Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionBack Matter Glossary © The McGraw−Hill^609
Companies, 2009hypothesis An assumption or educated guess that can
be scientifically tested.
hysteria (Freud) A mental disorder marked by
the conversion of repressed psychical elements into
somatic symptoms such as impotency, paralysis, or
blindness, when no physiological bases for these
symptoms exist.
I
id (Freud) The region of personality that is alien to the
ego because it includes experiences that have never been
owned by the person. The id is the home base for all the
instincts, and its sole function is to seek pleasure
regardless of consequences.
ideal self (Rogers) One’s view of self as one would
like to be.
idealistic principle (Freud) A reference to the ego-
ideal, a subsystem of the superego that tells people what
they should do.
idealized self-image (Horney) An attempt to solve
basic conflicts by adopting a belief in one’s godlike
qualities.
identity crisis Erickson’s term for a crucial period or
turning point in the life cycle that may result in either
more or less ego strength. Identity crises can be found in
those Eriksonian stages that follow the development of
identity, ordinarily during adolescence.
idiographic Approach to the study of personality
based on the single case.
incestuous symbiosis (Fromm) Extreme dependence
on a mother or mother substitute.
incongruence (Rogers) The perception of
discrepancies between organismic self, self-concept, and
ideal self.
individual psychology Theory of personality and
approach to psychotherapy founded by Alfred Adler.
individuality corollary Kelly’s assumption that people
have different experiences and therefore construe events
in different ways.
individuation Jung’s term for the process of becoming
a whole person, that is, an individual with a high level of
psychic development.
inductive method A form of reasoning based on
observation and measurement without preconceived
hypotheses.
infancy (Erikson) The first stage of psychosocial
development—one marked by the oral-sensory mode
and by the crisis of basic trust versus basic mistrust.
infantile stage (Freud) First four or five years of life
characterized by autoerotic or pleasure-seeking behavior
and consisting of the oral, anal, and phallic substages.
inferiority complex (Adler) Exaggerated or
abnormally strong feelings of inferiority, which usually
interfere with socially useful solutions to life’s problems.
instinct (Freud) From the German Trieb,meaning
drive or impulse; refers to an internal stimulus that
impels action or thought. The two primary instincts are
sex and aggression.
instinct (Jung) An unconscious physical impulse toward
action. Instincts are the physical counterpart of archetypes.
instinctoid needs (Maslow) Needs that are innately
determined but that can be modified through learning.
The frustration of instinctoid needs leads to various
types of pathology.
intentionality (May) The underlying structure that
gives meaning to our experience.
interactionist One who believes that behavior results
from an interaction of environmental variables and
person variables, including cognition.
intermittent schedule (Skinner) The reinforcement of
an organism on only certain selected occurrences of a
response; opposed to a continuous schedule in which the
organism is reinforced for every correct trial. The four
most common intermittent schedules are fixed-ratio,
variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval.
internal reinforcement (Rotter) The individual’s
perception of the positive or negative value of any
reinforcing event.
internalization (object relations theory) A process in
which the person takes in (introjects) aspects of the
external world and then organizes those introjections in
a psychologically meaningful way.
interpersonal theory Sullivan’s personality theory that
emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships
during each stage of development from infancy to
adulthood.
interpersonal trust (Rotter) A generalized
expectancy held by a person that other people can be
relied on to keep their word. The Interpersonal Trust
Scale attempts to measure degree of interpersonal trust.
intimacy (Erikson) The ability to fuse one’s identity
with that of another person without fear of losing it. The
syntonic element of young adulthood.
intimacy (Sullivan) Conjunctive dynamism marked by
a close personal relationship with another person who is
more or less of equal status.
introjection (Freud) A defense mechanism whereby
people incorporate positive qualities of another person
into their ego.
introjection (Klein) Fantasizing taking external
objects, such as the mother’s breast, into one’s own body.
introversion (Eysenck) (Seeextraversion, Eysenck)Glossary G-7