Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
Edition(^606) Back Matter Glossary © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
delay of gratification A reference to the observation that
some people some of the time will prefer more valued
delayed rewards over lesser valued immediate ones.
denial (Rogers) The blocking of an experience or
some aspect of an experience from awareness because it
is inconsistent with the self-concept.
depreciation Adlerian safeguarding tendency whereby
another’s achievements are undervalued and one’s own
are overvalued.
depressive position (Klein) Feelings of anxiety over
losing a loved object coupled with a sense of guilt for
wanting to destroy that object.
desacralization (Maslow) The process of removing
respect, joy, awe, and rapture from an experience, which
then purifies or objectifies that experience.
destructiveness (Fromm) Method of escaping from
freedom by eliminating people or objects, thus restoring
feelings of power.
diathesis-stress model Eysenck accepted this model of
psychiatric illness, which suggests that some people are
vulnerable to illness because they have both genetic and
an acquired weakness that predisposes them to an illness.
dichotomy corollary Kelly’s assumption that people
construe events in an either/or (dichotomous) manner.
disengagement of internal control (Bandura) The
displacement or diffusion of responsibility for the
injurious effects of one’s actions.
displacement A Freudian defense mechanism in
which unwanted urges are redirected onto other objects
or people in order to disguise the original impulse.
disposition, cardinal (Allport) Personal traits so
dominating in an individual’s life that they cannot be
hidden. Most people do not have a cardinal disposition.
disposition, central (Allport) The 5 to 10 personal
traits around which a person’s life focuses.
disposition, secondary (Allport) The least
characteristic and reliable personal traits that still appear
with some regularity in an individual’s life.
dissociation (Sullivan) The process of separating
unwanted impulses, desires, and needs from the self-
system.
distortion (Rogers) Misinterpretation of an experience
so that it is seen as fitting into some aspect of the self-
concept.
D-love (Maslow) Deficiency love or affection
(attachment) based on the lover’s specific deficiency and
the loved one’s ability to satisfy that deficit.
dream analysis (Freud) The therapeutic procedure
designed to uncover unconscious material by having a
patient free associate to dream images. (See alsofree
association)
dynamisms (Sullivan) Relatively consistent patterns
of action that characterize the person throughout a
lifetime. Similar to traits or habit patterns.
dystonic Erikson’s term for the negative element in
each pair of opposites that characterizes the eight stages
of development.
dynamic processes McCrae and Costa’s term for the
interconnectedness of central and peripheral components
of personality.
E
early childhood (Erikson) The second stage of
psychosocial development, characterized by the
anal-urethral-muscular psychosexual mode and by the
crisis of autonomy versus shame and doubt.
early recollections Technique proposed by Adler to
understand the pattern or theme that runs throughout a
person’s style of life.
eclectic Approach that allows selection of usable
elements from different theories or approaches and
combines them in a consistent and unified manner.
ego (Freud) The province of the mind that refers to the
“I” or those experiences that are owned (not necessarily
consciously) by the person. As the only region of the
mind in contact with the real world, the ego is said to
serve the reality principle.
ego (Jung) The center of consciousness. In Jungian
psychology, the ego is of lesser importance than the
more inclusive self and is limited to consciousness.
ego-ideal (Freud) The part of the superego that results
from experiences with reward and that, therefore,
teaches a person what is right or proper conduct.
eidetic personifications (Sullivan) Imaginary traits
attributed to real or imaginary people in order to protect
one’s self-esteem.
Eigenwelt An existentialist term meaning the world of
one’s relationship to self. One of three simultaneous
modes of being-in-the-world.
elaborative choice (Kelly) Making choices that will
increase a person’s range of future choices.
empathic listening (Rogers) The accurate sensing of
the feelings of another and the communication of these
perceptions. One of three “necessary and sufficient”
therapeutic conditions.
empathy (Sullivan) An indefinite process through
which anxiety is transferred from one person to another,
for example, from mother to infant.
empirical Based on experience, systematic
observation, and experiment rather than on logical
reasoning or philosophical speculation.
G-4 Glossary