G-14 Glossary
sociality corollary Kelly’s notion that people can
communicate with others because they are able to
construe others’ constructions.
splitting (object relations theory) A psychic defense
mechanism in which the child subjectively separates
incompatible aspects of an object.
stability (Eysenck) (See neuroticism)
standing still (Adler) Safeguarding tendency char-
acterized by lack of action as a means of avoiding failure.
stimulus generalization (See generalization)
style of life (Adler) A person’s individuality that
expresses itself in any circumstance or environment; the
“flavor” of a person’s life.
sublimation A defense mechanism that involves the
repression of the genital aim of Eros and its substitution
by a cultural or social aim.
successive approximations Procedure used to shape
an organism’s actions by rewarding behaviors as they
become closer and closer to the target behavior.
superego (Freud) The moral or ethical processes of
personality. The superego has two subsystems—the
conscience, which tells us what is wrong, and the ego-
ideal, which tells us what is right.
superego function (Eysenck) (See psychoticism)
suppression The blocking or inhibiting of an activity
either by a conscious act of the will or by an outside
agent such as parents or other authority figures. It differs
from repression, which is the unconscious blocking of
anxiety-producing experiences.
surgency (Buss) Involves the disposition to experience
positive emotional states and to engage in one’s
environment, and to be sociable and self-confident.
syntonic Erikson’s term for the positive element in
each pair of opposites that characterize his eight stages
of development.T
Taoistic attitude (Maslow) Noninterfering, passive,
receptive attitude that includes awe and wonder toward
that which is observed.
taxonomy A system of classification of data according
to their natural relationships.
teleology An explanation of behavior in terms of future
goals or purposes.
temperament (Buss) Differences in behavior that have
a biological basis and are present at birth.
theory A set of related assumptions that permit
scientists to use logical deductive reasoning to formulate
testable hypotheses.
thinking (Jung) A rational function that tells us the
meaning of an image that originates either from theself-concept (McCrae and Costa) The knowledge,
views, and evaluations of the self.
self-concept (Rogers) Aspects of one’s being and
experiences that an individual is consciously aware of.
self-efficacy (Bandura) People’s expectation that they
are capable of performing those behaviors that will
produce desired outcomes in any particular situation.
self-hatred (Horney) The powerful tendency for
neurotics to despise their real self.
selfobjects (Kohut) Parents or other significant adults
in a child’s life who eventually become incorporated into
the child’s sense of self.
self-realization (Jung) The highest possible level of
psychic maturation; necessitates a balance between
conscious and unconscious, ego and self, masculine and
feminine, and introversion and extraversion. All four
functions (thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting)
would be fully developed by self-realized people.
self-regulatory strategies (Mischel) Techniques used
to control one’s own behavior through self-imposed
goals and self-produced consequences.
sensation (Jung) An irrational function that receives
physical stimuli and transmits them to perceptual
consciousness. People may rely on either extraverted
sensing (outside perceptions) or on introverted sensing
(internal perceptions).
sense of identity (Fromm) The distinctively human
need to develop a feeling of “I.”
separation anxiety Reactions of infants upon losing
sight of their primary caregiver; at first infants protest,
then despair, and finally become emotionally detached.
separation-individuation (Mahler) The third major
stage of development, marked by the child’s becoming
an individual, separate from its mother; spans the period
from ages 4 or 5 months to about 30 to 36 months.
sexual selection (Buss) Operates when members of the
opposite sex find certain traits more appealing and
attractive than others and thereby produce offspring with
those traits.
shadow Jungian archetype representing the inferior or
dark side of personality.
shaping Conditioning a response by first rewarding
gross approximations of the behavior, then closer
approximations, and finally the desired behavior itself.
social cognitive theory Bandura’s assumption that
personality is molded by an interaction of behavior,
personal factors (including thoughts and assumptions we
make about ourselves and others), and one’s environment.
social interest (Adler) Translation of the German
Gemeinschaftsgefühl, meaning a community feeling or a
sense of feeling at one with all human beings.