeal to be
loved by others.
In Bandura’s theory, a person’s perception of his or her effectiveness.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails feelings of pride as one develops
the ability to do things.
One of Horney’s three basic orientations toward life, which represents a striving for
self-extension
self-identity
self-image
self-love
self-orientation
self-realization
self-regulation
self-sentiment
self-system
self-theory
sensation
sense of identity
sentiment
separation-individuation
shadow
shaping
shikantaza
shinkeishitsu
Shojo Zen
simplicity
skandha
slips
social interest
social learning theories
social psychoanalytic theories
socially useful type
sociotropic dimension
somatotonia
somatotype
Soto
source traits
species-specific behavior
specific responses
mastery.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails a sense of possession.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails an awareness of inner sameness
and continuity.
In Allport’s theory, a propriate function that entails a sense of the expectations of
others and its comparison with one’s own behavior.
In Fromm’s theory, love of self that is a prerequisite for love of others.
A new character type, informed by Fromm’s theory, that is highly narcissistic.
In Jung’s theory, a drive within the self to realize, fulfill, and enhance one’s maximum
human potentialities.
In Bandura’s theory, the influencing of one’s own behavior.
In Cattell’s theory, an environmental-mold dynamic source trait composing a person’s
self-image.
In Bandura’s theory, cognitive structures that underlie the perception, evaluation, and
regulation of behavior. In Sullivan’s theory, a dynamism made up of security
operations that defend the self against anxiety.
Theory and school of psychology developed by Heinz Kohut.
One of Jung’s functions, referring to sense perception of the world.
In Fromm’s theory, the need to be aware of oneself as an individual.
In Cattell’s theory, an environmental-mold dynamic source trait.
A sequence of stages posited by Mahler through which the ego passes in the process of
becoming an individual.
In Jung’s theory, an archetype that encompasses one’s animalistic and unsocial side.
In Skinner’s theory, a process by which an organism’s behavior is gradually molded
until it approximates the desired behavior.
Japanese for “just sitting,” the form of zazen practice stressed particularly in the Soto
Zen tradition.
A Japanese label for a group of neuroses overlapping with the anxiety disorders in the
DSM-IV classification.
Zen practiced for personal enlightenment or for relief from suffering.
A criterion for evaluating rival hypotheses: the quality of being simple and avoiding
complicated explanations.
Sanskrit for “aggregate” or “heap.” The five skandhas are form, feelings, perceptions,
impulses, and consciousness.
In Freud’s theory, bungled acts, such as a slip of the tongue, a slip of the pen, or a
memory lapse.
In Adler’s theory, an urge in human nature to adapt oneself to the conditions of one’s
environment and society.
Theories that attempt to explain personality in terms of learned behavior within a social
context.
Psychoanalytic theories that emphasize the role of social forces in shaping personality.
In Adler’s theory, people who have a great deal of social interest and activity.
In Beck’s theory, a personality dimension characterized by dependence on
interpersonal relationships and needs for closeness and nurturance.
In Sheldon’s theory, a component of temperament characterized by a predominance of
muscular activity and vigorous bodily assertiveness.
Sheldon’s term for the expression of body type through three numbers that indicate the
degree of each physical component.
One of the two major schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan, stressing the practice of zazen
as shikantaza and the identity of practice and enlightenment.
In Cattell’s theory, underlying variables that determine surface manifestations.
Complex automatic behaviors that occur in all members of a species.
In Eysenck’s theory, behaviors that we can actually observe, such as someone
answering a phone.
specification equation
spirituality
splitting
spontaneous recovery
standardization
statement
statistics
stereotype
stimulus
structural profile
structuralism
style of life
subception
subjective data
subjectivism
sublimation
subsidiation
successive approximations
superego
superiority complex
supportive psychotherapy
surface traits
sutra
symbiotic relationship
symbol
synchronicity
syntality
syntaxic experience
systematic desensitization
Tao
Taoism
T-data
technical eclecticism
telos
temperament traits
An equation by which Cattell suggests we may eventually be able to predict human
behavior.
