G-12 Glossary
psychoanalytic social theory Horney’s theory of
personality that emphasizes cultural influence in shaping
both normal and neurotic development.
psychodynamic Loosely defined term usually
referring to those psychological theories that heavily
emphasize unconscious motivation. The theories of
Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney, Klein, Erikson, and
perhaps Fromm are usually considered to be
psychodynamic.
psychohistory A field of study that combines
psychoanalytic concepts with historical methods.
psychological mechanisms (Buss) Internal and
specific cognitive, motivational, and personality systems
that solve specific survival and reproductive problems.
psychological situation (Rotter) That part of the
external and internal world to which an individual is
responding.
psychology of science A subdiscipline of psychology
that studies both science and the behavior of scientists.
psychoses Severe personality disorders, as opposed to
the more mild neurotic reactions. Psychoses interfere
seriously with the usual functions of life and include both
organic brain disorders and functional (learned) conditions.
psychoticism (P) (Eysenck) One of three superfactors
or types identified by Eysenck. Psychoticism is a bipolar
factor consisting of psychoticism at one pole and
superego function at the other. High P scores indicate
hostility, self-centeredness, suspicion, and
nonconformity.
punishment The presentation of an aversive stimulus
or the removal of a positive one. Punishment sometimes,
but not always, weakens a response.Q
Q sort Inventory technique originated by William
Stephenson in which the subject is asked to sort a series
of self-referent statements into several piles, the size of
which approximates a normal curve.
quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach (Buss) A
technique to uncover genetic markers by finding the
location of specific bits of DNA on genes that are
associated with particular behaviors.R
radical behaviorism Skinner’s view that psychology as
a science can advance only when psychologists stop
attributing behavior to hypothetical constructs and begin
writing and talking strictly in terms of observable
behavior.
range corollary Kelly’s assumption that personal
constructs are limited to a finite range of convenience.post-Freudian theory Erikson’s theory of personality
that extended Freud’s developmental stages into old age.
At each age, a specific psychosocial struggle contributes
to the formation of personality.
posttraumatic stress disorder A psychological
disorder resulting from extremely stressful experiences;
it includes nightmares and flashbacks of the traumatic
experience.
preconscious (Freud) Mental elements that are
currently not in awareness, but that can become conscious
with varying degrees of difficulty.
primary narcissism (Freud) An infant’s investment
of libido in its own ego; self-love or autoerotic behavior
of the infant. (See narcissism)
primary process (Freud) A reference to the id, which
houses the primary motivators of behavior, called instincts.
proactive (Allport) Concept that presupposes that
people are capable of consciously acting upon their
environment in new and innovative ways, which then
feed new elements into the system and stimulate
psychological growth.
procreativity (Erikson) The drive to have children
and to care for them.
progression (Jung) The forward flow of psychic
energy; involves the extraverted attitude and movement
toward adaptation to the external world.
projection A defense mechanism whereby the ego
reduces anxiety by attributing an unwanted impulse to
another person.
projective identification (Klein) A psychic defense
mechanism in which infants split off unacceptable parts
of themselves, project them onto another object, and then
introject them in a distorted form.
propriate functional autonomy (Allport) Allport’s
concept of a master system of motivation that confers
unity on personality by relating self-sustaining motives
to the proprium.
propriate strivings (Allport) Motivation toward goals
that are consistent with an established proprium and that
are uniquely one’s own.
proprium (Allport) All those characteristics that
people see as peculiarly their own and that are regarded
as warm, central, and important.
proxy (Bandura) One of three modes of human agency,
proxy involves self-regulation through other people.
pseudospecies (Erikson) The illusion held by a
particular society that it is somehow chosen to be more
important than other societies.
psychoanalysis Theory of personality, approach to
psychotherapy, and method of investigation founded by
Freud.