Glossary G-11person-centered The theory of personality founded by
Carl Rogers as an outgrowth of his client-centered
psychotherapy.
phallic phase (Freud) The third and last stage of the
infantile period, the phallic phase is characterized by the
Oedipus complex. Although anatomical differences
between the sexes are responsible for important
differences in the male and female Oedipal periods,
Freud used the term “phallic phase” to signify both male
and female development.
phenomenology A philosophical position emphasizing
that behavior is caused by one’s perceptions rather than
by external reality.
physical mechanisms (Buss) Physiological organs and
systems that evolved to solve problems of survival.
physiological needs The most basic level on Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs; they include food, water, air, etc.
philia Brotherly or sisterly love; friendship.
phylogenetic endowment Unconscious inherited
images that have been passed down to us through many
generations of repetition. A concept used by both Freud
and Klein.
placebo effect Changes in behavior or functioning
brought about by one’s beliefs or expectations.
play age (Erikson) The third stage of psychosocial
development, encompassing the time from about ages 3 to
5 and characterized by the genital-locomotor psychosexual
mode and the crisis of initiative versus guilt.
pleasure principle (Freud) A reference to the
motivation of the id to seek immediate reduction
of tension through the gratification of instinctual drives.
polygenic transmission (Buss) When many genes
interact to create a single characteristic.
positions (Klein) Ways in which an infant organizes
its experience in order to deal with its basic conflict of
love and hate. The two positions are the paranoid-
schizoid position and the depressive position.
positive freedom (Fromm) Spontaneous activity of
the whole, integrated personality; signals a reunification
with others and with the world.
positive psychology A relatively new field of psy-
chology that combines an emphasis on hope, optimism,
and well-being with an emphasis on research and
assessment.
positive regard (Rogers) The need to be loved, liked,
or accepted by another.
positive reinforcer Any stimulus that, when added to a
situation, increases the probability that a given behavior
will occur.
positive self-regard (Rogers) The experience of
valuing one’s self.paranoid-schizoid position (Klein) A tendency of the
infant to see the world as having the same destructive
and omnipotent qualities that it possesses.
parapraxes Freudian slips such as slips of the tongue
or pen, misreading, incorrect hearing, temporary
forgetting of names and intentions, and the misplacing of
objects, all of which are caused by unconscious wishes.
parsimony Criterion of a useful theory that states that
when two theories are equal on other criteria, the simpler
one is preferred.
peak experience (Maslow) An intense mystical
experience, often characteristic of self-actualizing people
but not limited to them.
penis envy (Freud) (See castration complex)
perceptual conscious (Freud) The system that
perceives external stimuli through sight, sound, taste, and
the like and that communicates them to the conscious
system.
permeability (Kelly) A quality of personal constructs
that allows new information to revise our way of viewing
things.
perseverative functional autonomy (Allport)
Functionally independent motives that are not part
of the proprium; includes addictions, the tendency
to finish uncompleted tasks, and other acquired motives.
person of tomorrow (Rogers) The psychologically
healthy individual in the process of evolving into all that
he or she can become.
persona Jungian archetype that represents the side of
personality that one shows to the rest of the world. Also,
the mask worn by ancient Roman actors in the Greek
theater and thus the root of the word “personality.”
personal constructs (Kelly) A person’s way of
interpreting, explaining, and predicting events.
personal disposition (Allport) A relatively permanent
neuropsychic structure peculiar to the individual, which
has the capacity to render different stimuli functionally
equivalent and to initiate and guide personalized forms
of behavior.
Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) Test designed
by E. L. Shostrom to measure Maslow’s concept of self-
actualizing tendencies in people.
personal unconscious Jung’s term for those repressed
experiences that pertain exclusively to one particular
individual; opposed to the collective unconscious, which
pertains to unconscious experiences that originate with
repeated experiences of our ancestors.
personality A global concept referring to a relatively
permanent pattern of traits, dispositions, or
characteristics that give some degree of consistency to a
person’s behavior.