A search for meaning or for a power beyond the self rather than an adherence to
particular tenets as in a formal religion.
In object relations therapy, separating an object image into opposites.
Following extinction, the return of a learned behavior.
Pretesting of a large and representative sample in order to determine test norms.
An utterance that makes an assertion or a denial.
The application of mathematical principles to the description and analysis of
measurements.
Prejudgment that we make about people on the basis of their membership in certain
groups.
An agent that rouses or excites a response.
In Lazarus’s therapy, a quantitative assessment of the relative involvement of each of
the elements of the BASIC-ID in a client.
Early school of psychology that suggested that psychology study conscious experience.
In Adler’s theory, the specific ways in which an individual seeks to attain the goal of
superiority.
In Rogers’s theory, a discriminative evaluative response of the organism that precedes
conscious perception.
Data acquired through introspection, the act of looking inward on the self as subject.
A philosophical view that constructs of knowledge are creations of the self.
In Freud’s theory, a defense mechanism that refers to translating a wish, the direct
expression of which would be socially unacceptable, into socially acceptable behavior.
In Cattell’s theory, the principle that certain traits are secondary to other traits.
In Dollard and Miller’s therapy, the interpretations of the therapist that provide
increasingly more accurate labels for the patient’s responses.
In Freud’s theory, a function of the personality that represents introjected and
internalized values, ideals, and moral standards.
In Adler’s theory, a neurotic pattern in which an individual exaggerates his or her
importance.
Therapeutic measures that seek to strengthen adaptive instincts and defenses.
In Cattell’s theory, clusters of overt behavior responses that appear to go together.
Sanskrit for a sermon or discourse, usually of the Buddha.
In Fromm’s theory, a relationship in which one or the other of two persons loses or
never attains his or her independence.
An element in a dream that stands for something else.
A phenomenon in which events are related to one another through simultaneity and
meaning.
In Cattell’s theory, the behavior of a group as a whole or its “group personality.”
In Sullivan’s theory, the highest level of cognitive activity, entailing the use of symbols
and relying on consensual validation.
In behavior therapy, conditioning a patient to stop responding to a stimulus in an
undesired manner and to substitute a new response.
A Chinese term for “Way” or “Path”; the absolute and ineffable nature of ultimate
reality.
A Chinese philosophy and way of life based on the teachings of Lao-tse (ca. 4th
century b.c.), stressing harmony with the Tao.
In Cattell’s theory, objective tests.
In Lazarus’s therapy, deriving treatment methods from many sources without
necessarily agreeing with the theories that generated them.
A purpose or goal.
In Cattell’s theory, traits that determine how a person behaves in order to obtain his or
her goal.
terror management theory
Thanatos
Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT)
theory
therapy
Theravada
thinking
thresholds
time-out
token economy
tracking
trait
trait theories
transcendence
transference
transference-focused
psychotherapy
transpersonal psychology
triadic reciprocal causation
Tripitaka
trust versus mistrust
typology
tyranny of the should
unawareness
unconditional positive regard
unconditioned response
unconditioned stimulus
unconscious process
usefulness
validating evidence
validity
A theory suggesting that the awareness and fear of death creates an ever-present
prospect of terror and efforts to manage it.
In Freud’s theory, the death impulse or drive, the source of aggression, the ultimate
resolution of all of life’s tension in death.
A projective test consisting of ambiguous pictures to which a subject is asked to
respond.
A set of abstract concepts made about a group of facts or events to explain them.
The practical application of psychology in ways that will assist individuals.
Pali for “the teaching of the Elders,” the form of Buddhism dominant in Sri Lanka,
Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Sometimes referred to as the Hinayana.
One of Jung’s functions, referring to giving meaning and understanding to the world.
In Lazarus’s theory, tolerance levels for pain, frustration, or stress.
