Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
Edition(^614) Back Matter Glossary © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
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.
prototaxic (Sullivan) Primitive, presymbolic,
undifferentiated mode of experience that cannot be
communicated to others.
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.
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, Sullivan, 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 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.
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.
reaction formation A defense mechanism in which a
person represses one impulse and adopts the exact
opposite form of behavior, which ordinarily is
exaggerated and ostentatious.
reactive (Allport) Term for those theories that view
people as being motivated by tension reduction and by
the desire to return to a state of equilibrium.
realistic anxiety (Freud) An unpleasant, nonspecific
feeling resulting from the ego’s relationship with the
external world.
reality principle (Freud) A reference to the ego,
which must realistically arbitrate the conflicting
demands of the id, the superego, and the external
world.
receptive characters (Fromm) People who relate to
the world through receiving love, knowledge, and
material possessions.
reciprocal causation (Bandura) Scheme that
includes environment, behavior, and person as mutually
interacting to determine personal conduct.
regression (Freud) A defense mechanism whereby a
person returns to an earlier stage in order to protect the
ego against anxiety.
regression (Jung) The backward flow of psychic
energy; regression involves the introverted attitude and
movement toward adaptation to the internal world.
reinforcement (Skinner) Any condition within the
environment that strengthens a behavior (Seealso
negative reinforcerandpositive reinforcer)
reinforcement-reinforcement sequences Rotter’s term
indicating that the value of an event is a function of
one’s expectation that a reinforcement will lead to future
reinforcements.
reinforcement value (Rotter) The preference a person
attaches to any reinforcement when the probabilities are
equal for the occurrence of a number of different
reinforcements.
relatedness (Fromm) The need for union with another
person or persons. Expressed through submission,
power, or love.
G-12 Glossary