G-2 Glossary
individuals. These theories also posit that brain systems
and ultimately personality differences have been shaped
by natural and sexual selection (evolution) over millions
of years.
biophilia Love of life.
bipolar traits Traits with two poles: that is, those traits
scaled from a minus point to a positive point, with zero
representing the midpoint.
B-love (Maslow) Love between self-actualizing
people and characterized by the love for the being of the
other.
B-values (Maslow) The values of self-actualizing
people, including beauty, truth, goodness, justice,
wholeness, and the like.
by-products (Buss) Traits that happen as a result of
adaptations but are not part of the functional design.C
cardinal disposition (Allport) Personal disposition so
dominating that it cannot be hidden. Most people do not
have a cardinal disposition.
care (Erikson) A commitment to take care of the
people and things that one has learned to care for.
castration anxiety (Freud) (See castration complex)
castration complex (Freud) Condition that accompanies
the Oedipus complex, but takes different forms in the two
sexes. In boys, it takes the form of castration anxiety, or
fear of having one’s penis removed, and is responsible for
shattering the Oedipus complex. In girls, it takes the form
of penis envy, or the desire to have a penis, and it precedes
and instigates the Oedipus complex.
catharsis The process of removing or lessening
psychological disorders by talking about one’s problems.
causality An explanation of behavior in terms of past
experiences.
central dispositions (Allport) The 5 to 10 personal
traits around which a person’s life focuses.
chance encounter (Bandura) An unintended meeting
of persons unfamiliar to each other.
character (Fromm) Relatively permanent acquired
qualities through which people relate themselves to
others and to the world.
character orientation (Fromm) Productive or
nonproductive patterns of reacting to the world of things
and the world of people.
characteristic Unique qualities of an individual that
include such attributes as temperament, physique,
intelligence, and other aptitudes.
characteristic adaptations (McCrae and Costa)
Acquired personality structures that develop as people
adapt to their environment.artificial selection (Buss) Occurs when humans select
particular desirable traits in a breeding species (otherwise
known as “breeding”).
attitude (Jung) A predisposition to act or react in a
characteristic manner, that is, in either an introverted or
an extraverted direction.
authoritarianism (Fromm) The tendency to give up
one’s independence and to unite with another person or
persons in order to gain strength. Takes the form of
masochism or sadism.
B
basic anxiety (Fromm) The feeling of being alone and
isolated, separated from the natural world.
basic anxiety (Horney) Feelings of isolation and
helplessness in a potentially hostile world.
basic anxiety (Maslow) Anxiety arising from inability
to satisfy physiological and safety needs.
basic conflict (Horney) The incompatible tendency to
move toward, against, and away from people.
basic hostility (Horney) Repressed feelings of rage
that originate during childhood when children fear that
their parents will not satisfy their needs for safety and
satisfaction.
basic strength The ego quality that emerges from the
conflict between antithetical elements in Erikson’s stages
of development.
basic tendencies McCrae and Costa’s term for the
universal raw material of personality.
behavior potential (Rotter) The possibility of a
particular response occurring at a given time and place as
calculated in relation to the reinforcement of that
response.
behavioral analysis Skinner’s approach to studying
behavior that assumes that human conduct is shaped
primarily by the individual’s personal history of
reinforcement and secondarily by natural selection and
cultural practices.
behavioral signature of personality (Mischel) An
individual’s unique and stable pattern of behaving
differently in different situations.
behaviorism A “school” of psychology that limits
its subject matter to observable behavior. John B.
Watson is usually credited with being the founder
of behaviorism, with B. F. Skinner its most notable
proponent.
being-in-the-world (See Dasein)
biological-evolutionary theories Are the class of
theories that argue that behavior, thought, feelings, and
personality are influenced by differences in basic
genetic, epigenetic, and neurological systems between