Psychological intervention that eliminates undesired behavior by removing the
individual from the situation in which the undesired behavior is occurring.
A community based on Skinnerian principles in which individuals are rewarded for
appropriate behavior with tokens that can be exchanged for various privileges.
In Lazarus’s therapy, paying careful attention to the “firing order” of the different
modalities.
Continuous dimension that an individual can be seen to possess to a certain degree. In
Allport’s theory, a determining tendency to respond that represents the ultimate reality
of psychological organization. In Cattell’s theory, an imaginary construct or inference
from overt behavior that helps to explain it.
Theories that conceive of personality as being composed primarily of traits.
In Jung’s theory of self-realization, a process of integrating the diverse systems of the
self toward the goal of wholeness and identification with all humanity. In Fromm’s
theory, the basic human need to rise above the accidental and passive creatureliness of
animal existence and become an active creator.
In Freudian psychoanalysis, a process in which the patient projects onto the analyst
emotional attitudes felt as a child toward important persons.
Kernberg’s method of treatment which emphasizes current behavior and focuses on the
patient’s distortions of reality, such as a distorted view of the therapist.
A branch of psychology that studies the transcendent or spiritual dimensions of
persons.
In Bandura’s theory, the regulation of behavior by an interplay of behavioral, cognitive,
and environmental factors.
Sanskrit for the “Three Baskets” or collections of Buddhist scriptures.
Erikson’s psychosocial stage, corresponding to Freud’s oral stage, in which infants face
the task of trusting the world.
Division of human beings into distinct, separate categories.
In Horney’s theory, creating false needs instead of meeting genuine ones.
In Sullivan’s theory, an empirically based observation that a person may be
unconscious or unaware of some of his or her motives and behaviors.
In Rogers’s theory, positive regard that is not contingent on any specific behaviors.
A reflex or automatic response to a stimulus.
A stimulus that normally elicits a particular reflex or automatic response.
In Freud’s theory, processes of which a person is unaware because they have been
repressed or never permitted to become conscious. In Dollard and Miller’s theory,
drives or cues of which we are unaware because they are unlabeled or repressed.
In scientific theorizing, the ability of a hypothesis to generate predictions about
experiences that we might observe. In Adler’s theory, the ability of a goal to foster
productive living and enhance one’s life.
Observable consequences that follow an experiment designed to test a hypothesis and
are used to support a construct or theory.
The quality of measuring what a construct is supposed to measure.
variable
variable reinforcement
verifiability
vijnana
virtues
visceral brain
Walden II
wish fulfillment
wishes
withdrawal-destructiveness
relationship
womb envy
yang
yin
zazen
Zen
A characteristic that can be measured or controlled.
A schedule of reinforcement in which the time period or number of responses prior to
reinforcement varies.
Capable of being tested by a method that ultimately relies on empirical observation.
Sanskrit for “consciousness.”
In Erikson’s theory, ego strengths that develop out of each psychosocial stage.
The limbic system and the hypothalamus.
Skinner’s name for his utopian comunity.
In Freud’s theory, a primary-process activity that seeks to reduce tension by forming an
image of the object that would satisfy needs.
In Freud’s theory, desires that may be rendered unconscious if they go against a
person’s ego-ideal.
In Fromm’s theory, a relationship characterized by distance, apathy, or aggression.
In Horney’s theory, the concept that men and boys experience jealousy over women’s
ability to bear and nurse children.
Chinese Taoist term for the positive, masculine, active, external aspect of the
complementary yin and yang polarity.
Chinese Taoist term for the negative, feminine, passive, internal aspect of the
complementary yin and yang polarity.
Japanese for “sitting meditation,” the most important and indispensable aspect of Zen
practice. The typical length of a period of zazen in Japan is 40 minutes.
Japanese rendering of the Chinese ch’an, meaning absorption or meditation. It can refer
to a school of Buddhism or to the ineffable experience of oneness with reality.